If you are looking for a Passmedicine alternative in 2026, the honest answer is that it depends on which exam you are sitting. Passmedicine is the long-standing default UK question bank — large, inexpensive and reliable — and for some exams it remains the sensible choice. But iatroX is a strong alternative: it keeps MRCP, MRCEM, the PSA and PARA free, with everything else on one subscription, it adds a Socratic tutor and a genuinely adaptive engine on top of curriculum-mapped questions, and it covers exams Passmedicine does not. This guide compares the two fairly — where iatroX wins, where Passmedicine wins, and how to choose.
What Passmedicine is, and why people use it
Passmedicine is the long-established default UK Q-bank, originally built for MRCP and extended over the years. Its banks are large and well-regarded: more than 11,000 SBAs for UKMLA and finals (with an OSCE and Prescribing Safety Assessment resource), over 5,100 for MRCP Part 1, and over 4,500 for the MRCGP AKT (aligned to the 2025 RCGP curriculum), alongside MRCP Part 2, the MSRA, DRCOG, PLAB Part 1, UCAT, USMLE Step 1 and the GPhC registration assessment. Its "Knowledge Tutor" adds spaced repetition, and an integrated high-yield textbook sits alongside the questions. Its reputation rests on volume, value — typically around £35 for four months of a single exam's bank, as of mid-2026 — and a long track record. For a generation of UK doctors it has been the default Q-bank they reach for, and that ubiquity is itself useful: the percentile comparison against thousands of other candidates gives a rough sense of where you stand before the real exam.
How iatroX compares
iatroX is built around five things that Passmedicine's largely static model does not fully offer: 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 rather than presenting a fixed ladder of questions; and native iOS and Android apps. It also covers ground Passmedicine does not — MRCEM, PANE/PARA, and specialist diploma banks such as FFICM, DipIMC, DTM&H, DFSRH, DGM and DCH, plus US, Canadian and Australian exams. The practical effect is that one login carries you across most of a UK postgraduate career and into international practice, rather than buying a fresh subscription for each exam. The Socratic tutor matters most when you are getting questions wrong for the wrong reasons — it surfaces the misread or the missing rule rather than simply confirming the right answer.
The honest comparison
| iatroX | Passmedicine | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | MRCP/MRCEM/PSA/PARA free; rest £29/mo–£99/yr (one subscription) | Paid for all access; around £35 per exam per ~4 months |
| Adaptivity | Fully adaptive engine plus a Socratic tutor | Spaced-repetition "Knowledge Tutor"; otherwise largely static |
| Volume | Growing; smaller than Passmedicine on the biggest banks | Very large (11,000+ UKMLA, 5,100+ MRCP Part 1) |
| Coverage | UK core, many diplomas, GPhC, and US/CA/AU boards | UK core plus DRCOG and GPhC; no MRCEM, PANE or other diplomas |
| Extras | Clinical AI guideline lookup, calculators, native apps | Integrated high-yield textbook, peer comparison |
(Competitor details as of mid-2026 — confirm current pricing and content on Passmedicine's site.)
Where iatroX wins
The clearest advantage is price for most exams: if you are sitting MRCP, MRCEM, the MSRA, the PSA, PANE, PLAB, a specialist diploma or an international board, iatroX's bank is low-cost where Passmedicine charges. On top of that, the adaptive engine and Socratic tutor target your weak areas and rebuild your reasoning rather than presenting a fixed ladder, and a single platform spans far more exams, including diplomas and international boards.
Where Passmedicine wins
Passmedicine's biggest strength is sheer volume on its largest banks — for the maximum question count on UKMLA or MRCP Part 1 specifically, it offers more. It also has a long track record, a very large user base and peer comparison, and its integrated high-yield textbook is a genuine reference layer that a pure question bank does not provide. If your revision style is to read around each answer in an integrated reference rather than to drill and review, that textbook layer is a real reason to stay.
When Passmedicine is the smarter choice
If you are sitting UKMLA or MRCP, want the largest possible question pool from the most established platform, and are comfortable paying, Passmedicine is a safe pick. In practice many candidates use both: iatroX for daily adaptive drilling and weak-area targeting, and Passmedicine for volume — a combination that often costs less than two paid banks and plays to each tool's strength. The sunk-cost trap to avoid is paying for several large banks in succession when one paid bank plus a adaptive layer would have done the job.
How to choose
If you are sitting MRCP, MRCEM, the MSRA, the PSA, a diploma or an international exam, start with iatroX — it is adaptive. If you are sitting UKMLA or the MRCGP AKT, compare iatroX's £29 monthly or £99 annual price — which covers both of those plus everything else — against Passmedicine's per-exam pricing, and weigh adaptive targeting against raw volume. On any exam, iatroX's banks make it a low-risk addition to whatever else you use.
A few common questions
Is iatroX free? MRCP, MRCEM, the PSA and PARA are free; everything else is on one subscription at £29/month or £99/year, with free sample questions for every exam.
Does iatroX cover the same exams as Passmedicine? It covers the same core exams and adds MRCEM, PANE, several diplomas and international boards; Passmedicine has larger volume on its biggest banks.
Which has more questions? Passmedicine, on its largest banks — UKMLA and MRCP Part 1.
Can I use both? Yes — many candidates use iatroX for adaptive drilling and Passmedicine for volume.