IELTS vs TOEFL iBT: differences and which to take

IELTS vs TOEFL iBT is a different choice than it was a year ago, because the TOEFL changed format on 21 January 2026 and many comparisons online still describe the old test. If you're a student or a professional applying abroad, start with what your university or visa accepts, then pick the format you handle better.

This guide draws on the public documents from ETS, which owns the TOEFL, and from the IELTS partners, plus government and university pages we read in November 2026. Neither test owner is neutral, so we say whose claim is whose. Always confirm the rules on the official site before you pay.

How has the 2026 update changed the TOEFL against IELTS?

The updated TOEFL iBT is about 75 minutes shorter than IELTS Academic on paper, and the gap is widest in speaking and writing. ETS lists about 90 minutes of base time and says to allow about two hours with directions. Reading and Listening are now adaptive, so the questions change with your answers.

Verdict: TOEFL costs you less time in the chair, and IELTS gives you more room to show extended academic English.

TOEFL's 8 minutes of speaking are the largest practical change for most candidates. You repeat sentences and answer interview questions into a microphone, and ETS's 2026 blueprint lists all 11 speaking items and the 2 writing responses as AI-scored. In IELTS, a trained examiner sits across from you, or appears on a video call in IELTS Online. We broke down what IELTS examiners listen for in a separate guide.

Which is easier, IELTS or TOEFL?

Neither test has been shown to be easier, and we found no independent study that settles it for the new TOEFL. The argument so far comes from the two owners. Short, machine-scored tasks suit some candidates, and a long essay and a live conversation suit others.

IELTS has made its case loudly. A February 2026 report on its site by Ren and Blackhurst says the new TOEFL has shorter texts, fewer task types and may be more open to coaching. An IELTS brochure from May 2026 says reading passages fell from 700 words to 200 at most. IELTS Academic's three texts total 2,150 to 2,750 words. ETS replies, in an April 2026 paper, that the update aimed to measure the same academic language ability. Read both with their authors in mind.

Your own profile is a better guide than either:

• Choose TOEFL if long tests drain you, or if you freeze in front of a person.
• Choose IELTS if you speak better when someone reacts to you, or if you write long answers well.
• Sit one timed practice of each from the official sites, and use only TOEFL material dated 2026 or later.

How do IELTS and TOEFL scores compare?

IELTS 7 lines up with a TOEFL total of 5 on ETS's table, and IELTS 6 with a TOEFL 4. The table below combines ETS's 1 to 6 comparison with the older 0 to 120 ranges from the joint 2025 study by ETS and the IELTS partners. On the new scale, ETS says a score of 5 on any section aligns with CEFR level C1 (CEFR is the six-level European scale from A1 to C2).

Verdict: use this table to find a rough target, and take the real number from your program's admissions page.

Three warnings apply. ETS says such tables can't predict the score one person would get on two tests. The joint study compared IELTS with the previous TOEFL, so the 1 to 6 column is ETS's later linking work, not a joint study. And IELTS says older tables are obsolete for the new test, so expect some admissions offices to treat the two differently.

Score reports add one more wrinkle. For two years after the change, ETS also prints a comparable 0 to 120 figure, which is the midpoint of a range. A 4.5, for example, shows as 90.

Do universities accept both IELTS and TOEFL?

Most graduate programs we checked accept both IELTS and TOEFL, with exceptions you need to look for. MIT's graduate policy recommends IELTS 7 or TOEFL 5, and departments can set their own minimums. Harvard's Graduate School of Design states that it does not accept IELTS.

Read the section minimums too, since they can tilt the choice. Harvard's graduate school asks for TOEFL 5 with 4.5 in Speaking, or IELTS 7 with 6.5 in Speaking. On ETS's table, IELTS 6.5 in speaking lines up with a TOEFL 4, so Harvard's TOEFL speaking bar is half a band higher than its IELTS one. If speaking is your weak skill, that detail matters more than the length of the test.

Can you use IELTS or TOEFL for a visa?

IELTS covers more visa routes than TOEFL among the three countries we checked, and the exact IELTS version matters. Visa rules work separately from university admission, so a score your university accepts may still fail for your visa. An English test for immigration often has a specific name.

Verdict: for UK or Canadian immigration, the choice is already made, and the IELTS Academic you'd book for a university is the wrong version for Express Entry.

Australia needs care. ETS says only its separate TOEFL iBT Australia test works for visas, and Home Edition scores don't. An ETS notice from May 2026 said that test keeps the pre-2026 format and the 0 to 120 scale, and that Home Affairs was still reviewing the updated test. The Home Affairs site refused our requests, so check its English page yourself.

How much do IELTS and TOEFL cost?

IELTS costs $340 at the US centers we checked, and TOEFL iBT costs about $280 in the US, a gap of $60. An IELTS center operator, ELS, lists $325 plus a $15 admin fee from 1 October 2026, and $380 in Cleveland and Nashville. Fees differ by country, so look up yours before you compare.

The $280 needs a caveat: ETS's fee page shows the base price by country and wouldn't display it to us, so the figure comes from a third-party copy of ETS's list dated 12 October 2026. ETS does show US$69 to reschedule, US$49 to register within 7 days of the test and US$29 per extra score report. A failed attempt costs more than the fee gap, so book only once your practice scores reach your target.

How should you prepare for IELTS or TOEFL with a tutor?

A tutor helps most with speaking and writing feedback, which a score report alone won't give you, and the sessions look different for each exam. For IELTS, run the three-part speaking test live with a timer. For TOEFL, drill short spoken answers into a microphone, because no one reacts to you on test day.

Ask any tutor these questions before you pay for a plan:

1. Have you prepared students for this exam since the January 2026 change? (For TOEFL, this rules out old material.)
2. Can you score my mock answer against the official criteria?
3. How much of each lesson will I spend speaking or writing?

Tutor-led practice has a real cost. On Preply, plans start at 4 lessons per 28 days, and our October sample of Preply prices had a median of €36.50 for the first 10 English tutors listed, so a cycle comes to about €146 before fees. Unscheduled lessons expire at renewal, so don't buy more than you'll use. Our page for students preparing an exam covers other exam goals.

My own weak point in English was expressing myself out loud, and speaking for most of every 50-minute lesson is what I credit for my progress. I'm at B1, below the IELTS 7 or TOEFL 5 that top programs ask for, and our timelines by CEFR level show how many hours a gap like that can take.

Skip the tutor if your timed practice already beats your target by half a band, or if your only gap is reading speed. Official practice and a timer handle both.