The best Save My Exams alternatives for GCSE and A-Level
Compare free and paid revision tools for GCSE and A-Level, including notes, past papers, video lessons and AI marking.
The best alternative to Save My Exams depends on what you're looking for. Physics & Maths Tutor is a strong free choice for notes and past papers, Cognito suits video learners, Seneca suits quick quizzes, and Medly suits students who want their own answers marked and a tutor to ask. All four have a free option.
Save My Exams alternatives compared: features and pricing
| Platform | Main offer | Free | Paid | AI marking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Save My Exams | Examiner-written notes and questions, with AI tools on selected courses | A weekly allowance of notes, limited exam questions, unlimited past papers and flashcards | Essential from £12 a month or £48 a year. Premium from £25 a month or £96 a year | Smart Mark on selected courses, unlimited on Premium |
| Medly | AI marking and tutoring, with lessons and notes | Lessons, notes and textbooks with no daily limit, plus 5 marked questions, 20 tutor messages and 1 uploaded paper a day | £24.99 a month or £180 a year | Yes, in every subject it covers, typed or handwritten |
| Physics & Maths Tutor | Notes, topic questions and past papers | Its online revision resources | Paid tuition and courses | None advertised |
| Cognito | Video lessons, notes and quizzes | Videos and notes, with weekly caps on flashcards and exam questions | Cognito Pro from £9.99 a month | Yes, on typed answers |
| Seneca | Courses built around quizzes | More than 600 exam board courses | Packages priced at checkout | AI-marked questions on paid packages |
| BBC Bitesize | Topic guides and quizzes | Everything | None | None |
| Revision Genie | AI tutoring and marking | 50 AI actions a month | £14.99 a month or £71.88 for the exam year | Yes, including handwriting |
We checked the prices and features in the table on each provider's site on 1 November 2026. We compared standard prices and left out time-limited offers.
You can verify each row on the provider's own page: Save My Exams (plans and free access), Medly, Physics & Maths Tutor, Cognito, Seneca and Revision Genie. Prices do change, so make sure to check before you pay.
Why students look for an alternative
Threads on Reddit and The Student Room come back to the same few reasons: the notes allowance on a free account runs out, a subscription is one more cost, or a student wants feedback on their own answer as well as a model answer to compare it with.
Save My Exams does a lot well, so it's worth being clear about what you'd give up. Its notes and questions are written by teachers and examiners, it has added AI marking and chat tools, and its exam boards include WJEC and CCEA. If you use it most days and your course has Smart Mark, Premium at £96 a year may be the right choice.
Free alternatives to Save My Exams
Physics & Maths Tutor
PMT has notes, key points, worksheets and past paper questions sorted by topic, for GCSE, IGCSE and A-Level. It's strongest in maths and the sciences, and it also covers economics, geography, English, psychology and computer science.
It's a library, so you mark your own work. Our Medly vs PMT comparison has more detail.
Cognito
Cognito's short video lessons and revision notes are free on every subject. Quizzes use spaced repetition, and exam questions can be marked by AI or by you. The free plan has weekly caps on flashcards and exam questions, which Cognito Pro removes. Our Medly vs Cognito comparison goes further.
Seneca
Seneca offers more than 600 free exam board courses built around short quizzes, and many teachers set it as homework. AI-marked exam questions and its Amelia assistant are part of paid packages, and most of the free practice is recall.
BBC Bitesize
Bitesize is free, needs no subscription and follows your course. It's a good place to start a topic that hasn't clicked, though you'll need something else for full exam practice.
Your exam board's website
AQA, Edexcel and OCR publish past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports for free, although the newest papers can be restricted. Examiner reports are often overlooked, and they tell you exactly where students lost marks. Our past papers directory links to them by board and subject.
Save My Exams alternatives with AI marking
Medly
Medly is built around practice. You answer exam-style questions, typed or by hand, and each answer is marked against your board's mark scheme with feedback on what to change. You can also upload a paper from anywhere and have it marked, and an AI tutor works through questions with you.
In a randomised controlled trial in GCSE science, students using Medly for 30 minutes a week for four weeks scored 22% higher on the post-test than students revising in their usual way, adjusted for where they started.
£180 a year is more than Save My Exams' annual Premium plan, so compare what you'd use, and check your subject and board are covered. You can start on the free plan and read our guide to whether Medly is worth it to find out more.
Revision Genie
Revision Genie is an AI tutor that marks handwriting and generates lessons. Free accounts get 50 AI actions a month, and each chat message, quiz question or marked answer counts as one. Its Unlimited plan is £14.99 a month or £71.88 for the exam year.
How to choose a revision tool for GCSEs and A-Levels
| If you want | Try |
|---|---|
| Free past papers and mark schemes | Your exam board, Physics & Maths Tutor or our directory |
| Free video lessons | Cognito |
| Notes written for your exact specification | Save My Exams |
| Quick quizzes | Seneca |
| Your own answers marked | Medly, or Smart Mark on Save My Exams Premium |
| A tutor to ask when you're stuck | Medly |
You can combine these. Notes tell you what to learn, and written answers with feedback show you where you're losing marks, so make sure at least one of your tools gives you that.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free version of Save My Exams?
Yes. A free account gives you a weekly allowance of revision notes, limited exam questions, unlimited past paper downloads and flashcards. Premium also comes with a 7-day free trial.
Does Save My Exams have AI marking?
Yes. Smart Mark grades typed or handwritten answers against exam board mark schemes on selected courses, and Premium gives you unlimited use. Its Smart Mark page listed 25 courses when we checked, so look for yours first.
What is the best free alternative to Save My Exams?
For past papers and notes, Physics & Maths Tutor and your exam board's site cover a lot for free. For free AI marking, Medly gives you 5 marked questions and 1 uploaded paper a day.
Can I use Medly and Save My Exams together?
Yes. You can read notes on one and practise on the other. You can also do a paper from any source and upload it to Medly for marking. Our Medly vs Save My Exams comparison sets the two side by side.