TOEIC vs IELTS vs TOEFL: Which One Should You Take?

Three different test names. Three different price tags. Three different sets of forum threads telling you which one is the easiest. If you have been bouncing between Google tabs trying to figure out whether to book TOEIC, IELTS, or TOEFL, take a breath. You don't have a knowledge problem. You have a goal problem.

I teach English in Indonesia, and the same conversation happens every semester. A student walks in, says they're going to take an English test, and asks me which one to study for. My first question is always the same: what is the test for? About half the time they pause. They had heard the three names mentioned by friends and assumed all of them were good to have, but they had not actually decided what they wanted the score to do for them.

The three are not interchangeable. Picking the wrong one wastes your money, your study time, and sometimes a year of your life. The short version is below, then I will walk you through how to choose.

The 30-second answer

• TOEIC is for working in Indonesia or the rest of Asia. Banks, multinationals, hospitality, manufacturing, BUMN.
• IELTS is for studying or moving abroad. UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, plus most European universities and a lot of scholarships.
• TOEFL is for studying in the United States, mostly. Some American-affiliated universities elsewhere accept it too.

If you don't know what you want yet, take TOEIC. It's cheaper, faster to prepare for, and almost every Indonesian employer recognises it.

What the three tests actually measure

This is where most students get confused, because the marketing for all three sounds similar. They all claim to test "real-world English." But the worlds they're testing for are different.

TOEIC tests business and workplace English. The listening section is full of office meetings, phone calls, airport announcements, and hotel check-ins. The reading section is full of memos, emails, charts, and short articles from business magazines. There is no speaking or writing section in the standard TOEIC. Two hours, multiple choice, and you get a score from 10 to 990.

IELTS tests academic English with a side of everyday life. There are two versions: Academic for university, and General Training for work visas and migration. Both have four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The Speaking section is a real human conversation with a real examiner. The Writing section asks you to describe a chart or write an essay. About three hours plus the speaking interview, and you get a band score from 1 to 9.

TOEFL tests academic English specifically for studying at American universities. Listening to lectures, reading textbook passages, summarising what you heard, and writing essays. The Speaking section is recorded into a microphone, not a conversation. About two hours, all on a computer, and you get a score from 0 to 120.

The skills overlap a lot. Someone who can score well on IELTS will probably do fine on TOEFL with a few weeks of format practice. But the test format itself, the pacing, the question types, and the kind of English they prioritise, all of it matters more than people think.

Who recognises which test in Indonesia

This is the part nobody tells you clearly.

For Indonesian employers, TOEIC is the default. If you scroll through job postings on LinkedIn, JobStreet, or Glints, the English requirement is almost always written as "TOEIC 600" or "TOEIC 750" depending on the role. Banks like Mandiri and BCA, telcos like Telkomsel and Indosat, and most of the management trainee programs at multinational companies all use TOEIC scores as their cutoff. IELTS and TOEFL are accepted at some of these places, but recruiters often don't know how to read those scores, so a TOEIC 800 is more useful to them than an IELTS 7.0 even though the IELTS is technically harder.

For studying abroad, it flips. Almost no university outside the US accepts TOEIC for admissions. UK and Australian universities want IELTS, full stop. American universities want TOEFL, and most of them also accept IELTS. A handful of universities in Singapore and Hong Kong accept either. If you're going for scholarships like LPDP, AAS, or Chevening, check the specific scholarship requirements, because they all specify which test they want and what minimum score. LPDP wants IELTS 6.5 minimum. AAS wants IELTS 6.5. Chevening wants IELTS 6.5 with subscore minimums.

For visas, it gets more specific. UK student visas accept IELTS for UKVI, which is a slightly different version of regular IELTS. Australian permanent residency uses IELTS or PTE. Canadian Express Entry uses IELTS or CELPIP. None of them use TOEIC.

So the practical answer to "which test should I take" depends almost entirely on what you want the score to do for you.

How to pick: four questions

This is the same flow I walk students through in my office. Answer these four questions in order, and you'll know your answer.

Question 1: Why do you need an English score?

Pick the closest match.

• To get a job in Indonesia → keep reading.
• To get into a university abroad → skip to Question 3.
• For a work visa or permanent residency → skip to Question 4.
• I just want to know my level → see the note below.

If you only want to know your English level for personal reasons, none of these tests are the right answer. They're expensive, they expire, and they're built for specific institutional gatekeepers. Take a free online placement test from the British Council or Cambridge instead. Save the money for something useful.

Question 2: What kind of job?

If you want a job in Indonesia, ask yourself what industry.

• Banking, multinational FMCG, oil and gas, manufacturing, hospitality. TOEIC. This is the default and they all use it.
• BUMN management trainee programs. TOEIC, usually 600 to 750 depending on the BUMN.
• International NGOs, UN agencies, international development. Check the specific role. Most accept IELTS or TOEFL because the work is global. Some accept TOEIC.
• Tech startups, design, creative agencies. Often no test required, just an interview in English. If they do want one, TOEIC is fine.
• Aviation, especially pilots and ATC. ICAO English test, which is its own thing. Not on this list.

For 90% of Indonesian job seekers, the answer at this point is TOEIC. Move on with confidence.

Question 3: Which country?

If you want to study abroad, the country decides the test for you in most cases.

• UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada. IELTS Academic.
• USA. TOEFL is the safe default. Most American universities also accept IELTS, but a few still prefer TOEFL, so check your specific schools.
• Singapore, Hong Kong, most of Europe. IELTS Academic. Some accept TOEFL too, but IELTS is more widely recognised.
• Japan, Korea. Varies a lot. Check each program. A handful of Japanese universities accept TOEIC for graduate programs, which is unusual.

If you're applying to multiple countries, take IELTS. It's accepted in more places than TOEFL.

Question 4: What kind of visa?

• UK student visa. IELTS UKVI, the regular IELTS but at an approved test centre.
• Australian PR or skilled visa. IELTS or PTE Academic. PTE is faster and computer-based, worth considering.
• Canadian Express Entry. IELTS General Training or CELPIP.
• New Zealand work visa. IELTS or PTE.

Notice TOEIC and TOEFL aren't on any of these lists. That's not a mistake. They aren't accepted for visa purposes in the major destinations.

What about cost and difficulty?

Roughly, in Indonesia in 2026:

• TOEIC. Around IDR 800,000 to 1,200,000. Test time is two hours. Results in about a week.
• IELTS. Around IDR 3,200,000 to 3,500,000. Test time is about three hours plus a separate speaking interview. Results in three to thirteen days depending on whether it's computer or paper-based.
• TOEFL iBT. Around IDR 3,000,000. Test time is about two hours, all on computer. Results in about a week.

So TOEIC is significantly cheaper. That matters when you're starting out, especially if you might want to take more than one attempt.

On difficulty, it depends on what you're good at. TOEIC is the most accessible because it has no speaking or writing component, but it requires fast reading and very specific business vocabulary. IELTS is harder for most students because the speaking interview is nerve-wracking and the writing section punishes vague answers. TOEFL is hard in a different way because everything is on a computer and you have to take notes by hand while listening to a long lecture, then summarise it without re-listening.

If you're not confident yet, TOEIC is a kinder first test. You learn what your level is, you get a respected score for Indonesian employers, and you build the listening and reading stamina you'll need if you eventually decide to take IELTS or TOEFL.

A quick note on TOEIC scores

Since most readers here are aiming at TOEIC, here's the rough scale:

• 405 to 600. Intermediate workplace English. Bank tellers, customer service, retail.
• 600 to 750. Upper-intermediate. Most multinational entry-level roles.
• 750 to 900. Advanced. Management trainee programs, international business roles.
• 900+. Near-native. You don't need this for almost any job. Stop studying and apply.

If you don't know what your target score should be, look up three or four job postings in your dream industry on LinkedIn and write down what they ask for. That's your number.

One last thing

The students who waste a year are not the ones who chose the wrong test on purpose. They are the ones who never quite chose. They drifted between TOEIC tutorials on YouTube, IELTS Writing samples, and TOEFL practice tests, getting a little better at all three but never crossing the finish line on any of them.

Pick one. The flowchart below makes it take ninety seconds. Then close the tabs and start studying.