Starter
£0 / month
- 3 free checks a month (the first needs no sign-up)
- Each writing check uses 1 of your monthly checks; saved full rewrites are Pro
- Four criterion scores and a revision plan
- Saved essay history
Writing checkers · checked 12 October 2026
English Test Coach vs Engnovate
Both tools estimate an IELTS band for Task 1 and Task 2 writing. The practical differences are how many free checks you get, whether your essay stays private, how you pay and what the report helps you do next.
Ownership disclosure: English Test Coach is our own product. This comparison is written by English Test Coach, not an independent reviewer. Engnovate is a separate provider; its name is used to identify the service being compared.
English Test Coach offers AI writing feedback with a small free allowance and a paid Pro plan. Our own availability is described as it is today; Engnovate's details are as its pages showed them on 12 October 2026.
At a glance
The Engnovate column quotes or summarises its own pages, with a link beside each claim. English Test Coach is described as it is today.
| Area | English Test Coach | Engnovate |
|---|---|---|
| Writing tasks | Academic Task 1 with an uploaded chart, table, map or process; General Training letters; and Task 2 essays for both tests. 60 original questions with annotated answers. | Separate evaluation tools for Academic Task 1 reports, General Training letters and Task 2 essays, plus generators for each task. Engnovate tools and plans. |
| Free AI checks | A free Starter account includes 3 free writing checks a month, and the first needs no sign-up; saved full rewrites are part of Pro. | The Free plan lists Task 1 and Task 2 writing evaluation “2 times/month”. The page does not say whether Task 1 and Task 2 share that allowance. Engnovate tools and plans. |
| Paid plan | Pro is £12 a month, renewing monthly until you cancel. It has no monthly limit on personal writing checks and includes 60 full rewrites a month. | Premium is a one-time pass with no automatic renewal: $11.97 for one month, $25.97 for three, $44.97 for six or $61.97 for twelve, shown as a limited-time offer. Payments are non-refundable. Engnovate tools and plans; Engnovate payment and accuracy FAQ. |
| Essay privacy | Guest checks are not saved to an account. Signed-in reports and drafts are private to your account on every plan. We do not publish learner essays. | The checker page states that essays checked on the site “may become public” and suggests Premium to keep them private. Premium lists “Checked Answers Will Not Be Published”. Engnovate Task 2 checker. |
| Report | An estimated band for each criterion with evidence, a task checklist, corrections in context, vocabulary and coherence notes, next steps, and an optional study revision that quotes and explains each change. | An overall band shown with “(+/- 0.5)”, the four criteria, vocabulary and grammar measures, and three rewritten versions of your essay with the differences highlighted. Engnovate Task 2 checker. |
| Accuracy statement | We publish our check against 27 official sample scripts: 24 estimates within one band, an average difference of 0.57, and lower estimates for scripts marked 8 or above. | The FAQ says evaluations “typically have an accuracy rate of 75% to 95% compared to official scores” and are “often slightly stricter than human teachers”. It does not say how this was measured. Engnovate payment and accuracy FAQ. |
| Other skills | Speaking practice with recordings, listening exercises and videos, and topic vocabulary. Speaking transcription is part of Pro. | Speaking evaluation (two a month on the Free plan), 100+ Cambridge IELTS tests, dictation and shadowing, flashcards and other AI tools. Engnovate tools and plans. |
Free checks: how far each free plan goes
If you write two practice essays a week, Engnovate's Free plan covers the first two checks of the month. On English Test Coach a free Starter account covers 3 checks a month, and the first needs no sign-up. At two essays a week, neither free plan lasts the whole month.
Both free plans have conditions. Our guest check is limited to one a month on each network and is not saved, so download the report if you want to keep it. Engnovate's two monthly evaluations come with its publication notice, described below.
Price: a monthly plan or a one-time pass
English Test Coach
Pro is a monthly subscription: £12 a month, renewing until you cancel. Pro stays active until the end of the paid month, and there are no partial refunds. Outside the UK, checkout shows the price in your local currency, and you can choose to pay in pounds instead.
Check current free use and plans →Engnovate
Premium is a one-time payment for a fixed period. On 12 October 2026 its plan selector showed $11.97 for one month (reduced from $16.99), $25.97 for three months, $44.97 for six months and $61.97 for twelve months under a limited-time offer. Its FAQ says plans never renew automatically and payments are non-refundable. See Engnovate's current prices.
Engnovate's longer passes cost much less per month than a monthly plan, so if you are sure you will study for six months or more and want every IELTS skill in one place, Engnovate is the cheaper option. If you mainly need writing feedback, want to stop and start, or prefer to pay in pounds, a monthly plan you can cancel may suit you better. Confirm the final amount, currency and terms with each provider before paying.
Privacy: who can see your essay
Engnovate's Task 2 checker page states: “Your essays checked on our site may become public.” It suggests Premium to keep essays private, and Premium lists “Checked Answers Will Not Be Published”. Read Engnovate's current checker notice.
On English Test Coach, guest checks are not saved to an account, and signed-in reports and drafts are private to your account on every plan, free or paid. We do not publish learner essays. Whichever tool you use, leave real names, addresses and other personal details out of practice writing. Our privacy notice explains what we store.
What each report helps you do
Engnovate's report centres on rewritten versions of your essay: a polished, an improved and an enhanced version, each with the differences highlighted. That is useful for collecting vocabulary and seeing a smoother version of your ideas.
Our report centres on why the band is what it is: evidence for each criterion, a checklist of what the question asked for, and the next revisions to make. A study revision, when you ask for one, quotes each change and explains it, so you can apply the same fix in your next response. See what the report includes.
Whichever you use, revise your own paragraph before you read a full rewrite. Making the change yourself shows whether you can repeat it under exam time.
Accuracy claims
Neither tool gives an official IELTS score. Engnovate's FAQ says its evaluations “typically have an accuracy rate of 75% to 95% compared to official scores”, and its checker describes the result as a guide rather than a definitive score. The pages we read do not say how the percentage was measured.
We publish how our estimate compares with official IELTS sample scripts. In our October 2026 check, 24 of 27 estimates were within one band of the examiner's mark, with an average difference of 0.57, and the estimate was least reliable for scripts marked 8 or above. Read the details and limits. We have not run Engnovate on the same scripts, so this is not a head-to-head accuracy test.
Which should you choose?
Choose Engnovate if you want every skill in one pass
Its tests and tools cover reading, listening, speaking and writing, and a longer Premium pass is inexpensive per month. It suits you if two free evaluations a month are enough, or if you are happy to buy Premium for a fixed period and keep your essays private that way.
Choose English Test Coach if writing is your weak point
You get more free checks each month, your essays stay private without paying, and each report explains what to revise next. Original questions, planning notes and annotated answers connect every check to a learning step.
You can also combine them: Engnovate's test library for reading and listening, and English Test Coach for writing practice with feedback.
Plans for your practice
A clear place to start.
Start with the tools you need and make room for regular practice.
Pro
£12 / month
Or pay once, with no renewal: 1-month pass £12 · 3-month pass £24 · 12-month pass £49
Everything in Starter, plus:
- Unlimited writing checks (fair-use daily limits apply)
- 60 full rewrites each month
- Band progress chart across your saved checks
- Writing mock pack: 5 more timed mocks with printable band reports
- AI essay planner: outline, ideas and topic vocabulary
- AI feedback on your vocabulary practice sentences
- Speaking transcription for your recorded answers
- Cancel any time
Exam passes
Practise until test day.
Pay once for everything in Pro, for as long as you need before your test. A pass never renews and nothing more is charged. Buying another pass adds its days after the current one ends.
Which should I choose? Pro suits regular practice and renews monthly until you cancel. A pass suits a fixed test date: you pay once and it never renews.
A pass starts straight away, so the usual 14-day cancellation right does not apply. It never renews.
Prices in pounds. In some countries checkout shows a fixed local price; elsewhere Stripe converts to your currency, and you can choose to pay in pounds. Show prices in rupees (₹)
Retaking Writing?
If Writing held your band back, practise with a pass until your retake: check every essay against the four criteria, fix one weakness at a time and see each estimate change. The bands are estimates, not official IELTS scores, and no score is guaranteed.
£12 a month, renewing monthly until you cancel. No VAT is added. Cancel any time; Pro stays active until the end of the paid month, with no partial refunds. Outside the UK? You can pay in pounds (GBP) to avoid Stripe's conversion fee.
Pro payments are taken on Stripe's secure checkout page, so English Test Coach never sees your card number.
Questions about Engnovate and English Test Coach
Is Engnovate free?
Partly. On 12 October 2026 its Free plan listed IELTS Writing Task 1 and Task 2 evaluation two times a month, alongside other free tools. Unlimited evaluations need a Premium pass.
Does Engnovate publish checked essays?
Its Task 2 checker page says essays checked on the site may become public, and its Premium plan lists that checked answers will not be published. Read the current notice on the checker page before you submit personal writing.
What is an Engnovate alternative for IELTS writing?
If you mainly need writing feedback, English Test Coach gives you 3 free checks a month with a free account (the first needs no sign-up), keeps your essays private on every plan, and shows the evidence behind each band. We make English Test Coach, so compare both before you choose.
Try a check before you decide
Write a response to one of our original questions and run a free check. Compare the report with what you get elsewhere, then decide whether you need more.
Considering other tools? See the best IELTS writing checkers compared, compare English Test Coach and Writing9, read about Grammarly for IELTS, or use our Writing9 alternatives guide. To practise under exam timing, take an IELTS writing mock test.