IDP or British Council: which should you book IELTS with?

ielts.org states that IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment (ielts.org). The organisations that accept IELTS name the test, not the partner who ran it: IRCC asks for "IELTS General Training" for Express Entry (IRCC), and UKVI lists the provider of IELTS for UKVI as the "IELTS SELT Consortium" (GOV.UK). We found no accepting body that prefers one partner's result over the other's.

So the questions that matter are practical: which centre has a date before your deadline, which payment method you can use, and how much you lose if you have to cancel.

The British Council's India site says IDP became the sole distributor of IELTS testing in India from 25 July 2021 (British Council India). Every IELTS test in India is booked with IDP at INR 19,000 for Academic or General Training, the same in all 77 cities on IDP's centre list (IDP India fees).

IDP India refunds a standard test cancelled 15 or more days ahead minus an administration charge of up to 25%, and nothing within 14 days; approved refunds are paid within 7 to 10 working days (IDP India policy). If an agent offers you a "British Council IELTS" booking in India, it does not exist; see our IELTS fee in India guide for the official route.

Both providers charge PKR 75,600 in most cities and PKR 76,240 in Lahore and Faisalabad. The one city where they differ is Gujrat: PKR 75,600 at IDP and PKR 76,240 at the British Council (British Council, IDP Pakistan). The British Council's fee table still showed PKR 72,000 for IELTS for UKVI, but its live dates were PKR 78,820, the same as IDP.

Refund terms are identical: 75% back if you cancel 15 or more days ahead, nothing within 14 days (British Council policy, IDP policy). Differences: the British Council covers more cities (20, including Swat, Mardan, Sukkur and Quetta), lets you pick your Speaking slot within a week either side of the written test, and includes five extra Test Report Forms (British Council locations). It also warns that card payments carry 1% (filer) or 3% (non-filer) advance tax under section 236Y, which bank transfer or cash deposit avoids. IDP lists Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura and Wah Cantt, which the British Council does not.

Bangladesh: both charge BDT 31,100, and 75% comes back if you cancel 15 or more days ahead. IDP publishes its transfer fee in taka (BDT 7,400 within 5 to 14 days) and processes refunds within 15 working days (IDP); the British Council charges 25% and says refunds can take 4 to 6 weeks (British Council). The British Council takes bKash, Rocket and DBBL Nexus, offers 0% instalments through partner banks and accepts a smart national ID card except for UKVI (British Council). IDP has more Dhaka venues plus Bogura, Barishal, Narayanganj and Narsingdi (IDP); the British Council covers Rangpur and Feni (British Council).

Nepal: both charge NPR 36,000, NPR 36,400 for UKVI and NPR 29,000 for Life Skills (IDP, British Council). The British Council publishes its refund rules (75% back 15 or more days ahead) and takes eSewa (British Council); we could not find a published IDP Nepal cancellation page, so ask IDP before you pay. IDP covers about a dozen cities including Biratnagar, Birtamode and Nepalgunj; the British Council runs IELTS in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Butwal and Itahari (British Council).

Choose IDP if you are in India (it is the only provider), if your nearest centre is an IDP-only city, or in Bangladesh if a faster refund matters to you (15 working days against 4 to 6 weeks).

Choose the British Council if your city is British Council-only (for example Swat, Mardan, Sukkur, Rangpur or Feni), if you want to pay by bKash, Rocket, eSewa or bank transfer, or in Pakistan if you want to choose your Speaking slot. Either way, the result carries the same weight, so the cheapest decision is to be ready before you book: take a free IELTS mock test first.