Skip to content
Comparison

Duolingo English Test or IELTS?

One is an hour at home with results in two days. The other is nearly three hours at a test centre, with a band score institutions have been reading for decades. Format and price are the visible difference; what really separates them is where each one is accepted.

Checked August 8, 2026

Side by side

What is being comparedDuolingo English TestIELTS
Who runs itDuolingo, which builds and scores the test itself and publishes a technical manual describing how.Jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
How you sit itOnline, at home, with no appointment.At a test centre or remotely online. IELTS states the format is the same wherever it is taken.
How long it takesAbout one hour: five minutes of setup and ID verification, 45 minutes of scored assessment, ten minutes of writing and speaking samples.Two hours and 45 minutes.
What is in itOne adaptive assessment rather than fixed papers, followed by the writing and speaking samples institutions receive with your score.Four sections: listening, about 30 minutes; reading, 60 minutes; writing, 60 minutes; speaking, 11 to 14 minutes.
How it is scoredOne score on a 10 to 160 scale. Certified tests also carry subscores for specific areas.Band scores from 0 to 9, in whole and half bands. The overall band is the average of the four section bands, rounded to the nearest half band.
When you get resultsTwo days.It depends how you sat it: 1 to 5 days on computer, up to 13 days on paper, 6 to 8 days for IELTS Online.
How long results lastTwo years. Duolingo states the validity window in its technical manual and ties it to score comparability across test versions.The IELTS partners recommend a result demonstrates ability for a maximum of two years, and that an older Test Report Form be accepted only with proof the test taker has kept their English up.
Canadian immigrationNot on IRCC's approved list for Express Entry.Accepted for Express Entry in the General Training version only. IRCC does not accept IELTS One Skill Retake for Express Entry.
What it costsDuolingo publishes no price on its public applicant pages. It advertises a fraction of the cost of other tests and shows the fee at purchase.IELTS publishes no single global fee either. The test centre sets it, so ask the centre you would book with.

Each column states what that test's own organization publishes. Where a figure is not published on a public page, the cell says so rather than repeating a number from a preparation blog.

So which one

If this is for a university

Check that university's own admissions page before anything else. Duolingo says the test is accepted by more than 6,500 institutions, which is a lot and is still not all of them. IELTS publishes no single figure; it maintains a searchable directory of recognizing organizations instead. A cheaper test the institution does not take is not cheaper, it is wasted.

If this is for immigration

IELTS, in its General Training version, is on IRCC's approved list for Express Entry. The Duolingo English Test is not on that list at all. If permanent residence is the goal, that single line settles it, whatever the price difference.

If time is the constraint

Duolingo wins on logistics by a wide margin: an hour at home, no appointment, results in two days, against nearly three hours at a centre and up to 13 days for a paper sitting. That is a real advantage, as long as the place you are applying to accepts it.

And Duolingo against the TOEFL?

The validation pass behind these pages found this pairing searched too rarely to earn a page of its own, and often enough to deserve a straight answer here.

What is being comparedDuolingo English TestTOEFL iBT
How long it takesAbout one hour end to end.About two hours. ETS asks you to allow that much because its published section times exclude the directions.
How it is scoredOne score on a 10 to 160 scale.1 to 6 in half-point increments since 21 January 2026, per section and overall, the overall being the average of the four sections.
When you get resultsTwo days.Three days in your ETS account, with the PDF score report a day later.
How long results lastTwo years.Two years from the test date. ETS states it will not report or send scores after that.
Canadian immigrationNot on IRCC's approved list for Express Entry.Not on IRCC's approved list for Express Entry either.
What it costsNot published publicly; shown at purchase.ETS publishes a fee per country. For a test taken in Algeria it lists US$255, excluding VAT and other applicable taxes.

Sources

Every line in the table is what the awarding body publishes about its own exam. Where a figure is not published anywhere we could check, the line says that instead of guessing one.

If you cannot get a seat

Sessions are organized by approved centers, on their own calendars, at their own prices. That is why the next date near you can be weeks or months out, and why two cities can have very different waits for the same exam. It is a real constraint and no website can fix it for you.

What we can do is smaller, and worth saying plainly: our free exam gives you a CEFR level today, so you find out whether you are ready before you pay for a session and wait for it. It is not accepted by immigration authorities, universities or employers who ask for one of the exams on this page, and nothing we issue changes that.

How our own exam reports a level

Fennec360 Certified runs its own free CEFR exam, scored out of 100. These are the bands it uses. They are a separate thing from the tables above: our exam has its own questions, its own scoring, and its own scale.

LevelIn plain wordsOur score
A1Beginner0-34
A2Elementary35-49
B1Intermediate50-64
B2Upper Intermediate65-79
C1Advanced80-89
C2Proficiency90-100

This is not a conversion. A score on our exam does not become a score on any exam named on this page, and no exam board recognizes it as one. What it gives you is your own CEFR level, from a full exam you can sit today.

Questions people actually ask

Can I take the Duolingo test instead of IELTS?

Only where the institution accepts it. That is a per-institution answer, not a general one: check their admissions page, and if it names IELTS alone, the cheaper test is worth nothing to you.

How many places accept the Duolingo English Test?

Duolingo states more than 6,500 institutions worldwide and publishes the list. IELTS gives no comparable single figure on the pages we checked; it maintains a searchable directory of recognizing organizations instead.

Is the Duolingo test accepted for Canadian permanent residence?

No. IRCC's approved tests for Express Entry are CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training and PTE Core in English, and TEF Canada and TCF Canada in French. Duolingo is not among them.

Which one is easier to retake?

Duolingo, on logistics alone: online, on demand, results in two days. IELTS means booking another centre session, though it does offer a One Skill Retake, which IRCC does not accept for Express Entry.

Where does the free Fennec360 exam fit in?

It gives you a CEFR level in English in about 50 minutes, free, which is useful to know before you pay for either of these. It is not accepted anywhere IELTS or the Duolingo English Test is required.

Not sure which level you are at yet?

Before you book a session you may wait months for, find out whether you are near the level your file needs.

Take a free CEFR exam and find out. About 50 minutes, four languages, no appointment and no card.

Take the free exam

Our exam gives you a CEFR level and a certificate anyone can verify. It does not replace any official exam.