Cognito vs Physics & Maths Tutor (PMT): A full comparison for GCSE and A-Level students

Cognito and Physics & Maths Tutor (PMT) (PMT) both help students prepare for exams, but they cover different parts of the picture. PMT is a free, ad-supported library of past papers, mark schemes and PDF revision notes that's been a go-to reference for UK students since 2013. Cognito is a full study platform: animated video lessons, exam-board-mapped notes and built-in quizzes, flashcards and exam questions with AI marking that help you retain what you've learned.

Cognito is designed to be an all-in-one platform that supports you from learning the content, to remembering it, to knowing how to apply it in your exams. So when you sign up, you can add all of your subjects to your dashboard, ready to go, as you can see below.

Each subject is broken down into sections and subtopics, all mapped precisely to your specification. That means you only ever learn what you actually need to know for your paper, and you can see at a glance what's left to cover.

Each topic has a short video lesson and/or beautifully designed revision notes, and some have a little cheat sheet that summarises everything on one page. It's good for last-minute revision, or printing out and sticking on the wall.

Once you've learned a topic, you can build your own quiz mixing any set of topics you've covered. Cognito uses spaced repetition and interleaving to decide what to bring back and when, adapting to how you're doing. These are the two study techniques with the strongest evidence base in cognitive science.

And when you're ready for exam-style practice, you can work through real exam questions with typed answers. Then either self-mark against the mark scheme point by point, or use AI marking to check your answer against the examiner's points.

A feature-by-feature summary of how the two platforms compare.

Physics & Maths Tutor (PMT) is a free, ad-supported UK revision website running since 2013. It hosts past papers, mark schemes, topic-organised exam questions, PDF revision notes and worksheets across 9 subjects: Maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Geography, English, Psychology and Computer Science. It covers GCSE, IGCSE and A-Level across AQA, Edexcel, OCR, CAIE (Cambridge International) and other boards, and also sells paid crash courses, Oxbridge and medical admissions prep, and 1-2-1 tuition from around £20/hour.

Strengths. The core library is genuinely free at the point of use, with no account required and no paywall. The archive of past papers and topic-tagged questions is comprehensive across the main UK boards, and PMT ranks strongly on Google for pretty much any exam paper you search for.

Where it's less strong. PMT is a library of static PDF and HTML resources rather than an interactive platform. There are no video lessons, no flashcards or quizzes with spaced repetition, no AI marking and no progress tracking, so it's on you to structure your revision. Subject coverage is 9 subjects, and there's nothing for KS3, IB or AP.

Honestly, the best move is to find what works for you, and it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Plenty of students use PMT alongside another platform.

What's great is that both have free content you can try. PMT is free across the board, ad-supported, no account needed. Cognito's videos and notes are free across every subject, with weekly caps on flashcards and exam questions.

Broadly, Cognito will be a better fit if you want teaching, notes, active recall and AI-marked exam practice on one platform with your progress in one place. PMT is worth a look as a free reference library, especially for past papers and topic questions when you're building your own revision routine.