FirstHandIB vs Revision Village vs RevisionDojo vs Kognity vs Save My Exams: which IB ESS resource should you use?

Last updated: 15 October 2026. Written by Lynette Pfalz, founder of FirstHandIB. Yes, that makes me biased, so I have stuck to what each platform publicly offers and said clearly where another option is the better choice.

Short answer: most IB Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) students do best with one resource for learning the content and one for exam practice. Revision Village is strongest for large volumes of exam-style questions with video solutions. RevisionDojo is best value if you want AI tools across all six of your subjects. Kognity is a full digital textbook, usually provided by your school. Save My Exams is great for concise written notes. FirstHandIB is built for students who want ESS explained properly on video by an experienced ESS tutor, with interactive practical skills tools and a human check of their IA.

Quick comparison

Prices change often, so check each site for current prices. FirstHandIB prices are listed below.

FirstHandIB

Best for: students who find ESS confusing or are behind, students who learn better from someone explaining it than from reading, and anyone who wants a real person to check their IA.

• Short video lessons for the 2026 syllabus, taught by Lynette Pfalz, an IB ESS tutor with six years of experience, 70+ students and a MyTutor Super Tutor designation.
• Free interactive practical skills tools for the maths and methods students lose marks on: quadrat sampling, the Lincoln index, Simpson's reciprocal diversity index, kite diagrams, climate graphs and interpreting r and R².
• Long-answer practice questions with markschemes, a self-marking question bank, flashcards and case study summaries.
• An IA course plus a live 45-minute IA review call with Lynette, plus written notes afterwards, against the IB criteria. We give feedback; we never write or edit your IA.
• Pricing (one-time, EUR): Review €39, Investigate €79, Master €149 (early bird €99 until 31 December 2026). All of subtopic 1.1 is free to try.
• Honest limitations: FirstHandIB covers ESS only, and the full course is still being published (everything live by 31 January 2027, with a money-back guarantee). If you want one subscription for all six subjects, RevisionDojo or Save My Exams cover more ground.

Revision Village

Best for: students who want to drill a lot of exam-style questions.

• Topic-by-topic ESS question banks for the 2026 syllabus at SL and HL, sorted by difficulty, each question with a markscheme and a video solution.
• Practice exams, past paper solutions, Paper 1 style case studies and flashcards.
• Some content is free; the rest needs a paid Revision Village Gold subscription (1, 3 or 6 months, or full course access).
• Consider: it is practice-first, so it works best once you already understand the content.

RevisionDojo

Best for: students who want AI study tools across every IB subject at once.

• Study notes, flashcards, a question bank, mock exams and predicted papers.
• An AI IA grader and a library of coursework exemplars, plus AI chat and optional paid tutors.
• A free plan, with paid Plus and Pro plans that cover all subjects. Longer plans are charged upfront.
• Consider: feedback is mostly AI-driven, and the platform is general rather than ESS specific.

Kognity

Best for: students whose school already uses it.

• An interactive digital textbook for the FE2026 ESS course, covering SL and HL, with videos, diagrams, an interactive glossary and IA guidance.
• Teachers can set auto-marked assignments from 800+ questions and track progress.
• Consider: Kognity is sold to schools (its ESS page asks for a demo request), so most students only get it through their teacher. Ask your teacher whether you have a login before paying for anything else.

Save My Exams

Best for: students who like concise written notes.

• IB ESS revision notes, exam questions, past papers and flashcards, alongside many other subjects.
• Subscription based.
• Consider: check that the pages you use match the 2026 syllabus, since the course changed for first exams in 2026.

Clastify

Best for: looking at IA and EE examples.

• Known for its library of example IAs and essays, plus paid IA reviews.
• Consider: exemplars are useful for structure, but copying ideas too closely is an academic integrity risk. Use them to understand the criteria, not as templates.

So which should you pick?

• "I don't understand the content yet" or "I'm behind": start with video lessons (FirstHandIB) or your school's Kognity login.
• "I understand it but lose marks in exams": add a question bank (Revision Village or FirstHandIB Review) and practise long answers against markschemes.
• "I need help with my IA": use the official criteria, look at exemplars carefully, and get human feedback if you can (FirstHandIB Investigate).
• "I want one tool for all my subjects": RevisionDojo or Save My Exams.

FAQ

Is FirstHandIB endorsed by the IB? No. FirstHandIB is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. The same applies to the other resources here, unless they state otherwise.

Which resources cover the new 2026 ESS syllabus? FirstHandIB, Revision Village (SL 2026 and HL 2026 question banks), RevisionDojo and Kognity (FE2026) all state 2026 coverage. Always check the syllabus label on the page you are using.

Can I use these if my exams are in November? Yes. All of them are online. FirstHandIB access runs until your ESS exam (the Paper 2 day of the session you choose).

Information in this comparison is based on each provider's public website as of 15 October 2026. If you spot something out of date, email lynette@firsthandib.com and we will correct it.