MedRevisions and PLABable are two of the platforms international medical graduates compare for PLAB Part 1. They take different approaches: MedRevisions is an all-in-one platform with a large question bank, included notes, mocks, a Readiness Score and its own AI tutor, also covering the UKMLA; PLABable is a PLAB-1 specialist with a large, exam-tuned pool and an active community discussion on each question. The right choice depends on whether you want a bundled package with notes and mocks, or a PLAB-specific bank with a strong community. This guide compares them fairly, and notes where iatroX fits as an adaptive third option.
The short version
Choose MedRevisions for an all-in-one package — a large bank with notes, mocks, a Readiness Score and an AI tutor — that also covers the UKMLA. Choose PLABable for a dedicated PLAB-1 pool and the active community discussion on each question. Both are aimed at the same hurdle — passing PLAB Part 1 to register with the GMC — and both have large, established followings, so the comparison is less about quality and more about whether you prefer a bundled, guided package or a focused specialist bank with a community attached.
What each one is
MedRevisions is a PLAB-1-and-UKMLA platform, active since 2019, offering more than 5,400 questions aligned to the 2026 MLA content map, a Smart Note Library, 28-plus mock exams, weakness-targeting mocks and flashcards, a Readiness Score and its own AI tutor, delivered as a progressive web app. PLABable is the best-known PLAB-1-specific question bank, with a large pool — its site cites over 5,000 questions — per-question community discussion and separate timed mocks, with a separate product for the UK MLA. The split is between a platform that tries to do everything for one or two exams and a specialist that does one exam very thoroughly. MedRevisions bundles notes, mocks and a readiness signal so you revise inside a single system; PLABable concentrates its energy on the PLAB-1 pool and the community that has grown around it. Which suits you depends on whether you want guidance or a focused bank.
Head-to-head
| MedRevisions | PLABable | iatroX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | All-in-one package | PLAB-1 focus and community | Adaptive practice |
| Questions | 5,400+, MLA-mapped | 5,000+, PLAB-tuned | Adaptive, blueprint-mapped |
| Community | AI tutor, notes | Active per-question discussion | Socratic tutor |
| Price | Paid subscription (free trial) | Paid; mocks and notes often extra | PLAB £29/mo–£99/yr (core free) |
| Beyond PLAB | UKMLA | Separate MLA product | MSRA, MRCP, MRCEM and more |
(Competitor details as of mid-2026 — confirm current pricing and content on each provider's site.)
Where MedRevisions wins
MedRevisions offers an all-in-one package: a large bank with included notes, a deep mock library and a Readiness Score, plus its own AI tutor. It is tightly aligned to the MLA content map and covers the UKMLA as well as PLAB, and its readiness signal and mocks help you judge when you are ready. For candidates preparing from overseas without a peer group, that structure is valuable: the Readiness Score and graded mocks give an external sense of whether you are on track, which is harder to gauge alone, and having notes built in means you are not assembling a separate set of resources while juggling a clinical job abroad.
Where PLABable wins
PLABable's PLAB-1 focus is its strength: a large, exam-tuned pool built around recent sittings. Its community — the per-question discussion, refined over years and a large IMG user base — helps you understand why an answer is right, and it carries strong brand familiarity among IMGs. The community is the part hardest to replicate: thousands of IMGs working through the same pool flag recurring traps, debate close calls and clarify UK-specific points, and for many that collective reasoning under each question is more useful than a written explanation, particularly where the difficulty is unfamiliarity with UK practice rather than the medicine itself.
How to choose between them
If you want a bundled package with notes, mocks and a readiness signal, and the UKMLA covered too, MedRevisions is the pick. If you want a PLAB-1-specific pool and community discussion, choose PLABable. Either way, check what is included — PLABable often prices mocks and notes separately, while MedRevisions bundles them. If you want everything in one place with a readiness signal and the UKMLA covered too, MedRevisions is the simpler buy; if PLAB 1 is your sole focus and you value learning alongside a community, PLABable is the sharper specialist.
A third option: iatroX
iatroX's PLAB 1 bank is on a low-cost subscription (£29/month or £99/year), where both MedRevisions and PLABable charge. It is built around a Socratic tutor that works back through the reasoning behind a wrong answer, questions mapped to the MLA content map that PLAB shares, spaced repetition, a genuinely adaptive engine and native apps, with clinical AI and calculators alongside. It also covers the exams after PLAB — the MSRA, MRCP, MRCEM and more, with MRCP, MRCEM, the PSA and PARA among them free. It does not bundle MedRevisions' notes and Readiness Score or offer PLABable's community, but for adaptive PLAB-1 practice that continues into UK training, it is worth setting up early. Because PLAB 1 is on one low-cost subscription with the MSRA, MRCP and more, an IMG can begin cheaply and keep the platform through the exams that follow registration. That continuity is a real advantage over a PLAB-only resource.
A few common questions
Which covers the UKMLA as well as PLAB, MedRevisions or PLABable? MedRevisions; PLABable runs a separate MLA product.
Which has community discussion? PLABable; MedRevisions offers an AI tutor and notes instead.
Which bundles notes and mocks? MedRevisions; PLABable often prices them separately.
Where does iatroX fit? iatroX is an adaptive PLAB-1 option that also covers the exams after PLAB.
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