TrueLearn SmartBanks vs Elsevier eBooks+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TrueLearn SmartBanks
This app provides exam-style practice questions and detailed explanations to improve test-taking skills. It offers custom quizzes, performance dashboards, and a wide variety of question types for standardized tests.
- Exam-style practice questions
- Rich answer explanations
- Custom quizzes by topic
- Performance dashboards
- Multiple question types
- Computer-simulated testing environment
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We created the TrueLearn app to help learners become great test takers. Whether you need USMLE Step 1 practice questions or NBCOT® exam prep, we provide an unparalleled testing experience that improves exam performance. We believe every learner has the potential to become a better standardized test-taker. Because TrueLearn SmartBanks are not just another qbank. Our platform features include: -Exam-style practice questions with rich answer explanations that fundamentally improve your understanding to easily identify what you missed, understand why incorrect answers are wrong, and grasp why the correct answer is the best choice. -Custom quizzes around topics where you score low in a computer-simulated environment with practice questions written in the same style you will encounter on test day. -Performance dashboards that provide informative metrics on strengths and weaknesses in real-time – quickly see where you stand compared to peers across the nation. -Multiple question types, including multiple-choice, multi-part, SATA Basic and Advanced, matrix, open answer, matching, and ordering. Free to download, sign-in with your TrueLearn credentials, and start taking practice questions. Each of the SmartBanks are mapped to the corresponding exam and have thousands of practice questions written by board-certified professionals. -COMLEX: Level 1, Level 2, COMAT, & Level 3 -USMLE: Step 1, Step 2 CK, & NBME Shelf -Physician Assistant: PANCE & PANRE -APEX Anesthesia NCE/SEE SRNA Smartbank -Anesthesiology: ITE, BASIC, ADVANCED, ACA, & CME -Emergency Medicine: ABEM ITE & Qualifying -Family Medicine: ABFM ITE & Board Certification -General Surgery: ABSITE, ABS Qualifying, & CME -Internal Medicine: ACP IM-ITE & ABIM Board Certification -Neurology: AAN RITE®, ABPN Certification, & CME -OBGYN: CREOG, ABOG, & CME -Pediatrics: ABP ITE & Certification -Psychiatry: PRITE & ABPN Certification -Radiology: DXIT & CORE -Anesthesiology Assistant: NCCAA -Behavior Analyst: BCBA -Dental Hygiene: NBDHE -Medical Assistant: CMA, RMA, NCMA, CCMA -Nursing: NCLEX-RN® -Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP): AANP & ANCC -Occupational Therapy: NBCOT OTR® & COTA® -Pharmacy: NAPLEX -Pharmacy Technician: PTCE® And ExCPT® -Physical Therapy: NPTE PT & PTA -Speech Language Pathology: Praxis® CCC-SLP
Elsevier eBooks+
Access your medical textbooks offline and enhance your learning with tools for note-taking, highlighting, and flashcard creation. Sync your progress and annotations across devices for a seamless study experience.
- Offline book access
- Note-taking and highlighting
- Flashcard creation
- Cross-device syncing
- In-book search
- Figure viewing and zooming
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The Elsevier eBooks+ Bookshelf companion app provides on and offline access to the books in your eBooks+ account on the Content Library page. Enhance your reading experience with tools designed to build and improve your medical knowledge; making and sharing notes, highlighting key text, and creating flashcards. Elsevier eBooks Features: • Download books to your iOS device for easy online or offline reading. • Simple, user-friendly navigation and a clean reading experience. • Search inside your current book or across your full library. • Select text to create notes or highlights from your mobile device. • Tap to open figures, view captions, and pinch to zoom. • Sync your bookmarks, last page read, and all of your notes and highlights between your iOS device and our desktop or web-based eBooks+ apps. Requirements: • Elsevier eBooks+ account • One or more books available in your eBooks+ Bookshelf account • iOS 17+
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: TrueLearn SmartBanks at free against Elsevier eBooks+'s freemium. TrueLearn SmartBanks also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). Elsevier eBooks+'s advantage is review sentiment (43% vs 28%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for TrueLearn SmartBanks against 4.8 for Elsevier eBooks+. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.7K and 1.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 28% of TrueLearn SmartBanks's written reviews are positive against 43% of Elsevier eBooks+'s.
TrueLearn SmartBanks ships an update every 3 weeks, Elsevier eBooks+ every 2 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | TrueLearn SmartBanks | Elsevier eBooks+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.7K ratings) — better | 4.8 (1.8K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 27.8% of reviews | 42.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.7K | 1.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 183 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TrueLearn, LLC | Elsevier Inc. |
Customer experience
TrueLearn SmartBanks
Elsevier eBooks+
User reviews
TrueLearn SmartBanks
From 1.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great for test prep
- 👍 Clean and visually appealing UI
- ✨ Impressive with new updates
- 💯 Helpful for exam preparation
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Missing crucial features like highlighting
- 🔒 Difficult login process
- 🔧 Needs optimization and stability improvements
- 📱 Limited functionality on mobile devices
Elsevier eBooks+
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Student / Study friendly
- 🚀 Enhances content
- 👍 Ebooks from Elsevier
- 👍 Great app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unable to view images/tables
- 🐛 Useless for medical textbooks
- 🐛 Positioning issues
- 🐛 Scrolling and zooming problems
- 🐛 Slow loading times
Bugs and requests
TrueLearn SmartBanks
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to access previous tests and quizzes
- Inconsistent data between app and website
- Crashing when opening images or lab references
- Unreliable question submission and tracking
Requested features
5 requests- Landscape mode support
- Ability to highlight and annotate questions
- Offline question access
- Feedback mechanism for questions
- Password/biometric login options
Elsevier eBooks+
Reported bugs
5 issues- Figures placed at the end of chapters
- Search function only works for single words
- Inability to clear search history
- Freezing and crashing issues
- Incompatibility with older devices
Requested features
8 requests- More highlighting and note-taking options
- Ability to write, draw, or paste images on pages
- Separate flashcard option integration with Anki/Quizlet
- More font size options
- Streamlined text selection for voiceover
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- Page turning instead of scrolling
- Ability to write on pages
- Interactive features
In-app purchases
TrueLearn SmartBanks
No in-app purchases
Elsevier eBooks+
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TrueLearn SmartBanks free?
Is Elsevier eBooks+ free?
Which has better reviews, TrueLearn SmartBanks or Elsevier eBooks+?
Do TrueLearn SmartBanks or Elsevier eBooks+ have ads?
Which is updated more often, TrueLearn SmartBanks or Elsevier eBooks+?
Other comparisons
