The question we get is "which test is easiest". The question that matters is "which test will the university and the visa office both accept for the course I want".
Those come apart more often than students expect, and finding out afterwards means paying twice.
The one rule that governs everything
A test being accepted by your university does not mean it is accepted for your visa.
Some countries require an approved test from a specific list for the immigration decision, separate from whatever the university is happy with. A university may take your Duolingo result quite happily while the visa route requires something else entirely, and you will not discover the mismatch until the worst possible moment.
So check twice, every time. Once with the university's own admissions page, once against the destination country's visa requirements for your course level.
Duolingo
Taken at home, priced well below the others, results in days rather than weeks. For a student in Chattogram with no test centre nearby and a tight budget, that combination is genuinely useful.
Acceptance has widened a lot and Duolingo publishes a searchable list of institutions that take it. Use that list, then confirm on the university's own site, because these lists lag reality in both directions.
The catch is the visa question above, and that some departments accept it for some programmes and not others. Medicine, nursing, law and teaching are the usual holdouts.
IELTS
The default, and the safest choice if you only want to sit one test. Widest acceptance across universities and immigration routes, and the version required for visas is usually clearly specified.
It costs more, it needs a test centre and a booking, and results take longer. For most students heading to the UK, Australia or Canada, it remains the fewest-surprises option.
Make sure you book the right variant. Academic rather than General Training for university study, and where a country requires an approved secure version for immigration, that specific one. Students book the wrong variant every intake and the fee is not refunded.
PTE
Computer-based, fast results, and well accepted in Australia particularly. Scored by machine, which some students find fairer and others find unforgiving.
If Australia is your target it is a solid choice. Check acceptance carefully elsewhere.
The route that skips the test
Some universities accept a Medium of Instruction letter from your previous institution instead of an English test. We have written about MOI separately because it deserves its own explanation, and for students whose entire education was in English it can remove the test requirement altogether.
It is not universal, and it is more commonly accepted in Malaysia than in the UK or Australia. Worth asking about before you book anything.
How to actually decide
Pick your two or three target universities first. Open their English requirements page, the real one on their own domain. Write down which tests they accept and the minimum scores, including any per-section minimums, because a strong overall score with one weak band fails plenty of applications.
Then check the visa requirement for that country and course level.
Then pick the test that satisfies both, and only then think about price and convenience.
Practical things students get wrong
Booking before checking, then discovering the score does not meet a section minimum.
Assuming a score is valid indefinitely. These results expire, and an expired certificate at visa stage is a wasted application.
Preparing for the wrong thing. The tests reward different skills. Moving between them a fortnight before your date is rarely a good idea.
Taking it too late. Build in time to retake. Students who leave the test until the intake is nearly closed have no room to recover from one bad day.
Where we come in
Send us your shortlist and we will tell you which test each of those universities and each of those visa routes will accept, so you sit one test rather than two.
Accepted test lists and minimum scores get revised, and universities quietly change their policies between intakes. Message us on WhatsApp before you book and we will check the current requirement for your specific course.