Quesmed and Pastest are often compared by doctors preparing for MRCP, the MSRA and the UKMLA, and they suit different needs. Quesmed is a modern, app-first, all-in-one platform that bundles questions with notes, flashcards, OSCE and PACES mark schemes and mocks, at a relatively low monthly price. Pastest is a long-established, depth-first platform best known for its MRCP and PACES resources, with deep explanations and a premium price. This guide compares them fairly on depth, price, format and coverage, and notes where iatroX fits as an adaptive third option.
The short version
Choose Quesmed for a modern all-in-one bundle across the UKMLA, MRCP and the MSRA, at a low monthly cost. Choose Pastest for the deepest MRCP explanations and the strongest PACES and clinical resources, if you have the budget. A useful way to frame it: Quesmed is built for breadth and for getting started efficiently, while Pastest is built for going deep on a single hard exam, so the better fit depends as much on where you are in training as on the exam itself.
What each one is
Quesmed is a modern, app-first platform covering the UKMLA (AKT and CPSA), MRCP, the MSRA, PLAB and UCAT, bundling notes, flashcards, OSCE and PACES mark schemes and a large mock library, with offline access, from around £14.99 a month. Pastest is a long-established platform strongest in postgraduate exams — MRCP (Parts 1, 2 and PACES), MRCS, MRCPCH, MRCGP, FRCA, the MSRA, PLAB and UKMLA — with deep explanations, analytics, teaching videos and substantial PACES resources. MRCP Part 1 has ranged from around £95 for three months to about £180 for twelve. Pastest's reputation rests on that depth: trainers often recommend it precisely because the explanations read like teaching rather than just an answer key, and the PACES video library and real-patient cases are the most developed of any UK provider. That depth is also what places it at the premium end of the market.
Head-to-head
| Quesmed | Pastest | iatroX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Modern all-in-one | Depth and PACES | Adaptive practice |
| Strength | Bundle: notes, flashcards, OSCE, mocks | Explanation depth, mature MRCP | Adaptive engine plus a Socratic tutor |
| Price | From ~£14.99/month | ~£95–£180 per exam | Core free; rest £29/mo–£99/yr |
| PACES / OSCE | OSCE and PACES mark schemes | Videos and real-patient cases | Not covered |
| Coverage | UKMLA, MRCP, MSRA, PLAB, UCAT | MRCP, MRCS, MRCPCH, FRCA, MSRA, PLAB, UKMLA | UK core, diplomas, GPhC, US/CA/AU |
(Competitor details as of mid-2026 — confirm current pricing and content on each provider's site.)
Where Quesmed wins
Quesmed offers a low monthly cost and breadth into student and recruitment exams, covering the UKMLA, the MSRA and UCAT as well as MRCP. Its all-in-one bundle — notes, flashcards, OSCE and CPSA mark schemes and a large mock library in one modern, offline-capable app — is a genuine convenience, and it is a gentler entry point for those earlier in training. Because the same subscription spans the UKMLA, the MSRA and MRCP, a doctor can keep using it from finals through early specialty recruitment without switching platforms, and the integrated notes mean you are not constantly leaving the question bank to look something up elsewhere.
Where Pastest wins
Pastest's MRCP depth is its real strength: large, well-written banks with deep explanations, refined over many years. Its PACES and clinical resources — a video library and real-patient cases — are something a question bank alone cannot match, and it reaches further into surgical and paediatric membership with MRCS and the MRCPCH clinical resources, which Quesmed does not cover. For the clinical components in particular, watching how an experienced clinician approaches a PACES station, and working through real-patient cases, is a kind of preparation that reading explanations cannot substitute for, and it is the main reason candidates pay the premium.
How to choose between them
If you are earlier in training, sitting the UKMLA or the MSRA, and want a modern bundle at a low price, Quesmed is the pick. If you are sitting MRCP and want maximum explanation depth and PACES support, choose Pastest. And if you need MRCS or MRCPCH clinical resources, Pastest covers them and Quesmed does not. In practice many doctors use Quesmed earlier — through finals and the MSRA — and then move to Pastest for the depth and PACES work when MRCP comes around, rather than treating it as a once-and-for-all choice.
A third option: iatroX
For MRCP and the MSRA specifically, iatroX's banks are on a low-cost subscription, where both Quesmed and Pastest charge. It is built around a Socratic tutor that works back through the reasoning behind a wrong answer, blueprint-mapped questions, spaced repetition, a genuinely adaptive engine and native apps, with clinical AI and calculators alongside. It does not offer PACES or OSCE resources, where Pastest and Quesmed respectively lead, and Pastest's MRCP explanations go deeper — but as an adaptive layer for the written exams, it complements either. In a typical setup it handles the routine MRCP and MSRA drilling at low cost, while a paid Pastest subscription is reserved for the explanation depth and PACES rehearsal in the weeks before the exam, keeping the overall cost down without losing what each does best, which is how a good many trainees end up combining them in practice.
A few common questions
Which is cheaper, Quesmed or Pastest? Quesmed, generally — its monthly price is lower, while Pastest sits at the premium end.
Which is better for MRCP? Pastest, for explanation depth and PACES; Quesmed is more modern and covers more exams.
Which covers the UKMLA and the MSRA? Both, though Quesmed is more student-focused.
Where does iatroX fit? iatroX is an adaptive option for MRCP, the MSRA and more; the UKMLA and the AKT are paid.