CELPIP vs. IELTS

Compared with IELTS, CELPIP has the following advantages:
The CELPIP exam is new, and the difficulty of the exam is relatively low. All the questions are multiple-choice, which eliminates the loss of scores caused by misspellings in the IELTS test. Moreover, a single question type makes the difficulty of the examination questions lower. CELPIP’s listening portion uses Canadian accents, rather than international accents such as in the IELTS test, which helps reduce test takers’ stress. The word count of the writing questions written for CELPIP is 150 words each, which is equivalent to two essays for IELTS. CELPIP test takers can also utilize the word counter and spelling error check while writing. Finally, CELPIP’s oral questions are fixed. After the candidates have mastered the rules and skills of the question types, they are more familiar with the recording of the computer-based test. Learn more about the differences here.

Yes, we offer IELTS tutoring from professional and certified IELTS instructors. We provide two classes - an online training class designed for 1-on-1 instruction between student and instructor, and an online group class. In a group setting, students will learn more about the main points and difficulties encountered during the exam and instructors will focus on whether test-takers can use English logically and accurately.

We recommend students who fail either exam to take our guaranteed class, which will ensure you will pass the exam with your desired marks. We encourage students to keep up with their studies and practice and actively participate in class to be able to achieve the scores that they aim for.

Both our CELPIP and IELTS classes are four weeks long. Please refer to our CELPIP Classes and IELTS Classes pages for more information.

When taken in Canada, CELPIP costs around $280, whereas IELTS costs around $310.

If you seek a CLB 7+, it may be easier to score higher on a longer exam like IELTS than CELPIP. To score CLB 7+ on CELPIP requires you to score nearly perfect in every category, whereas in ILETS, there is slightly more room for error because the exam is longer and the writing and speaking sections require more information. IELTS is often recognized across post-secondary institutions to test immigrants’ English proficiency.

The grading criteria for both IELTS and CELPIP are nearly identical, in that both exams assess the test-takers’ English proficiency and mastery over the language. Whereas half of the CELPIP exam’s grading is computerized because of the multiple-choice questions and only the writing and speaking sections are assessed by markers, IELTS markers use detailed descriptions of band scores to mark the entire exams.

You can find testing centres for both exams on their official websites to find exam dates and locations. You will need to travel to the testing centre to write the exam; neither of them can be done online or at home.