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 feedback · checked 21 October 2026
English Test Coach vs IELTS Advantage
Short answer: IELTS Advantage sells human essay correction from $29.95 an essay and a video course, VIP Academy 3.0, for a one-time fee. The course includes five one-on-one writing feedback sessions with former IELTS examiners (its description), two personal lessons and a large lesson library. English Test Coach is a writing checker and practice site: every essay or letter you check gets an estimated band on the four criteria and a short revision plan, from free, or with no monthly limit for £12 a month. If you want to write a lot and have every draft checked, English Test Coach costs less and gives feedback on each one.
Disclosure: we make English Test Coach. IELTS Advantage is a separate company; its name is used only to identify it.
Side by side
| English Test Coach | IELTS Advantage (VIP Academy 3.0) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for 3 checks a month. Pro £12 a month, renewing until you cancel; or a one-off exam pass that never renews: £12 (1 month), £24 (3 months), £49 (12 months), with local prices in some countries. | A one-time course fee in US dollars, labelled "today only" with no standard price shown; a $10 diagnostic test gives $100 off VIP later. VIP Academy page. Separately, essay correction costs $29.95 for one essay, $74.95 for three or $99.95 for five. IELTS Advantage essay correction |
| Who marks your writing | AI, against the four public IELTS criteria, with evidence quoted from your answer | "Trained ex-IELTS examiners — not AI" (its description). ieltsadvantage.com |
| How much writing gets feedback | Every check: on Pro and passes, no monthly limit on personal writing checks (fair-use daily limits apply) and 60 full rewrites a month | 5 one-on-one writing feedback sessions in the course, or as many essays as you buy corrections for |
| Turnaround | A report in the workspace when you submit | VIP: "24-hour feedback turnaround time" (VIP Academy page). Essay correction: typically within 48 hours |
| Lessons | Eight-lesson writing course, 60 original questions with annotated answers, planning packs and five timed mock tests | Video course, recorded classes, practice tests and 2 one-to-one lessons |
| Access | Pro while you pay; a pass for its fixed term | 3 months of course materials, plus up to 3 more if you have not reached your score |
| Guarantees | None: bands are estimates and no score is guaranteed | 30-day money back; free extension; next test fee paid if you miss your band once it confirms you are ready; course fee refunded for a very high band in all four modules, with a video. Conditions: finish the core lessons, submit assignments, act on feedback. VIP Academy page |
| Published accuracy | 24 of 27 official responses within one band | Not published on the pages we read |
Three months of writing practice, two ways
Say you write two practice essays a week for 12 weeks: 24 essays.
- English Test Coach: a 3-month pass is £24 once, and every one of the 24 essays can get a band estimate and a revision plan.
- IELTS Advantage: the VIP course fee covers the lessons, and five of those essays can go to a one-on-one feedback session; the rest you mark yourself. Buying corrections instead costs $99.95 for every five essays.
Where each fits
Where IELTS Advantage fits
- You want a person to look at your writing and are happy to pay for a small number of sessions.
- You learn best from a structured video course and recorded classes.
- You want a guarantee in writing, and you can meet its conditions.
Where English Test Coach wins
- Feedback on every draft, not five. Write, check, revise and check again the same day.
- A fraction of the cost. 3 checks a month free, and £24 for three months, against a one-off course fee.
- The evidence behind each band. The report quotes the parts of your answer behind each judgement, with language corrections in context.
- Honest about its limits. We publish how close our estimates are to official bands, and where they are not: the checker scores band 8 writing low, so near a target that depends on half a band, consider a human examiner as well.
Choose English Test Coach if… / pick IELTS Advantage if…
- Choose English Test Coach if you want to practise often and see an estimated band and next steps for each essay, without a large upfront cost.
- Pick IELTS Advantage if you want a full video course with a handful of sessions from former IELTS examiners, and the price fits your budget.
Some candidates combine the two: daily checks on English Test Coach, and a human review just before test day. Comparing several options? See IELTS Advantage alternatives.
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 IELTS Advantage and English Test Coach
Who marks writing at IELTS Advantage?
Its homepage says work is assessed by trained ex-IELTS examiners, not AI. On 21 October 2026 its essay correction service cost $29.95 for one essay, $74.95 for three or $99.95 for five, typically returned within 48 hours. The VIP Academy includes 5 one-on-one writing feedback sessions and states a 24-hour feedback turnaround.
What are the IELTS Advantage guarantees?
On 21 October 2026 the VIP page listed a 30-day money-back trial, up to 3 extra months of access and writing feedback if you have not reached your score in 3 months, payment of your next test fee if you miss your band after it confirms you are ready, and a course-fee refund for a very high band in all four modules. They depend on completing the core lessons, submitting assignments and acting on feedback.
Is English Test Coach's band an official IELTS score?
No. It is an estimate for practice. We publish how close it came on 27 officially marked responses: 24 were within one band. No score is guaranteed.
Check your next essay
Write a Task 2 answer under time and run a free check before you decide.