Cambridge English Exams: Computer or Paper?
Hiroki Obara · DeveloperAlphaGeorgeHow-To
Results for a digital Cambridge English exam come 5 to 10 working days after the exam. Results for a paper-based exam come 4 to 6 weeks after it. The task types are identical and the qualification at the end is the same.
These are the differences from A2 Key to C2 Proficiency, from Cambridge’s page on ways to take the exams.
| Digital | Paper-based | |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Up to 365 days a year | Set dates (Key for Schools and Preliminary for Schools up to 365 days a year) |
| Registration | Up to 2 working days before the exam | About 4 weeks before the exam |
| Questions | Randomly allocated | Same for all candidates |
| Results | 5 to 10 working days after the exam | 4 to 6 weeks after the exam |
| Certificate | Paper certificate sent to the centre within about 3 to 4 weeks | Paper certificate sent to the centre 7 to 10 weeks after the exam |
| Reading and Writing | Keyboard, screen and mouse | Paper, pen and pencil |
| Listening | Headphones with volume control | Digital audio player |
| Speaking | Face-to-face | Face-to-face |
The digital availability and registration figures carry a note: talk to your chosen exam centre about its schedule.
What Stays the Same
Both formats are taken under exam conditions at an authorised centre, a school or an external venue. Neither is a test at home.
Cambridge’s information for B2 First candidates says the content, the scoring and the final certificate are the same. On which format is easier, the comparison page says neither is easier or more difficult, because both tests are the same.
Speaking does not change. You take it with one or two other candidates in front of two examiners. The steps are in the Cambridge Speaking test format.
Marking has one difference. Digital Writing at A2, B1, B2 and C1 uses hybrid marking, where an automarker works alongside human examiners. According to Cambridge’s guide to hybrid marking, automarker scores are released only after quality control checks, and humans mark a percentage of responses. Cambridge describes this as faster results with the same accuracy as fully human marking. The guide also says preparation stays the same for both formats.
Counting Back from a Deadline
If a university or employer has set a date, the format changes the arithmetic. Adding up the figures in the table gives this.
| From the registration cut-off | Digital | Paper-based |
|---|---|---|
| To results | 7 to 12 working days | About 8 to 10 weeks |
| To the certificate being sent to the centre | 2 working days plus 3 to 4 weeks | About 11 to 14 weeks |
The digital figures are the shortest case: a session you can still join two working days ahead. Dates vary across exam centres, and each centre sets its own schedule. The last date for your results is on the Confirmation of Entry from your centre, according to the results page.
Certificates go to the centre, so the centre can say when yours will reach you. How to read the score is in the Cambridge English Scale.
At one level the choice itself is changing. According to the A2 Key page, the paper-based A2 Key will be withdrawn after the last session in December 2026 and will stay available as a digital exam. A2 Key for Schools stays available in both formats.
Answering Reading and Listening
The details in this section and the next come from the B2 First candidate information.
On paper, Reading and Use of English answers go on an answer sheet in pencil. The sheet is scanned, and answers in pen cannot be read by the marking machine, which means no marks. Transferring your answers has to fit inside the 1 hour 15 minutes.
In the digital exam you answer on screen. You can highlight text, make notes and review your answers, and there is an on-screen timer.
In paper-based Listening, you can write on the question paper while listening, then transfer your answers to the sheet in 5 minutes at the end. If you cannot hear, you raise your hand straight away. In the digital test, everyone wears headphones and can change the volume, and typed answers are saved automatically.
What each part of the paper asks for is in Reading and Use of English explained.
Writing: By Hand or Typed
Paper-based Writing must be done in pen, not pencil. It has to be clear and easy to read, but capitals, lower case and joined-up writing do not matter.
Digital Writing is typed. The word count is automatic and answers are easy to edit.
B2 First Writing has two tasks in 1 hour 20 minutes, each of 140 to 190 words. On paper, counting words and making changes are done by hand. To mark the important parts of a question, you underline them on paper or use the highlighter in the digital test.
People differ in whether they are faster by hand or on a keyboard. Writing the same length once each way and timing it gives you the numbers. How to build the answer itself is in the FCE Writing essay structure.
Choosing
Cambridge’s own answer is that it depends on what the exam centre offers and which format you prefer.
The first thing to check is which sessions exist. The Find an exam centre page searches by country and city. An exam with “Digital” in its name is taken on a computer. Without that word, it is paper-based.
If both are open to you, these are the usual dividing lines.
With a deadline for results or a certificate, the digital figures in the table are the shorter ones.
Some people like to mark up a long text on paper, which points to the paper exam. Headphones and an automatic word count point to digital.
For Writing, one way to decide is to time yourself as described above and take the faster method.
Practising for Your Format
The B2 First preparation page has free sample tests: two paper-based sets and one digital set. The digital one opens in a browser and is split into Listening, Reading and Use of English, and Writing. The Speaking samples are shared with the paper-based set.
Cambridge lists differences between the digital samples and the live exam:
- The sample has a “start over” button on the final page that deletes all your answers. The live exam does not.
- Highlighting does not save in the sample and the notes do not work. Both work in the live exam.
- In the live exam, with 5 minutes left, the timer switches to minutes and seconds and the background changes colour.
- The sample does not mark your test, so you check answers against the key as you go. You cannot check them once it has finished.
For the paper exam, a timed practice comes closer to the real thing if it includes filling in an answer sheet in pencil, with Writing done in pen. When to use practice tests is in the 3-month plan.
Where AlphaGeorge Fits
AlphaGeorge, which I make for iPhone and iPad, is an app for Cambridge English exam preparation. Its questions were written for the app and fit the time between practice tests, for either format.
The course has questions you answer by typing, and the Dictation drill has you write the words you hear by hand. The Diagnostic Test of about five minutes gives a CEFR level, and the course can start from there.
AlphaGeorge is free to start, with ads and a limit of hearts. AlphaGeorge Premium, a monthly or yearly subscription, removes ads, makes hearts unlimited and lets you replay finished lessons. Keeping up daily practice is in AlphaGeorge Tips, and Getting Started with AlphaGeorge walks through the first session.
