The AI Podcast Generator Built for Studying
Turn PDFs, slides, recordings, videos, and notes into a three-speaker podcast series for each course. Alex hosts, Sam produces, and the Guest explains each source. Every episode includes chapters, a transcript, and citations.
Free to start · No credit card required
Quick answer
What is the best AI podcast generator for studying?
Scholarly turns course material into three-speaker podcast episodes with chapters, a searchable transcript, and source citations. Alex hosts, Sam produces, and the Guest explains the material. The same source can also become flashcards, quizzes, and cited AI chat. NotebookLM also creates audio overviews; Scholarly keeps listening and self-testing in one workspace. Episodes are available in 70+ languages.
Updated July 2026. Speaker roles and length controls reflect the current version of Scholarly.
Start from whatever your course gives you
Every course hands you material in a different shape. All of these become episodes.
Textbook chapters and PDFs
Assigned readings, study guides, and research papers, up to 600 pages per source.
Lecture slides
Slide decks already highlight what the instructor cares about, which makes tight episodes.
Recorded lectures
Record or upload lecture audio; Scholarly transcribes it and podcasts the content back to you, condensed.
YouTube videos
Paste a link to a lecture or explainer video and turn it into a listenable recap.
Notes, docs, and images
Typed notes, pasted text, or photos of handwritten pages from your notebook.
A plain topic
No file yet? Describe the topic. Source-backed episodes are stronger, but a topic works for orientation.
You can combine several sources into one episode — for example, this week's slides plus the matching textbook chapter plus your own notes — and the hosts weave them into a single narrative with citations showing where each point came from.
From source pile to study podcast
Choose the sources, style, target length, and language, then start generation.
Add your sources
Upload one source or a mix: a PDF, slides, a recorded lecture, a YouTube link, your notes. Pick what belongs in this episode.
Pick a style and language
Conversational, Exam Prep, Deep Dive, or Quick Summary, plus custom instructions. Generate in any of 70+ languages.
Listen and organize by course
Keep each course together. Every plan includes streaming, transcripts, chapters, and link sharing. Paid plans can download MP3s.
Build a podcast series for each course
The real power is not one episode, it is a series: one episode per week or unit, generated as the course moves, sitting in a course folder you can replay before exams.
BIO 201 — Midterm playlist
Five episodes covering units 1 through 4, generated week by week
Cell structure and organelles
11 minFrom the weeks 1 and 2 slide decks
Membranes and transport
14 minFrom textbook chapter 5
Enzymes and metabolism
12 minFrom a recorded lecture plus your own notes
Cellular respiration
13 minFrom textbook chapter 7
Whole-unit quick summary
8 minFrom the midterm study guide, Quick Summary style
That is about an hour of audio covering four units — replayable on the commute during midterm week. When a new unit lands, generate its episode and regenerate the quick summary so the playlist stays current.
Four styles, four jobs
Pick the style by what you need the episode to do, not by habit.
Conversational
Mid-length
A natural first pass on new material. Best the week a unit is taught, before you have read anything twice.
Exam Prep
Focused
Emphasizes definitions, distinctions students confuse, and likely exam questions. Best in the two weeks before a test.
Deep Dive
Longest
Slower and more thorough. Spend it on the one chapter that actually confuses you, not on everything.
Quick Summary
Shortest
A fast orientation or day-before refresh. Also the right style for regenerating a whole-unit recap.
Runtime depends on the sources and target length. Alex hosts, Sam produces, and the Guest explains. Custom instructions can focus the episode on a specific section.
Where audio fits in real studying
A study podcast earns its place in three moments: priming before a lecture so the material lands the first time, re-exposure during dead time that would otherwise be zero studying, and a final-pass recap before an exam.
It is not problem-solving practice. If your course is graded on working problems — math, physics, accounting — the podcast can explain methods and when to use them, but the points come from doing problems on paper. And re-listening has diminishing returns: by the third pass you are recognizing the audio, not learning the material.
That is why every episode keeps its source attached. After a listen or two, switch to retrieval on the same material: flashcards or practice quizzes generated from the exact sources the episode covered, plus a cited transcript when you want to verify a claim against the original page.
Study podcasts, frequently asked
What makes a podcast generator good for studying specifically?
Three things: it should work from your actual course material rather than a generic topic summary, it should cite where claims come from so you can verify against the source, and it should connect to self-testing. Scholarly does all three — episodes are grounded in your uploads with page citations, and the same source generates flashcards and quizzes.
Can I combine different sources into one episode?
Yes. A common setup is the week's lecture slides plus the matching textbook chapter plus your own notes in a single episode. The hosts merge them into one narrative, and citations show which source each point came from.
How do I organize episodes by course?
Use folders: one per course, holding that course's sources, episodes, flashcards, and quizzes together. Before an exam, the folder works like a playlist — play the episodes in order, most recent unit first.
How is Scholarly different from NotebookLM's Audio Overviews?
NotebookLM is an excellent general-purpose research notebook and popularized AI audio overviews. Scholarly is built for students: four conversation styles including Exam Prep, 70+ languages, and a study loop where the same source becomes flashcards, quizzes, and a cited AI chat. If you only want audio from documents, both work; if listening is one step in exam prep, that loop is the difference.
What languages can I generate in?
70+ languages, including Spanish, French, German, Hindi, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Portuguese. The source and the episode do not have to match — you can podcast an English textbook chapter in your native language.
Can I download episodes or share them with classmates?
Every plan can stream an episode and share a public link. Paid plans can download MP3s for offline listening.
Does listening to podcasts count as real studying?
As one layer, yes; alone, no. Listening builds familiarity and is dramatically better than nothing during a commute, but exams reward retrieval. The honest workflow: listen once or twice, then test yourself with flashcards or a quiz from the same source. The podcast finds your gaps cheaply; retrieval closes them.
Is the study podcast generator free?
Yes. The Free plan includes one AI creation shared across Scholarly for the life of the account. It does not reset, and you can use it for a podcast. Premium includes 10 AI creations each week. No credit card is required.
Is there a free AI study podcast I can make from my course material?
Yes. The Free plan includes one AI creation shared across Scholarly for the life of the account. Use it to turn a PDF, slides, a lecture, or notes into a three-speaker episode with chapters, a transcript, and citations. Premium includes 10 AI creations each week and longer documents. No credit card is required.
Keep exploring
Podcast study workflows
Start from a PDF, your notes, or a whole course folder.
AI Podcast Generator
The full podcast tool: any source, any style, 70+ languages.
Podcast Feature Overview
Everything Scholarly podcasts include, with examples.
PDF to Podcast
Textbook chapters and papers as three-speaker audio episodes.
Notes to Podcast
Your own class notes as a weekly audio recap.
AI Podcast from PDF
A deeper guide to PDF-based study episodes.
AI Flashcards
Retrieval practice from the same sources after you listen.
Start your first course playlist
Free to start. Add this week's sources, generate an episode, and build the series as the semester moves.
Free
- 3 AI Chat messages per day
- 1 free AI creation total
- 1 free file upload total (8MB)
- 5 quiz questions per day
- 1 exam attempt per day
- 15 voice minutes per day
- 32-page PDF to flashcards
- 500 autocomplete words per day
Use it to generate flashcards, improve a deck, or create a podcast, video lecture, slides, infographic, mind map, study guide, worksheet, spreadsheet, story book, timeline, SOP, flowchart, lesson plan, or outline — or run Deep Research or turn a recording into AI Meeting Notes.
Premium
$144 billed yearly
Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited normal chat & autocomplete
- Unlimited premium model messages
- 10 AI creations per week
- Unlimited file uploads (up to 300MB)
- Unlimited study sessions
- Unlimited exams & quizzes
- 1000-page PDF to flashcards
- Export to Anki
- Priority support
Teams
Or $324/seat billed yearly (save 40%)
Everything in Premium, plus:
- Start with 1 seat
- 450 weekly credits per member
- Premium models and admin controls
Pricing in USD. Local currency available in app.
Compare plans
Normal chat
- Free
- 3/day
- Premium
- Unlimited
Premium chat
Messages with paid models like Gemini 3.6 Flash, Grok 4.5, Mistral Medium 3.5, and similar options. GPT 5.6 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5 are reserved for Enterprise.
- Free
- —
- Premium
- Unlimited
AI creations
AI creations are used for AI Flashcards, deck edits, AI Podcasts, AI Video Lectures, AI Slides, worksheets, AI Infographics, mind maps, study guides, spreadsheets, story books, timelines, SOPs, flowcharts, lesson plans, outlines, AI Meeting Notes, and Deep Research reports.
- Free
- 1 total
- Premium
- 10/week
Video lectures
- Free
- Uses AI creations
- Premium
- Included in 10/week
File uploads
- Free
- 1 total (8MB)
- Premium
- Unlimited (300MB)
PDF to flashcards
- Free
- 32 pages
- Premium
- 1000 pages
Practice questions
- Free
- 5/day
- Premium
- Unlimited
Practice exams
- Free
- 1/day
- Premium
- Unlimited
Voice mode
- Free
- 15 min/day
- Premium
- 2 hr/day
Autocomplete
- Free
- 500 words/day
- Premium
- Unlimited
Export to Anki
- Free
- —
- Premium
- Included
Support
- Free
- Standard
- Premium
- Priority
What customers say
Scholarly has enhanced the quality of notes and questions I administer to my tutees. Insightful, to the point.
TD Georgas
Tutor
I have very good experience with Scholarly it summarize me scientific text in hovel academic level with citation. I use this for any therapeutic area . It is great and useful tool.
Diana
Scholarly user
Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.
Briana
Scholarly user
This app is great for studying for big test. Drop your PDF's in the system and it'll do the trick. You can organize it specifically for your needs.
Kelvin
Scholarly user
Your questions, answered
Is Scholarly free to use?
Yes! The free plan includes core study tools with clear limits: 3 AI Chat messages per day, one free AI creation total, 1 free file upload total, quizzes, practice exams, and manual flashcard creation. Upgrade to Premium for 10 AI creations per week and unlimited uploads.
What uses my free AI creations?
Generating flashcards, improving a flashcard deck, making a podcast, creating a video lecture or infographic, building slides, a spreadsheet, or a story book, making a mind map, study guide, or worksheet, having an AI Agent create a timeline, SOP, flowchart, lesson plan, or outline, running Deep Research, or processing a recording uses your free AI creation. It is a lifetime free credit and does not reset. AI Chat messages, quizzes, and exams still have separate daily limits; free file uploads are also lifetime credits.
Can I cancel anytime?
Absolutely. There are no contracts or commitments. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings, and you'll keep access until the end of your billing period.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe. Pricing is displayed in USD by default, but local currency is available in the app.
Can I use Scholarly with a class or school?
Yes. Scholarly for Teams is self-serve for up to 29 seats, so you can put a class or department on one plan yourself in minutes. For a larger rollout, contact us at hello@scholarly.so.
What happens when I hit a free plan limit?
You'll see a prompt to upgrade. Your existing work is never lost — limits only apply to new actions. Free AI creations and the free upload are lifetime credits and do not reset. Premium includes 10 AI creations per week and unlimited uploads.
For Educators or Schools
Scholarly for Teams is self-serve and puts your class or department on one plan. For a larger rollout, contact us at hello@scholarly.so.