# Why We Made Full-Length TOEIC Practice Free (For Now)

> Good TOEIC prep has always cost money — test fees, books and tutoring — and the evidence says that cost helps decide who scores well. Here's the data on what prep costs, why it shapes outcomes, and why we're giving our whole TOEIC platform away during launch.

**The short version:** A good TOEIC score has always cost money, and the evidence says that cost helps decide who scores well. So during our launch, the whole platform is free — every full-length mock across all four TOEIC tests, plus AI scoring. This is a **limited-time launch offer, not a "free forever" gimmick.**

## A good TOEIC score has always cost money

Before you answer a single question, the TOEIC costs money. The official Listening & Reading test runs about **¥7,810 in Japan** and roughly **₩50,000 in South Korea**. Prepare properly and the bill grows: official workbooks at ¥3,000–3,300 each, several practice-test volumes, and often private tutoring at **¥3,000–6,000 an hour**.

Zoom out: in South Korea, households spent **₩29.2 trillion (about US$20 billion) on private education in 2024** — up more than 60% in a decade (Statistics Korea). Most of that is school tutoring, not TOEIC — but it captures the norm that test prep is something families are expected to *buy*, heavily.

- **¥7,810** — official TOEIC L&R fee in Japan (IIBC)
- **₩29.2T** — Korea private-education spend, 2024
- **¥3,000–6,000** — per hour of private TOEIC tutoring

## Why that quietly decides who passes

When practice costs money, those who can pay for more of it tend to score higher — and TOEIC data shows exactly that. A 2024 study of TOEIC in Japanese corporations found an annual-income gap of about **¥2.01 million** between people scoring below 499 and those in the 900 range, warning that over-reliance on one test "can lead to discriminatory practices and exclusionary dynamics."

That's the uncomfortable part of a test used this widely: the program runs in 160 countries through ~14,000 organisations; in Japan alone ~3,200 companies, schools and institutions use it. For a student trying to graduate or a job seeker clearing a résumé screen, the score is a gate — and if the practice that opens it sits behind a paywall, the gate quietly favours whoever could afford to prepare.

> Access to practice shouldn't be the hidden variable that decides an English score. The test is supposed to measure your English — not your budget.

## What we built instead

Full-length, format-accurate TOEIC tests that are genuinely free — complete mocks across all four TOEIC tests, in the current official 2026 format, auto-scored on the real scales, in your browser. And the part that used to require a human: every reading and listening answer scored instantly, and every Speaking and Writing response rated against the official criteria by AI, with specific notes on what to fix.

**What "free" includes right now:** full-length mocks for L&R, S&W, TOEIC Link and TOEIC Bridge · instant 10–990 and 0–200 scoring · AI feedback on every answer · a personalised study plan · cross-device progress. No credit card.

## Why AI makes "free" possible

The reason we can give away one-to-one-style coaching is that AI changed the economics of tutoring. The gold standard is Benjamin Bloom's 1984 finding that individual tutoring lifts the average learner by about two standard deviations — wonderful, but too expensive to give everyone.

The evidence is now concrete: a 2025 **World Bank randomised controlled trial** in Nigeria gave students a six-week after-school programme with an AI tutor for English. The result: overall gains of about **0.3 standard deviations** (around 0.23 on the English-specific assessment) — estimated as equivalent to roughly **1.5 to 2 years of ordinary schooling** — ranked among the most cost-effective education interventions ever rigorously measured. When quality coaching drops to near-zero marginal cost per student, giving it away becomes possible.

## So why give it away — and what happens next

We're launching, and we'd rather earn trust than extract early revenue. The fastest way to build a great TOEIC platform is to get it to thousands of real test takers, see where they struggle, and fix it — while making sure people who most need affordable prep get it from day one.

| | During launch (now) | After launch |
|---|---|---|
| Full-length mocks | **Everything free** | Free tier keeps core mocks |
| AI scoring & coaching | **Free** | Affordable Pro plan |
| Cost to you | **¥0 · no card** | A fair price, clearly shown |

We will never tell you the platform is "free forever" — that wouldn't be honest about how a real product survives. What we promise: a permanent free tier, transparent pricing when the time comes, and no dark patterns.

## FAQ

**Really free right now?** Yes — the entire platform, no credit card, during launch. A limited-time offer, not "free forever."

**Why is normal prep expensive?** ~¥7,810 (Japan) / ~₩50,000 (Korea) for the test, plus books and tutoring at ¥3,000–6,000/hour.

**Will you charge later?** Yes, after launch — with an always-available free tier and an affordable Pro plan, priced transparently.

**How can you afford it?** AI changed the cost of coaching; a 2025 World Bank RCT found AI tutoring highly cost-effective.

**Is the free version watered down?** No — it's the full product: complete mocks, real scoring, AI feedback, study plan.

## Sources

1. IIBC, *TOEIC L&R Test Fee*: https://www.iibc-global.org/english/toeic/test/lr/guide01.html (¥7,810)
2. K. Kawabata, IntechOpen (2024): https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/1186335 (¥2.01M income gap)
3. Statistics Korea via The Korea Herald (2026): https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10648305 (₩29.2T private education)
4. De Simone et al., *"From Chalkboards to Chatbots,"* World Bank WP 11125 (2025): https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/11125.html
5. IIBC, *DATA & ANALYSIS 2025*: https://www.iibc-global.org/hubfs/library/default/english/toeic/official_data/pdf/DAA_english_2025.pdf

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