Why This Choice Matters
If you are planning to study abroad, an English proficiency score is almost always part of your application — and for most people that means choosing between the TOEFL iBT, IELTS, and the Duolingo English Test (DET). All three are widely recognised, but they differ noticeably in how they are delivered, how they are scored, and what preparing for them actually feels like.
There is no single 'best' exam. The right choice depends on what your target institutions accept, how you prefer to be tested, and practical realities such as access to test centres. Acceptance varies by institution, so start by checking each university's requirements: an exam that is ideal for one application may simply not be on the list for another.
Format and Delivery
The TOEFL iBT is a computer-based exam covering Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. It is mainly taken at official test centres, though a home edition is offered in many countries. Speaking answers are recorded into a microphone rather than spoken to a person, and many tasks are integrated — you might read a passage, listen to a short lecture, and then speak or write about both. In the current 2026 format, Reading and Listening also use a two-stage adaptive design: how you perform in the first stage shapes the difficulty of the second.
IELTS is offered on paper or on computer at authorised centres, in Academic and General Training versions. Its most distinctive feature is the Speaking test, which is a live conversation with a human examiner. Some candidates find this more natural than talking to a microphone; others find it more stressful. Either way, it changes how you prepare.
The Duolingo English Test is taken entirely online from home, at almost any time, with your identity verified by camera and the session recorded for review. It is adaptive too — questions get harder or easier depending on your answers, much as the current TOEFL adjusts its Reading and Listening — so what genuinely sets it apart is the fully at-home, on-demand delivery and the length: it is much shorter than the other two, typically about an hour.
Scoring Scales
TOEFL scoring is in transition. The familiar scale reports a total from 0 to 120, but the redesigned 2026 TOEFL introduces a new overall band scale from 1 to 6, aligned with CEFR proficiency levels, with concordance back to the older 0–120 numbers during the changeover. Exactly how your score is reported can depend on when and where you test, so check the official TOEFL website for current details on score reporting. The practical advice survives the transition either way: improving your weakest skill is usually the fastest way to raise your overall result.
IELTS uses bands from 1 to 9 in half-band steps for each of the four skills, and your overall band is the average of the four. Many universities set both an overall band and minimum bands per skill, so a strong average cannot always rescue one weak skill — we cover the details in how IELTS band scores work.
The DET reports an overall score from 10 to 160 in five-point increments, along with subscores that combine skills, such as Literacy and Conversation. Official concordance tables give rough equivalences between the scales, but they are approximations — always check the specific score your institution asks for on each test rather than converting between them.
What Preparation Looks Like
Preparing for TOEFL means building stamina for academic reading and listening, and practising integrated tasks where you read, listen, and then speak or write. Strict section timing rewards pacing: full-length practice tests taken under exam conditions matter as much as learning the content itself.
IELTS preparation depends partly on which version you book. On paper, you write your essays by hand under time pressure, which needs its own practice; on computer, typing speed matters instead. The face-to-face Speaking interview rewards rehearsing answers aloud, ideally with feedback, and Academic and General Training candidates face different Reading and Writing material.
The DET rewards familiarity above all. Its many short task types — filling gaps, describing images, responding to prompts — move quickly, and the adaptive engine keeps pushing you toward your limit. Preparation means seeing every task type in advance and learning to switch between them without losing time, rather than grinding through long passages.
Whichever exam you choose, the same principle applies: work first in an untimed setting where you can review explanations, then move to full timed simulations. Separate Practice and Exam modes exist precisely because these two stages train different things.
Which Exam Fits You
Start with your university list: if every programme you want accepts all three, you can choose freely; if not, the decision is made for you. Then weigh practicalities. If reaching a test centre means long, expensive travel — a real issue for many students in Afghanistan and Iran — the at-home DET removes that barrier entirely. If you perform better talking to a person than to a screen, the IELTS interview may suit you; if you prefer a fully computer-based, academic-style exam, TOEFL may feel more natural.
Costs differ too: registration fees vary by country and change over time, with the DET generally the least expensive of the three. Check the official website of each exam for current fees and registration details, and remember that acceptance varies by institution — a cheaper or more convenient test only helps if your target university accepts it.
Prepare for All Three on ScoreProMax
ScoreProMax supports all three exams with real, countable inventory. For TOEFL there are 167 full practice tests plus 2,455 skill-practice questions; for IELTS, 239 full mock tests and 38,376 practice questions; and for the Duolingo English Test, 50 full mocks with 26,779 practice questions across DET task types.
TOEFL and IELTS Reading and Listening are auto-scored against verified answer keys, and we are honest about the rest: IELTS Speaking and Writing are not auto-scored, TOEFL Speaking and Writing receive a clearly labelled unofficial AI practice band, and DET production tasks get AI practice feedback. The Score Predictor turns your practice history into an evolving projection — an estimate to guide your study, never an official score and never a guarantee.
The interface is available in English and Persian, pricing is regional (AFN for Afghanistan, toman for Iran), and you can explore four free read-only demos before paying anything. Whichever exam you choose, the preparation principle is the same: practise on realistic material, measure honestly, and improve deliberately.