Free IQ Test

How to take the IQ test

1. 36 questions, chosen for you. Each attempt picks nine questions from each area out of a pool of 960. The four areas take turns, so you move between different kinds of question all the way through.
2. One question at a time. Choose an answer and press Next question. You can't skip a question or go back, so give your best answer before moving on.
3. A 25-minute timer. The time left is shown at the top of the screen, next to a tracker showing how many questions you have answered in each area.
4. Instant results. When you finish, you go straight to your free result. No account or email address is needed.

Free IQ test results, instantly

Your results appear the moment you answer the last question, or when the timer runs out. The free result includes:

No email, registration or payment required

You can see your IQ test results without signing up, giving an email address or paying. Your result is saved at a private link that only you, and anyone you share it with, can open.

The optional detailed report

For a one-off $6.99, the detailed report adds your exact score in each of the four areas, every question explained, a 7-day practice plan for your weakest area and a certificate of completion with your name. To understand your number, our IQ score range chart explains every level, from average to genius, and our methodology page shows exactly how the score is calculated.

How to check your IQ

If you want to determine your IQ, or figure out roughly how high it is, there are two ways to find out: use an online IQ checker like this test for an estimate, or book an official assessment with a psychologist.

Test your IQ online, for free

The simplest way to check your IQ is an online test like this one. In up to 25 minutes it measures how you reason and gives you an estimated IQ score and percentile, free and without an email address. It is a good way to see where you stand and which kinds of reasoning come most easily to you.

Get your IQ tested officially

An official IQ score comes from a test given in person by a qualified psychologist, most often the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. You need one for clinical, educational or legal purposes, and for societies such as Mensa, which does not accept online tests for admission. Our guide to the Wechsler IQ test explains what a professional assessment involves.

Already know your IQ score?

Our IQ scale chart shows what any score means and how it compares, and you can look up a single score, such as an IQ of 120, to see its percentile.

IQ test or IQ quiz: what's the difference?

Search for an IQ test online and you'll find everything from 5-minute quizzes to games and apps, and it isn't always clear which is a real IQ test. Many are fun, but a quick quiz can't tell you much: with only a handful of questions, a lucky guess moves the score a long way, and many quizzes have no time limit at all. Here is how they compare with this test and with a professional IQ test, the supervised IQ exam a psychologist gives.

WAIS-5 timing from Pearson, its publisher.

Is this a real IQ test?

It is built like a standard IQ exam: timed, with questions that get harder as you go, four areas of reasoning and a score on the standard IQ scale. It is still an online estimate rather than a professional assessment. Our guide to whether online IQ tests are accurate has a 7-point checklist you can use on any test, including this one.

IQ games and apps

IQ games and brain-training apps can be good practice, but they rarely give a score on the standard IQ scale. There is no app to download for this test: it runs in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer.

IQ test for adults, teens and kids

This free IQ test is designed for adults and for teenagers from 13 years old. Anyone under 18 needs a parent's or guardian's permission. Scores are calculated the same way for everyone and are not adjusted for age, so for younger teenagers the result is a rougher guide.

For children aged 6 to 12, try our free IQ test for kids, a puzzle test with every answer explained. If you are thinking about a professional assessment for a child, our parents' guide to IQ testing for children explains the tests psychologists and schools use.

How to prepare for an IQ test

You can't study for an IQ test the way you would for a school exam, because it measures how you reason rather than what you know. A little preparation still helps you show what you can do:

• Know the question types. Our sample IQ test questions with answers show each kind, with worked explanations.
• Pick the right moment. Take the test when you are rested and alert, not late at night or straight after a long day.
• Remove distractions. Find a quiet place, silence notifications and keep some rough paper nearby.
• Mind the pace. 25 minutes for 36 questions is about 42 seconds each. If a question stalls you, make your best guess and move on.

Practice does help a little. A 2018 meta-analysis of 122 studies found that scores on cognitive ability tests rise when people retake them, with no further gains after the third attempt. That is why each attempt here draws fresh questions from the pool.

What is a cognitive ability test?

A cognitive ability test measures how well you take in new information and reason with it: spotting patterns, following logic, working with numbers and picturing shapes. It is about thinking with unfamiliar problems rather than recalling what you have learned at school or work. "IQ test" and "intelligence test" are the everyday names for the same kind of test, while "cognitive ability test" is the term psychologists and employers tend to use. This free IQ test is one of them.

This test looks at four cognitive abilities: fluid reasoning (finding the rule in a pattern), logical reasoning (drawing sound conclusions), spatial reasoning (turning and flipping shapes in your mind) and numerical reasoning (working with numbers and series). Looking at four areas, not just one, shows where your thinking is strongest. Our guide What is IQ? explains these abilities and what a score can tell you, and fluid vs crystallized intelligence explains why this test leans towards the fluid side.

Your answers produce an overall score on the standard IQ scale, where 100 is average, plus a profile across the four areas, so you can see which kinds of problem come most easily to you.

This is not a medical memory test. If you are worried about memory loss or confusion, in yourself or someone close to you, a doctor can arrange a proper cognitive screening.

Cognitive ability tests for jobs

Many employers ask applicants to take a timed cognitive ability test, also called an aptitude test, before an interview. Two of the best known are the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) and the Wonderlic. They test similar skills to this one, but the pace is very different:

CCAT format from Criteria Corp; Wonderlic format from the Wonderlic Personnel Test. Assessivo is not affiliated with either company.

Employer tests are built so that almost nobody finishes. Criteria says fewer than 1% of candidates answer all 50 CCAT questions, and employers see the number you got right and your percentile. Our test gives you more time per question, so it shows how well you reason when speed is less of a factor. If you are preparing for a job test:

• Take this test to see which of the four areas is your weakest, then practise that kind of question first.
• Practise in short timed sets, aiming for under 20 seconds a question, so the real pace doesn't come as a shock.
• Don't get stuck. On tests scored by the number of correct answers, a quick guess on a hard question is better than running out of time.

Our sample IQ test questions with answers include worked explanations for each type of question.

Free IQ test: common questions