IELTS vs TOEFL vs PTE: How to Choose an English Test for Study Abroad
Take the English test the university names, at the score it names. IELTS, TOEFL, and PTE measure English in different formats and report different scales. None of them is a universal pass, and a conversion chart is not an offer of admission.
IELTS
IELTS reports Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking, plus an overall band. The overall score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half band, on a scale from 0 to 9. Academic and General Training use that same scale. Academic is the test intended for degree-level study. General Training is aimed at migration and at training or study below degree level, and its Reading paper is not the same task as Academic Reading. A university that asks for Academic will not treat General Training as the same result.
IELTS recommends that organisations treat a result as evidence for two years, because language ability can change. The organisation can accept an older result. Manchester, for example, says some test results have to be valid on the course start date. Check the page that will receive the score, not only the test-provider page.
TOEFL iBT
As of 21 January 2026, a TOEFL iBT score report uses a 1 to 6 scale in half-point steps for each of Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing, and for the overall score. The overall score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half band. For a two-year transition after January 2026, the report also shows a comparable overall score on the older 0 to 120 scale. ETS says you do not convert the score yourself. If a university still publishes a 0 to 120 cutoff, compare the comparable total on your report with that cutoff, and confirm with the university which figure it is using.
ETS does not set a pass mark. Scores are valid for two years from the test date, and ETS will not send them after that. Official scores are posted to the ETS account about three days after the test. There is no single “good” score. MyBest scores, which combine section results across dates, are accepted only if that institution says so.
PTE Academic
PTE Academic and PTE Academic UKVI report an overall score from 10 to 90, with skill scores on the same scale. Pearson says the Score Report is valid for two years from the test date, and that some institutions use a shorter or longer period. PTE Academic UKVI is the version used when a UK visa application needs a Secure English Language Test. PTE Core is a different test and a different use. A computer-based sitting is not evidence that a university, or a visa office, prefers it to IELTS or TOEFL.
Pearson’s public pages do not agree on every detail of scoring. The scoring page describes PTE Academic as 20 question types and says the test has no human examiner. Pearson’s own note on 2025 changes describes human review of some AI scores. This article does not pick one of those descriptions. What you can rely on is the score scale, the two-year report, and the institution’s rule.
What a comparison can and cannot do
| IELTS | TOEFL iBT | PTE Academic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | 0 to 9, half bands | 1 to 6 from 21 January 2026, plus a comparable 0 to 120 overall during a two-year transition | 10 to 90 |
| Skills reported | Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking | Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing | Speaking, writing, reading, and listening skill scores, plus an overall score |
| How long the provider stands behind the result | Recommended for two years; the receiver can differ | Two years; ETS will not report it after that | Two years on the Score Report; some institutions differ |
| Who sets the cutoff | The university or visa authority | The university or visa authority | The university or visa authority |
ETS publishes material that lines older TOEFL totals up with the new bands, and it also publishes a comparison with IELTS for institutions. Those tables are not a licence to sit one test and claim another university’s cutoff. If the program lists IELTS 6.5 and is silent on TOEFL, ask the program. Do not assume recognition because a provider says thousands of institutions accept its test.
Test fees change and are not compared here. The result goes into the application file described in how to apply to universities abroad. If the program accepts something other than IELTS, that is a different question from which of these three tests to book.
Sources
- IELTS: IELTS scoring in detail
- ETS: TOEFL iBT scores
- Pearson: PTE scoring
