There is no single best website for IELTS preparation. Pick by the job you need done:
- Learning the format: free official materials from ielts.org, the British Council and IDP.
- Explanations and model answers: IELTS Liz. Strong and free, but it has no scored tests.
- Timed practice: test sites such as IELTS Online Tests or the British Council's IELTS Ready.
- Writing and Speaking feedback and a plan to your test date: a platform with AI scoring.
Our pick for feedback and a plan: GoPrep (ours). It has 80+ full mock tests per skill in the computer format, AI scoring of Writing and Speaking on the official IELTS criteria and an adaptive daily plan to your test date.
How to choose an IELTS preparation website: 6 criteria
Decide which points matter for your weakest skill.
| Criterion | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks from the IELTS partners? For your module, Academic or General Training? | Official tasks match the real level |
| Who scores them: a teacher, AI or nobody? On the four IELTS criteria? | You can't reliably mark your own essay or recording |
| Complete tests with real timing, not single tasks? | A timed mock tests stamina. An overall band estimate needs scores for all four skills |
| Do you type answers on screen? | IELTS is moving to computer delivery in 2026 |
| Free, free with booking, a book, a subscription or per-essay checks? | Shows the real cost by your test date |
| Explanations in your language? Works on a phone? | Decides whether you'll use it on the bus |
Criterion 2 matters more than it looks. We looked at 727 first full mock exams on GoPrep (28 July to 26 September 2026, all four skills 4.0 or higher). In 91% of them (660 of 727), the strongest and weakest skill were at least a full band apart. The weakest skill was Writing in 43% of these mocks, Listening in 42%, Reading in 36% and Speaking in 15% (ties count for each skill; Writing and Speaking were scored by the GoPrep AI examiner, so the scales are not identical).
So for many people the weakest skill is one that free answer keys can't check. Check that a site's feedback names the public Writing and Speaking criteria.
Tell us your target, test date and the skill you find hardest. Get a personal preparation plan.
Official IELTS resources: free, and free with your booking
IELTS is run by the British Council, IDP and Cambridge. Each has its own material (checked 29 September 2026).
ielts.org. Free sample tasks for Academic, General Training and Life Skills, with answer keys and model answers. The Academic page adds full Listening, Reading and Writing sets on the real computer screens. They are "not timed" on purpose.
British Council. The IELTS Ready page compares two levels:
- IELTS Ready, free with an account: 25- and 50-minute mocks with AI feedback, and 2 full mock tests. AI scoring of a full mock is an "AI feedback upgrade"; the page gives no price.
- IELTS Ready Premium, free when you book with the British Council, "from registration until 7 days after test date": 40 full mock tests "with scores and model answers, plus optional AI feedback" (Canada page), and courses in all four skills. In Kazakhstan, the booking confirmation includes it (British Council Kazakhstan).
IDP. The IELTS by IDP app is free on iOS and Android, with 14-day trials of a Macquarie taster course and an E2 Test Prep course. Book with IDP at a participating centre and the full Macquarie course is free: all four skills for 4 days, or one skill for 30 days (IDP Kazakhstan offer). It has up to 8 mock tests and 14 sample Writing assessments with model responses. The free familiarisation test opens the same untimed demo as ielts.org. To see IDP dates in Kazakhstan, use the IDP Kazakhstan test search.
The IDP booking link is a partner link: GoPrep may earn a commission, and the price for you stays the same. GoPrep is also an official registration centre of IDP IELTS Kazakhstan.
Cambridge. Its preparation page lists free paper sample tests and paid books: IELTS 21 Academic, IELTS 21 General Training and The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS with eight practice tests. The books don't mark your Writing or Speaking.
Other options: what each does well
- IELTS Liz: "300 plus pages of free lessons, tips, model answers, topics", from an IELTS teacher since 2008. Clear explanations of each question type and band 9 model essays, but no scored tests.
- IELTS Online Tests: lots of free Listening and Reading tests after a free sign-up, good for timed volume. Writing and Speaking checks, by AI or by an examiner, are paid per check.
Platform, tutor or course? See how to prepare for IELTS.
We tried each option: what a learner actually meets
On 29 September 2026 we opened each option in a desktop browser, as a learner would. GoPrep's rows come from our product and data.
| Option | Tasks by | Which parts are in a free timed mock? |
|---|---|---|
| ielts.org samples | IELTS partners (official) | None timed. Full L, R, W sets, untimed, no account |
| IELTS Ready (free) | British Council (official) | After sign-up: 2 full mocks, L and R scored |
| IDP app and demo | IDP; courses by Macquarie and E2 | None: demo untimed. Macquarie mocks need a booking |
| IELTS Liz | The site's author | None: lessons by question type |
| IELTS Online Tests | The site | After sign-up: L, R, W, no Speaking; about 2 h 45 min |
| GoPrep (ours) | GoPrep; not official IELTS material | None free: mocks open with a paid plan |
| Option | Listening and Reading | Writing and Speaking |
|---|---|---|
| ielts.org samples | PDF answer keys | Not scored |
| IELTS Ready (free) | Scores on 2 full mocks | Estimates on short mocks; full mock via an "AI feedback upgrade" |
| IDP app and demo | Answer keys; auto score after submitting not checked | Not in the free demo; E2 course via an upgrade |
| IELTS Liz | Self-check | Not scored |
| IELTS Online Tests | Answers and explanations | Paid per check: AI or examiner |
| GoPrep (ours) | Automatic | AI, four IELTS criteria, in the subscription |
| Option | Format, language, phone | How fast |
|---|---|---|
| ielts.org samples | Computer demo and PDFs; English | Keys straight away |
| IELTS Ready (free) | Online; English | AI feedback "instant", per the British Council |
| IDP app and demo | Same computer demo; iOS and Android app | Keys straight away; auto-scoring speed not checked |
| IELTS Liz | Web pages; English | Straight away |
| IELTS Online Tests | Computer simulation; English | AI "in minutes", examiner "48 hours", per the site |
| GoPrep (ours) | Online, not the official software; Russian, Uzbek, Kazakh; web and iPhone | Speaking: half within about 2 minutes |
GoPrep's Speaking timing comes from 20,092 Speaking analyses between 29 August and 26 September 2026, from the analysis job entering the queue to completion: half were ready within about 2 minutes, and 9 in 10 within 4 minutes. We did not check Writing timing.
What the check shows: free full timed mocks exist, but behind a sign-up. The ielts.org and IDP demos we checked are untimed; their Reading and Writing sets are Academic. For General Training, see the British Council familiarisation test. Free Writing and Speaking scoring covers single mocks, so regular scoring means a booking bundle, per-check fees or a subscription.
Limits of our check
- No accounts, payments, bookings or apps: anything behind a sign-up comes from the provider's pages.
- We started tests but submitted no answers, so saw no score screens.
- We didn't compare AI accuracy: that needs examiner-marked essays as a benchmark.
- One day, one desktop. Offers change by country. Cambridge books are paid and on paper, so they are not in the tables.
Our pick: GoPrep, for feedback and a plan
GoPrep is ours. GoPrep won EdTech Project of the Year at the AI & Digital Bridge Awards 2026 in Astana and has 40,000+ users in 140 countries. On average, GoPrep scores 0.6 band stricter than the real IELTS (2,723 learners who reported their official result), so you arrive at the exam with a margin.
- 80+ full mock tests per skill in the computer format; Listening and Reading also by section.
- Writing and Speaking scored by AI: Writing on the four official criteria (TA, CC, LR, GRA) in half-band steps; Speaking with a transcript plus fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
- An adaptive daily plan to your test date, with error review, vocabulary on spaced repetition, Preppy (a voice AI tutor) and add-ons: Crusher for all skills and Grammar Maxxing.
- iPhone app and web version in any browser, in Russian or Uzbek. Scoring is in the subscription, not bought per check. You can pay locally with Kaspi in Kazakhstan, or Payme and Paylov in Uzbekistan.
GoPrep's Score Guarantee: if your overall IELTS band doesn't rise by at least 1.0, you get 100% of your subscription back, provided you meet the conditions (an official TRF of 6.5 or lower, at least 3 months of subscription, and the full practice plan).
Start preparing for IELTS today: tell GoPrep your target and test date, and get a plan for every day until the exam.
Match the free access to your test date
Booking-linked access has a clock: 4 or 30 days for Macquarie, and from booking until 7 days after the test for IELTS Ready Premium.
Of 5,236 learners who joined GoPrep between 28 July and 26 September 2026 and entered a future test date, 26% had 4 weeks or less, and 59% had 12 weeks or less. The median was 65 days, about 9 weeks.
- Booking with IDP? Take 30 days for your weakest skill, not 4 days of everything. IDP says access is instant on booking, so check when the 30 days start.
- Booking with the British Council? Book as soon as your date is fixed.
How many weeks your gap needs: how long it takes to improve your IELTS score.
Less than 8 weeks to your exam? Get a plan that fits the time you have.
Our verdict: where to start
Start with GoPrep (ours) for Writing and Speaking feedback and a daily plan, and add free official materials for the format. Then find your line.
| Your situation | Start with | Add |
|---|---|---|
| You need Writing or Speaking feedback and a plan to your date | GoPrep (ours): AI scoring on the IELTS criteria and a daily plan | Free official samples; a tutor for live speaking |
| Weakest skill: Listening or Reading | Official samples, then timed tests on a free site | Computer-delivered IELTS practice |
| Zero budget | ielts.org, free IELTS Ready, the IDP app, free sites | A partner to swap Speaking practice |
| English below about B1 | A general English course first | IELTS tasks once simple texts feel easy |
Whichever you pick, take a full mock every 3 to 4 weeks: how to read an IELTS mock test.
Practice: choose a preparation mix
Arman takes IELTS in 10 weeks and needs 6.5 overall with no skill below 6.0. Mock: Listening 7.0, Reading 7.0, Writing 5.5, Speaking 6.5. He hasn't booked. Where should he start?
Our answer: his overall is already 6.5 (the four skills average exactly 6.5). The gap is Writing: 5.5 is half a band under his 6.0 minimum, and no answer key checks it. Official tasks and model answers show the format; add regular scoring on the four criteria, from an AI platform or a few teacher-marked essays. If he books with the British Council, IELTS Ready Premium adds 40 practice tests.
Nigora, same target, has 5.5 in Listening and 6.5 elsewhere: 6.25 rounds up to 6.5, so her only gap is Listening, which a key can check.
Check yourself
FAQ
What is the best website for IELTS preparation?
There isn't one best site for everyone. Use official material (ielts.org, British Council, IDP, Cambridge) for real tasks. If Writing or Speaking is your weakest skill, add a teacher or a platform that scores it on the four IELTS criteria, such as GoPrep (ours).
Is there free official IELTS preparation?
Yes. ielts.org has free sample tests, the British Council's IELTS Ready has a free level with two full mock tests, and the IELTS by IDP app is free. Booking the test adds more: IELTS Ready Premium with the British Council, or the Macquarie course with IDP at participating centres.
Can AI score IELTS Writing and Speaking?
Yes, several platforms do, including the British Council's IELTS Ready. Treat any AI score as a practice estimate: only the official test sets your band.
Which app is good for IELTS preparation?
The official IELTS by IDP app is free on iOS and Android, with practice materials and 14-day course trials. Judge other apps by the same six criteria as websites.
Next step
Ready to book? Compare IDP and the British Council in IELTS in Kazakhstan or IELTS registration in Uzbekistan.
Tell GoPrep your target, test date and hardest skill in a short quiz, and get a plan built around them.
GoPrep Team
GoPrep guide authors
We write about IELTS preparation using platform data and official exam materials.
All articles by GoPrep Team