Most English-speaking universities and immigration centers around the world require foreign students to take a standardized English test to judge whether they will be accepted into the university or country. The main exam for American universities is the TOEFL. But the main exam for the majority of British commonwealth countries is the IELTS. It sometimes gets a bit tricky for you to decide between these two options since in some cases you have a choice on which to take. In order to make the correct decision you have to take a lot of considerations into account.

Below we give an IELTS vs. TOEFL comparison table and go over the differences and considerations you need to take into account while deciding between the 2 exams.

IELTS vs. TOEFL Comparison Table

IELTS	vs.	TOEFL
2 Hours 45 Minutes Reading - 60 min Listening - ~30 min Speaking - 12-15 min Writing - 60 min	Test Format	~4 Hours Reading - 60-100 min Listening - 40-60 min Speaking - ~20 min Writing - 50 min
English language Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking	Content Covered	English language Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking
More focus on international English accents and less focused on "inform" articles and multiple choice questions.	Emphasis	More focus on North American accents and more focused on "inform" articles and multiple choice questions.
Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking scores will each range between 1-9. Composite score is the average score of all sections (1-9).	Scoring	Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking scores will each range between 1-30. Composite score is the combined of your scores on the four sections; ranges between 1-120
There is no penalty for guessing.	Wrong Answer Penalty	There is no penalty for guessing.
2,500,000+ test takers a year	Popularity	25,000,000+ test takers a year
Offered up to 48 times a year in test centers around the globe.	Offered When?	Offered up to 50 times a year in test centers around the globe.
IELTS	More Information	TOEFL

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