Considering that many colleges and universities accept both scores from the TOEFL iBT and the IELTS Academic exams, it can be difficult deciding which one is best for you as a new test-taker.
If you are struggling to decide between the TOEFL iBT and IELTS Academic exams, I want you to worry no more! In this article, we're going to break down the key differences between these popular English language proficiency tests.
And ultimately help you identify which one is right for you based on your needs.
Why Universities Require the TOEFL iBT and IELTS Academic
Let's start by understanding the purpose of each test. Both the TOEFL iBT and IELTS Academic are two of the most widely used English proficiency exams required for university admissions to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
They both measure your English language proficiency across four essential skills, which are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. But while they share a common objective and test your abilities in the same 4 areas, their structure and question types vary significantly.
Now keep in mind that this article references the updated TOEFL iBT launched in July 2023 - which has been shortened significantly compared to the previous versions of the TOEFL iBT.
TOEFL iBT vs IELTS Academic - Reading Section
In the reading section of the TOEFL iBT you'll tackle two passages, each with 10 questions - so that’s 20 questions maximum to be completed in a 35-minute window at 105 seconds per question!
Meanwhile, the IELTS Academic Reading section features 40 questions spread across three passages to be completed in a 60-minute window. Which gives you 90 seconds per question - significantly less than the TOEFL iBT.
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The academic texts on both of these can be quite dense, so having both fast and strong reading comprehension skills is vital. But one thing to note is that on either exam, you’re not expected to have any knowledge about the subject of the passages in the reading section.
A striking difference between the two is the TOEFL iBT rarely includes visuals such as charts and graphs, while in the IELTS Academic, visuals are to be expected in any one of the three passages.
So you'll need to be comfortable synthesizing information in charts and graphs while attempting the IELTS Academic reading section.
TOEFL iBT vs IELTS Academic - Listening Section
The new TOEFL iBT Listening section includes 28 questions drawn from a total of 5 short audio recordings of university classroom lectures and student conversations. While the IELTS Academic listening section has 4 audio recordings, each with 10 questions.
A big difference between the two exams is that in the TOEFL iBT Listening section, questions are only shown after the audio recording is played.
So you’re expected to listen very attentively during these short recordings of under 5 minutes each and then recall this information as you attempt the listening questions later.
While in the IELTS Listening section, the questions are shown at the same time that the audio recordings are played. And you’re expected to simultaneously listen and answer the questions during the section.
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Now on both exams you should expect to hear speakers in this section with various English accents. Although in the TOEFL iBT you’ll find most of the accents to be North American, while in the IELTS they skew towards more British accents. The total time spent in the IELTS listening section is 40 minutes, and as I mentioned earlier this is the time given to you to both listen and complete the questions. So that gives you 60 seconds per question, whereas with the TOEFL iBT section, the total time given to answer the questions alone is 36 minutes which gives you 77 seconds per question.
TOEFL iBT vs IELTS Academic - Speaking Section
The speaking section is were these two exams really differ.
In the TOEFL iBT you'll face four tasks - one is called an independent task where you speak on a familiar topic of your choice, while the other three are called integrated tasks. In the sense that they test your reading, listening, and speaking skills at once.
In these three tasks you’ll either read a body of text and or listen to an audio conversation between two people or a lecture, and then provide a spoken response to a prompt about what you heard and or read.
The entire speaking section on the TOEFL lasts for 16 minutes, where all your spoken responses are captured electronically. In contrast, the IELTS Academic Speaking section involves 3 parts in a format of a face-to-face interview with an examiner.
This face-to-face speaking interview is completed within 14 minutes. So as you can see, the IELTS speaking section is administered in a more natural setting which could be a pro for some and a con for others.
TOEFL iBT vs IELTS Academic - Writing Section
the updated TOEFL iBT Writing section has two tasks: an integrated task and a task called Writing for an Academic Discussion. In the integrated task you will read a passage and listen to a lecture following that you will be prompted to craft a written response related to what you read and heard.
While in the Writing for An Academic Discussion you will be asked to state and support your opinion on a given topic within an online class discussion.
The total time you will be given to craft a response to both of these writing tasks is 29 minutes. The IELTS Academic Writing section also features two tasks. Task 1 involves describing or summarizing information from a graph or chart.
While Task 2 is an essay prompt on a specific topic or issue. It’s also important to point out here that this second writing task is worth twice as many points as the first writing task.
TOEFL iBT vs IELTS Academic - Exam Sequence
The TOEFL iBT begins with the Reading section, followed by the Listening and speaking section and ends with the Writing section. There are no breaks in between sections. While the sequence of the IELTS exam could vary from one test taker to another.
The Listening, Reading and Writing section are held on the same day and are given back-to-back with no breaks in between, while the IELTS speaking section could be held on the same day or within 7 days before or after the other 3 sections are given.
So while the combined sections of the exam are longer than the TOEFL iBT, you don’t complete all 4 sections at the same time. As for how these exams are scored, each section of the TOEFL iBT is scored on a 0 - 30 point scale, where the overall TOEFL iBT score is the combined score on all 4 sections of the exam with 120 points as the max score.
In contrast, each section of the IELTS is graded on a 9-point scale called band scores, where your overall score is the average of your score on all 4 sections.
Which Test Should You Choose?
As you’ve seen there are some aspects of both exams that you might clearly prefer and others that you don’t prefer. For example, if the thought of a face-to-face speaking assessment scares you, the IELTS is clearly not the right fit for you.
But considering that the best test prep strategy is one where you spend the majority of your time on your weak areas and less prep time on your strong areas, deciding between these two exams should come down to where your weaknesses lie. So here is the tried and tested way to decide which of these exams is best for you.
Start by taking 2 practice exams, one for the TOEFL iBT and the other for the IELTS Academic, and do so under realistic test-taking conditions. What you’ll notice in your scores from both exams is that in areas where you’re weak, one of these exams will magnify your weaknesses more than the other.
As an example, you might find your reading scores being average in the TOEFL iBT, while your reading section IELTS scores may reflect a slightly above-average.
