Compare the SAT to the ACT

Taking the SAT is the best way to show colleges you have the skills and knowledge they want most.

And because you have seven chances each year to test, more time for each question, and access to free practice tools, you’ll see that the SAT offers advantages the ACT doesn't.

Find out other ways the SAT compares to the ACT* before taking your next step to plan for college.

Practice for the SAT.

Test Snapshot
Features	SAT	ACT
Widely accepted	All U.S. colleges	All U.S. colleges
Measures	What students learn in high school What they need to succeed in college	What students learn in high school
Tests the vocabulary you’ll use	Yes	Yes
Everyday math formulas provided	Yes	No
Essay is optional	Yes	Yes
Penalty for guessing	No	No

Free Practice
Resources	SAT	ACT
Free daily practice questions	Yes, through the free Daily Practice for the New SAT mobile app or via Twitter @SATQuestion.	Yes
Free comprehensive test practice	Yes, through Khan Academy^®, with over 4,000 questions and video lessons.	No
Free, downloadable practice tests	Yes, multiple practice tests with instant scoring.	No
Mobile app that instantly scores paper tests	Yes, Daily Practice for the New SAT.	No

Flexibility
Schedule	SAT	ACT
Future test administration dates	3 years	2 years
Test days	7 times a year	7 times a year
Regular registration deadline	About 4 weeks before test day. You pay a late fee for registering later.	About 5 weeks before test day. You pay a late fee for registering later.
Late registration closes	About 11 days before test day	20+ days before test day

Fee Waivers
Benefits and Rules	SAT	ACT
Test fees waived for eligible students	Yes	Yes
Waivers cover late fees	Yes	No
Score reports	4 score reports for use at any time before graduating from school, in addition to 4 limited-time score reports	4 score reports
Four college application fee waivers sent directly to eligible students	Yes	No
Score services	Yes, either Question-and-Answer Service (QAS) or Student Answer Service (SAS) for all administrations	Yes, Test Information Release for 3 administrations
A fee reduction for multiple-choice score verification or essay score verification	Yes	No
Expiration date	No	Expire end of August each year

Test Format
Structure and Timing	SAT	ACT
Testing time	3 hours + 50-minute essay (optional)	2 hours 55 minutes + 40-minute essay (optional)
Structure	3 tests + optional essay	4 tests + optional writing test
Number of questions	154	215
Time per question	1 minute, 10 seconds	49 seconds
Score range	Composite 400–1600 (SAT Essay: reported in 3 dimensions, each 2–8)	Composite 1–36 (writing domain scores: 2–12)
Test length and timing	Reading Test 65 minutes 52 questions Writing and Language Test 35 minutes 44 questions Math Test 80 minutes 58 questions	Reading Test 35 minutes 40 questions English Test 45 minutes 75 questions Math Test 60 minutes 60 questions Science Test 35 minutes 40 questions

*Based on publicly released ACT information as of August 22, 2017.