Is the TOEFL Hard? Section by Section, for the 2026 Test

Aswathy Mohandas

03/11/2026

9 min read

The TOEFL has no pass mark, so how hard it is depends on the score you need. ETS says plainly that there are no passing or failing scores: each university sets its own requirement. A target of 4 or 4.5 on the new 1–6 scale is a very different job from a 5 in every section.

The test also changed in January 2026. Reading and Listening now adapt to how you are doing, and Speaking and Writing use new task types. This guide goes through the current format section by section, explains what makes each part hard, and shows the scores two universities ask for. Every format detail comes from ETS and was checked on 31 October 2026.

Is the TOEFL hard?

It is hard in proportion to your target. ETS’s understanding your scores page says “There are no passing or failing scores set by the TOEFL Program or ETS,” and that each institution sets its own score requirements. So the useful question is how far your English is from the score your university asks for, and which section is furthest away.

Since 21 January 2026, each section is scored from 1 to 6 in half-point steps, and your overall score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half band. ETS gives two examples: an average of 5.125 becomes 5, and an average of 5.25 becomes 5.5. Our TOEFL score calculator works out the overall score from your four section scores.

What does the TOEFL look like in 2026?

This is the current structure, from ETS’s TOEFL iBT test content page (checked 31 October 2026):

ETS says the times do not include directions, that you should allow about two hours in total, and that “as the test adapts, test time and items may vary.” Its 2026 test blueprint explains what adapts: Reading and Listening are two-stage tests, where your first set of questions decides whether you get an easier or a harder second set. Writing and Speaking are the same for everyone on a given test form. There are no scheduled breaks, according to ETS’s content and structure page.

Which TOEFL section is the hardest?

For the new test, nobody can say from official data yet. ETS publishes average scores by section and by country in its yearly Test and Score Data Summary, but the latest edition we could find on ets.org on 31 October 2026 is the 2025 summary, which covers tests taken from January to December 2025. That is the previous version of the test, scored 0–30 per section. ETS has not yet published equivalent averages for the 2026 test on the 1–6 scale.

For what the old data is worth: in 2025, test takers from India averaged 24 in Reading, 25 in Listening, 23 in Speaking and 23 in Writing (out of 30 each), and 94 overall. Speaking and Writing were the lowest. Treat that as background only. The tasks in both sections have changed completely, so these figures do not tell you how Indian test takers score on the new test.

The better guide is your own result. A full practice test in the 2026 format shows which section is furthest from your target, and that is your hardest section.

What makes TOEFL Reading hard?

• Complete the Words tests spelling and grammar, not just comprehension. ETS’s blueprint describes it as using word-ordering rules, vocabulary and reading comprehension to rebuild a text with gaps in it. Knowing what a word means is not enough if you cannot spell its correct form.
• Two very different kinds of text. Read in Daily Life uses short everyday texts (ETS lists signs, menus, emails and social media posts), while Read an Academic Passage asks you to find main ideas, inferences and how ideas relate. Switching between the two takes practice.
• The second half depends on the first. Because Reading adapts, how you do on the first set of questions decides whether your second set is easier or harder, so accuracy from the very first question matters.

One thing in your favour: the blueprint says reading texts stay visible while you answer, so you can go back to the passage.

What makes TOEFL Listening hard?

• You hear each recording once. ETS’s blueprint says recordings are played once, so there is no second chance to catch a detail.
• Accents and natural speech. Recordings include a balance of US/Canadian, Australian and British English at a natural pace, with idioms and colloquial expressions.
• Short items are fast; long items are dense. Listen and Choose a Response gives you a single exchange and asks for the right reply, while an academic talk can run up to about 250 words and asks you to infer meaning that is not stated outright.
• It adapts too. As with Reading, how you do on the first stage decides the difficulty of the second.

What makes TOEFL Writing hard?

Writing has 12 items in about 23 minutes. According to the blueprint, 10 of them are Build a Sentence, where you rebuild a correct sentence from words you are given, and the other two are Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion, each scored out of 5.

• Three registers in one section. Build a Sentence tests grammar at sentence level, the email needs the right tone for an everyday or campus situation, and the academic discussion needs a clear, well-supported opinion in formal English.
• Little time for the longer answers. Two written responses and ten sentence items share roughly 23 minutes, so slow typing or over-planning eats into the time you have.
• No help from software. ETS says writing assistance software is not permitted, so spelling and grammar have to be right without a spell-checker.

What makes TOEFL Speaking hard?

Speaking is the shortest section, about 8 minutes for 11 tasks, but every response counts. The blueprint lists 7 Listen and Repeat items and 4 Take an Interview questions, each scored out of 5.

• Listen and Repeat gets longer as you go. Sentences start short and simple and build up to longer ones with dependent and relative clauses. Repeating them accurately needs good listening memory as well as clear pronunciation, stress and intonation.
• The interview questions get harder. ETS says they move from brief factual answers to opinions, explanations, predictions and narration. Strong answers are clear, well developed and use accurate, varied grammar and vocabulary.

What TOEFL score do universities ask for?

Requirements vary by university and by programme, and many now list both scales. Two examples from the universities’ own pages, checked 31 October 2026:

Notice that both universities set section minimums, not just an overall score. That matters because of how the overall score is rounded. Say you score 5 in Reading, 5 in Listening, 4.5 in Speaking and 4 in Writing. Your average is 4.625, which rounds to an overall 4.5, enough for Toronto’s overall minimum, but your Writing is below its 4.5 Writing minimum.

Many universities still quote requirements on the old 0–120 scale. ETS’s score scale guide for institutions recommends that a university that used to ask for 100 set a 5, that 90 becomes 4.5 and that 80 becomes 4. It also says a 5 in any section aligns with CEFR level C1. Until January 2028, your score report shows your CEFR level, your 1–6 scores and a comparable 0–120 overall score, so you can check either kind of requirement.

Some universities waive the test entirely. Cornell’s Graduate School, for example, exempts applicants whose bachelor’s degree is from a country where English is an official language and the language of instruction, and names India. Check the exact wording on your university’s page before deciding whether you need to sit the test at all. If you are still choosing where to apply, our admissions counsellors can help you shortlist universities that fit your scores.

How long does it take to prepare for the TOEFL?

ETS does not publish a recommended preparation time, and any fixed number of weeks would be a guess. What decides it is the gap between where you are now and the score you need, section by section. A practical way to estimate it:

1. Find your target. Note the overall score and every section minimum your universities ask for.
2. Take a full timed practice test in the 2026 format. Compare each section score with your target.
3. Plan around the biggest gap. A section that is half a band short needs focused practice on its task types; a section a full band or more short needs work on the underlying skill, such as grammar for Writing or listening stamina for Listening.
4. Leave room for a retake. Scores reach your ETS account 3 days after the test, and they are valid for two years, so book early enough that a second attempt still meets your deadlines. Our post on TOEFL score validity explains the two-year rule.

When you are ready to book, our TOEFL registration guide walks through the ETS steps.

To find out which section will be hardest for you, take our free TOEFL practice test in the 2026 format and compare each section with your target score.