Physics & Maths Tutor is a genuinely useful free archive — but it is a library, not a study tool. You read the notes, download the paper and mark it yourself. BrightRevision adds auto-marked questions, past papers marked by AI, real spaced-repetition flashcards and weak-topic tracking — with no ads.
Honestly? For most students the answer is not switch — add. PMT is free, its past-paper archive is one of the best on the UK web, and there is no reason to stop using it for that. We would rather tell you the truth than pretend otherwise.
The gap is what happens after you download the paper. PMT gives you the question and the mark scheme and leaves the rest to you — which means you mark your own work, decide whether you were close enough, and keep no record of what you got wrong. That is the part students are worst at, and it is the part that determines whether revision actually works.
There is also a difference in what the resources are for. PMT's flashcards are largely slide decks: useful to read, but not built to test recall or schedule reviews. Revision that only involves reading feels productive and is one of the least effective things you can do.
So the practical comparison is not free versus paid. It is passive versus active: a place to get materials, against a system that marks your answers, remembers your weak topics and decides what you should see next.
7,000+ questions marked the moment you answer, with the reasoning explained. No mark scheme to interpret and no marking yourself generously at 11pm.
Real past papers as interactive papers rather than PDFs, with written answers marked by AI — including extended responses, which mark schemes are hardest to self-apply.
5,000+ flashcards with genuine spaced repetition: the algorithm schedules each card for the moment you are about to forget it, and shows weak cards more often.
Weak-topic tracking builds a picture of your gaps across every session, so revision is directed at what you keep failing rather than what you enjoy revising.
Work a question on paper, photograph it or write with a stylus, and get it marked. Handwriting is how you will sit the real exam.
PMT is free because it is ad-supported. BrightRevision has no adverts on any page, free or paid.
An honest, feature-by-feature comparison for GCSE & A-Level revision.
| Feature | BrightRevision | Physics & Maths Tutor |
|---|---|---|
| Free to use | ~Free notes, past papers & Python IDE; full access from £3.50/mo | ✓Entirely free |
| Past paper archive | ✓Interactive & AI-marked | ✓Extensive PDF archive |
| Revision notes | ✓230+ topics, with AI explain | ✓Extensive |
| No adverts | ✓ | ✗Ad-supported |
| Questions marked automatically | ✓7,000+ auto-marked | ✗Mark schemes to self-apply |
| Written answers marked by AI | ✓Including extended responses | ✗ |
| Photo & stylus answer marking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Spaced-repetition flashcards | ✓5,000+ scheduled by algorithm | ~Slide-style decks |
| Progress & weak-topic tracking | ✓Across every session | ✗ |
| Mock exam builder | ✓By subject, tier & board | ✗ |
| Day-by-day revision planner | ✓ | ✗ |
| In-browser Python IDE | ✓No login needed | ✗ |
| Teacher & class tools | ✓Assignments, analytics, parent reports | ✗ |
Nothing to migrate and nothing to cancel. Carry on using PMT's archive if you like it.
Seven days, no card required. Free notes, past papers and the Python IDE need no account at all.
Pick a topic you think you know, answer the questions and let it mark you. The gap between feeling confident and scoring well is usually the surprise.
Yes. PMT is free to use and funded by advertising. BrightRevision also has genuinely free resources — revision notes, past papers and an in-browser Python IDE with no login — with full access from £3.50/mo.
It depends what you need. PMT has an excellent free archive of papers and notes to read. BrightRevision is built to test you: questions are marked automatically, written answers are marked by AI, flashcards use spaced repetition, and the system tracks which topics you keep getting wrong. If you want materials, PMT is great. If you want practice that marks itself and adapts, that is what we do.
Yes, and many students do. Use PMT's archive for extra papers and BrightRevision for marked practice and tracking. We would rather say that than pretend you must choose.
PMT hosts flashcard-style resources, but they are largely slide decks to read through rather than a system that tests recall and schedules reviews. BrightRevision's 5,000+ flashcards use spaced repetition, so cards you struggle with come back more often.
No. There are no adverts anywhere on BrightRevision, on free or paid pages.
AQA, OCR, Edexcel and Cambridge, across GCSE, A-Level and 11+.
Free revision notes, past papers and a Python IDE with no login — plus a 7-day trial of everything else. From £3.50/mo.
See how BrightRevision compares with the other platforms students use.