Comparison — updated 14 May 2026
Medly AI alternative: Study Smart AI vs Medly for GCSE & A-Level
If you are considering Medly AI for UK GCSE or A-Level revision and want to know what other options exist before paying £24.99 a month, this is the honest side-by-side. We built Study Smart AI, so we are biased — but we have tried to write this the way we would want a competitor to write about us.
Pricing and features verified from medlyai.com and study.smartaisolution.co.uk on 14 May 2026. We will review this comparison quarterly.
At a glance
| Study Smart AI | Medly AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | £9.99 (Open Beta) | £24.99 |
| Annual / period pass | £99.99 for a full 12 months | £80 academic-year pass — expires at end of academic year (~9 months, ~£107 annualised) |
| Free tier | Daily: 10 quiz / 5 study / 3 AI explanations / 20 flashcards | “Medly Mondays” — unlimited one day a week |
| UK exam boards covered | AQA, OCR, Edexcel — the three primary boards covering the vast majority of UK GCSE & A-Level entries. WJEC + CIE on roadmap. | AQA, OCR, Edexcel, WJEC, CIE |
| Specifications covered | 58 board-specific specifications; new ones added almost daily | Not enumerated publicly; broader subject list |
| GCSE tier coverage | Foundation + Higher both live | Not advertised separately |
| International qualifications | IGCSE + IB coming soon | IB, AP, SAT, IGCSE |
| AI examiner-style feedback | Rolling out across all 58 specifications in the coming days | AI marking with annotated feedback |
| Structured guided lessons | Learn Mode — rolling out across all 58 specifications by end of May | Learn Mode (launched February 2026) |
| Flashcards | FSRS spaced-repetition flashcards live | Not a headline feature |
| Handwriting-canvas marking | Not built | Yes — tablet-friendly STEM working |
| Cohort mock events | Planned | Medly Mocks (twice yearly, nationwide) |
“Coming soon” / “rolling out” rows refer to features in active development at the time of writing. We will update this table once they are live across all 58 specifications.
Choose Medly if…
- • You are studying IB, AP or SAT alongside UK GCSE / A-Level and want everything in one platform.
- • You do a lot of handwritten STEM working on a tablet and want the AI to mark your handwriting directly.
- • You want to take part in a nationwide cohort mock with percentile placement.
- • The £24.99 / month price fits your budget.
Choose Study Smart AI if…
- • You are focused on UK GCSE or A-Level only, sitting AQA, OCR or Edexcel.
- • You want practice every day in the free tier, not just one day a week.
- • You want Foundation tier coverage as a first-class option alongside Higher tier.
- • You prefer a lower price (£9.99 / month) while we are in Open Beta.
- • You like the idea of direct access to the founder via in-app feedback during early access.
Where each is stronger today
Comparison snapshot 14 May 2026 — both products ship updates frequently.
Where Medly is stronger
- • Handwriting OCR canvas — useful if you do most of your STEM working on a tablet and want the AI to mark your handwriting directly.
- • Established cohort mock events — they have been running “Medly Mocks” for longer; ours are on the roadmap.
- • International qualifications — IB, AP and SAT alongside UK qualifications, for students sitting more than one exam system.
Each of these reflects Medly’s broader scope and longer time in market. For students focused on UK GCSE or A-Level under AQA, OCR or Edexcel — which is who we built Study Smart AI for — none of these are decisive.
Where Study Smart AI is stronger
- • Price — Open Beta pricing is £9.99 / month versus £24.99, around 60% lower on a like-for-like monthly basis.
- • Free tier with daily practice — 10 quiz, 5 study, 3 AI explanations and 20 flashcard reviews every day; Medly’s free practice is concentrated into one day a week.
- • Foundation and Higher tier variants shipped as separate first-class subject rows — students on Foundation papers see questions written specifically for the Foundation cohort.
- • Spec-aligned AI generation built around the published exam-board topic codes (for example AQA Biology 4.1.1 “Cell Structure”), so questions reference the same structure students see in their textbooks and revision guides — not generic subject-area prompts. We are progressively migrating each subject’s underlying topic content from AI-synthesised to PDF-verified sources, subject by subject.
- • FSRS spaced-repetition flashcards with subject-level discoverability — built on the same algorithm as Anki.
- • Rolling out now: AI examiner-style feedback synthesised from public examiner feedback patterns (all 58 specifications, in the coming days) and Learn Mode (all 58 specifications by end of May).
Pricing
Both platforms publish their pricing on their public websites. The figures below were verified 14 May 2026.
| Study Smart AI | Medly AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Daily quotas, every day, every subject — no card | Unlimited practice on Mondays only — no card |
| Monthly | £9.99 (Open Beta) | £24.99 |
| Annual / period pass | £99.99 for 12 months from purchase | £80 academic-year pass — expires at end of academic year (~9 months, ~£107 annualised) |
| After Open Beta | £19.99 / month from 1 July 2026, with Open Beta subscribers grandfathered at £9.99 / month until 1 July 2027 | N/A |
FAQ
Is Study Smart AI cheaper than Medly?
Yes. During Open Beta, Study Smart AI Premium is £9.99 per month or £99.99 for a full 12 months from purchase. Medly's published price is £24.99 per month or an £80 academic-year pass that expires at the end of the academic year (around 9 months — closer to £107 annualised). On a like-for-like monthly basis we are around 60% cheaper. Pricing accurate as of 14 May 2026; we will review this comparison quarterly.
Is Medly affiliated with AQA, OCR, Edexcel, WJEC or CIE?
No. Medly's own Terms of Use state that they have no formal contract, affiliation, endorsement or association with any examination board. Study Smart AI is independent in the same way — we are not affiliated with AQA, OCR, Edexcel, WJEC or CIE. Both platforms cover the published specifications without exam-board endorsement.
Which exam boards does Study Smart AI cover?
Today we cover AQA, OCR and Edexcel — the three primary UK boards that account for the vast majority of GCSE and A-Level entries — across 58 board-specific specifications, with new specifications added almost every day. Both Foundation and Higher GCSE tiers are live. WJEC (primarily Wales) and CIE (international schools) are on the roadmap; IGCSE and IB are flagged as "coming soon" in our onboarding flow.
Do you have a free tier?
Yes. The free tier gives a daily allowance of 10 quiz questions, 5 study (essay-style) questions, 3 AI explanations and 20 flashcard reviews per day, across every subject. No credit card is required to start. Medly offers "Medly Mondays" — unlimited practice one day per week.
Who is Study Smart AI better suited for?
UK students preparing for AQA / OCR / Edexcel GCSE or A-Level exams who want spec-aligned practice, daily free quotas, and a lower price point. Medly is broader and currently covers IB, AP and SAT alongside UK qualifications, plus features like handwriting recognition that suit STEM students working on tablets.
Is this an honest comparison or a sales pitch?
We built Study Smart AI — so we are biased. We've tried to write this the way we would want a competitor to write about us: factual claims linked to sources, explicit acknowledgements of where Medly is stronger today, and no inflammatory wording about either platform.
Try Study Smart AI free
Daily quiz, study and flashcard quotas in every subject. No card required.
Or browse sample subjects.
Sources
- • medlyai.com homepage — Medly product description, last accessed 14 May 2026
- • medlyai.com/uk/terms — Medly UK Terms of Use, accessed 14 May 2026
- • Companies House — MEDLY AI LIMITED #15110302
- • UCL Enterprise — Medly £1.7m raise — Feb 2025
Independent platform — not affiliated with Medly AI Limited, AQA, OCR, Edexcel, WJEC or CIE. This comparison was written by the Study Smart AI team (Smart AI Solutions is the trading name of Y. P. Law, a UK sole trader). We will review pricing and feature claims quarterly. If a claim becomes inaccurate, please email support@smartaisolution.co.uk and we will correct it.