AskMed
AskMed is our pick for USMLE: 1,000 single-best-answer questions across 15 topics, 500 for Step 1 and 500 for Step 2 CK, and cited medical answers, in one app. Every option has its own explanation.
| Questions | 500 Step 1 and 500 Step 2 CK (5,499 across 11 exams) |
|---|---|
| Format | Single best answer, clinical vignettes |
| Topics | 15, from cardiology to biostatistics and ethics |
| Explanations | One for every option |
| Sources | 1–3 per question: StatPearls, ACC/AHA, USPSTF, KDIGO, AAP |
| Modes | Practice, spaced-repetition review, timed mock (40 questions in 60 minutes) |
| Doses | Never |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Android, web |
The other options
Five other apps are worth comparing with AskMed for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK: UWorld, AMBOSS, Lecturio, Oncourse and ChatGPT. UWorld is the question bank most students use as their main one, with self-assessments and now an AI tutor called UAsk. AMBOSS links each question to articles in its medical library and has an AI mode. Lecturio is built around video lectures, with a question bank and a large free tier, and Oncourse combines a question bank with an AI tutor and spaced repetition. ChatGPT is a general AI chatbot: useful for talking a topic through, but it has no USMLE question bank, so you need to check its sources yourself. AskMed sits between the banks and the chatbot, with 1,000 USMLE questions and cited answers to any medical question in the same app. The table below shows the type of each app and what it is best for.
| App | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| UWorld | Question bank + self-assessments | The bank most students use as their main one, now with an AI tutor (UAsk) |
| AMBOSS | Question bank + medical library | Linking each question to library articles, with an AI mode |
| Lecturio | Video lectures + question bank | Learning from lectures, with a large free tier |
| Oncourse | Question bank + AI tutor | AI tutoring with spaced repetition |
| ChatGPT | General AI chatbot | Talking a topic through. It has no USMLE question bank, so check its sources yourself |
What to look for in a USMLE app
A good USMLE app should feel like the real exam and show where each answer comes from. Step 1 and Step 2 CK questions are clinical vignettes with one best answer, and since May 2026 both exams are split into 30-minute blocks of about 20 questions, which leaves about 90 seconds a question. That gives five things to check in a USMLE app: vignette questions, with Step 1 and Step 2 CK kept apart; an explanation for every option, not only the correct one; sources you can open, from reference texts to current guidelines; timed practice at exam pace plus review of the questions you missed; and a way to read up on what a question exposed without leaving the app. Read a few sample questions and their explanations before you commit to a bank. The list below explains each point and shows how AskMed's 1,000-question USMLE bank handles it.
- Questions that read like the real exam. Step 1 and Step 2 CK are built from clinical vignettes: a patient, a few findings, one best answer. Step 1 asks about the mechanism behind the case, Step 2 CK asks what you would do next. AskMed keeps the two banks apart, so Step 1 questions test the science and Step 2 CK questions test diagnosis and management.
- An explanation for every option. Most of the work in a vignette is ruling out the answers that are almost right. An app that only explains the correct answer skips that. AskMed explains all of them, so you learn why each wrong answer is wrong.
- Sources you can check. Step 1 explanations cite StatPearls, the peer-reviewed reference library on the NCBI Bookshelf: 575 of the 577 sources in the Step 1 bank. Step 2 CK explanations follow current guidelines: AHA journals are cited 39 times, the US Preventive Services Task Force 10 times, KDIGO 8 times and the American Academy of Pediatrics 8 times. Every source is a link you can open.
- Timed practice at exam pace. AskMed's timed mock is 40 questions in 60 minutes, the same pace as two of the real 30-minute blocks. Spaced-repetition review then brings back the questions you missed until they stick.
- A way to fill the gaps. A question bank shows what you don't know. AskMed also answers any medical question with citations to journals, guidelines and drug labels, so you can read up on a topic and go straight back to practice.
AskMed's USMLE banks by topic
AskMed's USMLE banks hold 1,000 single-best-answer questions across 15 topics, 500 for each step. Step 1: 150 easy, 255 medium and 95 hard. Step 2 CK: 150 easy, 250 medium and 100 hard. Both banks use the same 15 topics, from biostatistics and ethics to surgery, with 33 or 34 questions per topic in each step. Each question also names a subtopic, such as atrial fibrillation and stroke prevention within cardiology in the sample question below. In the app you choose Step 1 or Step 2 CK, then practise one topic at a time, 10 questions per session, or choose all topics to mix questions from the whole bank. Each answer feeds spaced-repetition review: a question you miss comes back after 10 minutes, and each right answer pushes it further out, to 1, 3, 7, 16 and then 35 days. The table below lists how many questions each topic has in each step.
| Topic | Step 1 | Step 2 CK |
|---|---|---|
| Biostatistics and ethics | 33 | 33 |
| Cardiology | 34 | 33 |
| Endocrinology | 33 | 34 |
| Gastroenterology | 33 | 33 |
| Hematology and oncology | 34 | 33 |
| Infectious diseases | 33 | 34 |
| Microbiology | 33 | 33 |
| Nephrology | 33 | 33 |
| Neurology | 34 | 34 |
| Obstetrics and gynecology | 33 | 33 |
| Pediatrics | 33 | 33 |
| Pharmacology | 34 | 33 |
| Psychiatry | 33 | 34 |
| Pulmonology | 34 | 34 |
| Surgery | 33 | 33 |
See a question
A 74-year-old woman comes to the clinic because of intermittent palpitations for 2 weeks. She has hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. She has no history of bleeding, and her renal function is normal. Blood pressure is 134/82 mm Hg, and pulse is 88/min and irregularly irregular. There is no murmur. An ECG confirms atrial fibrillation. Echocardiography shows normal valves and a normal ejection fraction. Which of the following is the most appropriate long-term therapy to reduce her risk of stroke?
Dual antiplatelet therapy is inferior to oral anticoagulation for preventing stroke in atrial fibrillation and causes similar bleeding. It is not an appropriate substitute.
Correct. Her CHA2DS2-VASc score is 4 (age 65 to 74, female sex, hypertension, diabetes), which corresponds to a high annual stroke risk. Oral anticoagulation is recommended, and a direct oral anticoagulant such as apixaban is preferred over warfarin in patients without moderate-to-severe mitral stenosis or a mechanical valve.
Aspirin alone is not recommended for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation because it is much less effective than anticoagulation and still carries bleeding risk.
With a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 4, her annual stroke risk is well above the threshold at which anticoagulation is recommended. Withholding therapy would leave her at high risk.
Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion is reserved for patients with a contraindication to long-term oral anticoagulation, such as prior serious bleeding. She has no such contraindication.
Tap an answer to see why each option is right or wrong.
Source: 2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation
Questions
Is AskMed's USMLE bank written by AI on the spot?
AskMed's USMLE questions are not written by AI on the spot. Every Step 1 and Step 2 CK question comes from a fixed bank that was written and checked before it went into the app, and only questions marked as reviewed are served. Each question has one explanation per option and one to three sources you can open, such as a StatPearls chapter or an ACC/AHA guideline. Every source is a link, so you can check an explanation against the guideline or reference it comes from. If a question looks wrong, tap Report question in the app. A question reported by two or more people is held back until it is checked. When you practise, AskMed serves the questions you have not seen yet first, then the ones you saw longest ago, so you work through each 500-question bank before questions repeat.
Can I use AskMed alongside UWorld?
Yes. Many students use more than one bank to get fresh questions on their weak topics. AskMed's cited answers also help when an explanation leaves you with a new question.
Does AskMed give drug doses?
No. Questions test the right choice of treatment, never doses.
Which devices does it work on?
iPhone, iPad, Android and the web. One account works on all of them, so you can practise on your phone and review on a laptop.
Do I need a US NPI or a medical licence to use it?
No. AskMed works worldwide, and students can sign up without a licence or an NPI.
Which other exams are covered?
5,499 questions in all: USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK, PLAB, NEET-PG, ENARM, TUS, PLE, UKOMNAS, EDN, Ghana MDC and Israel MLE, each in the exam's own language.