OphthoQuestions alternatives: question banks compared by exam, price and free access

OphthoQuestions (OQ) is a browser-based question bank run by PDH Ophtho LLC in Wisconsin and live since 2011. Its base bank targets the OKAP, the ABO Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) and the DOCK, and the site also lists FRCOphth, ICO and EBOD. OQ says recently board-certified ophthalmologists or trainees write its questions.

Its stated size varies by page. On 26 September 2026 the pricing page described the base plan as ">3,400 questions", the site description said "3500+" and the home page said "4558 high-quality questions and counting". The >3,400 figure is the one tied to the base plan, with add-ons counted separately.

Tests run in tutor or timed mode with mark and pause, and results show as percentile scores and leaderboard rankings. For CME, OQ cites up to 545.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits through East Tennessee State University (expiring June 1, 2029), while its CME pricing page lists 370 credits for all activities.

It suits US residents preparing for the OKAP or WQE who want a large, established bank with peer benchmarking, programs buying for groups of 10 or more, and candidates who want oral board simulations or CME from one provider. A 2019 BMC Medical Education survey found that the degree of question-bank use (naming OQ as an example) correlated with OKAP percentile, an association rather than proof of cause.

OQ's base bank costs $329.99 for 6 months or $359.99 for 12 months, as listed on 26 September 2026, and OQ says these are "the ONLY plans we offer". The free trial opens 29 questions after signup, a product demo runs without signup, and the oral boards product has 7 demo simulations and 7 demo flashcards. A 10% sitewide promotion was advertised for 22 to 29 September 2026; it is not the standing price.

Before paying, note OQ's terms: all sales are final, accounts are single-user, and questions and explanations are not accessible after a subscription ends (your results are kept).

Add-ons and courses listed on the same date:

The reasons below are about fit, not quality. None of them makes OQ a poor choice; a different product may match your exam, budget or study style better.

They fall into five groups:

The AAO's BCSC Self-Assessment Program (SAP) is the Academy's own question bank and the closest OKAP and WQE alternative here. The AAO says it has 4,500+ questions with discussions tied directly to BCSC content, the curriculum the OKAP maps to. It includes timed tests, BCSC excerpts, reports by BCSC section and chapter, peer comparison and up to 65 self-assessment CME credits.

A 12-month SAP subscription costs $299.00 for AAO members and $429.00 for nonmembers, against OQ's $359.99 for 12 months. SAP discounts groups of 2 or more users by 20% to 30%, while OQ offers group rates on request for 10 or more. We found no free SAP trial, only sample links.

The trade-off: both offer timed tests, peer comparison and CME, but SAP stays tied to the BCSC text, while OQ sells add-ons for FRCOphth Part 2 and ICO Part C and a separate oral boards course. The AAO's ONE Network also runs weekly Diagnose This case challenges, free to Academy members, though these are not timed exam-format blocks.

eyeQ, from Eyedocs, covers FRCOphth Parts 1 and 2, FRCS, ICO Part A and Part C/Advanced, EBO, FRANZCO and the Duke-Elder. It states 5,000+ questions overall, with 2,000+ for Part 1 and 3,700+ for Part 2.

Each part costs £79 for 3 months or £99 for 6, and both parts cost £159 for 6 months. eyeQ Basic is free with 100 questions; an older page still shows 50 and different prices. Features include timed and paused tests, a mock-exam builder and live comparison with other users.

OQ's FRCOphth Revision Course pairs its base bank with the 499-question Part 2 add-on for $529.98 (6 months) and points Part 1 candidates to its Fundamentals, Clinical Optics, and Pathology and Tumors categories. For the ICO, it adds a $50 Part C add-on to the base bank. eyeQ offers per-part plans and a larger free sample; OQ offers one bank that also covers US exams. One check for EBO candidates: eyeQ's EBO page describes the format as of April 2018, while the EBO's current written section has 30 multiple true/false and 30 single-best-answer questions.

Start from the exam, then shortlist banks written for it. One caveat for EBO candidates: the EBO says it is not affiliated with any third-party EBO training platform and endorses only the learning materials on its own website. That applies to every third-party product offering EBO practice, OphthoMentor included.

Options by exam, as listed on 26 September 2026:

Treat any bank's percentile or readiness figure as a trend, not a prediction of your exam result.

Put every option, OQ included, through the same checks:

A free bank can cover a first pass, or a whole study plan on a tight budget. OphthoMentor has 713 published questions as of 26 September 2026, all open on a free account with no card and no trial clock. Items are original SBA questions plus EBO-style five-statement true/false items, organized by the 13 BCSC-aligned subspecialties. Every question has an explanation, and many include a clinical decision flowchart. The public library at ophthomentor.com/ophthalmology-questions has a topic page for each subspecialty.

It also has timed mock exams, weak-topic drills, a spaced-repetition review queue, a readiness dashboard with a pass line and confidence interval, resident discussion threads and oral case (viva) stations. Premium (299 SEK a year) adds spaced-repetition review on every question and unlocks every oral case station.

At 713 questions it is smaller than the stated size of most paid banks above, so treat it as a starting point, a second bank or true/false practice rather than a like-for-like swap. A workable sequence: untimed subspecialty sets while reading, timed mixed mocks in the final weeks, spaced review of misses, and a larger paid bank if your weak topics need more volume.