Whether a paid site like Save My Exams is worth it depends on how you revise, not on whether it is a good product. It is a well-known site with organised notes and exam-style questions, and many students like it. But two things matter more than any one site: whether you actually need notes or need practice, and what you can already get for free. This post gives you a way to decide, without telling you what to buy.
What a notes-and-questions site gives you
Sites of this type are built around topic notes, exam-style questions and revision tools for major exam boards, including Cambridge IGCSE, O Level and A Level. The strength is organisation: content is split by syllabus topic, written concisely, and designed to be read quickly. For students who find textbooks heavy going, that is real value.
At the time of writing, Save My Exams lets you join with a free account, and fuller access to its content is part of a paid subscription. Exactly what is free and what is paid varies by subject and changes over time, so open the pages for your subject and see before you decide. Prices differ by plan and by country, and they are not repeated here for that reason.
What it does not do
Two limits are worth knowing about, and they apply to any notes site.
- It does not mark your handwritten work. Notes and model answers show you a good answer. They do not tell you which marks your own answer would have earned.
- It is not the exam itself. Past papers are the real thing, written by the board that sets your exam, with official mark schemes. Notes sites teach content; papers test it.
What you can get without paying
Before you pay for anything, list what is already free:
- The syllabus. Cambridge publishes the full syllabus for every subject on its website. It tells you what can be examined, how the papers are laid out and which command words are used.
- Past papers and mark schemes. Each syllabus page on the Cambridge International website links to past papers, examiner reports and specimen papers. Your school may have wider access. Several independent sites collect papers too, though Cambridge itself warns about fake exam papers online, so be careful where you download from.
- Textbooks. A Cambridge endorsed textbook borrowed from school or a library covers the syllabus content.
- Free video and free notes. Good for a topic that has not clicked.
If these are in place, you may find that the gap is not content but feedback: knowing whether your answers would score.
A decision table
| If you mainly need | A notes site may suit you | A free route may be enough |
|---|---|---|
| Neat, quick topic summaries | Yes, if the price is comfortable | Often, with a textbook and free notes |
| Lots of real exam questions | It has exam-style questions | Real past papers are the best source |
| To learn how marks are given | Model answers help | Official mark schemes do this directly |
| Feedback on your own handwritten answers | No | Needs a teacher or a marking tool |
Test before you pay
If you are thinking about subscribing, a short test is more honest than any review:
- Choose one topic you are weak at.
- Use only free resources for three days: syllabus, textbook, free notes and one past paper.
- Note exactly what was missing. Was it explanations, practice, or someone marking your work?
- Pay only for the thing that was missing, and only for as long as you need it.
This also keeps you honest about price. A subscription is easy to pay for and then not use. If you cannot say what you will do with it each week, it is probably not worth it yet.
Where ExamPal fits, and where it does not
ExamPal does one job. You sit a real Cambridge past paper by writing on it by hand, with a finger, stylus or mouse, on a phone, tablet or laptop. The AI reads your handwriting and marks it against the official mark scheme, showing where each mark came from and applying follow-through marking. Pal gives hints, never answers. Topical sets let you drill one topic at a time with questions drawn from past papers, and there is an exam mode with a clock and a results page.
Be clear about the limits. ExamPal launches with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies, at IGCSE, O Level and A Level. It does not cover Biology, Economics, Business, Accounting or English yet. The 2023 and 2024 papers are marked first, with earlier years being added. It is not a notes site. The free plan has a daily limit on marking, and a paid plan exists with prices that differ by country. If you need ready-made notes, a notes site or a textbook does that better.
Some students use one of each: notes from wherever they like, and ExamPal to find out how their written answers would be marked.
How to choose
- You want organised notes and can pay comfortably: a notes site is a reasonable choice.
- You want real practice and the cost matters: go to official papers and mark schemes first. How to revise with Cambridge past papers shows a routine.
- You want feedback on handwritten answers in one of ExamPal's subjects: a marked paper tells you where your marks went.
- You are not sure: run the three-day test above. For more free options, see the best free Cambridge revision resources.
Try one paper before paying for anything
Pick a paper from the past papers hub, write your answers by hand and have them marked against the official mark scheme. Reading papers, downloading the PDFs and viewing mark schemes are free, and a free account adds AI marking. If you want to know more about the plans, the pricing page explains them.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Save My Exams free?
- It lets you join with a free account, and what you can open without paying depends on the subject and the resource, so check your own subject before deciding. Prices and what each plan includes change, so look at the current plans rather than relying on an old review.
- Is Save My Exams worth paying for?
- It is worth considering if you learn best from organised notes and topic questions and the subscription is comfortable for your family. If your main need is practice on real past papers, or the cost is a strain, a free route can cover a lot.
- What can I use instead of Save My Exams?
- The official syllabus, real past papers with mark schemes, your textbook and free video cover most content and practice. For handwritten answers marked against the official mark scheme, ExamPal offers that for its launch subjects, with reading and downloading papers free and AI marking available from a free account.
- Does ExamPal replace a notes site?
- No. ExamPal is built around past papers marked against the official mark scheme, with hints from Pal instead of answers. It is not a notes site, so many students will still use notes or a textbook alongside it.