ielts exam vs toefl exam

๐Ÿงพ Overview

FeatureIELTS (International English Language Testing System)TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
Organized byBritish Council, IDP, Cambridge AssessmentETS (Educational Testing Service, USA)
PurposeStudy, work, or migrate to English-speaking countries (esp. UK, Canada, Australia, NZ)Study or work in English-speaking countries (esp. USA, Canada)
Test typesIELTS Academic & IELTS General TrainingTOEFL iBT (Internet-based Test)
Score range0–9 band score0–120 points
Test duration~2 hours 45 minutes~2 hours
Test formatPaper-based or computer-basedComputer-based only

๐Ÿ—ฃ️ Section Comparison

SectionIELTSTOEFL
Reading3 sections, 40 questions (Academic = academic texts; General = general texts)3–4 passages, 10 questions each; multiple choice; all academic texts
Listening4 recordings with different accents (British, Australian, etc.)3–4 lectures + 2–3 conversations; mostly North American accents
SpeakingFace-to-face interview with an examiner (11–14 minutes)Recorded responses via microphone (4 tasks)
Writing2 tasks: essay + report/letter (handwritten or typed)2 tasks: integrated (read + listen + write) and independent essay (typed)

๐ŸŒ Accent and Style Differences

FeatureIELTSTOEFL
Accent varietyBritish, Australian, New Zealand, CanadianMostly American English
Writing styleMore concise and formalMore structured and academic
Speaking formatHuman interaction (natural conversation)Computer recording (no human examiner)

๐ŸŽฏ Scoring

SkillIELTS (0–9 Band)TOEFL (0–30 per section; 120 total)
Listening0–90–30
Reading0–90–30
Writing0–90–30
Speaking0–90–30
OverallAverage of all sectionsSum of all sections

Typical equivalence:

  • IELTS 7.0 ≈ TOEFL 94

  • IELTS 6.5 ≈ TOEFL 79

  • IELTS 8.0 ≈ TOEFL 110


๐Ÿซ Which One Should You Take?

PreferenceBetter Choice
Prefer face-to-face speakingIELTS
Prefer computer-only formatTOEFL
Targeting US universitiesTOEFL (more common)
Targeting UK, Canada, AustraliaIELTS
Comfortable with American EnglishTOEFL
Comfortable with British EnglishIELTS

 

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