TOEFL ITP vs TOEFL iBT in 2026: Format, Scoring, Cost, and Which to Take

TOEFL ITP vs TOEFL iBT in 2026: The Core Difference

Last updated: September 9, 2026. Every figure on this page was re-verified on that date against the official ETS TOEFL ITP About, Test Content, Scoring, Administration and Preparation pages, and the ETS TOEFL iBT Test Content, Testing Options, Why TOEFL, Understand Your Scores, Get Your Scores, Send Your Scores and Test Fees pages.

The TOEFL ITP and the TOEFL iBT are both ETS English-proficiency tests, and that is where the overlap ends. The TOEFL ITP is an institution-administered, multiple-choice test that a school, language program, or scholarship office uses for placement, progress, exit, and pathway decisions. The TOEFL iBT is the public, four-skills admissions test that universities, governments, and immigration authorities use worldwide.

ETS settles the comparison itself. The official ETS TOEFL ITP About page states that the TOEFL ITP tests "should be used by institutions based on these recommended uses and not as a replacement for the TOEFL iBT test."

The 30-second answer

• An outside party asked for a TOEFL score. Take the iBT. A university, visa office, licensing board, or scholarship committee that writes "TOEFL" without writing "ITP" means the iBT.
• Your own institution scheduled you. Take the ITP at the level it named, and prepare for the three multiple-choice sections on that level.
• You are choosing on price. Stop. The ITP is cheaper because it is a different product sold to a different buyer, not because it is a discount iBT. A cheap score your recipient rejects costs you a full retest.

For the ITP-only overview, read our FREE TOEFL ITP Exam Guide 2026. For drilling, use free TOEFL ITP practice questions.

Side by Side: The Headline Numbers

Format: What Is Actually On Each Test

TOEFL iBT blueprint, current since January 21, 2026

The official ETS TOEFL iBT Test Content page publishes the item counts and base times below. The test is adaptive, and ETS notes that "test time and items may vary."

Base time excludes directions, and the total row sums the per-section figures ETS publishes. ETS tells test takers to allow approximately two hours in the seat.

Two things surprise people who last looked at the iBT before 2026. Reading is now the largest section by item count, because short recognition tasks such as "Complete the Words" sit alongside the long academic passage. And Speaking is the smallest section by time at roughly eight minutes, built on "Listen and Repeat" and "Take an Interview" rather than the old six-task independent and integrated set.

TOEFL ITP blueprint, fixed form and unchanged

The official ETS TOEFL ITP Test Content page publishes one fixed form per level. Nothing adapts, and every item is four-option multiple choice.

ETS designs Level 1 for intermediate to advanced learners and Level 2 for high-beginner to intermediate learners. Your institution chooses the level; you do not. If nobody has told you which level you are sitting, ask before you build a study plan, because the reading section differs: Level 1 uses Reading Comprehension and Level 2 uses Reading and Vocabulary.

The optional TOEFL ITP Speaking test

ETS offers a separate TOEFL ITP Speaking test, available with digital formats only. It has four tasks (one read-aloud, two independent, one integrated) in approximately 15 minutes and is scored on a 31 to 68 scale. Per the ETS TOEFL ITP Scoring page, the responses "are scored using AI technology, which allows for immediate score reporting." That score is reported separately and never folds into the Level 1 or Level 2 total.

This is the detail most comparison pages get wrong. The ITP is not permanently speechless; it simply keeps speaking outside the total score, while the iBT bakes Speaking into the overall band.

What this means for your prep

The ITP rewards fast recognition: hearing meaning in a short campus exchange, spotting a grammar error in a printed sentence, and locating a stated detail in a passage. The iBT rewards production under a clock: writing an email, holding an interview turn, and building a grammatical sentence from scrambled parts. Those are different skills, and hours spent on one do not fully carry to the other.

Scoring: Two Fixed ITP Scales vs the New iBT Band Scale

TOEFL ITP scoring, unchanged in 2026

Level 1 totals run 310 to 677 and Level 2 totals run 200 to 500, each built by converting the number of correct answers into scaled section scores. Because the section score is driven by correct answers, a blank can only cost you points; there is no reason to leave an item unanswered.

ETS sets no universal ITP passing score. Each administering institution decides what total or section score meets its placement, progress, exit, pathway, or scholarship rule. A 543 might clear one program's placement bar and miss another program's exit bar. Your real target is whatever your institution publishes or tells you directly.

ETS does publish a CEFR mapping study, which is the closest thing to an external yardstick for an ITP score.

ETS publishes CEFR cut scores at B1 (433) and A2 (343) for the Level 2 test, and separate cut scores for the ITP Speaking test at C1 (64), B2 (58), B1 (48) and A2 (41).

Use those cut scores carefully. They tell an admissions officer roughly where your English sits on a common European scale; they do not turn an ITP score into an iBT score, and they are not an acceptance guarantee anywhere.

TOEFL iBT scoring, changed on January 21, 2026

This is the single biggest 2026 change in the comparison, and it is live now. According to the official ETS TOEFL iBT Understand Your Scores page, as of January 21, 2026 iBT score reports use a new 1 to 6 scale in half-point increments, aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference. Test takers receive four section scores and an overall score on that scale.

The overall score is the average of the four section scores, rounded to the nearest half band. ETS gives the worked example: an average of 5.25 becomes an overall score of 5.5.

For a two-year transition period after January 2026, score reports also carry a comparable overall score on the legacy 0 to 120 scale, representing the midpoint of the corresponding total range. In practice that means reports through roughly January 2028 show both numbers, so institutions that still publish 0 to 120 requirements can keep reading them while they update their criteria. After the transition, the 1 to 6 scale stands alone.

If you tested before January 2026, your 0 to 120 report stays valid for its normal two-year life. In a MyBest score report that mixes tests from either side of the change, ETS converts the older 0 to 120 scores onto the 1 to 6 scale.

None of this touches the ITP. Its scales did not change, and institutions using it still set their own cut scores.

Cost: What Each Test Actually Costs in 2026

TOEFL iBT fees are published, and they are country-specific

The ETS TOEFL iBT Test Fees page lists a registration fee for each testing location. In the United States the fee is US$270. Across ETS's published country list the registration fee runs from about US$170 at the low end to US$475 at the high end, so where you test matters as much as which test you take.

Prices exclude VAT or other applicable taxes, except in EU countries. ETS publishes one registration fee per testing location rather than separate test-center and Home Edition prices. Always confirm your own location on the ETS fees page before budgeting.

The service fees are the same everywhere, and they are where budgets quietly break:

Your registration already includes up to four free official score reports, but you have to name those recipients before you test. Two ETS pages state the cutoff differently: the Send Your Scores page says 10 p.m. local test-center time the day before your test, while the Understand Your Scores page says 10 p.m. on the day of your test. Work to the earlier deadline and add all four recipients the day before, even if you are unsure, rather than paying per recipient later. ETS's own pages carry a second mismatch: the fee schedule lists additional score reports at US$29 each while the Send Your Scores page still shows US$25, so confirm the amount at checkout.

United States high school seniors with financial need can apply for the TOEFL Fee Reduction Service, which covers 50% of the regular test fee.

TOEFL ITP fees are set by your institution

ETS publishes no public price list for the TOEFL ITP, because you are not the customer. The administering institution or the local ETS Preferred Network office orders the test forms and decides what, if anything, to charge students. Some programs bundle the fee into tuition, some subsidize it, and some charge a small administrative amount. Ignore the figures floating around blogs and forums; ask the office that scheduled you, because that office sets your price.

The honest framing on cost is not "which test is cheaper." It is "which test does my recipient accept, and what does that test cost where I am." An ITP that your target university will not read has an effective cost of the full iBT fee you still have to pay afterward.

Delivery and Registration

How the TOEFL ITP is delivered

The official ETS TOEFL ITP Administration page states that the tests are administered by your institution "using your own facilities, staff and resources, or by an ETS Preferred Network office." Institutions order only the number of tests they need, set the date, arrange the room and proctoring, and control who sees the scores. ETS reports on its About page that more than 2,500 institutions in 50+ countries administer the tests annually.

ETS offers paper and digital delivery, and digital delivery adds remote proctoring, so some programs let students test from home. Digital administrations also give the institution an immediate roster and unofficial score report. The practical consequence is the same in every case: your registration, fee, date, and score release run through your institution, not through a public ETS website.

How the TOEFL iBT is delivered

The official ETS TOEFL iBT Testing Options page describes two ways to test. You can sit at an authorized test center, offered more than 170 times a year at thousands of centers worldwide, or you can take the TOEFL iBT Home Edition, the same test monitored online by a live human proctor, available 24 hours a day, four days a week, with registration at least 24 hours before your appointment. Home Edition has published environment and equipment requirements you should check before you register, and the content is identical to the test-center version. Mainland China uses separate registration portals.

TOEFL ITP Plus for China has been retired

If you are reading older guides, ignore what they say about ITP Plus. The ETS TOEFL ITP Scoring page now states plainly that "the TOEFL ITP Plus for China solution is no longer being administered," and that score reports for tests already taken stay valid for two years from the test date. The pandemic-era workaround that paired an ITP form with a third-party video interview is gone. Test takers in Mainland China who need an externally recognized score should register for the iBT through the China-specific portals.

Score Turnaround

Timing decides more applications than people expect, so build backward from your deadline.

For the iBT, the ETS Get Your Scores page states that scores appear in your ETS account 3 days after your test date. If you requested a paper copy before the test, ETS mails it 11 to 15 days after the test date. Express shipping, available in 75 countries and territories for an extra fee, delivers in 2 to 5 business days after scores are confirmed. The ETS fee schedule also lists Express Scoring at US$129.

For the ITP, there is no ETS-published turnaround, because the institution controls it. Digital administrations produce an immediate roster and unofficial score report for the program, and official reports come through the local ETS Preferred Network office. Ask your program coordinator when scores are released and in what form, because that answer varies by campus.

Both tests hold their scores for 2 years from the test date. ETS will not report or verify an ITP score older than that.

Who Accepts Each Test

This question should drive your decision more than format or price.

The TOEFL iBT is the externally recognized test. The official ETS Why TOEFL page states that it is "accepted by 13,000+ institutions in over 160 countries, including all universities in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and thousands of other top universities around the world." Test takers use it for university admissions, English-language program admissions, scholarships, immigration, and licensing decisions.

The TOEFL ITP is the internally recognized test. The ETS TOEFL ITP About page lists its recommended uses as placement in intensive English programs, progress monitoring, exiting English-language programs, skill building and preparation for the TOEFL iBT test, admissions to short-term and nondegree programs and to collaborative international degree programs, admissions to degree programs through institution-administered testing or institution-specific pathways, and scholarship programs as contributing documentation.

Read that list carefully: every recommended use runs through an institution that is already administering the test to you. The ITP is not designed to travel to a stranger.

A rule that holds up in practice: if the request says "TOEFL" and does not say "ITP," assume iBT. If a program does accept the ITP, it will say so explicitly and give you the minimum total or section score it wants.

Which Should You Take in 2026?

Use this as a first filter, then confirm with the office that will receive your score.

Take the TOEFL iBT if any of these are true

• You are applying to a university or graduate program that asks for a TOEFL score and does not specify ITP.
• You need a TOEFL score for a student visa, immigration, or a licensing or certification body.
• You want a score you can send to multiple institutions on your own initiative.
• You need to evidence all four academic English skills, including Speaking and Writing.
• You are not sure whether your target program accepts the ITP. The iBT is the safe default.

Take the TOEFL ITP if any of these are true

• Your school, language program, or scholarship pipeline scheduled you for it.
• You need a placement, progress, or exit measure inside your current institution.
• You are applying to a short-term, nondegree, or pathway program that explicitly accepts the ITP.
• You are using the ITP as a skill-building step before a later iBT attempt, which is a use ETS itself recommends.
• Your scholarship office told you to submit an ITP score as supporting documentation.

Pause and ask before deciding if

• A program says it accepts "TOEFL" without naming a version. Ask the admissions office in writing which version and which minimum score.
• You are planning to send an ITP score where an iBT is expected. ETS says the ITP should not replace the iBT, and most external recipients will not accept it.
• You are comparing only price. The cheaper test is the wrong test whenever the recipient will not read it.
• Someone offered you "TOEFL ITP Plus." That solution is retired.

Can You Convert an ITP Score to an iBT Score?

No. There is no official ETS conversion formula that turns a TOEFL ITP total into a TOEFL iBT overall score. The tests measure different skill sets on different scales, and the 2026 move to a 1 to 6 iBT band widens the gap rather than narrowing it. If a university or visa office requires an iBT score, an ITP report will not satisfy that requirement no matter how high the ITP total is.

Third-party "ITP to iBT conversion charts" are unofficial estimates. They are not published by ETS, and no recipient that requires the iBT will accept one.

The only relationship ETS publishes between the two tests is the ITP's recommended use for "skill building and preparation for the TOEFL iBT test." The ITP can build the academic English habits the iBT tests. The ITP score itself is not a stand-in for the iBT score.

Prep Overlap: What Transfers and What Does Not

If you are taking the ITP now and the iBT later, knowing what carries saves weeks.

What transfers

• Academic listening stamina. ITP Listening Comprehension builds the same attention to campus conversations, announcements, and academic talks the iBT Listening section needs.
• Reading question types. Main idea, stated detail, inference, reference, and vocabulary in context move cleanly from ITP Reading to iBT Reading.
• Sentence-level grammar. Structure and Written Expression drills the exact control that iBT "Build a Sentence" and "Write an Email" tasks reward.
• Pacing discipline. Both tests punish stalling, and both reward answering every item you reach.

What does not transfer

• Spoken production. The iBT requires Speaking, including an interview task. Optional ITP Speaking is a separate digital test with different tasks and its own score, not preparation-equivalent to the iBT section.
• Extended writing. The iBT Writing section includes "Write an Email" and "Write for an Academic Discussion." The ITP core test has no writing component at all, so this needs dedicated work.
• Balanced-score thinking. The iBT overall band is the average of four sections, so one untrained skill drags your whole result down. The ITP total rewards three receptive skills, and a strong ITP scorer can still land a weak iBT band.

Route your weak spots into the TOEFL ITP study guide, TOEFL ITP flashcards, and the TOEFL ITP cheat sheet. ETS lists free interactive sample questions for both ITP levels and a Speaking sample test on its ETS TOEFL ITP Preparation page, and free iBT practice on the ETS TOEFL iBT Prepare page.

A Quick Checklist Before You Register

1. Who receives the score? Your own institution, or an external university, visa office, or licensing body?
2. What did they actually write? "TOEFL ITP" specifically, or just "TOEFL," which almost always means iBT?
3. Which level and which minimum? Get the exact level (ITP Level 1 or Level 2) and the exact cut score from the recipient, not from a generic guide.
4. Where will you test? Your institution's room for the ITP; a test center or Home Edition for the iBT.
5. What does it cost you? Ask your institution for the ITP figure; check your country on the ETS fees page for the iBT.
6. Does the timing work? iBT scores post in 3 days; ITP release depends entirely on your program.

If answers 1 and 2 point to an external recipient that did not say ITP, the iBT is your test. If answer 1 points to your own institution and it scheduled the ITP, the ITP is your test. Everything after that is logistics.

Best Next Step

Start with the official source for the test you actually need. For the ITP, read the ETS TOEFL ITP Test Content page and the ETS TOEFL ITP Test Taker Handbook PDF, then ask your institution for the level, target score, fee, date, and whether the optional Speaking test is included. For the iBT, read the ETS TOEFL iBT Test Content page and the ETS TOEFL iBT Understand Your Scores page, then confirm your country's fee and available dates on the official ETS TOEFL iBT registration page.

Then start practicing. Work through free TOEFL ITP practice questions and the FREE TOEFL ITP Exam Guide 2026. Every OpenExamPrep account includes 10 free AI questions a day, so you can ask an AI tutor to explain any item you miss. The comparison above is your decision framework; the official ETS pages and your recipient's stated requirements are the final authority.