The Duolingo English Test (DET) is an online English proficiency test you take at home, in about one hour, for US$70 — with certified results in roughly 48 hours. It is accepted by more than 6,000 programs worldwide, including all 8 Ivy League universities and 98 of the top 100 US universities.

But the DET is not a ticket to everywhere: Australia does not accept it for student visas, and Canada does not accept it for the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). This guide covers the full 2026 test structure, scoring, fees and the limitations that many prep websites won’t tell you about. Every number here comes from Duolingo’s official pages, help center, or government sources.

What is the DET? Is it the same as the Duolingo app?

The Duolingo English Test is made by Duolingo, Inc. (Pittsburgh, USA) — the same company behind the famous language-learning app, but it is a completely separate product: a proctored, high-stakes academic English test used for university admissions. Its official site is englishtest.duolingo.com, not the green-owl app.

Three things make the DET different from traditional tests:

1. Taken at home, no appointment needed. All you need is a computer with a camera and microphone, a smartphone set up as a secondary camera, stable internet, and a quiet private room. Buy the test and take it any time, day or night.

2. Computer-adaptive. Question difficulty adjusts to your answers — do well, and the next questions get harder. No two tests are identical, and even the number of questions varies from person to person.

3. AI scoring with human review. Responses are scored by AI models, but every certified result is also reviewed by human proctors before it is released.

Who accepts the DET — and who does NOT?

Read this section carefully before you pay for anything.

Where the DET is strongest: the United States. More than 3,100 US universities accept it, including all 8 Ivy League schools and 98 of the US News top 100. The F-1 student visa itself has no separate English-test requirement — if your university accepts the DET, that is normally all you need. Globally, over 6,000 programs accept it, and since 2026 the DET is also recognized in GMAC’s admissions standards for graduate management education.

Canada: admission only. Over 300 Canadian institutions accept the DET for admission, and a study permit application can work with a DET-based admission if your institution accepts it — but the visa officer always has full discretion. More importantly: since November 1, 2024, the PGWP (Post-Graduation Work Permit) only accepts IELTS General, CELPIP-General, or PTE Core — the DET is not on the list. If your plan is to work in Canada after graduating, you will need another test later.

Australia: NOT accepted for student visas. The Department of Home Affairs only accepts tests taken at a secure test centre (IELTS, TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, etc.) and explicitly excludes at-home online tests. An Australian university may issue you an offer based on the DET, but that offer cannot replace the visa English requirement.

UK: not a SELT. The DET cannot be used where a Secure English Language Test is legally required. Some universities accept it for degree-level study under self-assessment — check each university individually.

DET test structure in 2026

The test has three parts and runs about one hour in a single, uninterrupted sitting:

Part 1 — Setup and onboarding (~5 min): camera/microphone/speaker checks, government photo ID (use your passport), setting up your phone as a secondary camera plus a room scan (a requirement tightened in January 2026), and reviewing the test rules.

Part 2 — The adaptive test (~45 min): the graded section, made up of the question types below.

Part 3 — Video Interview + Writing Sample (~10 min): ungraded, but sent to institutions together with your scores — treat it as a mini admissions interview.

All question types (official numbers from Duolingo)

The headline feature of the 2026 test is Interactive Speaking (launched June 30, 2025): you hold a real conversation with an animated character, and the AI asks follow-up questions based on what you actually said — 35 seconds per turn, no preparation time. Memorized answers are close to useless here.

The 10–160 scale and 8 subscores

The DET is scored on a 10–160 scale in 5-point increments. Your score report contains 8 subscores: four individual skills (Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening) and four integrated scores (Production, Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation — each the average of a pair of skills).

Scores are valid for 2 years — after that you can no longer share the result, and institutions lose access to the certificate.

Quick conversion anchors from the official concordance: DET 120 ≈ IELTS 7.0 — the classic “competitive” bar for US applications; DET 105–115 ≈ IELTS 6.5 — a common university minimum.

Fees and purchase rules (2026)

Registration, taking the test at home, and results

The whole process fits in four steps:

1. Create an account at englishtest.duolingo.com — your name must exactly match your passport.

2. Buy the test (US$70) — remember the 21-day rule.

3. Prepare your room: alone in a quiet, well-lit private room; computer with camera, microphone and speakers (no headphones allowed); phone mounted as a secondary camera plus a room scan; stable internet; passport at hand.

4. Take the ~1-hour test and get results in about 48 hours. The entire session is recorded and reviewed by human proctors before certification. Rule violations mean no result.

Is the DET right for you?

Choose the DET if: your destination is the US (or a Canadian institution for admission only), you need results fast (48h vs. waiting for an IELTS slot), your budget is tight ($70 vs. $200+ for IELTS/TOEFL), and your target school is on the official acceptance list.

Don’t choose the DET if: you are going to Australia (the visa won’t accept it), your Canada plan includes PGWP or permanent residency (you’ll need IELTS-G/CELPIP/PTE Core — see our free CELPIP practice hub), or your program explicitly requires IELTS/TOEFL.

Final rule: always check the admission page of the university you’re applying to before buying any test — the official lookup tool is at englishtest.duolingo.com/test_takers/accepting_institutions.

Frequently asked questions