SPI prep · honest comparison
Prepry for the SPI Exam vs a Free Alternative: What You Actually Need
Prepry, Davies, Edelman, SonoSim, Pocket Prep, Quizlet — or a free practice test. Here is what each one actually is, what a paid course buys you, and the short list you genuinely need to pass the SPI.
Let me save you a week of comparison-shopping. Passing the SPI comes down to one thing you can do for free: grind a large bank of realistic physics questions, timed, reading the explanation after every single one until the traps stop catching you.
Everything a paid product sells sits on top of that one habit. Some of it is worth the money for some people. Most of it is worth the money for nobody who is short on time and just needs to pass. So instead of ranking these tools head-to-head on features you will never use, this page sorts them by the only question that matters: does it get you more reps on real-feeling questions, or does it sell you something adjacent to that?
You don't pass the SPI by owning the best prep tool. You pass it by doing hundreds of timed questions and learning why the wrong answers are wrong.
What actually carries the points in an SPI prep tool
Rank prep tools the way you should rank exam topics — by what moves your score. Four things do; the rest is packaging.
Prepry vs a free SPI practice test, head-to-head
Prepry is the paid SPI prep name most people actually search for, so it is the fair thing to line up against the free quiz on this site. Prices and features change constantly, so every Prepry cell below is “confirm it on their site” — the only column I can promise is our own.
| What matters | Free quiz on this site | Prepry (verify on prepry.com) |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free, no signup, no paywall | Paid subscription — check their site for current pricing |
| Question depth | Bank drawn from a large SPI item pool, weighted by domain | Question bank — confirm current size and scope on their site |
| Timed mock exam | Yes — timed run that mirrors exam pacing | Practice / mock modes advertised — confirm on their site |
| Explanation on every answer | Yes — written rationale on right and wrong answers | Explanations included per their materials — verify on their site |
| Weighted to the SPI blueprint | Yes — sampled to the five ARDMS SPI domains by weight | Not stated — check their site |
| Mobile | Companion app plus the browser quiz | Web-based; app availability — check their site |
Read that table honestly: on the four things that carry the points, a free quiz and a paid subscription land in the same place. What a paid product like Prepry genuinely adds is structure and hand-holding — a set path, progress tracking, a course wrapper. If you are the kind of person who needs that to actually sit down and study, it can be money well spent. If you are disciplined enough to grind questions on your own, you are paying for a syllabus you could build in an afternoon.
The rest of the field, in one honest table
The other names that come up for SPI prep are not really competitors to a question bank — most are a different kind of product. Here is what each one actually is, so you stop comparing a textbook to a quiz. Pricing and exact contents change, so treat every specific as “check their site”.
| Option | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Davies | SPI review books and an online physics question bank | People who want a structured book plus a paid bank to drill |
| Edelman (SPI / physics review) | The classic ultrasound-physics textbook and review course | People who want the concepts explained slowly from the ground up |
| Pocket Prep | A freemium mobile question-bank app | Drilling questions on your phone in spare minutes |
| SonoSim | A hands-on scanning simulation and training platform (often institutional) | Scanning skills and coursework — not a fast SPI cram tool |
| Burwin | Online ultrasound review courses, including physics | People who prefer a lecture-style course over self-drilling |
| Quizlet | Free, user-made flashcard decks of variable accuracy | Quick memorization — but verify facts, decks are unvetted |
Notice the split: Davies, Edelman, Pocket Prep and Prepry actually put SPI questions in front of you. SonoSim and Burwin sell you instruction, which is a different job. Quizlet is free but unvetted — fine for memorizing a formula, risky for learning why a distractor is wrong, because nobody checked the deck. Match the tool to the gap you actually have, and do not buy three of them.
Who each option is actually worth it for
- You just need to pass and you are short on time: start with the free timed quiz here, add a paid question bank only if you burn through free reps and want more volume. That is the whole plan for most people.
- Your physics is genuinely shaky: a concept-first resource like Edelman earns its price — you cannot drill your way out of not understanding the Doppler equation. Read to understand, then come back and drill.
- You study best on a set track: a paid course wrapper (Prepry, Burwin) buys you structure and accountability. Worth it if that is the thing stopping you from studying.
- You want reps on your commute: a phone app — ours or a freemium bank like Pocket Prep — turns dead minutes into questions.
What almost nobody needs is all of the above. Pick the one that fixes your actual weak point, then spend the rest of your energy on a no-fluff study plan and the domain-weighted blueprint.
SPI prep in your pocket
Skip the shopping. Start drilling.
The free, timed SPI quiz on this site is the reps everything else is built on — open it and answer ten questions right now.
Prepry & SPI prep: common questions
Is Prepry good for the SPI exam?
Prepry is a legitimate paid SPI prep option, and for people who want a structured, guided path it can be worth the money. But it is not doing anything magical: its value is the same reps-plus-explanations you can get from a free practice test. Try the free quiz on this site first, and only pay for a subscription if you run out of free questions and want more volume. Check prepry.com for current pricing and features before you buy.
How difficult is the SPI exam?
Honestly, difficulty depends on your physics background more than on any prep product. ARDMS does not publish a simple ‘how hard is it’ number, so check ARDMS’s own site for the current format and policies rather than trusting a forum figure. What is in your control is reps: people who do a lot of timed practice questions and read every rationale tend to walk in far calmer than people who only read.
Do I have to pay for SPI prep?
No. The single most valuable thing — timed questions with written explanations — is available free, including the quiz on this site. Paid products add structure, extra volume, or concept teaching. Pay for those only if they fix a specific gap you actually have, not out of a vague fear that free is not enough.
Are these practice questions like the real ARDMS SPI questions?
The free quiz here is built to mirror the style and physics depth of the SPI — scenario stems, four options, a worked explanation — and it is sampled across the five real ARDMS SPI content domains by their exam weight, so your practice mix looks like the real blueprint. No third-party set is the actual exam, so treat any bank as practice for the reasoning, not a leaked copy.