NotebookLM vs Qlipify: Which AI Study Tool is Better for Students?

Students today are overwhelmed with PDFs, lecture slides, and endless YouTube videos. AI tools promise to help—but not all of them are built for the same purpose.

Google’s NotebookLM has been making waves as a powerful research assistant. Meanwhile, Qlipify focuses entirely on helping students study, memorize, and prepare for exams.

If you’re deciding between NotebookLM vs Qlipify, this guide will help you choose the right tool for your needs.

At a Glance: The Core Difference

NotebookLM is a Research & Understanding tool.
It excels at grounding AI responses in your own documents. Think of it as a smart librarian who knows your sources inside and out.

Qlipify is a Study & Memorization tool.
It’s designed to turn content into active recall materials like flashcards and quizzes. Think of it as a tutor who tests you until you’re ready for the exam.

Feature Comparison

Feature	NotebookLM	Qlipify
Primary Goal	Deep understanding & research	Memorization & exam prep
Input Sources	PDF, Google Drive, text	PDF, YouTube, text, web
Flashcards	❌ No	✅ Yes (auto-generated)
Quizzes	❌ No (chat-style only)	✅ Yes (structured quizzes)
Audio	✅ Audio Overview (podcast-style)	❌ Coming soon
Spaced Repetition	❌ No	✅ Yes

Deep Dive: NotebookLM

Best for: Research papers, essays, and understanding complex topics.

NotebookLM shines when you’re working with multiple documents and need to synthesize information. You can ask questions like “What do these sources say about X?” and get cited answers grounded in your materials.

The Audio Overview feature is also useful for listening to summaries of your notes during passive review.

The downside for students:
NotebookLM doesn’t help much with memorization. There’s no built-in system to test yourself, track progress, or reinforce learning over time.

Deep Dive: Qlipify

Best for: Exam preparation, memorizing concepts, and active studying.

Qlipify assumes you have a test coming up. You upload lecture slides, notes, or even a YouTube video, and it instantly creates a complete study set.

This includes:

• Flashcards for drilling key terms
• Structured quizzes to test understanding
• Spaced repetition to help information stick

For example, a 60-minute lecture can become flashcards and practice questions in minutes—saving hours of manual note-making.

The upside for students:
Qlipify forces active recall. Instead of passively reading summaries, you actively answer questions, which is proven to improve exam performance.

Which Should You Choose?

Use NotebookLM if:

• You’re writing a thesis or research paper
• You need to synthesize information from multiple documents
• You want to chat with your sources

Use Qlipify if:

• You have an exam next week
• You need to memorize definitions, formulas, or dates
• You learn best with flashcards and practice tests
• You want to turn YouTube lectures into study guides

The Verdict

NotebookLM and Qlipify aren’t direct competitors—they’re complementary tools.

Use NotebookLM to understand and explore your research materials.
Use Qlipify to memorize key facts and prepare confidently for exams.

Have a test coming up? Turn your notes or lectures into flashcards and quizzes in minutes with Qlipify and study smarter, not longer.