Can you take PTE Academic online?

Why you have to go to a test centre

Pearson runs PTE Academic in supervised rooms, with a palm vein scan, photo and signature at check-in, and no more than 15 seats in a room. That security is part of why universities and governments accept it.

If an online English test is advertised as working for an Australian visa, check the Department of Home Affairs English language pages before you pay. Home Affairs lists the tests and scores it accepts for each English level.

PTE Home isn’t a home test

The name catches people out. PTE Home is a short speaking and listening test for some UK family, settlement and citizenship applications. It’s taken at an official PTE test centre. For Australian and New Zealand visas, Pearson points you to PTE Academic instead.

Official online practice

• Free with a myPTE account: guided practice tests, sectional tests, video lessons and a study plan.
• AI Practice, free tier: two diagnostic tests, sample reading and listening questions, and a sample of AI feedback.
• AI Practice, paid: 15 mock tests, 20 sectional tests and over 1,000 official questions, from US$29.99 for 7 days.
• Scored Practice Test: a full 2-hour test in the real format with a score report, US$35.99.

Practise with a headset

On test day you speak into a headset microphone and type on a standard QWERTY keyboard. Practise speaking to a computer and typing your answers at home, so the real thing feels familiar. Other people will be speaking in the same room, and Pearson says their voices aren’t picked up by your microphone.