If you’re searching for the best revision website for your GCSE, IGCSE or A Level exams, you’ve probably narrowed it down to three: Tyrion Papers, Save My Exams, and Physics & Maths Tutor. They’re the three names that come up most often in Reddit threads, school WhatsApp groups, and ChatGPT recommendations.
This post is an honest comparison from the inside. Yes, we’re Tyrion Papers — but we’re going to tell you upfront where each site genuinely wins, where each one falls short, and which one (or which combination) is actually best for your situation. The TL;DR: there’s no universal winner. The right choice depends on how you revise.
Quick answer: Which is best?
It depends on what you actually need:
- Want most things free? Use Physics & Maths Tutor. The core resources — past papers, revision notes, topic questions — are all free PDF downloads.
- Want a structured all-in-one platform with progress tracking? Save My Exams. You’ll pay around £15/month with auto-renewal.
- Want specific resources without a subscription? Tyrion Papers. Pay once per paper or bundle, from £1.50, no auto-renew, no recurring charges.
- Want 2026 predicted papers? All three offer them, but predicted papers are the core specialism at Tyrion Papers — bundles from £7.
Most students who get top grades use a combination — typically free PMT resources for the school year, plus targeted Tyrion Papers purchases (predicted papers, locked papers) in the final weeks. We’ll explain why at the end of the post.
The fundamental difference: three different pricing models
The thing nobody explains clearly is that these three sites operate on completely different business models. Once you understand that, the comparison becomes simple.
Physics & Maths Tutor (PMT) — free with paid extras
The bulk of PMT is free. You go to the site, find your subject, click on a past paper or revision note, and download the PDF. No account needed, no email signup, no paywall. PMT makes its money from printed copies of resources sold by post, tutoring services, and more recently mock papers and predicted papers as separate paid purchases.
Save My Exams — subscription with limited free tier
Save My Exams is a SaaS product. Free users get 5 revision notes and 1 topic question per month — useful for trying it out, not enough for actual revision. The paid tier costs around £15/month (or quarterly/annual options) and unlocks everything: full notes, all topic questions, model answers, mock exams, SmartMark AI feedback, progress dashboards.
Important to know: Save My Exams subscriptions auto-renew by default. Trustpilot is full of students who forgot to cancel and got charged unexpectedly — including £50 annual renewals after free trials ended. They do honour refund requests, but it’s a friction point worth knowing about before you sign up.
Tyrion Papers — pay-once per resource
We sell specific resources for one-off prices. £1.50 for a single past paper, £7 for a GCSE predicted paper bundle, £12-£24 for A Level bundles, custom prices for mock paper sets and topic tests. There’s no subscription, no auto-renewal, no recurring charge. You buy what you need, you keep it forever, that’s it.
Side-by-side comparison
Here’s how the three platforms compare on the things that actually matter to students:
| Feature | Tyrion Papers | Save My Exams | PMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay-per-paper | Subscription (auto-renew) | Mostly free |
| Cheapest entry point | £1.50 (single paper) | ~£15/month | £0 |
| Account required? | No | Yes | No |
| Past papers + mark schemes | Yes (incl. 2025) | Yes (premium) | Yes (free) |
| Topic questions | ExamWizard / Exampro | Yes (premium) | Yes (free) |
| Revision notes | Limited | Yes (premium) | Yes (free) |
| 2026 predicted papers | Core specialism | Mock Exams in premium | Sold separately |
| Locked / mock test papers | Yes | No | Yes (paid) |
| Custom mock paper creation | Yes | No | No |
| Exam marking service | Yes | No | No |
| AI feedback (SmartMark) | No | Yes (selected subjects) | No |
| Progress dashboard | No | Yes | No |
| Auto-renewal risk | None | Yes (default on) | None |
| Best price guarantee | Yes | No | No |
When Save My Exams is the right choice
Save My Exams is genuinely good at what it does. If you tick most of these boxes, it’s worth the subscription:
- You revise consistently across multiple subjects throughout the year (not just before exams)
- You want everything in one place — notes, questions, model answers, video walkthroughs, progress tracking
- You like having a structured platform that tells you what to revise next
- You don’t mind paying recurring monthly fees
- You’ll actually remember to cancel before the auto-renew kicks in
For a student who’s organised, has the budget, and treats revision as an ongoing daily habit, SME is the most polished platform of the three. The SmartMark AI feedback (currently on selected subjects) is genuinely useful — instant marking on practice answers is something neither PMT nor Tyrion Papers offers.
Where SME falls short: if you only revise intensively for 6-8 weeks before exams, you’re paying for 12 months of access you won’t use. The auto-renewal trap has caught a lot of students who forgot to cancel — Trustpilot has multiple recent complaints about unexpected £50 annual charges. And if your school covers most of the syllabus material adequately, you’re paying for content you already have.
When Physics & Maths Tutor is the right choice
PMT is an extraordinary resource. The fact that it’s mostly free is a genuine gift to students. Use it as your default if:
- You want past papers and mark schemes for free
- You want topic-by-topic questions sorted by exam board
- You want revision notes you can print or download without a subscription
- You’re sitting university admissions tests (MAT, PAT, STEP, BMAT-style) — PMT has dedicated sections
- You want to find a tutor and have access to their credentials
Where PMT falls short: there’s no progress tracking, no AI feedback, no model answers in the same depth as SME, and the design is functional rather than polished. PMT is also expanding into paid mock papers and predicted papers, so the “everything is free” reputation is starting to bend at the edges.
For us at Tyrion Papers, PMT is not really a competitor — it’s a complement. Most of our customers use PMT for free past papers throughout the year, then come to us for predicted papers, locked test papers and mock bundles in the final weeks before exams. That combination costs less than one month of SME and gives you everything you need.
When Tyrion Papers is the right choice
Honest framing: we’re best for students who want specific resources without a subscription. Use Tyrion Papers if:
- You want 2026 predicted papers (our core specialism)
- You want locked test papers used in school mocks (we have a large library)
- You want examWizard or Exampro-style topic tests for Edexcel, AQA, OCR or CIE
- You want the most recent year’s papers (including 2025) before the official boards release them
- You want a custom mock paper made for your specific subject and topics
- You want your past papers professionally marked
- You want to spend less than £25 total to cover your final exam prep
Where we fall short — honestly: we don’t have a slick learning platform. We don’t have AI marking. We don’t have video walkthroughs for every subject. We don’t have a progress dashboard. If you want a polished all-in-one experience, SME is better. If you want free everything, PMT is better. We sit in the middle: cheap, focused, no fluff.
Why most top-grade students use a combination
The students we see getting grade 9s and A* aren’t loyal to one platform — they pick the right tool for each job:
- School year (September to February): use PMT for free past papers and revision notes. Use class notes and textbooks for new content. Save your money.
- Mock season (October to January): use Tyrion Papers locked test papers (these are the actual papers schools use for mocks — having them before your mocks is a huge advantage).
- Run-up to real exams (March to May): use PMT for past paper practice. Use Tyrion Papers predicted papers for unseen exam-style questions in the final weeks. Optionally subscribe to SME for one month if you want SmartMark feedback during this intensive period.
- Final week: drill weak topics with topic tests. Sit one or two predicted papers under timed conditions.
This combination — free PMT + targeted Tyrion Papers purchases + one optional month of SME — costs less than £40 total for an entire exam season. Far less than the £180 you’d spend on 12 months of SME alone.
The auto-renewal point you should know about
One specific thing worth flagging if you’re considering Save My Exams: subscriptions are set to auto-renew by default. The 7-day free trial converts to a paid subscription automatically — there’s a recurring complaint pattern on Trustpilot from students who didn’t realise this and got charged.
SME does refund these when you ask, and they reply quickly. But the friction is real. If you do sign up, set a calendar reminder for day 6 of the trial to cancel if you don’t want to continue. And if you take an annual subscription, set one for 11 months later.
This isn’t unique to SME — most subscription services do this. But it’s the single biggest source of complaints about the platform, and it’s worth being aware of.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between Tyrion Papers, Save My Exams and Physics & Maths Tutor?
Three different pricing models. PMT is mostly free. Save My Exams is a subscription (about £15/month with auto-renewal). Tyrion Papers is pay-per-resource — buy specific papers or bundles for one-off prices, no subscription.
Is Save My Exams worth the money?
If you revise consistently year-round across multiple subjects and want a structured all-in-one platform, yes. If you only revise intensively in the final weeks before exams, you’re paying for content you won’t use — combining free PMT and pay-per-paper Tyrion Papers is usually cheaper.
Is Physics & Maths Tutor really free?
Yes for the core resources — past papers, mark schemes, revision notes, topic questions. PMT charges for printed copies, tutoring, and now mock papers and predicted papers as separate purchases.
Which is the cheapest revision website?
PMT is the cheapest because most resources are free. Tyrion Papers is the cheapest paid option — papers from £1.50, predicted bundles from £7 GCSE / £12 A Level. Save My Exams is the most expensive long-term because it’s subscription-based.
Which has the best 2026 predicted papers?
Each site does predicted papers slightly differently. SME includes Mock Exams in premium. PMT sells predicted papers as separate purchases. Tyrion Papers makes predicted papers its core 2026 product with Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 bundles plus mark schemes and worked solutions. Try a free sample from each before committing.
Can I use PMT and Tyrion Papers together?
Yes — that’s actually the most common pattern among top-grade students. Use PMT free for past papers and topic questions throughout the year, then buy Tyrion Papers predicted papers and locked test papers for the final weeks before exams.
Want to try Tyrion Papers without spending anything first? Download our free 2026 predicted paper sample (AQA GCSE Biology Paper 2 Higher) or our free revision e-book — no signup, no email gate.
For past papers, predicted papers, mock paper sets, locked test papers and exam marking, visit tyrionpapers.com — affordable, reliable revision resources for GCSE, IGCSE, AS and A Level students.
