Best FRCA Primary Question Bank in 2026: An Honest Comparison

Quick comparison (Primary FRCA MCQ banks)

The table is a snapshot for planning, not a scorecard. Every provider does some things we do not, and no bank replaces the RCoA syllabus or OSCE/SOE preparation.

• MedPrep: about 2,500 SBA questions; £34.99 (3 months), £49.99 (6 months), £64.99 (12 months); 100 free questions per bank, no card; timed 90-question mock aligned to the MCQ paper; UK clinician-written explanations; no video textbook or AI tutor.
• Pastest: about 1,162 SBA questions (vendor-reported); £69.99 (3 months), £99.99 (6 months), £119.99 (12 months); 48-hour trial; online textbook with 3D imagery, app, analytics and AI tutor mode; established brand in postgraduate exams.
• FRCA.ai: 900 SBA questions in 10 full mock papers (vendor-reported); £49 (1 month), £69 (3 months), £99 (6 months); focus on timed 90-question mocks and a rapid revision mode; does not position itself as a large standalone topic bank.
• Intensive Anaesthesia (Passmedicine engine): 300+ free demo Primary FRCA SBA questions on the public site; paid FFICM bank with histogram benchmarking; Primary FRCA paid tier pricing not listed on the homepage we checked, verify on intensiveanaesthesia.com before buying.
• e-Learning Anaesthesia (e-LAH): free to users with an NHS email via e-Learning for Healthcare; RCoA-linked formative MCQs and core material; not a commercial mock-exam product.

What the Primary FRCA MCQ actually tests

Since September 2023 the MCQ is SBA-only: 30 pharmacology, 30 physiology (including biochemistry and anatomy) and 30 physics, clinical measurement and data interpretation. Passing the MCQ is a gateway: you cannot sit the OSCE and SOE until the written paper is cleared. Any question bank is therefore only preparing one third of the Primary FRCA pathway. Budget separately for clinical and viva practice.

High-yield preparation is mechanistic: receptor pharmacology, PK/PD, cardiovascular and respiratory physiology, and the physics of monitoring and gas delivery. Candidates who only memorise past stems without understanding principles struggle when the College rotates topics.

Pastest

Pastest is the incumbent commercial brand for many UK postgraduate exams and runs a dedicated Primary FRCA product with a little over 1,100 SBA questions, a structured online textbook, performance analytics and an AI tutor layered on top of practice.

Best for: trainees who want a polished all-in-one package from a familiar name and who will use the textbook and analytics, not just click through questions.

Weaknesses relative to newer banks: higher price at every duration we compared in September 2026, and a smaller raw question count than the largest SBA-only banks. It does not remove the need to revise OSCE and SOE elsewhere.

FRCA.ai

FRCA.ai leads with full-length mock exams: ten 90-question papers with a revision mode, priced in short subscription windows. If your main gap is exam timing and stamina under three hours, that is a sensible niche.

Best for: candidates who already know the science but want repeated timed papers close to exam day.

Weaknesses: smaller total question pool than the largest banks if you are still building foundations topic by topic; verify how explanations and syllabus mapping fit your weak areas before committing.

Intensive Anaesthesia

Intensive Anaesthesia uses the Passmedicine-style engine (revision mode, timed tests, peer histograms, notes under questions). The site advertises more than 300 free Primary FRCA SBA practice questions and is strongly associated with FFICM preparation; Primary FRCA paid access was not priced on the landing page we checked.

Best for: trainees who like the Passmedicine workflow and want to try a substantial free Primary FRCA sample before paying, or who are also revising for FFICM.

Weaknesses: less transparent Primary FRCA pricing on the public site than Pastest or MedPrep; question totals for the full paid Primary FRCA bank are not stated on the homepage we reviewed.

Free and official resources (use these anyway)

e-Learning Anaesthesia remains the obvious zero-cost baseline for UK trainees with NHS access. It is not a replacement for a large SBA bank, but it anchors syllabus coverage to College-linked material.

The RCoA publishes format guides, calendars and syllabus documents on royalcollege.ac.uk. Use them to sanity-check that a commercial bank still matches the current MCQ blueprint.

• Pair a free official resource with one paid bank, not zero or three paid banks at once.
• Do not treat a free demo as sufficient volume: 300 questions is a taste, not a revision programme.

MedPrep (disclosure: this is us)

MedPrep's Primary FRCA bank has about 2,500 SBA questions with structured, guideline-referenced explanations aimed at UK anaesthetic trainees. Subscriptions are £34.99 for three months, £49.99 for six months or £64.99 for twelve months as of September 2026. You can answer 100 questions free with full explanations and no card.

We also run timed 90-question mocks with a three-hour clock, matching the current MCQ length. MedPrep spans 17 postgraduate banks; Primary FRCA is one product, not an all-access upsell you must buy to get a sensible price.

Best for: trainees who want a large SBA bank at a lower six-month price than Pastest in our September 2026 check, and who learn by question volume plus explanation rather than video textbooks or AI chat.

Weaknesses: we do not offer PACES-style video, 3D textbook imagery or an adaptive tutor. We are a smaller brand than Pastest, so you are trading familiarity for price and question count. We have two paying customers at the time of writing, so treat our marketing claims as things to verify yourself in the free tier.

How to choose in practice

• If budget is tight: start with e-LAH (if eligible) plus Intensive Anaesthesia's free Primary FRCA sample, then add one paid bank when you know your weak domain (often physics).
• If you want one premium established product: Pastest is the safe default name, at a premium price.
• If you want maximum SBA volume per pound in our September 2026 check: compare MedPrep and Pastest on their free trials using the same 50-question sample across pharmacology and physics.
• If you are weeks from the exam: prioritise timed 90-question mocks (MedPrep mock, FRCA.ai mocks, or Pastest timed tests).
• Whatever you pick, keep OSCE and SOE preparation on a separate plan. No MCQ bank covers them.

Try before you buy

Every provider above offers either a free tier or a short trial. Use the same checklist on each: pick 20 pharmacology and 20 physics questions, read every explanation, and note whether wrong options are taught or just marked incorrect. Then run one timed 90-question session if available. The bank you stick with is the one whose explanations you trust when tired.

MedPrep: start 100 free Primary FRCA questions on the exam hub below. For structure and revision pacing, see our Primary FRCA preparation guide in the related links.