Competitive learning techniques are being successfully used in courses of different disciplines. However, there is still a significant gap in analyzing their effects in medical students competing individually. The authors conducted this study to assess the effectiveness of the use of a competitive learning tool on the academic achievement and satisfaction of medical students.The authors collected data from a Human Immunology course in medical students (n = 285) and conducted a nonrandomized (quasi-experimental) control group pretest-posttest design. The results show that the improvement and academic outcomes of the experimental group students were significantly higher than those of the control group students. The students using the competitive learning tool had better academic performance, and they were satisfied with this type of learning.The use of competitive learning techniques motivates medical students, improves their academic outcomes and may foster the cooperation among students and provide a pleasant classroom environment. The authors are planning further studies with a more complete evaluation of cognitive learning styles or incorporating chronometry as well as team-competition.