Comparison · FRCOphth Part 1 question banks

FRCOphth Part 1 question banks compared: Eye Academy, EyeDocs, eFRCOphth and six more

Nine options for Part 1 revision, compared by how they cover the blueprint (optics, pathology and the basic sciences), question count, price over three, six and twelve months and free access, as listed on 18 October 2026. Published by OphthoMentor, one of the banks compared.

Independent · Last reviewed 18 October 2026

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FRCOphth Part 1 question banks compared at a glance

Part 1 format	180 single-best-answer questions with four options, in two papers of 90, each 2 hours, sat online with remote invigilation^[1]
Next sitting and fee	20 January 2027 (applications 28 September to 11 November 2026 for first-time candidates); the 2026 fee is £725^[4],[3]
Blueprint, January 2026	Of 179 items: optics 45, pathology (with immunology and microbiology) 34, miscellaneous (statistics, epidemiology, unspecified) 28, anatomy and embryology 27, physiology (with biochemistry and cell biology) 18, investigations 14, pharmacology and genetics 13^[5]
Recent pass rates	41.2% (77 of 187) in January 2026 with a pass mark of 115 of 179; 51.7% (182 of 352) in October 2025 with a pass mark of 117 of 180^[5],[6]
Largest listed Part 1 banks	OphthalmologyQ 6,000+ (5,000+ MCQs and 900+ high-yield); AuroPrep 2,800+; EyeDocs eyeQ 2,000+; eFRCOphth over 2,000; OphthoBank, EyePass 1,000+ each; Eye Academy 900+^{[17],[14],[8],[10],[15],[12],[7]}
Cheapest listed plans	eFRCOphth £30 for 2 months or £40 for 6; AuroPrep £47 for 2 months or £89 for 6; eyeQ £79 for 3 months or £99 for 6^{[11],[14],[9]}
Free Part 1 questions	The College's 50 sample MCQs; eyeQ Basic 100; AuroPrep 15; EyePass 10; Eye Academy 10; demos at eFRCOphth and OphthoBank; OphthoMentor's free plan of 50 plus its public sample library^{[2],[9],[14],[12],[7],[11],[15],[23]}
OphthoMentor	Original single-best-answer questions organised by 13 BCSC-aligned subspecialties; Free plan with 65 questions; Core $319 for 12 months or Residency $619 for 36 months, one-time with no subscription^[22]

Which FRCOphth Part 1 question bank should you use? The exam is 180 four-option single-best-answer questions in two 90-question papers, and the January 2026 paper gave a quarter of its marks to optics, a fifth to pathology, immunology and microbiology, and most of the rest to anatomy, physiology, statistics and investigations. The nine options below differ far more in size and price than in format: as listed on 18 October 2026, question counts run from Eye Academy's 900+ to OphthalmologyQ's 6,000+, and six months of access costs from £40 at eFRCOphth to £189 at OphthoBank. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists also publishes 50 free sample MCQs, which is where every candidate should start.

Disclosure: OphthoMentor publishes this page and is one of the banks compared. It is run by OphthoMentor AB, an independent Swedish company, and is not affiliated with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists or with any other product named here. Every figure comes from the provider's own pages on 18 October 2026, or from the dated review named beside it. Prices change, and two sites were showing promotions, so confirm before you buy.

FRCOphth Part 1 question banks at a glance (October 2026)

Coverage, size, price and free access as each provider listed them on 18 October 2026. "Not published" means the figure is not on the provider's public pages.

Feature	Part 1 coverage (as described)	Questions (as listed)	Listed price	Free access	Checked
RCOphth sample MCQs (official)^[2],[1]	50 sample questions from the College's own Part 1 bank, grouped by category (anatomy and embryology, optics, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, investigations and more), with answers	50	Free	A free PDF, no login	18 Oct 2026
OphthoMentor (publisher of this page)^[22],[23]	Organised by 13 BCSC-aligned subspecialties rather than the Part 1 blueprint; clinical optics, fundamentals, pathology and tumours, general medicine and neuro-ophthalmology are the closest sections	Live count on the home page; every one of the 13 subspecialties has questions	Core $319 for 12 months; Residency $619 for 36 months; one-time, no subscription	Free plan: 65 questions, five from every subspecialty; public sample library needs no account	18 Oct 2026
Eye Academy^[7]	Questions based on past papers from 2023 onwards; a chatbot (Isaac) answers follow-ups; Smart Study repeats the questions you miss	900+ (the product card says 500+)	£135 for 3 months; £165 for 6	10 questions after signing up	18 Oct 2026
EyeDocs eyeQ^[8],[9]	A Part 1 bank in ophthalmic sciences; timed tests with proportionate questions, replayable tests and comparison with other users	2,000+	£79 for 3 months; £99 for 6 (both parts £159 for 6)	eyeQ Basic: 100 questions across Part 1 and Part 2	18 Oct 2026
eFRCOphth^[10],[11]	Questions based on the Part 1 syllabus and a thematic analysis of previous years' topics, with revision notes under each question and a daily histogram of other candidates' scores	Over 2,000	£30 for 2 months; £40 for 6	Free demo	18 Oct 2026
EyePass^[12],[13]	Eleven subject areas from the OST curriculum, including optics and refraction, pathology, and epidemiology and statistics; exam mode at 72 seconds a question; 150+ topic articles	1,000+	£96 for 3 months or £128 for 6, shown as 20% off list prices of £120 and £160	10 questions, no commitment	18 Oct 2026
AuroPrep^[14]	SBAs mapped to every Part 1 basic-science domain, with optics named as the largest category; referenced explanations, a chatbot tutor, spaced repetition and a readiness score	2,800+	£47 for 2 months, £59 for 3, £89 for 6; one-off, no auto-renewal	15 questions, no card	18 Oct 2026
OphthoBank^[15]	One bank for FRCOphth Part 1 and ICO Parts A and B; SBAs described as regularly updated by recent test takers, with referenced explanations	1,000+	£169 for 3 months, £179 for 4, £189 for 6	A demo on the site	18 Oct 2026
OphthalmologyQ^[17],[16]	Every module and syllabus area, with wording and format matched to real papers and analytics; from MasterQ Ltd in Birmingham	6,000+ (5,000+ exam-style MCQs and 900+ high-yield questions)	£179 for 6 months	None listed	18 Oct 2026
PassMedicine^[18]	Lists FRCOphth Part 1 in its exam menu but sells no Part 1 bank of its own: the entry points candidates to eFRCOphth	None of its own	See eFRCOphth	See eFRCOphth	18 Oct 2026

As listed on each provider's own pages on 18 October 2026, in pounds unless stated, including the promotional price EyePass was showing on that date. Question counts are the providers' own claims. OphthoMentor publishes this page and is one of the banks compared.

Which FRCOphth Part 1 question bank matches the blueprint?

The College publishes the content of every paper. In January 2026 the 179 scored items were split optics 45, pathology (including immunology and microbiology) 34, miscellaneous (statistics, epidemiology and unspecified) 28, anatomy and embryology 27, physiology (including biochemistry and cell biology) 18, investigations 14, and pharmacology and genetics 13. October 2025 was almost identical. Optics alone is a quarter of the exam, and optics, pathology and statistics together are more than half, so a bank's depth in those three matters more than its headline total.

No provider publishes a per-category question count, so the comparison below rests on what each says about its coverage, on the College's own sample, and on two dated candidate reviews: an Eye News article from August 2026 comparing Eye Academy, EyeDocs and eFRCOphth, and a December 2024 Eye News guide by a candidate who used OphthoBank and EyeDocs.

RCOphth sample MCQs: 50 questions from the real bank, grouped by category, which is the only way to see the College's stem style and difficulty at first hand. Do them first and again before the exam.
AuroPrep: the only site that names optics as the single largest category on its own page, with separate syllabus-area guides for optics and refraction, anatomy and embryology, physiology and biochemistry, pathology and microbiology, pharmacology, genetics, and investigations, statistics and evidence-based medicine, plus a Part 1 formula sheet.
EyePass: eleven subject areas from the OST curriculum, including optics and refraction, pathology, microbiology and immunology, and epidemiology and statistics, with performance analytics by topic.
EyeDocs eyeQ: a Part 1 bank in ophthalmic sciences with timed tests that use proportionate questions to simulate the exam. The December 2024 Eye News author called it bread and butter and singled out its explanations for statistics, while noting that its question style differs from the exam.
Eye Academy: questions based on past papers from 2023 onwards. The August 2026 Eye News author found its explanations the clearest and its difficulty slightly below the exam, with a smaller bank (around 500 at the time, though the site now states 900+).
eFRCOphth: questions based on the syllabus and a thematic analysis of past topics, with revision notes under each question. The same August 2026 review found its questions more straightforward and fact-based, best for reinforcing core knowledge.
OphthoBank: the December 2024 Eye News author found that it closely mirrored the exam format and had excellent diagrams, but that the bank was small; it now states 1,000+ questions and also covers ICO Parts A and B.
OphthalmologyQ: the largest stated bank, 5,000+ MCQs and 900+ high-yield questions covering every module and syllabus area, with no independent review we could find.

FRCOphth Part 1 question bank prices over a year

Most candidates revise for three to six months, so the useful comparison is the price of one block of access and what a full year would cost if you bought the longest plan back to back, for example across two sittings. The figures below use each site's listed prices on 18 October 2026 and ignore any discount you might negotiate.

eFRCOphth: £30 for 2 months or £40 for 6; two 6-month blocks, £80 for a year.
AuroPrep: £47 for 2 months, £59 for 3 or £89 for 6, each a one-off payment with no auto-renewal; two 6-month blocks, £178 for a year.
EyeDocs eyeQ: £79 for 3 months or £99 for 6 for the Part 1 bank; two 6-month blocks, £198 for a year.
EyePass: £96 for 3 months or £128 for 6 at the 20% promotion shown on 18 October 2026, against list prices of £120 and £160; two 6-month blocks, £256 at the promotion or £320 at list.
Eye Academy: £135 for 3 months or £165 for 6; two 6-month blocks, £330 for a year.
OphthalmologyQ: £179 for 6 months; two blocks, £358 for a year.
OphthoBank: £169 for 3 months, £179 for 4 or £189 for 6; two 6-month blocks, £378 for a year.

Where does OphthoMentor fit for Part 1?

OphthoMentor is sold as a one-time payment rather than a plan you renew: Core ($319) opens the full bank for 12 months and Residency ($619) for 36 months, in US dollars, with no subscription. The free plan opens 65 questions, five from every subspecialty, and the public sample library needs no account.

Its questions are original single-best-answer items organised by the 13 BCSC-aligned subspecialties, not by the College's learning-outcome codes, and they are not mapped to the Part 1 blueprint. For Part 1 the most relevant sections are clinical optics, fundamentals, pathology and tumours, general medicine and neuro-ophthalmology, which cover the optics, basic-science and pathology content that dominates the paper. Every question has an explanation, many with a clinical decision flowchart, and there are weak-topic drills, a spaced-repetition review queue and a readiness dashboard. It also carries five-statement true/false items for the EBO exam, which Part 1 does not use.

Because it is smaller than the largest banks above and not blueprint-mapped, it works best as extra practice beside a UK bank, or as the main bank for anyone sitting the EBOD in the same year.

Is there a free FRCOphth Part 1 question bank?

Not a complete one, but there is enough free material to judge every paid bank before paying and to cover the first weeks of revision. What was free on 18 October 2026:

The College's 50 sample MCQs, free as a PDF, grouped by category with answers.
eyeQ Basic: 100 free questions across the Part 1 and Part 2 banks after registering.
AuroPrep: 15 Part 1 questions with full explanations and the chatbot tutor, no card.
EyePass and Eye Academy: 10 questions each after signing up.
eFRCOphth and OphthoBank: a free demo on each site.
Eyedle, which the August 2026 Eye News author recommends: six new ophthalmology questions a day with explanations, not a full bank.
OphthoMentor: a free plan with 65 questions, five from every subspecialty, and a public library of sample questions by BCSC section.

Eye Academy vs EyeDocs vs eFRCOphth: which should you choose?

These three are the banks most candidates ask about, and an Eye News article published in August 2026 by a trainee who used all three gives a candidate's view that matches their own pages. The author's conclusion was that no single resource suits every stage: Eye Academy as an early learning tool with clear explanations and a modern interface, EyeDocs for comprehensive coverage and exam-style practice later in revision, and eFRCOphth as an affordable way to reinforce core facts with its textbook-style notes.

On the providers' own figures, as listed on 18 October 2026:

Eye Academy: 900+ questions (the product card says 500+) based on past papers from 2023 onwards, a chatbot and a Smart Study mode that repeats missed questions; £135 for 3 months or £165 for 6; 10 free questions. The reviewer found the difficulty slightly below the exam, no bookmarking, and explanations available only inside each question.
EyeDocs eyeQ: 2,000+ Part 1 questions, timed tests, performance tracking and benchmarking against other users; £79 for 3 months or £99 for 6; 100 free questions in eyeQ Basic. The reviewer valued the volume for reaching obscure syllabus areas and found the interface older and some questions in an older style.
eFRCOphth: over 2,000 questions with revision notes under each and a daily score histogram; £30 for 2 months or £40 for 6; a free demo. The reviewer found the questions more straightforward and the explanations topic-level rather than question-specific, with the textbook-style content the standout feature.
The author used all three together. On the listed prices, that is £304 for 6 months of each, or £264 with the 3-month Eye Academy plan, the 2-month eFRCOphth plan and 6 months of eyeQ.

OphthoBank, EyePass, AuroPrep and OphthalmologyQ: the newer banks

Four banks have launched or grown since the older reviews were written, and candidates searching for them find little independent comment. What their own pages said on 18 October 2026:

OphthoBank: 1,000+ SBAs for FRCOphth Part 1 and ICO Parts A and B, described as regularly updated by recent test takers, with referenced explanations and a comparison table claiming it is more current than EyeDocs and OphthoQuestions. It says it is not the cheapest: £169 for 3 months, £179 for 4 or £189 for 6, with a demo on the site. The December 2024 Eye News author found that its questions closely mirrored the exam and that several appeared in the real paper, but that the bank was then small.
EyePass: 1,000+ SBAs across eleven OST subject areas, an exam mode at 72 seconds a question, 150+ topic articles, analytics, bookmarks, a leaderboard and a moderated study group; a 10-question free preview; £96 for 3 months or £128 for 6 at the 20% promotion shown that day (list £120 and £160). A Part 2, Duke Elder, EBO and OKAP bank are listed as coming soon.
AuroPrep: 2,800+ Part 1 SBAs mapped to every basic-science domain, each with a referenced explanation, a chatbot tutor that cites its source, spaced repetition, a diagnostic test and a readiness score; 15 free questions with no card; £47 for 2 months, £59 for 3 or £89 for 6, one-off with nothing auto-renewing.
OphthalmologyQ: 6,000+ questions in total (5,000+ exam-style MCQs and 900+ high-yield questions) covering every module and syllabus area, with analytics, from MasterQ Ltd in Birmingham; £179 for 6 months; no free trial listed. It also sells Part 2 Written, CertLRS, ICO, Duke Elder and MSRA banks.

How to use a question bank for FRCOphth Part 1

Start with the College's sample MCQs to learn the stem style. Then use a bank for volume: timed blocks of 90 questions in 2 hours to rehearse the 80-seconds-a-question pace, every explanation read including for questions you got right, and scores tracked by blueprint category so that optics, pathology and statistics get the time their weighting suggests. Recent pass marks have sat between about 61% and 65%, and in January 2026 the mean score was almost 10 marks below the pass mark, so aim comfortably above that range on timed mixed practice before you ease off.

Checks to run on any bank before you pay:

Format: four-option single best answer, which every bank here uses. Five-statement true/false items belong to the EBO exam, not Part 1.
Blueprint: does it let you practise and score optics, pathology and statistics separately? Ask how many questions it has in each if the site does not say.
Currency: the paper grew from 120 to about 180 questions in 2021 and optics rose to a quarter of the items in 2023, so a bank written earlier may weight topics differently.
Terms: whether access ends cleanly (AuroPrep sells fixed blocks with no auto-renewal, and OphthoMentor is a one-time payment with no subscription), whether you keep access to explanations after it ends, and what the free sample includes.
Reading list: the College's suggested texts include Elkington's Clinical Optics and the AAO BCSC volumes, and the December 2024 Eye News author warned that optics questions could come straight from Elkington, so pair any bank with the books.

FRCOphth Part 1 question banks compared FAQ

What is the best question bank for FRCOphth Part 1?

The one you will finish and review, with enough optics, pathology and statistics. As listed on 18 October 2026, EyeDocs eyeQ (2,000+), AuroPrep (2,800+) and OphthalmologyQ (6,000+) are the largest; eFRCOphth is the cheapest at £40 for 6 months; Eye Academy and EyePass are newer with smaller banks and clearer interfaces. Try the free samples and the College's 50 sample MCQs first.

Is there a free FRCOphth Part 1 question bank?

Not a complete one. The College publishes 50 free sample MCQs, eyeQ Basic opens 100 questions, AuroPrep 15, EyePass and Eye Academy 10 each, and eFRCOphth and OphthoBank have demos. OphthoMentor's free plan opens 65 questions, five from every subspecialty, with a public sample library that needs no account.

Eye Academy or EyeDocs: which is better for Part 1?

They suit different stages. An August 2026 Eye News reviewer used Eye Academy early for its clear explanations and modern interface, and EyeDocs later for volume and exam-style practice. On 18 October 2026 Eye Academy listed 900+ questions at £135 for 3 months or £165 for 6; EyeDocs listed 2,000+ Part 1 questions at £79 for 3 months or £99 for 6.

How much does eFRCOphth cost?

As listed on 18 October 2026, £30 for 2 months or £40 for 6 months, for over 2,000 Part 1 questions with revision notes and a free demo. PassMedicine, which lists FRCOphth Part 1 in its exam menu, sells no bank of its own and points candidates to eFRCOphth.

Does PassMedicine have an FRCOphth Part 1 question bank?

No. Its exam list includes FRCOphth Part 1, but the entry describes eFRCOphth as a specialist website for Part 1 revision and links to it. eFRCOphth's own features (revision mode, timed tests, a daily score histogram) mirror PassMedicine's.

How many questions does OphthoBank have, and what does it cost?

On 18 October 2026 OphthoBank listed 1,000+ single-best-answer questions covering FRCOphth Part 1 and ICO Parts A and B, at £169 for 3 months, £179 for 4 months or £189 for 6 months, with a demo on the site. A separate Part 2 bank lists 1,300+ questions from £259.

Which bank has the most optics questions?

No provider publishes a per-category count. AuroPrep names optics as the largest Part 1 category and has a dedicated optics and refraction guide and formula sheet; EyePass lists optics and refraction among its eleven subject areas; the College's sample MCQs include an optics section. Optics was 45 of 179 items in January 2026, so check any bank's optics depth in its free sample.

Is OphthoMentor a UK question bank?

No. OphthoMentor is an independent Swedish bank organised by the 13 BCSC-aligned subspecialties, so it suits Part 1 as extra practice in optics, basic sciences and pathology beside a UK bank, or as the main bank for anyone also sitting the EBO exam. It is a one-time payment with no subscription: Core $319 for 12 months or Residency $619 for 36 months, with a free plan of 65 questions.