TestUstad
Language testsUpdated

IELTS, TOEFL, PTE or Duolingo: which English test should you take?

The short answer

Choose by acceptance first and format second. Confirm what your specific university and the relevant visa authority accept before comparing anything else, because a cheaper or easier test you cannot submit is worth nothing. Among the four, IELTS has the widest acceptance including for visa purposes, TOEFL is strong for North America, PTE is fully computer-scored with fast results, and Duolingo is the cheapest and shortest but the least universally accepted.

Why is acceptance the only question that matters first?

Because the tests are not interchangeable, and the cost of getting this wrong is a full test fee plus a missed deadline. Candidates regularly book the cheapest option, score well, and then discover their university requires a different test, or that the university accepts it but the visa route does not.

  1. Check the university's own admissions page for the exact tests and minimum scores it accepts, for your specific programme rather than the institution generally.
  2. Check the visa authority separately. Some immigration routes require a test from an approved list, and that list can be narrower than the university's. This is the step most often skipped.
  3. Check whether a minimum per section applies. An overall band with one section below the floor is a common and expensive failure.
  4. Check the validity period against your intended start date, since these scores expire.
  5. Only then compare format, cost and how quickly results arrive.

How do the four actually differ?

IELTSTOEFL iBTPTE AcademicDuolingo
SectionsListening, Reading, Writing, SpeakingReading, Listening, Speaking, WritingSpeaking and Writing, Reading, ListeningAdaptive, plus a short writing and speaking sample
SpeakingFace to face with an examinerRecorded, into a computerRecorded, into a computerRecorded, into a computer
ScoringBands 0 to 90 to 12010 to 9010 to 160
Marked byHuman examinersMix of human and automatedFully automatedAutomated
AcceptanceWidest, including many visa routesVery wide, strongest in North AmericaWide and growingNarrowest of the four
Typical costHighest tierHighest tierComparable to IELTSSubstantially cheaper
Format and scoring at a glance

The one format difference that changes preparation rather than logistics is the speaking section. IELTS puts you in front of a person who reacts to you; the other three record you against a clock with no feedback. Candidates who freeze in conversation often do better on a recording, and candidates who need a listener to work against often do worse.

IELTS Academic or General Training?

A separate decision from the one above, and a frequent and costly mix-up because both are IELTS and both produce a band score.

  • [Academic](/exams/ielts-academic) is for university study. Its Reading and Writing use academic material, and Writing Task 1 asks you to describe a chart, graph or diagram.
  • [General Training](/exams/ielts-general-training) is for migration and work. Its Reading uses everyday and workplace texts, and Writing Task 1 is a letter.
  • Listening and Speaking are the same in both. The difference is confined to Reading and Writing.

What actually raises a score?

These are proficiency tests, so there is a real limit to what technique can add. What technique does reliably is stop you scoring below your actual ability, and that gap is usually larger than candidates expect.

  1. Learn the format until it costs you no thought

    Every one of these tests has a fixed structure and fixed question types. Working out what a task wants while the clock runs is pure waste, and it is entirely avoidable.

  2. Work to the assessment criteria, not to your instincts

    Writing and speaking are marked against published criteria. Candidates lose bands for reasons the criteria name plainly, such as not answering the whole prompt or never varying sentence structure. Read the criteria before writing a single practice answer.

  3. Practise under exact timing from the start

    Especially writing. An essay that would have scored well and was never finished scores badly, and running out of time is the most common self-inflicted loss on these papers.

  4. Get speaking and writing marked by someone

    These are the two sections you cannot self-assess reliably, because the errors you cannot hear are exactly the ones costing you marks. A teacher, a fluent friend or a study partner is enough.

  5. Build vocabulary and grammar underneath all of it

    The foundation the format sits on. Grammar accuracy and range are named in the criteria, and both respond to steady daily practice on English.

Common questions

Short answers to what people ask most about this. Everything on TestUstad is free to practise.

Which English test should I take for studying abroad?

The one your specific university and your visa authority both accept, checked on their official pages before you compare anything else. IELTS has the widest acceptance including for many visa routes, TOEFL is strongest for North America, PTE is fully computer-scored with fast results, and Duolingo is cheapest but least universally accepted.

What is the difference between IELTS Academic and General Training?

Listening and Speaking are identical in both. Academic uses academic Reading material and asks you to describe a chart or diagram in Writing Task 1, and it is normally required for university study. General Training uses everyday and workplace texts and asks for a letter in Writing Task 1, and it is used for several migration and work routes.

Is PTE easier than IELTS?

Not easier, but different in a way that suits different candidates. PTE is entirely computer-scored, including speaking into a microphone, so candidates who are uncomfortable speaking to an examiner often prefer it, while candidates who respond well to a human listener may do better on IELTS. Choose on acceptance first and on which format suits you second.

Is the Duolingo English Test accepted by universities?

By many, but by no means all, and acceptance for visa purposes is narrower still. It is shorter and considerably cheaper than the alternatives, which makes it attractive, but the saving is worthless if your programme or immigration route does not accept it. Confirm on the official pages for both before booking.

How long is an English test score valid?

Each test publishes its own validity period, and institutions can impose stricter requirements of their own. Because the score has to still be valid at the point of admission or visa application rather than only when you sit it, check the period against your intended start date before booking a test date.

Read next

  • Why do you forget MCQs you have already done?

    Forgetting is not a sign that you studied badly, it is the default behaviour of memory. The fix is not more hours, it is changing when you revisit material and whether you test yourself or re-read it.

  • How should you actually use past papers?

    Most students read past papers. Reading them is the least valuable thing you can do with one. Here is the method that turns a past paper into a diagnosis, and the mistake that wastes the only papers you have.

  • Should you guess when there is negative marking?

    Whether to guess is not a matter of nerve, it is a calculation, and for the penalties used by most Pakistani tests the calculation says guess. Here is the break-even point and how to work it out for your paper.

  • NAT or GAT: which NTS test do you need?

    NAT is for undergraduate admission, GAT for postgraduate. They test similar skills at different levels, and the mistake that costs candidates most is booking the wrong one or letting a valid score expire.