Fees for English and foreign-language exams in the United States are set centre by centre, and the published add-on charges frequently run past what a single sitting costs. This cost breakdown of language certification prep in the US uses fee schedules read in September 2026 alongside the most recent results filings from Duolingo, Pearson and IDP Education.

Cost Breakdown of Language Certification Prep in the US

$160 ETS charges for a Speaking and Writing section score review, its dearest listed TOEFL service.

$199 is the TOEFL Essentials fee in every country, with US sales tax added at checkout.

$135 buys any JLPT level, N5 through N1, at the 6 December 2026 US sitting.

$55 separates the IELTS fee at ELS New York from the ELS San Francisco listing.

-8% IDP Education’s English Language Testing volumes in FY26, with yield per test up 7%.

What Does an English Test Cost at a US Centre?

There is no single national IELTS price in the United States. ELS Educational Services, which runs an IELTS test centre network in the country, lists two different exam fees on its own storefront.

ELS IELTS test centre	Listed exam fee (USD)
New York	$285.00
San Francisco	$340.00

Source: ELS IELTS Test Centers exam fee listings, accessed 10 September 2026

ETS prices TOEFL Essentials at US$199 for all countries, with the sole exception of India at INR 17,200. ETS also states that in the United States, along with Australia, Canada, Colombia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey and Vietnam, test fees exclude sales and similar taxes, which are added when the order is placed.

The TOEFL iBT registration fee is the awkward one. ETS sets it per country and serves it only after a candidate picks a testing location, so no static figure appears on the fee page. Third-party sites quote US amounts between $195 and $270 for 2026, which is a spread wide enough that none of them belongs in a cost table. Candidates comparing English exams against admissions thresholds will find country-level demand patterns in these IELTS volumes broken down by country.

Source: ETS, TOEFL Essentials Test Registration and TOEFL iBT Test Fees pages, accessed 10 September 2026

Which TOEFL Fees Sit Outside the Headline Price?

ETS publishes eight service charges that apply regardless of where the test is taken. Two of them cost more than the TOEFL Essentials exam itself.

ETS service	Fee (USD)
Speaking and Writing Section score review	$160
Express Scoring	$129
Speaking or Writing Section score review	$80
Rescheduling	$69
Express registration (within 7 days of test date)	$49
Returned payment	$30
Additional score reports (per institution or agency)	$29 each
Reinstatement of canceled scores	$20

Source: ETS, TOEFL iBT Test Fees, accessed 10 September 2026

ETS notes that these prices exclude VAT and other applicable taxes. Its Fee Reduction Service covers half the regular test fee and is limited to US high school seniors with financial need who are applying to colleges where TOEFL scores are recommended or required.

Cost Breakdown of Language Certification Prep in the US Beyond English

The JLPT is the flattest fee structure in this article. The American Association of Teachers of Japanese charges $135 for every level, N5 through N1, at the 6 December 2026 US sitting, held across 21 test sites from Honolulu to Miami. AATJ notes that most sites and levels were already sold out when registration data was published.

Source: American Association of Teachers of Japanese, Taking the JLPT in the United States, page updated 9 September 2026

German exams work differently, splitting the bill between the Goethe-Institut and the local cooperating school. Boulder School for German Language and Culture publishes both halves for its Fall 2026 sitting on 1 October 2026. The JLPT levels from N5 to N1 and the CEFR-anchored Goethe ladder are not built the same way, so a like-for-like price comparison across the two does not hold.

Goethe exam level	Goethe exam package	School administration fee
Goethe A1	$220	$50
Goethe A2	$240	$60

Source: Boulder School for German Language and Culture, Fall 2026 Goethe exam registration

Instituto Cervantes centres in New York, Chicago and Albuquerque publish DELE session dates but block automated access to their fee pages, so no verified US DELE figure appears here. Readers comparing European exam ladders can check the DELF level structure or the HSK-to-CEFR alignment charts before choosing a level to sit.

How Much Does a Retake Add?

A study published in Language Testing and summarised by IDP Education in July 2026 analysed more than 20,000 IELTS One Skill Retake candidates from almost 100 countries, plus survey responses from 578 of them.

More than 90% of those candidates retook the skill in which they scored lowest. Writing and Reading were the most frequently retaken components globally. Just over half of the surveyed candidates reported reaching their target score through the retake, with Listening candidates reporting the highest success rate.

Both One Skill Retake candidates and candidates who resat the full four-skill test in a comparable window recorded an average overall increase of around 0.15 bands. The data covers the option’s 2022 launch through Spring 2024.

Source: IDP Education, “New research shows One Skill Retake provides a fair second chance for IELTS test takers”, 27 July 2026

Who Is Buying Language Certification Prep in the US?

The Institute of International Education counted 1,177,766 international students at US higher education institutions in the 2024/25 academic year, a 5% increase and 6% of the total US higher education population. New enrolments moved the other way, falling 7% to 277,118.

Academic level, 2024/25	International students	Year-on-year change
Graduate	488,481	-3%
Undergraduate	357,231	+4%
Optional Practical Training	294,253	+21%

Source: IIE Open Doors 2025 Report on International Educational Exchange, International Student Census 2024/25

IIE’s Fall 2025 Snapshot, covering over 825 institutions, reports a 1% decline in international student totals for 2025/26, with undergraduate enrolments up 2% and graduate enrolments down 12%. Broader enrolment context sits in this tertiary enrolment data by country.

Are Test Volumes Falling While Prices Hold?

IDP Education reported FY26 revenue of $795.4 million, down 9%. Language Testing volumes declined 8% while yield rose 7%, and Student Placement volumes fell 27% against an 11% yield gain. IDP cut its IELTS footprint from roughly 1,500 venues to fewer than 600 and says IELTS is now recognised by more than 13,500 organisations.

Source: IDP Education Limited FY26 results announcement, 20 August 2026

Pearson described the same pattern for PTE in its 2025 preliminary results: volumes declined 5% while sales remained flat, and English Language Learning sales increased 1%. Pearson reported 517 PTE test centre locations as of July 2025, 30 of them opened that year.

Source: Pearson plc 2025 Preliminary Results and PTE announcement, 10 July 2025

Duolingo’s English Test line held steady in the most recent completed quarter. Test revenue was $10.109 million in Q2 2026 against $10.088 million a year earlier, which Duolingo reported as no percentage change. The Q1 comparison fell 6%, from $11.986 million to $11.317 million. Preparation spending has meanwhile shifted toward mobile study, a market covered in these language learning app usage figures.

Where Duolingo English Test revenue sits in the mix

The English Test contributed $10.109 million of Duolingo’s $298.454 million in Q2 2026 revenue. Subscription revenue accounted for $258.035 million of the total.

Source: Duolingo, Inc. Q1 2026 and Q2 2026 shareholder letters, revenue by product type

Recognition figures and volume figures have moved in opposite directions across all three providers. Candidates weighing which language to certify in at all may want the study hours the FSI assigns to each language alongside the global English speaker totals.

FAQ

How much does an English certification cost in the US?

It depends on the test and the centre. ELS lists IELTS at $285 in New York and $340 in San Francisco. ETS prices TOEFL Essentials at $199 worldwide, with US sales tax added at checkout.

Why do Reddit threads quote different IELTS prices for the US?

Because US IELTS fees are set locally by each test centre, not nationally. ELS Educational Services alone lists $285 for its New York centre and $340 for San Francisco, both accessed September 2026.

What are the hidden TOEFL fees?

ETS publishes eight service charges: $160 for a Speaking and Writing score review, $129 for Express Scoring, $80 for a single-section review, $69 to reschedule, $49 for express registration, $30 returned payment, $29 per extra score report and $20 reinstatement.

How much is the JLPT in the United States?

$135 for every level, N5 through N1, at the 6 December 2026 sitting administered by the American Association of Teachers of Japanese across 21 US test sites. The fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.

Does retaking one IELTS skill actually raise scores?

A Language Testing study of over 20,000 One Skill Retake candidates found more than 90% retook their lowest skill, and both retake groups averaged around a 0.15 band overall increase. Just over half of 578 surveyed candidates hit their target.