TOEFL iBT vs Duolingo English Test
TOEFL iBT and the Duolingo English Test compared from ETS and Duolingo’s own pages, with read dates — including the figures Duolingo does not publish, named rather than filled in. Your institution decides which it accepts.
Answer this before you read the table
Start here instead: check which tests each institution accepts, on that institution’s own admissions page. It is the only thing that decides this, and no comparison of test lengths or score scales matters until it is answered. A test the institution does not take is the wrong test however well it suits you otherwise.
Side by side, every figure sourced
Each cell names the page it came from and the day we read it. Where an owner does not publish a figure, the cell says so and names the page we checked rather than filling it in from somewhere else.
| TOEFL iBT (2026 format) | Duolingo English Test | |
|---|---|---|
| Sitting length | 1 h 23 min – 1 h 29 min“about 1 hour 23 minutes and 1 hour 29 minutes”ETS — TOEFL iBT test specifications 2026 (PDF), read 2026-08-06 | Not published on the page we checkedDuolingo English Test — How is the DET scored?, read 2026-08-12 |
| Score scale | 1–6 overall, in half-point increments“As of January 21, 2026, TOEFL iBT score reports feature a new 1 – 6 scale, in half point increments”ETS — Understand your TOEFL iBT scores, read 2026-08-06 | 10–160, in 5-point increments“The Duolingo English Test is scored on a scale from 10 to 160”Duolingo English Test — How is the DET scored?, read 2026-08-12 |
| The writing section | Listed at 12 items and 20 maximum raw points, at an estimated 23 minutes, across Build a Sentence, Write an Email and Write for an Academic DiscussionETS — TOEFL iBT test specifications 2026 (PDF), read 2026-08-06 · claims ledger E-013, E-014, E-015 | Not published on the page we checkedDuolingo English Test — How is the DET scored?, read 2026-08-12 |
| How writing is scored | Build a Sentence is machine-scored; Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion are AI-scored constructed responsesETS — TOEFL iBT test specifications 2026 (PDF), read 2026-08-06 · claims ledger E-013 | AI models trained on expert-rated samples, on a test that adapts as you answer“These responses are scored using AI models trained on thousands of expert-rated samples”Duolingo English Test — How is the DET scored?, read 2026-08-12 |
| Results turnaround | Not published on the page we checkedETS — Understand your TOEFL iBT scores, read 2026-08-06 | Not published on the page we checkedDuolingo English Test — How is the DET scored?, read 2026-08-12 |
| Where it is taken | Not published on the page we checkedETS — TOEFL iBT test specifications 2026 (PDF), read 2026-08-06 | Not published on the page we checkedDuolingo English Test — How is the DET scored?, read 2026-08-12 |
| Score validity | Not published on the page we checkedETS — Understand your TOEFL iBT scores, read 2026-08-06 | Not published on the page we checkedDuolingo English Test — How is the DET scored?, read 2026-08-12 |
What this page does not do
It does not pick one. We build TOEFL practice, so a verdict from us on someone else’s exam would be worth exactly what it cost you. The two columns are what the two owners publish; the decision is the institution’s acceptance list and your own circumstances.
The TOEFL figures are the 2026 specification’s listed blueprint values, which ETS states are subject to minor revision until the official launch. Since 21 January 2026 official TOEFL score reports use 1–6 bands in half-point increments; any /30 figure elsewhere is a pre-2026 comparison estimate, not a current score.
Nothing on this page is filled in from a third-party comparison site: each cell is quoted from the test owner’s own page on the date shown, and where an owner does not publish a figure the cell says so and names the page we checked. Owners change these details without notice — confirm anything that will affect a decision on the owner’s current page, and confirm which test your institution accepts with the institution itself.
Sources
- ETS — TOEFL iBT test specifications 2026 (PDF), read 2026-08-06
- Duolingo English Test — How is the DET scored?, read 2026-08-12
- ETS — Understand your TOEFL iBT scores, read 2026-08-06