Compared
IELTS, PTE, TOEFL or Duolingo: which test should you sit?
The short answer
Choose on acceptance first and convenience second. IELTS is accepted almost everywhere and is the safest default; PTE is fast and strong for Australia, New Zealand and the UK; TOEFL suits the US; Duolingo is cheapest and quickest but acceptance is uneven. The trap is that your university and your visa route may not accept the same test.
The acceptance trap
University acceptance and visa acceptance are separate questions, and applicants regularly discover this after paying for a test. A programme may take Duolingo while the immigration route requires an approved test from a shorter list.
Check both before booking. It is a ten-minute check that saves a repeat sitting.
Where each one fits
IELTS: the broadest acceptance, both Academic and, for some routes, UKVI variants. Safe default when applying to several countries.
PTE Academic: computer-scored, results in days, widely taken for Australia and New Zealand. Removes examiner variability in speaking, which suits some candidates considerably.
TOEFL: most common for the US, often with section minimums and a higher speaking bar where teaching assistantships are involved.
Duolingo: cheapest and fastest, taken at home. Acceptance is real but patchy, and thinner in the UK and Ireland.
The healthcare exception
If you are a nurse or in an allied health profession, the relevant comparison is usually OET against IELTS rather than this one. OET's material is clinical, which many candidates find easier than general academic English, and it is accepted for registration by the NMC and others.
Related questions
Is Duolingo accepted for a student visa?
Sometimes for the university and less often for the visa route, and the two are assessed separately. Confirm both the programme's and the immigration authority's current accepted-test list before booking, because a result accepted by one and rejected by the other means sitting a second test.