Study buddies

A study planner for two: revise with a buddy, not alone

Updated · by the Simpleban team

In short

Revising with one other person works when you split the work instead of just sitting together. Simpleban is a free shared kanban board for exactly two people: put every topic on the syllabus on the board, each of you owns the topics you'll make notes for, hand a finished summary to the other to check, and keep the exam countdown at the top. The 8am email tells each of you what's waiting, so neither has to be the organised one.

Simpleban, a kanban board for two people: a shared “Our home” board with This week, Doing, Waiting and Done columns, cards marked Mine or assigned to a partner, due dates, repeating chores and a moving-day countdown.

A revision rhythm that works

  • List every topic as a card. Yes, every one — the board should show the whole exam.
  • Each person takes half the topics to summarise; assign each one to one of you.
  • When a summary is done, hand it to the other person to test themselves on and hand back.
  • Past papers as repeating cards: one every Saturday, alternating who marks.
  • Final week: only the Today filter.

How it works

  • Every card has an owner: you, your study buddy, or either of you — so “who is on this?” is answered before anyone asks.
  • Hand a card to your study buddy and it moves to the top of their board under “waiting on you”. If they're not on the app, Simpleban emails them a few minutes later, and the next morning's 8am email mentions it once if it's still waiting — never every day. You never press a “remind” button.
  • When your study buddy is done, they hand it back and it reappears at the top of your board.
  • Repeating cards come back on their own schedule — daily, weekly, chosen weekdays, every N days, monthly — and can alternate between the two of you.
  • Due dates with a calm Today / This week filter, a private calendar feed for Google, Apple or Outlook, and a countdown on the board for the date that matters.
  • Notes, checklists and comments live inside each card, so the context travels with the task.
  • Your study buddy joins from your invite link with a name and an email — no password, nothing to pay. Both of you have the full app on your own phone; it installs like an app and works offline for reading.

Templates to start from

Questions, answered

Is it free for both students?
Simpleban is free forever for two: you and the one person you invite get every feature, unlimited boards and cards, no trial and no credit card. The promise is written into the Terms: nothing that is free today will ever move behind a paywall, and your +1 never pays. If you need more people or want to share boards beyond your +1, we'll soon introduce subscription tiers — a flat rate, never per seat.
Can we use it for a group project?
For two people, yes — free forever. For a bigger group, flat-rate plans for more people are coming soon (never per seat).
Does it have a timer or pomodoro?
No. It's a board; pair it with whatever timer you like.
Does the other person need to pay or install anything?
No. They open your invite link, type a name and an email, and they're on the board. Installing it as an app on their phone is optional. Simpleban is free forever for two: you and the one person you invite get every feature, unlimited boards and cards, no trial and no credit card. The promise is written into the Terms: nothing that is free today will ever move behind a paywall, and your +1 never pays. If you need more people or want to share boards beyond your +1, we'll soon introduce subscription tiers — a flat rate, never per seat.

Split the syllabus

Start from the Exam study template and invite your buddy.

Your board starts as “Exam study” — columns and example cards you can change or delete.

Try the live demo board first

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