AMBOSS vs Boards and Beyond
Boards and Beyond sells time by the week: $24 for one week up to $399 for two years on the vendor's pricing page, with $89 for one month and $249 for one year on the McGraw Hill product pages. AMBOSS sells a membership instead, at $19.99 per month or $12.50 per month billed yearly. The base plan allows 50 questions a month and the Qbank is billed separately, and the yearly bundle with Qbank is $448, renewing at $149.
A student who learns from Jason Ryan's videos (490+ for Step 1, each tied to a question set) and wants a fixed cost per exam window gets that from Boards and Beyond. A student on clerkships who wants library, Qbank, an Anki add-on and AI Mode under one login gets it from AMBOSS. An audit by iatrox, a vendor-adjacent blog, calls Boards and Beyond video-first with no AI tutor or spaced repetition, and the videos stream without downloads. For a resident who needs a clinical reference library, Boards and Beyond loses.
Medical education · Reviewed November 1, 2026
AMBOSS
by AMBOSS
AI-tutored medical reference + QBank with Anki integration.
Boards and Beyond
by McGraw Hill Education
Step 1 video course taught by Dr. Jason Ryan.
When to pick each one
AMBOSS
- Library, Qbank, Anki add-on and AI Mode on one login
- Student Life $1,199 one-time, through PGY-1
- Yearly plus Qbank bundle $448, renews at $149
Boards and Beyond
- Jason Ryan videos, 490+ for Step 1
- 2,300+ Step 1 questions tied to the videos
- $24 for one week, $399 for two years
Score
Each row shows points earned of points available under the published rubric.
AMBOSS
61of 100
Boards and Beyond
33of 100
| Dimension | AMBOSS | Boards and Beyond | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed papers | 2.8 / 7 | 0 / 7 | +2.8 |
| RCT / meta-analysis / systematic review | 0 / 1.8 | 0 / 1.8 | 0 |
| Funding & adoption signal | 12 / 12 | 8.4 / 12 | +3.6 |
| Pricing transparency | 6.5 / 6.5 | 3.3 / 6.5 | +3.3 |
| Years in market | 0 / 7.8 | 0 / 7.8 | 0 |
Scroll horizontally to see every column.
Pricing
AMBOSS
| Tier | Billing period | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student / resident, monthly | per month, auto-renews monthly | $19.99 | Library plus 50 Qbank questions per month |
Show all 9 price pointsHide extra price points
| Student / resident, yearly | per year, auto-renews yearly | $149 | shown as $12.50 per month billed yearly. The page advertises SAVE $89.88, and against twelve monthly payments of $19.99 ($239.88) the gap is $90.88 |
| Yearly plus Qbank bundle | per year. Membership then renews at $149 | $448 | marked Most Popular |
| 6-month Qbank bundle, US page | 6 months, one-time | $378 | price shown on the US USMLE page. The international page shows $358. The $358 to $378 range is also in the SERP supplement of October 14, 2026 |
| 6-month Qbank bundle, international page | 6 months, one-time | $358 | price shown on the international USMLE page. The US page shows $378. The $358 to $378 range is also in the SERP supplement of October 14, 2026 |
| Student Life | one-time | $1,199 | through end of PGY-1. Includes Qbank, Library, self-assessments, Score Predictor |
| Self-assessment | per assessment, one-time | $49.99 | free with Student Life |
| Clinician, monthly | per month | $29.99 | practitioner plan |
| Clinician, yearly | per year | $259 | practitioner plan. The pricing page shows $21.58 per month billed yearly |
Verified October 14, 2026 from amboss.com (opens in new tab).
Boards and Beyond
| Tier | Billing period | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 1 month, one-time | $89 | same price for Step 1 Preclinical and Steps 2-3 Clinical |
Show all 9 price pointsHide extra price points
| 3 months | 3 months, one-time | $149 | same price for both products |
| 6 months | 6 months, one-time | $199 | same price for both products |
| 1 year | 1 year, one-time | $249 | same price for both products |
| 18 months | 18 months, one-time | $349 | same price for both products |
| 2 years | 2 years, one-time | $399 | longest term |
| 1 week | 1 week, one-time | $24 | lowest price quoted on boardsbeyond.com/Pricing ('from $24 for one week') |
| Clinical Confidence2 price points | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Confidence | 6 months, one-time | $149 | boardsbeyond.com quotes $149 for 6 months. Product not confirmed |
| Clinical Confidence | 1 year, one-time | $199 | boardsbeyond.com quotes $199 for a full year. Product not confirmed |
Verified October 14, 2026 from mheducation.com (opens in new tab).
Evidence
AMBOSS
Peer-reviewed
1 PubMed record names AMBOSS.
Boards and Beyond
No FDA decision, peer-reviewed study or community post in our record.
Compliance and integrations
Documented from each vendor’s own pages.
| Spec | AMBOSS | Boards and Beyond |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ||
| HIPAA | ||
| SOC 2 Type II | ||
| EHR integrations | Not specified | Not specified |
| Founded | n/a | n/a |
| HQ | DE | n/a |
Scroll horizontally to see both columns.
Common questions
Open the full medical education comparison
USMLE prep (UWorld, AMBOSS, Anki), specialty learning (SketchyMedical, Pathoma, Boards & Beyond), CME (Healio AI, AMA Ed Hub). The most affiliate-rich category in healthcare AI.