Free tool
IELTS Study Planner
Pick your test date and set your four section bands and your target overall. Choose how many days a week you can study. You see how long you have. The planner then shares your study days between the four skills, with more days for the sections furthest from your target.
Your plan
Pick a date
Choose your test date and your study days a week. Your plan appears here.
How the planner shares your study days
The planner counts the weeks from today to your test date and multiplies them by the days a week you chose. Any days left over make a short last week at the same rate. Then it shares those study days between Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.
Each skill starts with one share. It gets one more for every half band its section sits below your target overall. A section 1.0 below the target gets three shares, and a section at or above it gets one. The days rotate from week to week, so a plan with two study days a week still reaches all four skills.
The gap comes from the target band gap calculator, and your overall band is worked the way the band score calculator works it.
What the planner does not say
It gives no hours, and it does not say how long a band will take you. The figures the IELTS owners publish are averages for students on courses, not a rule for you, so a number here would be a guess. It is also not a forecast of your score. It is a way to share the days you have.
To use the days well, start with the order in how to prepare for IELTS. After the test, the results turnaround guide shows when to expect your results.
Frequently asked questions
How many weeks should I study for IELTS?
No owner of the test gives one figure. The time depends on where you start, the score you need and how often you can study. How long it takes to prepare for IELTS sets out what each owner publishes.
How many days a week should I study?
Pick a number you can keep up every week. A plan you follow helps more than one you drop after two weeks. The planner takes any number from 1 to 7 and shares those days between the four skills.
Why does every skill get days, even one above my target?
Your overall band is the average of four section bands. The planner keeps all four skills in the plan and gives more days to the sections furthest below your target. If every section already meets it, the days are spread evenly. Check whether your requirement is an overall band, a minimum for each section, or both. See how to prepare for IELTS.
Does the planner save my test date?
No. The date stays in your browser. If you accept analytics cookies, the site saves your section bands, your target, your study days a week and the whole weeks left. That lets it count how the tool is used. The weeks left, saved with the time of use, show roughly when your test is. It does not save the plan.
How does it count the weeks?
From today up to, but not including, the day of your test. A test seven days away is one week. Any days left over form a short last week.
Start from where you are now
A plan works best from a real starting point. A timed practice test is one way to find yours. Then put your section scores into the planner.