Quick test or certified exam
Two ways to find out your English level.
Twelve free minutes for an estimate. Ninety for a certificate. Both put you on the same CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.
Written and reviewed by Vugar Novruzov, Founder & Publisher
Free route
Quick Level Test
An honest estimate, in the time of a coffee break.
- FormatAdapts to every answer across 30 questions
- MeasuresGrammar, vocabulary and reading, scored separately
- ResultYour CEFR level on screen the moment you finish
Nothing to sign up for, nothing to install, and you may retake it as often as you like.
Certified route
Certified Exam
One sitting, and a document at the end.
- CoversGrammar, vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking
- AttemptsTwo graded attempts included, the second after 14 days
- ResultA certificate anyone can verify from its own link
An account is needed, because a certificate belongs to somebody. You complete the exam before payment; checkout opens only at the result screen.
The one real difference
Where the answer key lives.
The free test marks itself inside your browser, so the key has to be in the page with it. The certified exam sends your answers to a server that keeps the key to itself.
That single difference is why one result is an estimate you can trust yourself with, and the other is a document you can hand to somebody else.
Under the hood
What each route is actually doing.
Route 01 · Quick Level Test
Thirty questions, each one chosen by your last answer.
Get one right and the next is harder. That is why thirty items beat a hundred: nearly all of them land at the edge of what you can already do, which is the only place a test learns anything about you.
Grammar, vocabulary and reading are scored separately, so you finish knowing which one is holding you back — not just a letter.
Route 02 · Certified Exam
Five parts, four clocks, and writing has none.
Grammar and vocabulary, reading, listening and speaking each run to their own budget. Writing is untimed, and the exam clock stops while you are in it, so the part that rewards thinking is the one part nothing is counting down.
Writing and speaking responses stay with your attempt. Your detailed result reports the four skills scored on our own servers.
What the price is made of
What your $3 unlocks.
Three things, and the third one is every free page on this site.
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Detailed results after you finish
You sit all five parts before checkout. Payment unlocks your VEA Score, four scored skill bands, study guidance and any certificate your evidence supports.
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Servers that keep the exam honest
The other parts are scored on our side, against a key map your browser never receives. That costs more than marking in the page, and it is the whole reason a band is worth putting on a document.
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The rest goes back into the site
Every lesson, drill, story and worksheet here is free and stays free. What the exam brings in pays for building more of them.
If something goes wrong, we put the attempt back
A fault on our side, a lost recording, a result that never arrived — tell us and you sit it again at no cost, which is usually what people actually want. Prefer the money back? Say so and we refund you instead.
Side by side
Including where the free one wins.
The quick test is genuinely good and genuinely free. Pretending otherwise would only make the paid one harder to believe.
| Compared | Quick Level Test | Certified Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Time | About 12 minutes | Up to 90 minutes, writing untimed |
| Questions | 30, adaptive | Five parts, about 110 items |
| Skills reported | Grammar, vocabulary, reading | Grammar, vocabulary, reading and listening |
| Range reported | A1 to C2 | A1 to C2 |
| Where it is marked | In your browser | On our servers |
| Certificate | No | Yes, with a public verification link |
| Account | Not needed | Needed |
| Price | Free, always | Start free; $3 after completion unlocks results |
| Attempts | Unlimited | Two — the second attempt unlocks 14 days after the first |
The small print
What the certificate is not.
It records your progress with us. It is not an accredited or officially recognised qualification, it is not equivalent to IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge or any state examination, and no university, employer or immigration authority is obliged to accept it. That sentence is printed on the certificate itself, not only here.
What it is good for: knowing your own level against a standard rather than a guess, and a starting point the rest of this site can plan around. The full position is in our Terms of Service.
Which one should I take?
Take the quick test if you want to know where to start studying: free, about twelve minutes, and accurate enough to place you. Take the certified exam when you need something to show somebody else, or when you want listening measured and speaking recorded as well.
Do I need an account?
Not for the quick test. The certified exam does, because a certificate has to belong to a person and its verification link has to point at a record that outlives the browser tab.
How accurate is the free test if my browser marks it?
Accurate enough to place you: it adapts to every answer, so nearly all of its questions land at the boundary of your ability. What browser marking costs is not accuracy but trust, which is why it is fine for a study plan and useless as a document. Our guide to online English test accuracy explains the seven checks worth using for any test.
What am I paying for?
You complete the exam before paying. The $3 then unlocks server-scored results for grammar, vocabulary, reading and listening, plus any certificate your evidence supports. One payment covers two graded attempts.
Can I retake the certified exam?
Yes. One payment includes two graded attempts, and the second attempt unlocks 14 days after the first, so the second sitting draws questions you have not just memorised. Both numbers are enforced by the server, not promised by this page. The quick test has no limit at all.
When do I pay?
After you complete all five parts. The final screen asks for $3 before it reveals the detailed result. Our refund policy explains the limited cases where a completed purchase can be refunded.