The best free IELTS academic reading tests
For anyone working towards a high IELTS Academic score in their reading, getting lots of practice is critical. But, looking for practice material can result in lots of wasted time – time you could have invested in actual reading practice. In the hopes of reducing that wasted time, we’ve compiled a list of the best free IELTS academic reading tests websites. We hope you’ll find our selection of free IELTS academic reading tests websites useful as you prepare for your test.
We know that many websites provide practice tests for IELTS Academic reading, but we’ve noticed that many of them provide wrong answers. Wrong answers aren’t helpful, they’re just plain frustrating. In this list of the best free IELTS Academic reading tests websites, we’ve checked for accuracy. There may still be some inaccurate answers, but overall the quality is good. However, if you ever want to query an answer that you feel is incorrect, please provide me with the test link and question, and I’ll let you know if your answer, or the given answer, is correct. Please use my contact form.
Making the List
Most of the websites offering free IELTS Academic reading practice don’t need you to set up an account, but some of them won’t give you the answers unless you provide them with your email. I haven’t included them in the list if they want any form of payment.
To make this list of the best free IELTS academic reading tests, the websites have to offer:
- At least ten free IELTS Academic practice reading tests. The last thing you need to do is spend time browsing around the internet looking for one test at a time.
- Accurate Answers. We want you to be able to see any errors quickly so that you can go back and identify any patterns that help you improve your score.
- Lots of free practice with the different question types that come up on the IELTS Academic reading test.
We hope you find these resources useful and let us know if there are any good ones that we’ve missed and should add! Please use my contact form for any updates you feel should be on the list.
1. IELTS Mentor
IELTS Mentor is one the best free IELTS academic reading tests websites. You’ll find over 300 free Academic reading practice tests to help you with your IELTS Academic test preparation. The tests are divided up into the same three different reading sections that you’ll get in the real test. That means you’ll get lots of practice on each of the three sections. You’ll also get lots of practice with each of the question types.
All of the tests have answers so that you can see immediately whether you’ve chosen the correct answer or not.
2. Practice PTE Online
Not everyone would think to look at PTE websites for free IELTS Reading Practice tests, but this website has over 230 of them for IELTS Academic reading. By offering so much practice to our students, it ranks as one of the best free IELTS Academic reading tests websites.
Tip: Keep a note of any new vocabulary and try to use it in your own sentences
3. Mini IELTS
The Mini IELTS website does things a little differently. Rather than present full tests, it offers reading tasks by topic. That makes it a great site to go to if you need practice with a certain type of IELTS reading question. For example, if you’re struggling with the true, false, not given question type, you can just practice those questions. With over 507 reading tasks, applicable to both academic and general IELTS, it ranks as one of the best free IELTS academic reading tests websites.
Tip: Pay attention to the question types that you get wrong a lot, and then make sure you get lots of practice with them before your test.
4. IELTS Training online
The IELTS Training Online Website is another of the best free IELTS academic reading tests websites. Its practice tests are indexed under Cambridge, The British Council, Actual Tests, Recent Actual Tests, and Actual Tests from 2019. Their list of free IELTS Academic Reading tests also includes 99 Actual tests, another 32 Recent Actual Tests, and a further 16 Actual tests from 2019.
Working your way through all these tests will give you plenty of practice on each of the three sections. You’ll get plenty of practice with the different question types in the IELTS reading test.
All of the tests have answers, so you’ll know immediately if you’ve got it right.
Tip: Notice what type of information the questions target. Doing that often helps with identifying the information you’ll be asked about.
5. IELTS Up
On the ielts-up website, you’ll find 11 free reading practice tests with answers for the Academic IELTS test.
Working through these free Academic Reading Tests will give you lots of practice with the different question types that appear on the real test. They include matching headings; true, false, not given questions; yes, no, not given questions; gap filling; multiple choice; and sentence completion.
All of the tests have answers, so you’ll be able to see immediately which types of questions you need to practice more in order to ace your test.
Tip: Make a not of synonyms and how they’re used in the questions.
6. English Exam
English exam makes the list because of the sheer quantity of free IELTS Academic Reading Practice tests it offers. However, the arrangement of the tests isn’t very helpful. Rather than offering complete tests, it offers test sections without identifying whether they are from section 1, 2, or 3.
Fortunately, all of the tests have answers which are immediately accessible, so you can get immediate feedback on your effort.
Tip: Look at how the texts and paragraphs are structured and make a note of where the information targeted in the question occurs.
7. Exam English
Exameneglish.com offers ten full tests with answers so that you can get lots of free practice .
As with all of the tests, you’ll get lots of practice with the different question types that appear on the real test. These include: matching headings; true, false, not given questions; yes, no, not given questions; gap filling; multiple choice; and sentence completion.
Tip: Look for frequency adverbs (usually, often, always, never, seldom, frequently, etc.) in the questions and how they’re contradicted in the text.
8. IELTS Online tests
The IELTS online tests website just slips in at the bottom of the list. Although their tests are free, you do have to open account. Once you’ve opened your account, you have access to a nice range of free IELTS Academic practice tests. The tests are arranged in volumes that currently go from 1 to 8. Each volume offers two complete tests for each of the four skills – reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
The IELTS online tests website also offers free livestreaming classes in all four of the tested skills. You may find these helpful if you’re struggling with particular areas of the IELTS Academic test.
Tip: Learn from your mistakes. Always go back and look at your mistakes. Never miss an opportunity to figure out where you went wrong.