TOEFL vs IELTS in 2026: which test should you take?

A test is only useful if the place you’re applying to accepts it. So before comparing formats, open the admissions or English-requirements page of every university, employer or visa you’re aiming for, and write down three things: which tests they accept, the minimum overall score for each, and any minimum for each section.

ETS says TOEFL iBT scores are accepted by all universities in Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Ireland. IELTS’s guide for test takers says its Academic test is for undergraduate and postgraduate study. Most students applying to universities will find both on the list, but check yours, because a single school or visa that accepts only one test decides it for you.

Here’s how the two tests compare in 2026, each described from its own maker’s pages. For university study, the IELTS test to compare is IELTS Academic. IELTS General Training is for other purposes, and IELTS’s guide says it isn’t for degree study.

Two changes are worth knowing about if you’ve read older comparisons. The TOEFL changed on January 21, 2026: it’s now shorter, with new task types and a 1–6 scale (our 2026 format overview explains every task). And IELTS said in March 2026 that it would stop offering a paper-based test from mid-2026, with the timing varying by country, while keeping a handwritten Writing option in some countries.

If your schools accept both, what separates the tests for most students is how each one feels to sit:

• Speaking: a microphone or a person. On the TOEFL you speak into a microphone: you repeat short sentences exactly as you hear them, then answer interview questions about academic and campus life. On IELTS you talk with an examiner for 11–14 minutes, including a talk of up to two minutes on a topic card, after one minute to prepare. If talking to a computer makes you freeze, or talking to a stranger does, that alone can decide it.
• Length. About two hours for the TOEFL, ETS says, against 2 hours 45 minutes for IELTS Academic. IELTS takes Listening, Reading and Writing in one go with no breaks, then Speaking on the same day or another day within a week.
• Writing. The TOEFL has short tasks: putting words in order, an email and a post for an online class discussion. IELTS Academic has two longer pieces: a description of a chart or diagram and a 250-word essay.
• Adaptive or fixed. ETS says the TOEFL adapts, so “test time and items may vary” from one test taker to the next.
• Results. IELTS on computer is usually faster (1–2 days, IELTS says) than the TOEFL’s 3 days, which matters if a deadline is close.
• Retaking one skill. IELTS’s One Skill Retake lets you redo one section within 60 days of a computer test, once. IELTS says to check that your organisation accepts it.

ETS publishes its own table matching IELTS scores to the new 1–6 TOEFL scale, for tests taken on or after January 21, 2026. Here is its overall column:

Read it with ETS’s own warnings. ETS says the totals are rounded up “to minimize false positive classifications”, that the table comes from a study of the previous TOEFL and IELTS plus later linking research, and that comparison tables “cannot predict the exact score” any one person would get on two tests. IELTS’s pages we read publish no TOEFL table. IELTS does map its bands to the CEFR: 8.5 and above is C2, and the C1 threshold falls between 6.5 and 7. It also cautions that this isn’t an exact equivalence.

1. 1

   List what every school and visa accepts

   If any one of them accepts only one test, take that test. You’re done.

2. 2

   Write down both minimums, section scores included

   ETS recommends that schools set section requirements as well as an overall score, so a strong total won’t cover a weak section.

3. 3

   Try a timed sample of each

   Do one TOEFL practice test and one set of IELTS’s own practice material under time. Note which score lands closer to your target, not which test felt nicer.

4. 4

   Weigh the Speaking format honestly

   A microphone and a recorded interviewer (TOEFL), or a conversation with an examiner (IELTS). Pick the one where you’ll say more and freeze less.

5. 5

   Check dates and results against your deadline

   Look up real test dates near you. TOEFL official scores take 3 days, and reports reach schools within 11 business days. IELTS on computer is usually 1–2 days. Leave room for a retake.

Two more tests come up often. Here they are from their own makers’ pages, next to the TOEFL. Only take one if every place on your list accepts it.

TOEFL vs PTE. Both are taken on a computer and last about two hours. PTE Academic is split into three timed parts (Speaking and Writing together, then Reading, then Listening) and is only offered at test centres, while the TOEFL can also be taken at home. ETS’s pages publish no PTE score comparison, so compare by CEFR level, or simply against each school’s own minimum for each test.

TOEFL vs Duolingo. The Duolingo English Test is shorter (about an hour) and taken at home. Duolingo’s scores page compares its 10–160 scale with the older 0–120 TOEFL scale. ETS says it has not run a score study with the Duolingo English Test and recommends choosing a TOEFL score by CEFR level instead. Duolingo’s own count of institutions (6,500+) is lower than ETS’s count for the TOEFL (13,500+), so check that your schools list it.

If the TOEFL is on your shortlist, the fastest way to decide is to sit one under real conditions. Then do the same with IELTS’s own practice material, and compare both results with your school’s minimums.