Most people who search for an IELTS writing checker want two things: a band estimate they can trust a little, and feedback they can act on before the next practice essay. Below are five tools I compared on those two points. I built the last one, Band Score Checker, so read my own entry with that in mind. Prices and limits were checked on 2026-11-07 from each tool's public page; they change often.
One caveat first. Only certified examiners mark the real IELTS Writing test. Every tool here gives an estimate for practice, not a result.
1. Cambridge Write & Improve (free)
Made by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. You write, get feedback, and revise. It is free, and the site has a separate IELTS area ("Write & Improve +Test Zone IELTS"). Best for learners who want a free, trusted source and care more about general writing progress than a four-criteria breakdown. Short-coming: it is not built around the four IELTS criteria in the way the others below are.
2. IELTS Buddy essay checker
A well-known IELTS teaching site with an essay checker for Task 2. At the time of writing its page says the free checker went over its usage limits, and offers essay feedback for about $10 for unlimited submissions. Good if you already use IELTS Buddy lessons. Short-coming: Task 2 only, and the free option is no longer open-ended.
3. Cathoven IELTS Writing
Cathoven has an IELTS suite (Writing, Speaking, Reading, Listening) and its writing tool scores the four criteria with an analysis report. Best if you want the whole suite in one account. Check its pricing page before you rely on a free allowance; I could not confirm one cleanly from the public page today.
4. A general chatbot (ChatGPT, Claude and similar)
Free or cheap, flexible, and happy to rewrite your sentences. The weakness is consistency: the same essay can get different bands on different runs, and a chatbot has no fixed IELTS rubric unless you paste one. Use it for ideas and grammar, and cross-check the band with something stricter.
5. Band Score Checker (the one I built)
Band Score Checker estimates Task 1 and Task 2 bands for all four criteria and lists the three problems costing the most marks. Task 1 works with the chart picture (Academic) or a pasted letter (General Training), and handwritten answers can be uploaded as photos. The feedback can be shown in English or 20 other languages.
- Free: 1 check a day without an account, 2 a day with a free account. Free checks include every band, the three key problems and the 3 most serious corrections.
- Paid: all sentence-by-sentence corrections, vocabulary upgrades, a band 8 rewrite and up to 30 checks a day. $7.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or $9.99 for 30 days.
- Accuracy: I tested it on 22 sample answers with published examiner bands. On Task 2 it landed within half a band 79% of the time (average gap 0.44 band); on Task 1, 70% (average gap 0.62). It tends to score a little low, most of all on band 8+ essays. The method and limits are on the accuracy page. 22 essays is a small sample, so treat those numbers as a rough guide.
- Short-comings: the paid tier is needed for every correction, and it is not made by or affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.
Which should you pick?
- Want free and trusted for general writing: Write & Improve.
- Already studying on IELTS Buddy: its checker fits.
- Want one account for all four skills: Cathoven.
- Want a fixed four-criteria band estimate, Task 1 charts and handwritten photos: Band Score Checker (or its Task 1 checker).
Whichever you use, run two or three tools on the same essay and trust the overlap, not any single number.
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