IELTS vs PTE in 2026 Which Test is Better? Which one should you take in 2026?

teacher, which test should I do? Should

I take ISELS? Should I take PTE? Let's

talk about everything on this video so that by the end of this video, you know which test is best for you in 2026. But

before we begin, in case you're new to the channel, welcome guys. My name is Alio. I am an English teacher. I

Alio. I am an English teacher. I

basically help students pass ISELS, pass PT, and I also do nati translations. So

in case you need to translate a document into Australia or maybe you have to send a document from Australia to the Spanish speaking world, please get in touch. All

the details are in the link in the description down below. Now let's get started. The first thing that is

started. The first thing that is important to tell you is whether you should do IELTS or PTE. I think the

biggest thing to consider is that in 2025 PTE became more difficult. So now

compared to what used to happen before PT has increased in difficulty this is perhaps one of the biggest changes in the in the whole test setup. So whether

you are thinking should I do PTE should I do I iss a lot of people will tell you you will see videos on the internet people saying oh yeah just do PTE memorize this template just do these

tricks well the bad news for some of you guys is that the technology the AI that is marking PTE is getting better so now it is going to be more difficult for us

to get higher scores there is also the changes in the exam in terms of the scoring so I would say that now If you are taking PT, I would recommend PT for

you guys. If let's put a big if here on

you guys. If let's put a big if here on the screen. If you have a solid, if you

the screen. If you have a solid, if you have a strong grammar and vocabulary base, if you have strong

grammar and vocab, you should go for PT. You may be wondering why and the reason is very simple as the name says it is let me

actually put it here on the screen for you PTE academic.

So it is an academic exam and what that means is that you will be challenged on more difficult vocabulary compared to

say for examples I isselles general training because the reality is I iss gives you two options. you get

IELTS general and IELTS academic. Okay,

excuse my handwriting. So, in a lot of cases, it might be better for a student to do IELTS general instead of just doing PT because everyone is saying, "Oh, just do PTS, it is easier." Well,

not really. So again, if you have a solid vase of grammar and vocabulary, maybe PT is for you. Another case where I would recommend PT is if you're

looking for a high score on each band.

what is a high score. So let's say if you're looking at a 70 plus or maybe even more a 78 a 79 basically the 20

points on the PR if you do want to get those plus 20 points maybe PT might be easier for you because again you probably have studied for a long time

you probably have already a solid base of English maybe you are finishing a degree you feel comfortable right when it comes to using the language then in

that case I would say, "Okay, go for PTE because you want your 70 plus in each band so that you can show your superior

your superior level of English, right?

And in that case, PT might still be the king. It doesn't matter what exam you

king. It doesn't matter what exam you choose, there is hard work in both exams." Now, for my IELTS people, when it might be better to do IELTS, well,

you will be surprised. It is it is actually the opposite to this situation here. So let's say a lot of my students

here. So let's say a lot of my students they come to Australia maybe on a working holiday visa or they come on a student visa or maybe they come and their partner is the main study person

and then they are like just doing a lot of work. So if you don't have that much

of work. So if you don't have that much of a solid base in English, maybe IS could be a good option. Especially IELTS

in general. you don't want to be doing the IELTS academic if it is going to be really hard, right? So the good news is that if if you've got if you let's say

if you mostly if you mostly self-learned if you mostly self-learned English or if you didn't study that much maybe IELTS

might be a good option especially let me put it here especially IELTS general because it is a bit let's say more lenient a bit softer on on candidates

you may be wondering why look to give you a few examples in the IELTS test because you're in an interview maybe somebody who learned English when I'm saying self-arning this could mean

obviously in class but not studying much so let's say class plus self-study or this could be from work or this could be from friends right because again I've

had students who come to me and tell me Ailio my partner you know husband wife whatever boyfriend girlfriend my partner did a mast's or finished a bachelor, I

want to now, you know, give this person points or look for whatever reason because I am I am a teacher. I am not a not financial advisor. Sorry, I am not

um this is not legal advice, right? So,

I'm not a migration lawyer. But the

point I'm trying to make is that in some cases, people have to take the test. So

in that case if it is something like let's say a casual learner or someone that didn't have to study much then IELTS might be the best way to go especially because in the speaking test

you have to talk to someone and this is a key point to emphasize because maybe some of those candidates or those people who are thinking of taking the test they

would probably feel more comfortable talking to people in English compared to doing PT academic where you need to talk to a computer, you have to describe a

graph, a photo, you have to be reading aloud, repeating a sentence, doing things that you maybe don't do on a day-to-day basis. So, this is where

day-to-day basis. So, this is where IELTS will shine and will be really useful for you. Now, talking about IELTS academic or another reason why you

should take IELTS is because of requirements. This is changing and I

requirements. This is changing and I think now again the best thing to do is to keep checking let's say government bodies or like any type of bodies like

for example engineers Australia or um the the ah I forgot the Australian computer society and all these bodies that basically will issue you a skills

assessment you have to check whether they accept IELTS and PT in a lot of cases it's only IELTS academic this is not always the case. So please make your

homework but check and if you can only do IELTS academic then there is nothing else you can do. Another thing when it comes to ISELS, I would say that and this is something that I have been that

I mentioned in my previous video talking about the two exams with an update. I

would say that now if a candidate is looking or needs to get a score between a 5.5 to a six in many cases, obviously

this is not in every case because every one of you, every single person is different, but in a lot of cases IELTS

is the way to go. if you need 5.5 or 6.0 overall. Yeah.

overall. Yeah.

And before you ask me why and before you say that you disagree, let me tell you.

So in plain and simple English, the test both exams are challenging. But again at this score level for the majority of

people it may be better to take IELTS just because it is something that they are familiar with. It is something that maybe they have practiced or studied in

the past and PTE is too new. You've got

to learn or you have to get used to more than 10 different types of questions. PT

is quite strict and very very let's say I was going to say not only strict it's very stressful because you have a bunch of questions in a short time. Obviously

some people love PT and I will talk about those of you but in many cases we all have ex have had exams like IELTS in

the past and at this score I think that when you think about the time the preparation the stress that it will give you because no one here talks about stress but the reality is a lot of

people taking PTE no matter the score they do it like three four five six even 10 times. I have people that come to me,

10 times. I have people that come to me, they say, "Alio, I want to study with you because I want to improve my English. Because I did PTE five times. I

English. Because I did PTE five times. I

already paid someone else. I have spent more than three $5,000 on the stupid PTE. I don't want to do it anymore. I

PTE. I don't want to do it anymore. I

want to do IELTS." And look, the opposite is true. Okay? I'm not just telling you this because I don't like PTE. Remember, I am a teacher. My job is

PTE. Remember, I am a teacher. My job is to help you guys pass the test. So, I'm

not saying this just to be like I don't like PT, okay? So, don't clip this or anything. But the point is when you put

anything. But the point is when you put into into an equation or when you start thinking about all the time the preparation, the stress that somebody

may go through to get this score or let's say the equivalent in PTE which is probably say around 50 to 60, right? 50

to 60. When you compare these two, PT is a lot more stressful. PT is a lot more challenging in different ways for the vast majority of people. Okay? So, in

that case, I would say if you are going for a lower score, just go with IELTS.

Extend your visa, get familiar with the test and then move on with life. And and

whenever you get a score, just focus on improving that score. And talking about scores, the other reason why I think IELTS is king at this level is because

we have the you guessed correctly, we have the skill retake. And with the what this means is that if you don't do well

in one band let's say for example a very common situation that happens is maybe I have students who only do work whether

it is hospitality construction and I told you before their partner is the one who studies maybe this person has very good conversational English because this

person lives in Australia on a daily basis is using English right so this person might feel comfortable in conversations, asking for directions, explaining things, especially explaining

things about work, right? Asking for

advice, etc., etc., etc. But maybe that individual because did not study a lot of grammar, like we said before, this person maybe hasn't been to an English

language school or maybe has not studied anything in English in his or her life.

Then the challenge that this person will have is maybe let's say the writing test or maybe for some people it might not be the writing test. It might be the reading section because let's face it,

we don't get enough reading practice. It

doesn't matter what exam you do, we don't get enough reading practice. So

maybe this person, let's say that this person gets in in speaking, let's say that this person gets a 6.5

in listening. this person gets a seven.

in listening. this person gets a seven.

In reading, this person gets a five and in writing a 6.0. Yeah. 7.0. Yeah. So,

this could be a very common IELTS scenario. If this happens to you on PT,

scenario. If this happens to you on PT, sorry, bye-bye. Pay the test again. But

sorry, bye-bye. Pay the test again. But

if this happens to you in IELTS, you can do the skill retake only for the band that you did not pass. And then you have a bit of time to prepare and then you

take only the reading section and whatever new score you get is going to go here with everything that you had before. So when you think about the cost

before. So when you think about the cost the stress and all these things just putting the skill retake there it is better because again let's imagine the

skill retake is around 50% of the c the cost of the test. This is good news for us because what do you prefer or let me know in the comments. What would you prefer? Would you prefer to pay I think

prefer? Would you prefer to pay I think the exams are now what I think they are like 465 of the time we are making this video.

What do you prefer? Do you prefer to pay 465 twice? 455 * 2 or you pay

465 twice? 455 * 2 or you pay 465 plus let's say 250 250 what would you prefer? Would you

prefer this option where you do the test two times or do you prefer this option when you pay it once and then you pay a

bit extra or let's say half right so in this case probably this is again when I would be telling people look if what

I've said about IELTS resonates with you go with IELTS I will tell you one more reason why you could probably think about IELTS and let's put it here I've

got a bit of case and it has to do with going to university. If you watching this video or listening on Spotify, by the way, if you're listening on Spotify, don't forget to subscribe on YouTube. It

helps a lot the channel, the podcast, everything. Basically, going to

everything. Basically, going to university. Doesn't matter what score

university. Doesn't matter what score you're going to get. I would recommend going for IELTS because it will equip you with skills that you will use throughout university life in Australia

and it will help you ultimately in the long run. if even if you then do PTE

long run. if even if you then do PTE right so I would say that for the most part I mean if you're looking at this it sounds like oh IELTS is the winner but

not really because again maybe in a certain other situations PT might also be a good test for you and I will tell you those in just a second this is

mainly coming from my teaching experience right so before you ask me why I just told you it's based on experience

I A lot of people, especially if anyone, if you're watching this, engineers and it

individuals that basically study these uh occupations or people in these two occupations. If you're an engineer or

occupations. If you're an engineer or someone that in any shape or form uses computers for a living, maybe PT will be for you. Because in my experience,

for you. Because in my experience, engineers are people that they like things that are structured. So sometimes

just that fact alone can be really good or a very let's say match sorry a good match for PT because what engineers would face is an exam that has got a lot

of different structures. It's all in the computer. You start you you go from

computer. You start you you go from start to finish and then it's all done.

Plus you have like a lot of different questions, a lot of rules and that I feel suits really well a lot of engineers. So many times people who

engineers. So many times people who study engineering or who are engineers have come to me telling me what is the best way what is the formula to write an essay? How can I tackle this question?

essay? How can I tackle this question?

And they're being very strategic. So I

feel that for that reason alone it might be good taking PTE doesn't matter what score it might be. This is ba basically talking about personality. A similar

thing happens with people who work in IT because oftent times when people choose PT academic it's another reason people choose PT is because they have to talk

to the computer and maybe those who are in IT I mean not everyone of course I'm not generalizing but again in many many

cases people who work in IT tend to be a bit less extroverts. So maybe IELTS, especially when it comes to doing the interview, it can bring a lot of stress

for them and instead of doing that, they could just do PTE where they are talking to a computer or they're talking to again to a webcam, right? They just get a headset, microphone, and boom, they do

the test. They don't have to go through

the test. They don't have to go through the struggle or the stress of having an interview, right? So for them, that

interview, right? So for them, that might be really useful. And the extra plus is that normally speaking people who work with computers they're really

quick or they type very quickly which is good news for them because that means increased efficiency when it comes to doing any question where you're doing

writing. So again for that reason alone

writing. So again for that reason alone I would say for engineers for people doing it that would be quite good. And

on the flip side the opposite is also true. If you are maybe a bit of an

true. If you are maybe a bit of an extrovert and you feel comfortable talking to everyone, I would say maybe consider IELTS just because of that

personality trait alone and and why you may be thinking again because the speaking test is an interview and sometimes I think that can reduce the stress and again basically makes people

feel more comfortable.

All in all to to sum up PTE has become a bit more difficult. I would recommend strongly to get lots of practice when it

comes to grammar and vocabulary because the PT test will challenge you. Another

reason why you should do PTE or if you're watching this and you think, okay, when should I choose one or the other, maybe when you're going for like

a very high band on or like a high score on the speaking test, we're talking again about this superior level of English. Maybe PT might be better for

English. Maybe PT might be better for you if you are struggling to get an eight in IELTS speaking because if you have good pronunciation and if you have good fluency, there is a higher chance

that you can get that eight score in PTE. Maybe because of IELTS and because

PTE. Maybe because of IELTS and because you're talking to a person, you may get more nervous and and if that's you, maybe PT might be better, especially when you're going for the superior level

of English when it comes to the speaking band.

Now, the final message that I'll give you is if you've got any questions, let me know in the comments of the video. If

you enjoyed this video, please let me know. If you have any questions, also

know. If you have any questions, also drop it in the comments as I've just told you. Now, anybody who's interested

told you. Now, anybody who's interested in studying with me, I've got a Patreon page. The link is in the description

page. The link is in the description down below. You can study with me like

down below. You can study with me like this remotely and I'll basically guide you through the process of passing these exams. If you want something more personalized or maybe if you want to

study with me in class, then I would say get in touch, send me an email or maybe get in touch via Instagram. I'm always

posting about different courses that I teach. For the most part, I do three to

teach. For the most part, I do three to four week preparation courses. Sometimes

a bit more, sometimes I do shorter intensive courses. But the reality is if

intensive courses. But the reality is if you want to practice, if you want to get ready and you want to prepare, well, get in touch. But regardless of which one

in touch. But regardless of which one you choose, I'll give you a mini, not mini, I'll give you here a Christmas present, which is read. I said it

before. I could make a video only about

before. I could make a video only about why reading is so important, but that's for another video. And before we go, if you want a bit more info, if you want to

watch and learn a bit more about these two exams, check out my next video where we talk about why IELTS is not always as

difficult as everyone says. And the flip note is why PT is more difficult than people say. I'll see you in the next

people say. I'll see you in the next video. I hope you like this one. Make

video. I hope you like this one. Make

sure to subscribe to the channel, to like the video. You know what you have to do. If you enjoy the video, send it

to do. If you enjoy the video, send it to someone who's getting ready for these exams. And as I said before, if you do need a translation, get in touch. Shoot

me an email or a message, and I'll be more than happy to help you. Take care,

and I'll see you on the next video. Bye

for now.