Short answer: the best online IELTS Writing course in 2026 is the IELTSbiz Band 8 Writing Trainer, because it teaches each essay, chart and letter type separately and then marks every paragraph you write against that type's checklist.
IELTS Advantage is the strongest strategy-led course from a teacher, Magoosh the best video bundle, and IELTS Liz the best low-cost lesson library.
Disclosure: IELTSbiz is our product. We rank the Trainer first because of one difference you can test on day one - it marks your own paragraphs, type by type - and we say plainly what the other courses do better.
An IELTS Writing course, for this list, is a structured programme that teaches the Writing tasks in order and gives feedback on what you write. Free article libraries are included where they are good, but anything that never reads your writing is a resource, not a course.
| Course | Covers | Marks your writing? | Price (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| IELTSbiz Band 8 Writing Trainer | Task 2 (6 types), Academic Task 1 (7 visuals), GT letters (3 registers) | Yes - every paragraph, on two lanes | Pro from $7.99/month or from $50 lifetime; one type's lessons free |
| IELTS Advantage | Task 1 and Task 2 strategy | In paid tiers | VIP Academy $497 one-off |
| Magoosh IELTS | All four skills, video-led | AI writing grading | $109 for 1 month or $129 for 6 months |
| IELTS Liz Advanced Lessons | Task 1 and Task 2 lessons | No | Priced per lesson in her store; frequent 50% sales |
| E2 Test Prep | All four skills with live classes | Teacher-marked in paid packages | Paid packages |
| Udemy writing courses | Varies by instructor | Rarely | Often around the price of a paperback in sales |
| IELTS Simon (free archive) | Model answers and daily lessons | No | Free |
How we ranked these writing courses
Does it mark your own writing, criterion by criterion? That is the first and heaviest test. Does it teach each task type separately? An opinion essay, a discussion essay and a process diagram reward different moves.
Does it cover your paper? Academic and General Training share Task 2 but differ completely in Task 1. Then price.
We weight marking so heavily because Writing is where candidates plateau. The four criteria - Task Achievement or Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy - each carry a quarter of the band, and a course that only shows you model essays cannot tell you which quarter you are losing.
1. IELTSbiz Band 8 Writing Trainer - Best overall writing course
The Band 8 Writing Trainer teaches all three Writing papers through one curriculum: six Task 2 essay types, seven Academic Task 1 visuals (line graphs, bar charts, tables, pie charts, maps, processes and mixed charts), and three General Training letter registers.
Each type starts with lessons - what the type is, the traps examiners see most, a blueprint, an annotated model answer and the language the type demands - and the teaching is identical for every learner.
Then you write, one paragraph at a time, and each paragraph is marked on two lanes: what it does against the type's checklist, and the English it uses against a language checklist.
Your headline band for the paragraph is the lower of the two, because a strong idea does not rescue weak grammar on test day. When you are ready, you write the full answer and it is marked on all four official criteria.
One type's lessons are open free so you can judge the teaching first; marking is part of Pro, from $7.99/month, $19.99 for three months, or from $50 lifetime. For a single essay outside the Trainer, the free Writing Checker marks within a monthly allowance.
The limit: there is no live teacher, so if you need a person to explain a concept face to face, pair it with a class.
2. IELTS Advantage - Best strategy-led course from a teacher
IELTS Advantage, founded by teacher Chris Pell, has a strong reputation for Writing in particular. Its teaching is strategy-first: what earns marks in Task 1 and Task 2, and how to plan quickly.
The VIP Academy costs $497 one-off, which buys a lot of teaching but sits well above self-study budgets. Our IELTS Advantage review details the tiers.
3. Magoosh IELTS - Best video bundle
Magoosh combines 120+ video lessons across all four skills with AI writing grading, at $109 for one month or $129 for six as of September 2026.
If you learn best by watching a concept explained before trying it, it suits you; if Writing is your only weak paper, you are paying for three skills you may not need. See the Magoosh IELTS review.
4. IELTS Liz Advanced Lessons - Best low-cost lesson library
IELTS Liz is one of the most trusted free IELTS resources, written by an experienced former examiner, and her paid Advanced Lessons go deeper on essays for Band 7, 8 and 9. Lessons are streamed online with three years of access, and she regularly runs 50% discounts.
They do not mark your writing, so pair them with a checker. Our IELTS Liz review covers what is free and what is paid.
5. E2 Test Prep - Best for live writing classes
E2 is the choice when you want a person teaching you: live online classes with teachers and teacher-marked writing in paid packages. The accountability of scheduled classes helps learners who drift in self-study. It costs more than self-paced options. Our E2 review compares the packages.
6. Udemy writing courses - Best one-off budget course
Udemy hosts many IELTS writing courses, often discounted to the price of a paperback. Quality varies by instructor, so read the curriculum and recent reviews before buying, and expect video lessons rather than marking. Our Udemy IELTS courses review shows how to pick one.
7. IELTS Simon - Best free model-answer archive
Simon's long-running free site is a large archive of short lessons and band 9 model answers. As a source of how a strong answer reads, it is excellent and free. As a course it is incomplete: no structure for a beginner and no marking.
Use it to study answers after you have tried the task yourself.
How to get value from any writing course
Write from the first week. Read one lesson, write one paragraph of that type under time, get it marked, and rewrite it. Reading ten model essays feels like progress and changes very little; one rewritten paragraph changes a lot.
If you are stuck at 6.0-6.5, our Task 2 Band 8 guide shows the specific moves that separate those bands.