The SAT and ACT are now closer in length and style than they’ve ever been, and every U.S. college that accepts test scores takes either one equally. The SAT is fully digital, adaptive and lasts 2 hours 14 minutes. The redesigned ACT, in place since 2025, runs 2 hours 5 minutes without its now-optional science section. The right choice usually comes down to which one you score higher on after one timed practice test of each.
Whether you need a score at all depends on your college list. FairTest counts 2,021 of 2,182 four-year colleges, about 92.6%, as test-optional or test-free for fall 2027 admission. The other 161 require scores, and that group includes many of the most selective universities. This guide compares the two tests section by section, shows how scores convert, and explains when submitting a score helps.
SAT vs ACT side by side
| Feature | Digital SAT | ACT (2025 format) |
|---|---|---|
| Total time | 2 hours 14 minutes | 2 hours 5 minutes; 2 hours 45 minutes with science |
| Sections | Reading and Writing; Math | English, Math, Reading; Science optional |
| Questions | 98 (54 Reading and Writing, 44 Math) | 131 core (50 English, 45 Math, 36 Reading), plus 40 Science |
| Format | Digital only, in the Bluebook app; adaptive by module | Paper or online at test centers; not adaptive |
| Calculator | Allowed on all math; built-in graphing calculator | Allowed on all math |
| Score scale | 400 to 1600 | Composite 1 to 36 (average of English, Math, Reading) |
| Base fee | About $68 | $70; $75 with science; $95 with writing |
| Free score reports | 4 colleges | 4 colleges |
Fees change and late registration adds extra charges, so confirm the current amount when you register. Students from lower-income households can get fee waivers for either test through their school counselor.
How the digital SAT works
The SAT moved fully online in the U.S. in 2024. You take it on a laptop or tablet in the College Board’s Bluebook app, at a test center or your school. Each section has two modules. How you do on the first module decides whether the second is easier or harder, and harder second modules allow higher scores.
Reading and Writing has 54 questions in 64 minutes, each tied to a short passage of a paragraph or two. There are no long reading passages. Math has 44 questions in 70 minutes and allows a calculator throughout, including the built-in Desmos graphing calculator. Students who are comfortable with Desmos can solve many algebra questions by graphing instead of working them out by hand.
The SAT gives you more time per question than the old paper version: about 71 seconds per Reading and Writing question and about 95 seconds per Math question.
What changed on the ACT
ACT rolled out a shorter test for online testing in spring 2025 and for all national paper and online tests starting in September 2025. School-day testing moved to the new format in February 2026. The main changes:
- Science became optional. The Composite score is now the average of English, Math and Reading only. If you take science, it’s reported as a separate 1 to 36 score.
- The core test dropped from 215 questions to 131, and from 2 hours 55 minutes to 2 hours 5 minutes.
- Math questions now have four answer choices instead of five.
- Time per question went up by roughly 17% overall, with the biggest gain in Reading.
- ACT superscores now combine English, Math and Reading.
The ACT is still not adaptive, and it still moves faster than the SAT. English gives you 35 minutes for 50 questions, Math 50 minutes for 45, and Reading 40 minutes for 36. Students who read quickly and don’t like adaptive testing often prefer it.
Should you take ACT science? It helps if you’re applying to engineering or science programs that ask for it or if your science score would be your best section. Since it doesn’t count toward the Composite, many students skip it and save 40 minutes. Check the testing pages of the colleges on your list before you register.
SAT to ACT score conversion
Colleges compare the two tests using the official concordance tables published jointly by ACT and College Board. ACT has said the new Composite is meant to be comparable with older scores, so the same concordance still applies. Selected points:
- ACT 36 = SAT 1570 to 1600
- ACT 34 = SAT 1490 to 1520
- ACT 32 = SAT 1420 to 1440
- ACT 30 = SAT 1360 to 1380
- ACT 28 = SAT 1300 to 1320
- ACT 25 = SAT 1200 to 1220
- ACT 22 = SAT 1100 to 1120
- ACT 20 = SAT 1030 to 1050
Example: Sofia takes a full timed practice SAT and scores 1250. A week later she takes a practice ACT and scores 28. Using the concordance, a 28 lines up with about 1300 to 1320 on the SAT, so her ACT result is the stronger one by roughly 50 to 70 points of SAT equivalent. She focuses her prep on the ACT and skips the science section, since none of her colleges ask for it.
How to choose between the SAT and ACT
- Take one free, full-length, timed practice test of each. College Board’s practice tests run in Bluebook, and ACT posts free practice tests on its site.
- Convert both results with the concordance table above.
- If one score is clearly higher (more than about 40 SAT points of difference), prep for that test.
- If the scores are close, pick based on preference: the SAT for more time per question and a built-in graphing calculator, the ACT if you want a non-adaptive test or a paper option.
- Schedule your first official test in winter or spring of junior year, leaving room for one or two retakes before fall deadlines.
- Plan for two or three attempts at most. Score gains usually shrink after the third sitting.
Test-optional in 2026: when to submit a score
Test-optional means you choose whether to send scores. It doesn’t mean scores don’t matter. Several highly selective colleges that dropped requirements during the pandemic have brought them back, including MIT, Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, Harvard, Stanford and the University of Texas at Austin. Princeton announced in October 2025 that it would require scores again for the 2027-28 cycle. Some public universities, such as the University of Florida and University of Georgia systems, never went test-optional or returned to requirements early.
For test-optional schools, a good rule is to submit when your score is at or above the middle 50% range the school publishes for enrolled students. Check the school’s Common Data Set (section C9) or admissions website for that range. Below the middle of the range, you’re usually better off letting your transcript speak for itself.
Example: Eli scores 1340. College A reports a middle 50% SAT range of 1280 to 1420 for admitted students who submitted scores, so his 1340 is above the midpoint and worth sending. College B reports 1450 to 1540. There, his score would sit well below the range, so he applies test-optional. He keeps sending his score to his state university, where it also qualifies him for an automatic merit scholarship.
Scores can matter for money as well as admission. Some public universities and state scholarship programs still use SAT or ACT cutoffs for merit awards, so a score can be worth sending even when admission doesn’t require it.
Common questions
Is the SAT or ACT easier?
Neither is easier overall. The SAT gives more time per question and lets you use a graphing calculator on every math question. The ACT moves faster and includes some higher-level math topics, but it isn’t adaptive. Your practice test scores are the best guide.
Do colleges prefer the SAT or the ACT?
No. Every U.S. college that accepts standardized test scores accepts both the SAT and ACT and treats them equally, using the official concordance tables to compare them. Choose the test you score higher on.
Is the ACT science section required in 2026?
No. Science became optional with the redesigned ACT, and it no longer counts toward the 1 to 36 Composite score. Some engineering and science programs may still recommend it, so check each college’s testing policy before you register.
How many times should you take the SAT or ACT?
Most students take it two or three times. Many colleges superscore, combining your best section scores across test dates. After the third attempt, gains are usually small, and your time may be better spent on grades and essays.
Are most colleges still test-optional?
Yes. FairTest reports that about 92.6% of four-year colleges, 2,021 of 2,182, are test-optional or test-free for fall 2027 admission. However, a growing number of highly selective schools require scores again, so check each school on your list.
Before you register
- Take one timed practice test of each and convert the scores.
- Check the testing policy for every college on your list, including any test-required schools.
- Decide whether you need ACT science based on your intended programs.
- Ask your counselor about a fee waiver if cost is a barrier.
- Pick a first test date in junior year and a backup date before fall deadlines.
- Look up each test-optional college’s middle 50% range before deciding to submit.
Register and find practice tests at College Board and ACT.
Editorial note: This article is general information. Test formats, fees and college policies were checked as of November 2026 and can change; confirm details with College Board, ACT and each college’s admissions office.