There could be confusion on which test to take as they are both accepted in countries where English is a native or first language. So let us first describe the acronyms. PTE Pearson Test of English while IELTS means International English Language Testing System.

• PTE is run by Pearson while IETLS is run by British Council, IDP (International Development Program): IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English. Both of these organisation are professionals and credible in the English language.

• PTE is accepted by universities and governments. The institutions that accept PTE include universities globally and is also acceptable for visa application in Australia and New Zealand. IETLS are also accepted by governments and universities. However, IELTS is accepted in more countries as compared to PTE. Other organisation globally enlisted acceptance of IELTS instead of PTE.

• PTE examination is computer based. This means the questions and answers are communicated through a computer. The student is provided with a pair of headsets for speaking and listening tasks.

IELTS, on the other hand, are paper-based. In all the sections the test taker has to manually   write down answers

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• In PTE, the test is divided into 4 sections namely speaking, Writing, reading and listening with the duration of 3 hours. The sections are each allocated time and there is 10 minutes break.

IELTS is still divided into the same sections as the PTE with a duration of approximately 2hr 45min, however, there is an option to take the speaking section on a different day. The test taker has an option to take the speaking section on the same day or within 7 days of the original test.

• In case of cancellation or rescheduling the test date, PTE allows cancellation with a partial refund without any hassle. The refund depends on the number of days the test taker cancels before examination time. The maximum refund is 50% of the test fee.

IELTS cancellation or request is subject to medical certificates failing which, the test taker forfeit test fee. If the medical fee is present the refund goes to a maximum of 25% of the test fee.

• As it has been said before PTE is computerised which means the test taker only has an interaction with the computer in all the sections. The test is assessed by the software created by Pearson

With the IELTS the test takers interact with professional examiners. This means there will be a conversation between the two especially on tasks such as speaking and image description.

• PTE has resources for preparations such as mock test and scored mock test for practice. IELTS, on the other hand, doesn’t provide the student with mock tests.

• Booking a date for both tests depends on the writing centres and location in addition booking is done two months prior to the official test dates.

Final verdict

The tests have a lot of similarities and minor difference. So the important deciding factor would be the applicability of the final results. As it has been mentioned PTE acceptance is limited as compared to IELTS. However, if the area of application accepts both then, I would recommend PTE because of convenience should the test taker decide to change the date and not having to deal with an examiner one-on-one. Moreover typing 200-300 words is much easier that hand-writing.