What is the difference between TOEFL and IELTS exams?

Which of the following exams should I take: IELTS, TOEFL or Cambridge's CPE?

• I want to ask if anyone can tell me which one of the exams will be more valuable to take and also the benefits of taking the chosen one (i.e. acceptable in more countries, employers etc.). Thanks

• Answer:

  IELTS works virtually everywhere including the States (since 2007), while TOEFL is only universally accepted in America and for a lesser extent in other places. They both expire after two years. CPE never expires and certifies your level as C2. But keep in mind that the world doesn't end at C2: you can even get a better score than that, like an 8.0+ on IELTS or an 106+ TOEFL IBT. At the end of the day it's up to you. An important difference is the spoken section: TOEFL is talking to a mic and recording it, IELTS is being interviewed by an examiner, CPE you've got to go with another person and some tasks require you to talk to each other. So, depending on which option you feel more comfortable with, you'd benefit more from one or the other, or the other. It's also about topics: TOEFL may ask you to talk or write about an academic subtopic (e.g. the way bees dance and why), IELTS may ask you to talk about what sorts of gifts you like to give or receive on birthdays, CPE may ask you and your test-mate to describe a photo and discuss it. Again, some people may find themselves more comfortable in one of those situations than the others, so it's up to you. The comment below about USA only accepting TOEFL is outdated: until 2006 it'd have been right, but now it isn't: http://www.ieltsusa.org/