How to choose the best SQE1 app in 2026
The best SQE1 app is the one with enough exam-format questions to fill three months of daily practice, an explanation under every answer, a mock engine that runs the full 180-question papers, and everything stored on the device so a tunnel does not end your session. Very few apps on the App Store clear all four. This guide gives you the checks to run before you commit your revision to any of them, ours included.
The five checks that matter
First, question count against your timetable. SQE1 is two papers of 180 single-best-answer questions, and most candidates who pass report answering two to three thousand practice questions before exam day. An app with 500 questions runs dry in a fortnight. Ask for the number before you subscribe: SQE1 Prep carries 4,400+, and several rivals publish their counts in their subtitles, so the comparison takes seconds.
Second, explanations. A question bank that only marks you right or wrong teaches you nothing about the wrong options, and the wrong options are where SQE1 hides its traps. Every answer in a serious bank explains why the best answer wins and why each distractor fails.
Third, a real mock engine: timed, 180 questions, five hours, scored against the passing standard, with a review of every incorrect answer afterwards. Fourth, offline storage, because commutes are where app revision actually happens. Fifth, honest pricing you can see in the App Store before you pay, with a free tier generous enough to judge the content quality.
How SQE1 Prep measures against those checks
We built SQE1 Prep to clear all five, so this section doubles as a worked example. The bank holds 4,400+ questions with a written explanation under every answer, plus 5,500+ spaced-repetition flashcards and study notes for all 144 topics the SRA specification lists. The mock engine runs unlimited full FLK1 and FLK2 papers alongside 45-question minis. Everything ships inside the download and works in airplane mode.
The free tier opens the full study notes for the first topic of all 13 subjects, so you can judge the writing before spending anything. Premium is a subscription started in the app, weekly with a 3-day free trial or annual, and the exact price shows in the App Store before you confirm.
Reading the rest of the field
Run the same checks on anything else you shortlist. Ratings help once an app has enough of them: the University of Law companion app, for instance, sits at 3.2 stars from 26 reviews, which tells you more than any feature list. A 4.9-star average from seven reviews tells you very little yet. Where an app is new, download it, use the free tier for an evening, and check two things: whether the questions read like real SQE1 single-best-answer scenarios with five options, and whether the explanations would survive a law tutor reading them.
One more filter saves money: an app that cannot tell you its question count, or hides pricing until after signup, has answered your question already.
Quick answers
- Is one app enough to cover the whole SQE1 syllabus?
- Only if it covers all 13 FLK1 and FLK2 subjects and all 144 SRA topics with notes as well as questions. SQE1 Prep does; many quiz apps cover a subset of subjects, so check the syllabus list before relying on one.
- Are free SQE1 apps enough to pass?
- Free tiers are for judging quality, and banks big enough to carry a full revision cycle cost money to build. Around half of candidates fail SQE1, so pick the app on content quality first and price second.
