Ilmino vs Medly AI

Ilmino is a current, working AI learning platform that marks a student's actual working against exam-board mark schemes, explains exactly where marks were lost, and recommends what to practise next. It combines Bayesian personalisation, exam-board-aligned AI practice, mark-scheme feedback, working-step analysis and interactive simulations within a customisable learning environment, with the majority of Practice Mode free and Ilmino Pro at £12.99 per month. Medly AI is a well-built conversational AI exam tutor with exam-board-aligned practice, AI marking and a free teacher dashboard. Both are strong AI-first tools for GCSE and A-Level. This article explains where they overlap, where Medly is genuinely good, and where Ilmino delivers more depth for a lower monthly price.

Ilmino is developed by ILM AI. This comparison is based on publicly available information and is intended to help learners, families and institutions understand the differences between the platforms.

Ilmino vs Medly AI: quick answer

Medly AI is a focused conversational AI exam tutor with exam-board-aligned practice, AI marking, Bayesian recommendations and a free teacher dashboard for verified UK teachers. Ilmino goes further on depth of feedback: it marks the student's working against mark schemes, identifies method marks and misconceptions, recommends the next question using Bayesian personalisation, and adds interactive STEM simulations and a customisable widget dashboard, all at £12.99 per month with most of Practice Mode free. Choose Medly for a polished conversational study partner. Choose Ilmino for deeper, mark-scheme-aligned marking and more capability for a lower price.

Quick comparison

Prices change often; confirm on the provider's official pricing page.

What Ilmino offers

Ilmino is a customisable AI learning platform that understands how students work, not only the final answers they give. It does more than generate questions. It marks against exam expectations, explains where marks were lost, analyses how the learner worked and recommends what to practise next.

The majority of Practice Mode is free. Questions are aligned to exam boards by subject, topic and difficulty, and answers can be typed or handwritten on an interactive canvas. When a student submits, Ilmino's AI marking maps the response against mark schemes: it credits a sound method that slipped near the end, awards method marks where they are due, and identifies the specific misconception behind a mistake. That is the core loop: learn a topic, practise questions, show your working, receive mark-scheme-aligned marking, understand exactly where the method went wrong, and practise again while progress tracking records how you improve.

Personalisation runs underneath all of it. Ilmino uses Bayesian recommendations to steer the next topic and the next question, and builds strengths and weaknesses analysis, personalised learning journeys, revision planning, goals and sub-goals into the experience. Quick practice, standard tests and full timed exam modes let a learner move from a five-minute drill to a complete exam under timed conditions. Interactive STEM simulations let students explore concepts visually rather than only reading about them, and a customisable, widget-based dashboard lets families arrange the space around what matters to them.

Ilmino is also connected. Parents gain progress visibility and notifications, and teachers gain tools and dashboards. Ilmino for Institution is the school-controlled learning and management platform for classrooms that want deeper infrastructure. In a student-focused comparison such as this one, the headline is simpler: Ilmino is a complete, working learning environment for the individual learner and the people around them.

What Medly AI offers

Medly AI is an AI-powered exam study partner aimed at students preparing for GCSE, A-Level, IGCSE, IB, AP and SAT. According to Medly's website, its centrepiece is a conversational pedagogical AI tutor with exam-board alignment, supported by a structured Learn Mode and textbooks, and thousands of exam-style questions to practise against.

Medly has clearly invested in the parts of exam study that matter. Medly reports AI-powered practice, instant AI marking, and a handwriting canvas alongside typed answers, so students can work the way they would on paper. Medly reports Bayesian mastery with adaptive recommendations to steer what comes next, topic and difficulty selection, and Medly Mocks with learner analytics for full timed exam conditions and strengths and weaknesses insight. Medly also offers a free teacher dashboard for verified UK teachers, where homework assigned by a teacher is free for the student, which is a smart acquisition model and a genuine benefit for classrooms. Medly positions itself carefully on safety, safeguarding and GDPR, and its Learn Mode is presented as free within a freemium model.

For sector context, and stated neutrally, Medly is named among partners in the UK Government's AI Tutoring Tools Pioneer Programme. That is context about the sector only. It is not a national rollout and not an endorsement of any product, and it should not be read as either.

Medly's strengths are real: a focused exam-tutor category, a strong conversational user journey, handwriting and marking features, and a free teacher route into schools. Its published scope is narrower than Ilmino's on a few specifics, which is where the two platforms begin to diverge.

Key differences

Mark-scheme marking of the working, not just the answer

Medly reports AI marking and a handwriting canvas, which are genuinely useful. Ilmino goes a layer deeper. It marks the student's actual working against mark schemes, awards method marks where a valid approach earns them, and names the misconception behind an error. For subjects where method marks decide grades, marking the reasoning rather than only the final answer is a meaningful difference. Medly does not publicly state working-step, method-mark or misconception analysis, so we do not claim it either way.

Interactive simulations, not only questions and text

Ilmino includes interactive STEM simulations as a current capability, letting learners manipulate a concept and see it respond rather than only reading an explanation or answering questions. Medly's published experience centres on the conversational tutor, Learn Mode and textbooks. Interactive simulations are not publicly stated for Medly, so on this axis Ilmino offers something concrete that Medly's public materials do not describe.

A customisable dashboard versus a fixed study surface

Ilmino gives learners a customisable, widget-based dashboard: upcoming exams, progress, recommended topics, goals, recent practice, strengths and weaknesses, quizzes, streaks and simulations can be arranged around the learner's priorities. The value is a space shaped around what a particular student cares about instead of one fixed layout everyone is forced to use. Medly's degree of dashboard customisation is not publicly stated, so we make no claim about it.

A connected environment versus a single-user tutor

Medly is designed as an excellent exam-study partner for an individual learner, with a free teacher dashboard added on top. Ilmino is designed as a connected environment from the start: the student practises, a parent follows progress through parent visibility and notifications, and teachers use review tools and dashboards. Medly optimises the study session; Ilmino optimises the learning relationship around the student as well.

Price for the depth on offer

At £12.99 per month with most of Practice Mode free, Ilmino sits below Medly's advertised full UK access from £24.99 per month. Given that Ilmino also adds mark-scheme working analysis, method-mark awareness, simulations and a customisable dashboard, the difference is not only price but how much capability each pound buys.

Practice, assessment and feedback

This is where both platforms are strongest, and where Ilmino's depth shows most clearly.

Medly reports thousands of exam-style questions, AI-powered practice, instant AI marking, a handwriting canvas with typed input, and Medly Mocks with learner analytics for timed conditions. It is a coherent, high-volume practice experience with adaptive steering.

Ilmino offers exam-board-aligned practice by subject, topic and difficulty, with quick practice, standard tests and full timed exam modes for building exam stamina. Answers can be typed or handwritten on the interactive canvas, and a stylus or tablet gives the best experience. The decisive part is the marking. Ilmino's AI marking maps each step to exam-board mark schemes, analyses the intermediate working as well as the final answer, credits method marks where a valid approach earns them, and identifies the specific misconception behind a slip. A learner therefore sees not just whether an answer was right, but where in the method a mark was lost and why. Ilmino does more than generate questions. It marks against exam expectations, explains where marks were lost, analyses how the learner worked and recommends what to practise next.

Net: Medly is excellent for high-volume, self-directed practice with instant marking. Ilmino leans into mark-scheme-aligned, method-level feedback that reads the reasoning behind an answer, which is exactly what turns a near miss into a corrected method.

Personalisation and Bayesian recommendations

Both platforms personalise. According to Medly's website, Medly uses Bayesian mastery with adaptive recommendations and learner analytics to steer what a student practises next, which is a solid model.

Ilmino uses Bayesian recommendations as a current, working capability across both the next topic and the next question, so the platform continually points a learner toward the practice that will move their grade most. That personalisation feeds strengths and weaknesses analysis, personalised learning journeys, a revision planner, goals and sub-goals, streaks and progress tracking. Ilmino combines Bayesian personalisation, exam-board-aligned AI practice, mark-scheme feedback, working-step analysis and interactive simulations within a customisable learning environment, so the recommendations are informed by how a student actually worked, not only whether their final answers were right. That link between deep marking and next-step recommendations is the practical advantage: the more precisely the marking understands a mistake, the more useful the next recommendation becomes.

Dashboard and user experience

Ilmino personalises both the content and the surface. The interface is a customisable, widget-based dashboard, so learners and families can arrange upcoming exams, progress, recommended topics, goals, recent practice, strengths and weaknesses, quizzes, streaks and simulations around their own priorities. The practical value is real: a student revising for three summer exams can foreground those exams, their weak topics and their revision plan, while another learner can lead with goals and streaks. It is a space shaped around the learner instead of one fixed layout everyone is forced to use.

Medly provides a polished, conversational study surface with Learn Mode, textbooks and the AI tutor at its centre. How far Medly's dashboard can be rearranged is not publicly stated, so we make no claim either way. What we can state plainly is that a customisable widget layout is a current part of the Ilmino experience.

Interactive simulations

Interactive STEM simulations are a current Ilmino capability, not a roadmap item. Instead of only reading an explanation or answering a question, a learner can manipulate variables in a simulation and watch the concept respond, which suits maths and science topics where seeing the behaviour makes the idea click. Because simulations sit inside the same environment as practice, marking and recommendations, a student can move from exploring a concept to practising it and being marked on it without leaving Ilmino. Interactive simulations are not publicly stated for Medly, so this is a concrete area where Ilmino offers more than Medly's public materials describe.

Pricing and free access

Ilmino Pro is £12.99 per month, and the majority of Practice Mode is free, so a student gets real, unlimited-enough value before paying anything. See pricing for current details. Raphael is ILM AI's advanced visual and interactive teaching agent and is offered separately from the £12.99 Ilmino Pro plan, with pricing and usage announced independently. The £12.99 proposition stands entirely on Ilmino's own AI: exam-board-aligned practice, mark-scheme-aligned marking of the working, method-mark and misconception analysis, Bayesian recommendations, timed exam modes, interactive simulations and a customisable dashboard.

Medly operates a freemium model. According to Medly's website, Learn Mode is presented as free, and full UK access is advertised from £24.99 per month (checked 10 July 2026), with alternative annual and academic-year offers appearing on different pages. Recheck before relying on any single figure.

On the clearest like-for-like consumer comparison, Ilmino Pro at £12.99 per month sits below Medly's advertised full UK access from £24.99 per month, while also including mark-scheme working analysis, interactive simulations and a customisable dashboard that Medly's public materials do not state. Weigh what each free tier gives you as well: Ilmino makes the majority of Practice Mode free, and Medly presents Learn Mode as free.

Last checked: 10 July 2026. Prices change often; confirm on the provider's official pricing page.

Where Ilmino has the advantage

Ilmino's advantage over Medly is depth of feedback for a lower price. It marks the student's actual working against mark schemes, awards method marks and identifies misconceptions, which Medly does not publicly state. It uses Bayesian recommendations to drive the next question and topic from that deep marking. It adds interactive STEM simulations and a customisable widget dashboard, neither of which Medly publicly states. It connects parents and teachers to the learner's progress by design. And it does all of this at £12.99 per month with most of Practice Mode free, below Medly's advertised full UK access from £24.99 per month. For a learner who wants to understand precisely where marks were lost and be guided to fix it, Ilmino offers more.

Where Medly AI has the advantage

Medly's advantage is a mature, focused conversational tutor and a strong direct-to-student journey. Its Learn Mode, textbooks and pedagogical AI tutor make for a coherent self-contained study experience, and it explicitly spans GCSE, A-Level, IGCSE, IB, AP and SAT, which is broad qualification coverage. The free teacher dashboard for verified UK teachers, with assigned homework free for students, is a genuinely appealing route for classrooms. If a polished conversational exam tutor across a wide set of qualifications is the priority, Medly is well built for that job.

Who should choose Ilmino?

Choose Ilmino if you want deep, mark-scheme-aligned feedback on your working, not just a verdict on your final answer. It suits students who benefit from method-mark awareness and misconception identification (especially where method marks decide grades), learners who want Bayesian recommendations pointing them to the highest-value next question, and anyone who values interactive simulations and a dashboard they can shape around their own subjects and goals. It also suits families who want parents to see progress, and it does all of this for £12.99 per month with most of Practice Mode free.

Who should choose Medly AI?

Choose Medly AI if you want a focused, self-contained conversational AI exam tutor with a strong study journey across GCSE, A-Level, IGCSE, IB, AP and SAT. It is a good fit for independent students who value a polished Learn Mode and tutor, high-volume exam-style practice with instant AI marking, and Medly Mocks for timed conditions. The free teacher dashboard makes it especially appealing where a verified UK teacher assigns homework, since that homework is free for the student.

The verdict

Both platforms are credible, AI-first choices for GCSE and A-Level, and Medly deserves respect for a focused conversational exam tutor, broad qualification coverage, instant AI marking and a smart free-teacher route into schools. Students mainly seeking a polished conversational exam tutor across a wide range of qualifications may prefer Medly. Learners who want exam-board-aligned AI practice, mark-scheme feedback on their working, Bayesian recommendations, analysis of method marks and misconceptions, interactive simulations and a customisable dashboard, all for £12.99 per month against Medly's advertised full UK access from £24.99 per month (both checked 10 July 2026), will find Ilmino the more complete and affordable learning environment.

For related reading, see Ilmino vs Seneca Learning and Ilmino vs Save My Exams.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ilmino free?

Yes, in large part. The majority of Practice Mode is free, so students can practise exam-board-aligned questions, receive marking and build a habit before deciding whether to upgrade. Ilmino Pro adds more for £12.99 per month.

How much does Ilmino cost?

Ilmino Pro is £12.99 per month, and the majority of Practice Mode is free. Prices checked 10 July 2026; confirm on the pricing page.

Is Raphael included in Ilmino Pro?

No. Raphael is ILM AI's advanced visual teaching agent and is not included in the standard £12.99 Ilmino Pro subscription. It will be offered separately, with pricing and usage information announced independently.

Which is better for GCSE revision, Ilmino or Medly AI?

Both cover GCSE well. Medly offers a focused conversational tutor with Learn Mode and thousands of questions. Ilmino adds mark-scheme-aligned marking of your working, method-mark and misconception analysis, Bayesian recommendations, interactive simulations and a customisable dashboard, at a lower monthly price. If you want to understand exactly where marks were lost and be guided to fix it, Ilmino fits.

Which has better exam practice?

Both are strong. Medly reports thousands of exam-style questions with instant AI marking and Medly Mocks. Ilmino offers exam-board-aligned practice with quick practice, standard tests and full timed exam modes, plus mark-scheme marking that analyses your working, awards method marks and identifies misconceptions. Medly leans to high-volume self-study; Ilmino leans to deeper, mark-scheme-aligned feedback.

Can teachers use Ilmino?

Yes. Teachers get tools and dashboards, and Ilmino for Institution is the school-controlled platform that adds curriculum spaces, assignments, tests, AI marking with teacher review, dashboards, analytics and school-controlled AI.

Do both support handwritten answers?

Yes. Ilmino supports typed and handwritten answers on an interactive canvas (a stylus or tablet works best), and Medly reports a handwriting canvas with AI marking. Ilmino additionally marks the working itself, not just the final answer.

Can Ilmino and Medly AI be used together?

Yes. You can pair Medly's conversational tutor with Ilmino's mark-scheme marking, working analysis and connected experience, though over a full revision programme most students choose one main platform to avoid duplication and cost.

Final call to action

Start practising with Ilmino for free and create a learning space designed around your subjects, goals and progress. Start free or explore pricing.

Other comparisons

• Ilmino vs Seneca Learning
• Ilmino vs Sparx Maths
• Ilmino vs CENTURY Tech
• Ilmino vs Eedi
• Ilmino vs Save My Exams
• Ilmino vs Cognito
• Ilmino vs Quizlet
• Ilmino vs Tassomai
• Ilmino vs GCSEPod

Sources

• Ilmino pricing: /pricing
• Ilmino exam practice: /features/exam-practice
• Ilmino AI marking: /features/automated-marking
• Ilmino progress tracking: /features/progress-tracking
• Ilmino revision planner: /features/revision-planner
• Ilmino for Institution: /institution
• Medly AI official website (features and pricing, per Medly's published pages; pricing checked 10 July 2026)
• UK Government AI Tutoring Tools Pioneer Programme (sector context only)