A Marked-Practice
IELTS Buddy Alternative
IELTS Buddy is one of the most complete genuinely free IELTS websites — lessons, sample answers and an active community, with almost everything free as of 2026. Its limit is structural: a reference library can teach you the method, but it cannot mark your work or tell you what band you are at.
The short answer
IELTS Buddy is one of the most complete genuinely free IELTS websites — clear lessons, useful sample answers, and an active community. Its limit is structural rather than a shortcoming: a reference library can teach you the method but cannot mark your work, tell you your band, or explain why a particular distractor fooled you. IELTSbiz does exactly those three. Read IELTS Buddy to learn the method; practise on IELTSbiz to find out whether the method is working for you.
- Both are free to start — the difference is being measured, not price.
- Per-question-type band tracking turns "reading is my weak skill" into a specific type.
- Essay marking in seconds against all four criteria, rather than waiting on a forum reply.
- IELTS Buddy remains a strong free teaching resource; nothing here replaces that.
Choose IELTSbiz if…
- You have read the lessons and need practice
- You want to know your actual band, by type
- You want essay feedback in seconds, not a forum wait
- You want every wrong answer explained
Choose IELTS Buddy if…
- You want free lessons and model answers
- You like an active community forum
- You are learning the method for the first time
4
IELTS papers practised and marked
11
reading question types, drillable alone
1,200
essays in our published grading study
Free
every paper, within an allowance, no card
The gap between reading advice and being measured
IELTS Buddy earns its reputation. The lessons are clear, the sample answers are useful, and the forums — where visitors post essays and questions — are a distinctive free asset. But three things a static site cannot do are exactly the three that decide your band:
It cannot tell you your level
Reading twenty lessons leaves you no better informed about your actual band. IELTSbiz estimates one for each of the 11 reading question types, from your own answers.
It cannot explain your mistake
A model answer shows what good looks like, not why the distractor fooled you. IELTSbiz names the trap on every wrong answer — Partial Truth, Extreme Language, Opposite Meaning, Outside Text.
Forum feedback is slow and uneven
Posting an essay and waiting for a stranger to reply is a lottery in both timing and quality. The free AI Writing Checker returns all four criteria in seconds, every time.
IELTSbiz vs IELTS Buddy: feature comparison
A side-by-side look at what each platform offers serious IELTS candidates, as of 2026. Features and pricing change — check each provider for the latest before you decide.
| Feature | IELTSbiz | IELTS Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Interactive practice, marked instantly | Reference library + community forums |
| Reading practice | AI-generated, unlimited and fresh | Sample exercises and lessons |
| Reading feedback | Named trap on every wrong answer | Answer keys and explanations |
| Band tracking | Per question type, over time | None — self-assessed |
| Essay marking | AI marking on all four criteria, free every month | Community forum feedback |
| Cost | Free within monthly allowances; Pro $6.99/mo or $29 lifetime | Almost entirely free (some ebooks) |
| Best for | Measuring and closing a specific gap | Learning the method for free |
Why serious test-takers choose IELTSbiz
Free is not the trade-off you think it is
IELTSbiz is also free to start, with no card. The difference is not price — it is that your answers get marked, explained and tracked instead of self-checked.
You stop guessing your band
Per-question-type band tracking turns "I think reading is my weak skill" into "True/False/Not Given is at 6.0 and everything else is above 7".
Essay feedback in seconds, not whenever someone replies
The Writing Checker scores Task Response, Coherence, Lexical Resource and Grammar immediately, so you can rewrite and re-check the same essay in one sitting.
Keep using IELTS Buddy for the teaching
Its lessons and sample answers remain a good free explanation of the method. Read there, practise and get measured here — the two do different jobs.
About IELTSbiz
IELTSbiz is an AI-powered IELTS preparation platform built around one idea: measured progress you can trust. It covers all four papers. Reading and Listening are written fresh rather than drawn from a bank of past papers, and are marked against an answer key — the same answers always produce the same band, so a rise in your score is progress rather than a different marker on a different day. Writing and Speaking are marked criterion by criterion for an estimated band — accurate enough to aim at, and reported as an estimate rather than an examiner’s verdict.
Reading goes deepest, because it is where most candidates quietly lose marks. Every wrong answer is labelled with the trap that caused it — Partial Truth, Extreme Language, Opposite Meaning, Outside Text, Distractor Word or Temporal Confusion — and shown beside the line of the passage that settles it. Your estimated band is then tracked separately for each of the 11 reading question types, so “reading is my weak skill” becomes “Matching Headings is my weak type”. When you want the whole paper, there is a full 40-question Reading test under a 60-minute clock, and a guided four-skill mock.
That measurement focus runs through everything we build. Our AI grading was validated in a study of 1,200 Writing Task 2 essays against certified examiners, and every guide on the site is written by our named editorial team and checked against official sources — you can read exactly how in our editorial policy. We sell trust and measurement, not hype: no band guarantee, and no accuracy percentage we have not published the method for.
What costs nothing: all four papers, within an allowance. Reading and Listening practice are free every day with full trap-level feedback, and Writing and Speaking are marked against the official criteria free every month. A 7-day trial raises those allowances rather than being the only thing that unlocks them — when it ends they drop back, they do not drop to zero. The one exception is the Band 8 Writing Trainer, whose marking is Pro only and which the trial does not include. Pro is $6.99/month or $29 once for lifetime access. The band-score calculator, the daily Word Coach and the Speaking cue cards are free to use. IELTSbiz is independent and is not affiliated with IDP, the British Council, or Cambridge, who jointly own and deliver the IELTS test.
Frequently asked questions
Is IELTSbiz free like IELTS Buddy?
IELTSbiz is free to start with no credit card, including core reading practice and the AI Writing Checker. IELTS Buddy is almost entirely free as of 2026, with a few paid ebooks. Both let you begin without paying.
What does IELTSbiz add over a free IELTS website?
Measurement. Your answers are graded server-side, every wrong one is labelled with the trap that caused it, and your estimated band is tracked for each of the 11 reading question types — none of which a reference library can do.
Can I get my essay marked without paying?
Yes. The Writing Checker is free within a monthly allowance that never drops to zero, and scores your Task 2 essay against all four official criteria with specific fixes. No forum wait, no uncertainty about who is replying.
Should I stop using IELTS Buddy?
No reason to. It is a strong free teaching resource. Use it to learn the method and read model answers, and use IELTSbiz to practise, get marked and track whether the method is actually working for you.
Find out which paper is costing you the band
Sit one set, get it back marked question by question, and see the number move. Free to start, no card.
Start Free — No Card RequiredCompare, learn, and keep practising
- Start unlimited AI reading practiceGenerate a fresh Cambridge-style passage with trap-level feedback in seconds
- Free AI Writing CheckerBand estimate on all four Task 2 criteria, with the sentences that cost you it
- IELTS Listening practice, Parts 1–4One play only, numbered 1–40, marked to a band the way the real paper is
- Sit a full four-skill mockListening, Reading, Writing and Speaking in one guided sitting, with a band per section
- All 11 IELTS Reading question typesThe pillar guide to every type and its strategy
- Free IELTS band score calculatorConvert your raw score to a band and set a target
- Best IELTS Buddy alternatives comparedFree study sites and marked-practice tools, side by side
- IELTS Buddy review (2026)Our honest 7.5/10 review of one of the best free IELTS sites