The MSRA itself has no exam fee — you only pay for travel — so the real cost of preparing is whatever you spend on revision resources. Those range from low monthly subscriptions to premium taught courses, and you do not need to spend a lot to prepare well. iatroX is one of the lower-cost options: a single subscription, £29 a month or £99 a year, that covers its MSRA bank along with every other paid bank on the platform, with an adaptive engine and a Socratic tutor. This guide compares the main MSRA resources on price, explains what you actually need to spend, and is honest about where each option fits. Prices are as of mid-2026 — confirm current pricing on each provider's site.
The lower-cost options
For the MSRA, the cheapest routes are the subscription banks rather than the taught courses. Quesmed's all-in-one bundle starts low on a monthly basis, and iatroX's annual subscription works out to a low monthly equivalent while covering far more than the MSRA alone. None of the serious MSRA banks is free — including iatroX — though iatroX offers free sample questions for every exam via its free-questions page, so you can try the format before subscribing. The price differences between the options are large, and how a resource is priced matters as much as its headline cost: a per-exam bank you use once is a different proposition from a subscription that spans several exams you will sit over the next few years.
What the main MSRA resources cost
iatroX is £29 a month or £99 a year for one subscription that covers the MSRA plus every other paid bank — UKMLA, the MRCGP AKT, PLAB, the diplomas and international boards — with MRCP Part 1, MRCEM, the PSA and PARA free on the same platform. Quesmed is an all-in-one bundle from around £14.99 a month. Passmedicine is around £35 for four months of its MSRA bank. Pastest is premium, with the MSRA among its postgraduate banks. Revise MSRA and Pass the MSRA are dedicated MSRA platforms, by subscription, with notes, mocks and SJT material — Pass the MSRA also offers free podcasts. Medibuddy is a paid adaptive MSRA bank with 4,000-plus questions. Emedica offers premium taught courses, including an MSRA crammer at around £449.
Price comparison
| Resource | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| iatroX | £29/month or £99/year (covers many exams) | Adaptive, Socratic tutor |
| Quesmed | From ~£14.99/month | All-in-one bundle |
| Passmedicine | ~£35 per ~4 months | High volume |
| Revise MSRA | Paid membership | 3,000+ Qs, SJT bank, mocks |
| Pass the MSRA | Subscription (free podcasts) | Modular notes and flashcards |
| Medibuddy | Paid subscription | Adaptive, 4,000+ Qs |
| Emedica | ~£449 crammer | Taught course |
What you actually need to spend
The MSRA has two papers — Clinical Problem Solving and Professional Dilemmas — and a single good bank can cover the clinical side well. iatroX's appeal is its price structure: one low subscription covers the MSRA plus a wide range of other exams, where most rivals charge per platform, so a candidate who will also sit UKMLA, PLAB or later exams gets more for the outlay. Where extra money is well spent is on the things a question bank does not do as well: dedicated Professional Dilemmas material, curated notes, or a taught course if you need structure. Buy those deliberately, rather than paying for several overlapping banks. Because the exam is free to sit but decisive for recruitment, candidates often over-invest out of anxiety rather than need; a clear-eyed approach starts with one capable bank and adds only what genuinely moves the score, which keeps the total well below the several hundred pounds some spend assembling courses and banks.
Where iatroX fits
iatroX is a low-cost adaptive option: an engine that targets your weak areas, a Socratic tutor that works back through the reasoning behind a wrong answer, blueprint-mapped questions, spaced repetition and native apps, with clinical AI and calculators alongside. Its strength is the Clinical Problem Solving paper. It does not have a dedicated SJT bank or curated notes, so pair it with a specialist resource for the Professional Dilemmas paper if that is your weak spot. Its value is breadth and price rather than being free — one subscription spans the MSRA and the exams around it, which is most economical for anyone whose path runs beyond a single exam.
How to prepare cost-effectively
Use a low-cost adaptive bank such as iatroX as your core for daily drilling on the clinical paper, taking advantage of the free sample questions first to check the fit. Add one paid resource only where you need it — typically SJT material or mocks. Skip the rest: more banks rarely means more marks, and the MSRA rewards consistent practice over spending. A realistic budget for many candidates is one subscription plus a modest amount on SJT material, a long way from paying for several overlapping courses, and the band that secures a first-choice post comes from steady daily practice rather than from how much was spent.
A few common questions
Is there a free MSRA question bank? Not a full one — iatroX offers free sample questions for every exam, but the MSRA bank itself is on its £29/month or £99/year subscription.
What is the cheapest option? Quesmed's monthly entry price is low, and iatroX's annual subscription is a low monthly equivalent that also covers many other exams; confirm current prices.
Does the MSRA have an exam fee? No — you only pay for travel to the test centre.
Do I need a paid bank to pass? A good adaptive bank plus targeted SJT material is enough for most; you do not need several overlapping ones, and the free sample questions let you confirm the fit before paying anything.