FRCAWise makes a useful distinction for anaesthetic trainees: its Primary FRCA question bank is advertised as fully free for 12 months after sign-up, while its Final FRCA bank is a separate paid product. Calling both a short free trial, or assuming the free Primary offer includes Final, would misrepresent the purchase.
This guide is published by iatroX and includes our own competing banks. We checked the public pages on 1 November 2026. It compares advertised access and learning roles, rather than claiming a hands-on quality ranking or a measured difference in pass rates.
1. iatroX: separate Primary and Final banks with connected learning
iatroX provides separately selectable Primary FRCA and Final FRCA banks. Start with the correct examination, attempt a question and use its explanation or a Tutor discussion to investigate an unresolved concept. Study planning and later practice can give that review a next step.
Full access to these banks is included in all-access. Up to 10 new sample questions per day, shared across exams and subject to availability, with explanations and no account required. One complete guided Tutor session is included with a verified free account; continued Tutor use is included in all-access. Current all-access pricing is £29/month or £99/year in the UK; US$29/month or US$99/year elsewhere. The free FRCAWise Primary offer therefore costs less than buying full iatroX access for Primary alone. The iatroX value case is whether its connected learning tools address a problem you actually have.
2. FRCAWise: what the free Primary offer includes
The FRCAWise announcement, dated 1 August 2026, describes 12 months of full Primary access without card details, rather than a restricted sample. It advertises more than 1,600 SBAs, explanations, revision and test modes, and performance analytics. These are provider-reported features and counts.
Its Final product page separately advertises more than 1,100 SBAs, referenced explanations, revision/test modes and analytics, with pricing from £24.99. That starting price is not enough to establish which access duration or package you will receive: inspect the selected offer before paying.
| Decision | iatroX | FRCAWise |
|---|---|---|
| Which written bank? | Separate Primary and Final selections | Separate Primary and Final products |
| Free access | Shared daily samples for the paid FRCA banks | Full Primary access advertised for 12 months after sign-up |
| Full Final access | Included in all-access | A separately paid Final offer |
| Learning role to evaluate | Question review, guided reasoning and a continuing plan | SBA explanations, revision/test modes and topic analytics |
| What requires a separate check? | Whether the selected practice fits your booked route | Package duration, selected product and fit with the booked route |
The 2027 transition is not one date for every component
The RCoA's current format FAQ distinguishes the wider transition beginning July 2027 from the first Final AKT in January 2028. It also describes legacy clinical options for eligible partial-pass holders and says the new formats remain in the GMC approval process. Use the College calendar and your actual examination record when deciding which route applies.
The announced Primary AKT has two 80-SBA papers, each lasting two hours and 20 minutes; the announced Final AKT has 100 SBAs in three hours. The current written examinations have different structures, and the current Final includes a separate CRQ paper. A bank's “FRCA” label does not establish which of those tasks its test mode reproduces.
Ask a practical question in the demo: can I rehearse the paper I have booked, or am I using supplementary question practice? Both can be useful, but they serve different purposes.
A fair sample test: can you explain the model's assumptions?
Use this original, idealised physics exercise when evaluating explanations. Assume laminar flow through a rigid cylindrical tube, with constant viscosity and length. Resistance is proportional to the inverse fourth power of radius. Halving the radius increases resistance sixteenfold; at an unchanged pressure difference, flow becomes one sixteenth of its original value.
Before doing arithmetic, predict the direction of change. Then explain why a twofold answer would be wrong, and state when the assumptions might fail. A strong review leaves you able to apply the relationship with different numbers and recognise its limitations. It does not merely leave you remembering “sixteen.”
For a clinical Final question, use the same evaluation discipline: identify the requested decision, explain the closest alternative and name the finding that would change your answer. Do not award a platform a quality score solely because it displays a long explanation or a large question count.
Choose by the work still missing
If you need inexpensive Primary SBA practice, inspect FRCAWise's free offer before buying another bank. If an existing bank is working, retain it and add a focused teaching or discussion resource only for a demonstrated gap. If you need guided exploration after mistakes and a continuing revision plan, sample iatroX around that specific task.
Keep oral, observed and constructed-answer preparation appropriate to the assessment you are taking. Written SBAs can support the underlying knowledge without supplying every form of performance practice or feedback.
Is FRCAWise Primary only a free sample?
The linked announcement describes full Primary-bank access for 12 months after sign-up. Final is separate and paid.
Does the free Primary offer make iatroX unnecessary?
It may cover the question-practice task you need. Consider paid tools when their explanation, discussion or planning workflow fills a specific remaining gap.
Is the new Final AKT first held in July 2027?
The current RCoA FAQ gives January 2028 for the first Final AKT. Check the published calendar, since the wider transition has several milestones.
Choose Primary FRCA practice or Final FRCA practice.