B2 First or IELTS: which exam to take

They are different kinds of exam

B2 First aims at one level. You sit it because you believe you are at B2, and it confirms that with a grade: A, B, or C within B2, or a B1 certificate if you fall short. Its Cambridge Scale score stops at 190.

IELTS measures where you are. There is no pass mark. You get a band from 1 to 9 for each of the four skills, and an overall band that is the average of the four rounded to the nearest half band. An average of 6.25 becomes an overall 6.5.

This is the difference that drives everything else. B2 First answers a yes-or-no question. IELTS answers a how-much question.

Format and length

B2 First runs about three and a half hours across four papers: Reading and Use of English (1 hour 15), Writing (1 hour 20), Listening (about 40 minutes), and Speaking (14 minutes, taken in pairs). Reading and Use of English alone carries 40% of the marks. It is available on paper or digitally.

IELTS runs 2 hours 45 minutes: Listening (about 30 minutes plus transfer time), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (60 minutes), and Speaking (11 to 14 minutes, one-to-one with an examiner). There are two versions. Academic is for university study and professional registration; General Training is for migration and vocational training. The Listening and Speaking sections are identical between them; Reading and Writing differ.

One detail catches people out: the IELTS listening recording is played once only.

How the scores line up

IELTS publishes part of its CEFR mapping as text: bands 5.5 to 6.5 correspond to B2, bands 7 to 8 to C1, and 8.5 and above to C2. IELTS is careful to say the relationship is not clean, because it is not a level-based test.

Cambridge publishes its own comparison. Roughly, a Cambridge Scale score of 162 is around IELTS 5.5, 176 around 6.5, and 185 around 7.0. Cambridge adds the caveat that exact equivalences cannot be demonstrated, only broad comparability.

The consequence is worth stating plainly. B2 First tops out at 190, which is around IELTS 7.0 to 7.5. If you need to demonstrate more than that, B2 First cannot do it however well you perform, and the exam to look at is C1 Advanced or IELTS.

Validity: the point most sites get wrong

Cambridge states that its certificates do not expire and are valid indefinitely. IELTS does not say a result expires either. What it says is that it recommends a result be taken to demonstrate ability for a maximum of two years, and it explicitly adds that an older result should be accepted if accompanied by evidence the candidate has maintained or improved their English.

Both bodies then hand the decision to whoever is reading the certificate. Cambridge says so in as many words: institutions choose how long to accept results for, and some accept only the last two or three years.

So the honest version is that neither certificate expires, IELTS carries a two-year recommendation that most receivers enforce, and a Cambridge certificate from five years ago may still be refused by a university with its own policy. Check the requirement of the institution you are applying to, not the exam board.

Results and how often you can sit them

IELTS is faster. Computer-delivered results come in 1 to 5 days, paper-based in up to 13, and IELTS Online in 6 to 8. Tests run on multiple dates each month at most centres.

B2 First depends on the format. Digital sittings return results in 5 to 10 working days and run throughout the year at the centre's discretion. Paper-based sittings are on fixed dates - 16 of them in 2026 - and results take 4 to 6 weeks.

If you have a deadline, that difference decides the format for you. A paper B2 First sitting plus a six-week wait is a long time to discover you need to retake.

What each is accepted for

For a UK visa, the answer is IELTS and only IELTS. The approved Secure English Language Test list does not include Cambridge exams, and Cambridge itself now directs visa applicants to IELTS for UKVI. Note that IELTS for UKVI is a separate booking from ordinary IELTS: it must be taken in person at a designated centre, and an ordinary sitting cannot be converted afterwards. IELTS Online cannot be used for a visa route at all.

For UK university study the position is different, because a licensed sponsor can assess a student's English itself as long as the standard is equivalent to B2. That is why Cambridge exams remain usable for degree entry despite not being SELTs. But note which exams Cambridge names for degree-level applications: C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency. B2 First is positioned for foundation, pathway, and pre-sessional courses. If you are applying to a UK master's, B2 First is probably not the exam.

For Hungary, the position as described by British Council Hungary is that a B2 First certificate is equivalent to a B2-level general, monolingual, complex accredited Hungarian language exam certificate, with no further step, whereas an IELTS result must go through honosítás at the Oktatási Hivatal before it counts in Hungary at all - a process they put at a minimum of three weeks. This is the exam providers' description rather than the regulator's, so confirm it with the Oktatási Hivatal before planning around it.

Which one suits you

Take IELTS if you need a UK visa, if you are applying to a UK university, if you do not yet know what level you will reach, if you need to demonstrate above about 7.0, or if you have a deadline and need a fast result.

Take B2 First if you are securely at B2 and want a clean statement of it, if you want a certificate that does not carry a two-year recommendation, or if you are in Hungary and your goal is a domestic B2 certificate without administrative steps.

Two preparation differences are worth weighing. B2 First has a Use of English paper with no IELTS equivalent, so it demands accurate grammar and vocabulary across a wide range; if you dislike discrete grammar work, it will be the heavier preparation. IELTS rewards speed and technique - 40 reading questions in 60 minutes, and a listening recording played once - so weak reading speed costs more there.

The speaking exams also differ in kind. B2 First speaking is paired: you are examined alongside another candidate and part of the task is interacting with them. IELTS speaking is a one-to-one interview with a long individual turn. If being partnered with a stranger worries you, that difference is not a detail.