Before buying a PassMedicine alternative for the AKT, check whether you already have GP SelfTest through RCGP membership. Existing access may provide a substantial part of the practice you need. A paid addition should then address a specific gap, rather than duplicate an entitlement you have not explored.
This article is published by iatroX and includes iatroX among the alternatives. Access terms and product descriptions were checked on 19 September 2026; membership eligibility should still be confirmed against your own account.
Start with the entitlement, not the shopping list
The RCGP's GP SelfTest page states that access is free and unlimited for RCGP members, with paid access available to non-members. That makes it an important option in an AKT resource comparison. It would be misleading to imply that every candidate must buy a commercial bank to obtain useful questions.
Membership is not itself free merely because a resource is included. For a doctor who already holds the relevant membership, however, the marginal cost of using an included resource is different from purchasing another subscription. Keep those two statements separate.
Also check how progress and repeated attempts are handled. A platform's reset policy or review workflow can affect how you use it, but a fresh dashboard is not a prerequisite for learning from previous errors.
Compare the explanation you need
PassMedicine remains an option for candidates who prefer its question-and-explanation format. FourteenFish's AKT material offers a different teaching proposition through video and examination preparation. This is separate from the company's portfolio service.
The right alternative depends on the missing task. If the explanation is understandable but you have not practised enough, more structured use of an existing bank may suffice. If you cannot interpret a statistical result, a worked teaching explanation may help. If a specific assumption keeps recurring, targeted questioning can expose it.
Do not describe these as mutually exclusive personality types. The same trainee may use a concise rationale for one topic and need a fuller discussion for another.
Use the clinical day carefully
General practice experience is valuable, but it is not a complete revision blueprint. Frequent clinical encounters can make familiar topics feel representative of the whole examination. Less frequently encountered organisational, statistical or knowledge areas may receive too little attention.
Use the current RCGP examination information to orient preparation. Then identify where your recent work gives you confidence and where it provides little exposure. This is a reason to target revision, not to infer that experience is unhelpful.
An original planning example is a fictional trainee who comfortably manages common consultations but repeatedly avoids statistics questions. Buying a second broad bank may simply give them more opportunities to avoid the same area. A focused teaching session followed by selected practice is a more direct intervention.
Decide what the second subscription must earn
Write down the service you are buying: clearer teaching, guided reasoning, an adaptable schedule or additional relevant practice. Then inspect a sample that tests that service. Do not assess a tutoring product only by its first correct answer, or a video course only by the attractiveness of its platform.
Ask whether the new resource will replace an existing activity or be added to it. A timetable cannot absorb unlimited additions. If the proposed purchase leaves no time to review errors, the apparent expansion in resources may reduce the depth of preparation.
Keep the verdict conditional
Use GP SelfTest first when your membership includes it and its format suits you. Keep PassMedicine when it meets your needs at an acceptable price. Consider FourteenFish when structured video teaching is the missing element. Evaluate iatroX when questions, targeted Tutor follow-up and performance-informed planning form a useful combination for your AKT preparation.
None of these choices establishes a predicted result. A resource should be judged by the work it supports and the problems it resolves, not by a promise that owning the right subscription will remove uncertainty.
A practical way to evaluate iatroX
The relevant iatroX proposition is not access to unrelated examinations. It is using questions, targeted Tutor follow-up and an exam-date-aware study planner for MRCGP AKT. Per the September 2026 product brief, the planner takes daily available study time and quiz performance into account.
The free-question sample offers up to twenty questions for the selected examination, subject to availability, without an account or card. Full MRCGP AKT access and ongoing Tutor use are paid; the separate introductory Tutor session requires a free account.
At the UK prices published on 19 September 2026, annual access costs £99 upfront, equivalent to £8.25 per month billed annually; monthly access costs £29. The paid package includes questions, Tutor, planning, simulations and CPD tools. Value depends on using several relevant learning methods, not on collecting access to unrelated exams.
Frequently asked questions
Is GP SelfTest free for RCGP members?
The RCGP page checked on 19 September 2026 states that members receive free unlimited access. Confirm the entitlement in your membership account.
Is FourteenFish AKT the same as the portfolio?
No. The AKT teaching product and the portfolio service serve different purposes, so compare the relevant purchase.
When is another AKT subscription worthwhile?
When it adds a needed learning method or suitable practice that your current access does not provide. Avoid paying twice for an activity you already complete effectively.