If you are weighing up a BMJ OnExamination alternative for 2026, there is one thing to check first: whether your university, NHS Trust or BMA membership already gives you BMJ OnExamination free. Its biggest advantage is not price — it is that many institutions provide it at no cost. Where you have that access, it is a quality, broad, expert-written resource. iatroX is the better choice when you do not have institutional access, want adaptive and Socratic practice without time-limited single-exam codes, or need coverage beyond a two-month window. This guide is honest about both.
What BMJ OnExamination is, and why people use it
BMJ OnExamination is BMJ's long-established exam-revision platform, with questions written by specialty experts and presented as detailed clinical scenarios at exam standard. Its coverage is very broad: the MLA and UKMLA (2,000-plus questions), MRCP Parts 1 and 2, MRCGP and GPST, MRCS Part A, FRCS, MRCOG Parts 1 and 2, DRCOG, MRCPCH, DCH, FRCA Primary, MRCEM Primary, PLAB and several Specialty Certificate Examinations. Its defining feature is access: many universities and NHS Trusts buy codes and provide it free to students and staff — typically two months' access to one exam at a time — and BMA student membership includes free question-bank access. Outside that, it is a paid premium subscription, so confirm current access and pricing, as of mid-2026. This access model is unusual and genuinely valuable: a candidate at a well-resourced Trust or medical school can often revise from a high-quality, expert-written bank without paying anything, which changes the calculation entirely. The catch is that the access is gated and time-limited, and not every Trust or course provides every exam.
How iatroX compares
iatroX is a low-cost, self-serve, adaptive question bank — free for its core banks — built around five things: a Socratic tutor that works back through the reasoning behind a wrong answer; questions mapped meticulously to each exam's blueprint; spaced repetition; a genuinely adaptive engine that targets your weak areas; and native iOS and Android apps. Its core banks — MRCP, MRCEM, the PSA and PARA — are free, with the MSRA, PLAB, the diplomas, UKMLA and the MRCGP AKT on a £29/month or £99/year subscription. There are no request forms, supervisor sign-offs or two-month single-exam limits. That difference in friction is the heart of the comparison: with iatroX you open the app and start, and the same login stays with you across exams and years, whereas BMJ OnExamination access typically means a request form, a supervisor signature and a code that expires after two months on a single exam.
The honest comparison
| iatroX | BMJ OnExamination | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Core free; rest £29/mo–£99/yr | Often free via Trust, university or BMA; otherwise paid |
| Access | Open and immediate | Often institutional — codes, forms, time-limited |
| Coverage | UK core, diplomas, GPhC, US/CA/AU | Very broad, including MRCOG, MRCS, FRCS and SCEs |
| Adaptivity | Adaptive engine plus a Socratic tutor | Expert-written; performance tracking |
| Extras | Clinical AI lookup, calculators | Specialist authorship, mocks |
(Competitor details as of mid-2026 — confirm current access and pricing on BMJ OnExamination's site.)
Where iatroX wins
Open access is the main advantage: iatroX is free for its core banks (MRCP, MRCEM, the PSA, PARA) and low-cost for the rest with no code requests, supervisor sign-offs or two-month single-exam windows — you just start. The adaptive engine and Socratic tutor target weak areas and rebuild reasoning, where BMJ OnExamination is a more traditional expert-written bank, and one platform runs across most of a career and into international exams, with clinical AI and calculators alongside. It is also genuinely free rather than free-if-your-employer-pays, which matters for anyone between jobs, at a Trust that does not buy codes, or sitting an exam their institution's codes do not cover.
Where BMJ OnExamination wins
Free institutional access is the headline: if your Trust, university or BMA membership provides it, that is hard to beat on price, and it is a quality resource. Its breadth and authorship also matter — it covers exams iatroX does not, including MRCOG, MRCS and FRCS, with questions written by specialty experts under the BMJ name — and it carries established credibility and performance tracking that many trainees already trust. For exams iatroX does not cover, and for candidates who already have free access, it is often the obvious resource to reach for, and there is little reason not to use something good that is already paid for.
When BMJ OnExamination is the smarter choice
If your institution gives it to you free, use it — especially for an exam iatroX does not cover, such as MRCOG, MRCS or FRCS. And if you value BMJ's brand and expert authorship and do not mind the access process, it is a strong, broad option in its own right. The decisive question is usually simple: do you already have free access, and does it cover your exam for long enough?
How to choose
With no institutional access, or if you want adaptive practice without time-limited codes, iatroX is free for its core banks (MRCP, MRCEM, the PSA, PARA) and low-cost for the rest, so start there. If you have free access through your Trust, university or the BMA, use BMJ OnExamination and run iatroX's banks alongside for adaptive drilling. And if you are sitting MRCOG, MRCS or FRCS, BMJ OnExamination covers those and iatroX does not.
A few common questions
Is iatroX free? MRCP, MRCEM, the PSA and PARA are free; the MSRA, PLAB, the diplomas, the SCEs and international are on one subscription at £29/month or £99/year, with free samples for all.
Isn't BMJ OnExamination free? Often, yes — via many universities, NHS Trusts or BMA membership. Check your access first; otherwise it is a paid subscription.
Does iatroX cover MRCOG or MRCS? No — BMJ OnExamination does; iatroX focuses on its own exam set plus clinical AI.
Can I use both? Yes — many do, pairing BMJ's breadth, often free via an institution, with iatroX's adaptive drilling.