Cognito vs Up Learn: A full comparison for A-Level students

Cognito and Up Learn both help students prepare for exams, but they sit at very different price points. Up Learn is a premium A-Level platform (plus GCSE Combined Science) built around interactive video courses and a money-back A*/A guarantee, priced at £49.99 to £99.99 per month depending on subject and tier. Cognito is an all-in-one platform covering GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level, IB and AP at £9.99 per month.

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.

Up Learn is a premium UK A-Level platform built around interactive video courses, quizzes and adaptive practice, with AI marking and 24/7 tutor support. It covers A-Level Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Economics and Psychology, plus GCSE Combined Science. Pricing is £49.99 to £99.99 per month depending on subject and tier, or £249.99 to £694.98 as a one-off per subject, with a 3-day free trial and scholarships for students on free school meals.

Strengths. The headline feature is a money-back A*/A guarantee: complete the course and if you don't hit the target grade, you get your money back. Production values are high, with interactive video, AI marking and tutor support, and the platform has real press credibility (UK press).

Where it's less strong. Pricing is genuinely premium and adds up quickly across multiple A-Levels. The curriculum is narrow: nothing for KS3, IGCSE, IB, AP, MFL or most humanities. And the guarantee is conditional on completing the full course, which is a significant time commitment.

Honestly, the best move is to find what works for you, and it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

What's great is that Cognito's videos and notes are free across every subject on the platform, with weekly caps on flashcards and exam questions. Up Learn has a 3-day free trial and free-school-meals scholarships.

Broadly, Cognito will be a better fit if you're across multiple subjects or key stages and want teaching, notes and exam practice at a single low monthly price. Up Learn is worth a look if you're focused on A-Level science and the A*/A money-back guarantee gives you peace of mind on the investment.