All non-native speakers of the English language have to take these exams in order to complete their applications. Out of all, the popular ones are IELTS and TOEFL. Both of them assess the reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills of the candidates but in different formats.
| Details | IELTS | TOEFL |
| Conducting Body | British Council and IDP Education Ltd. | Educational Testing Services |
| Medium | Online and Offline | Online and Offline |
| Variants | IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training IELTS Indicator | TOEFL iBT |
| Duration | 2 hours 45 minutes | 1 hour 56 minutes (latest revised duration) |
| Breaks | No breaks during the listening, reading and writing sections, but the speaking portion can be taken up to a week before or after the rest of the test | A 10-minute break between listening and speaking sections |
| Sections | Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking* | Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking |
| Test Delivery Format | Paper-based | Computer-based |
| Score Range | 0-9 | 0-120 |
| Average Minimum Score Required by Top Universities | 6.3 | 78 |
| Exam Frequency | 48 times in a year | More than 50 times a year |
| Results Timeline | Results are issued 13 days after the test | Results are issued approximately 10 days after the test |
| Where All are the Scores Accepted | Where All Are the Scores Accepted | Accepted by more than 10,000 organizations globally |
| Cost | INR 16,250 | INR 16,900 (TOEFL iBT) |
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an esteemed language proficiency test that is taken by candidates either willing to attain overseas education or for occupational purposes. Although It is accepted across 140 countries. IELTS has two variants, IELTS General Training (for working professional/ immigration purposes) and IELTS Academic (for education purposes).
IELTS vs TOEFL Format
The major difference lies in the format of the questions as TOEFL comprises MCQs whereas IELTS would ask you to answer the questions in varied forms like fill in the blanks, short answers, etc. Along with this, one prominent distinction is the duration of both exams.
IELTS vs TOEFL Writing Section
While attempting the IELTS paper, you would be asked to solve 2 writing questions. In the first one, you will have to explain the information given in the form of a diagram, table chart, etc. Also While in the second one, you will have to pen down 200-250 words on the argument or a given viewpoint. If you take up the TOEFL exam, you will have to draft a five-paragraph essay within 300-350.
IELTS vs TOEFL Speaking Section
Speaking assessment all in that TOEFL will be recorded through a microphone and will be sent to the examiners while the IELTS speaking test will be face to face test for all the candidates. The duration of TOEFL would be 16 minutes while IELTS would range a maximum of 10-15 minutes.
TOEFL vs IELTS Reading Section
The reading test on both exams includes texts similar to those they will encounter in their programs. The TOEFL has 3-5 reading questions to be answered in 35 minutes.
TOEFL vs IELTS Listening Section
The listening comprehension test of the two exams currently differs greatly. In the IELTS test, students can answer the questions while listening to the recording. Different types of long and short questions are asked.
