IQ Metrics
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The complete IQ test guide
— scores, scales & selection.

Diagram of the four cognitive domains — verbal, numerical, spatial and abstract reasoning — feeding into a single composite IQ score
Mean 100 · SD 15The standard scale
4 domainsOne composite score

Whether you want to know what an IQ score actually means, how the four cognitive domains are assessed, or simply which test format answers your question — this guide covers the psychometrics in plain language, then points you at the right assessment.

Find my test in 3 questions → Start the Classical IQ Test
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Goal-triage quiz

Three questions, then the right test

There is no single best IQ test — only the one that answers the question you are actually asking. Pick what fits and this points you straight at it.

1
Your goal What is your main reason for taking an assessment?
2
Who is testing Are you testing an adult or a child?
3
Your experience Have you taken an IQ test before?
Your recommended assessment

Classical IQ Test

20–25 minutes · 40–50 items

A full composite score plus a profile across all four cognitive domains — the most complete picture available here.

Start the Classical IQ Test →

First time? Read the four cognitive domains below before you begin — knowing the item formats in advance takes the edge off the opening questions.

Classical IQ Test

20–25 minutes · 40–50 items

A full composite score plus a profile across all four cognitive domains — the most complete picture available here.

Start the Classical IQ Test →

Retesting? Expect a little movement between sittings. Practice effects on retest are well documented, so compare classification bands rather than single points.

Classical IQ Test

20–25 minutes · 40–50 items

A full composite score plus a profile across all four cognitive domains — the most complete picture available here.

Start the Classical IQ Test →

Warming up first? Work through the four domains below so every item type is familiar, then come back and start the full assessment.

Timed IQ Test

10 minutes, hard cap · 15–18 items

A fast composite estimate for when there is no time for the full assessment. Fewer items means a wider margin of error — treat it as an indication rather than a profile.

Start the Timed IQ Test →

First time? The clock does not pause. Read the four cognitive domains below first, so you are not meeting an item format for the first time on the clock.

Timed IQ Test

10 minutes, hard cap · 15–18 items

A fast composite estimate for when there is no time for the full assessment. Fewer items means a wider margin of error — treat it as an indication rather than a profile.

Start the Timed IQ Test →

Retesting? A short test moves around more between sittings than a long one, simply because it samples fewer items. Do not read much into a few points either way.

Timed IQ Test

10 minutes, hard cap · 15–18 items

A fast composite estimate for when there is no time for the full assessment. Fewer items means a wider margin of error — treat it as an indication rather than a profile.

Start the Timed IQ Test →

Warming up first? Worth doing here more than anywhere else — on a ten-minute cap, time spent decoding the question format is time not spent reasoning.

IQ vs Personality — Career Fit Matrix

Exploration tool · no time limit

Pairs a cognitive profile with a self-selected Big Five trait and lists the professional environments commonly associated with that combination. An exploration tool, not a prediction of career success.

Open the Career Fit Matrix →

First time? The Matrix works better when the cognitive side is measured rather than guessed — consider taking the Classical IQ Test first.

IQ vs Personality — Career Fit Matrix

Exploration tool · no time limit

Pairs a cognitive profile with a self-selected Big Five trait and lists the professional environments commonly associated with that combination. An exploration tool, not a prediction of career success.

Open the Career Fit Matrix →

Already tested? Use your domain breakdown to pick the cognitive profile in the Matrix rather than estimating it.

IQ vs Personality — Career Fit Matrix

Exploration tool · no time limit

Pairs a cognitive profile with a self-selected Big Five trait and lists the professional environments commonly associated with that combination. An exploration tool, not a prediction of career success.

Open the Career Fit Matrix →

Warming up first? The Matrix needs no preparation — nothing in it is scored. Read the four domains below to decide which one describes you best.

Culture-Fair IQ Test

20–25 minutes · 40–50 items

Language-free visual matrices — no vocabulary, no arithmetic, no culturally specific knowledge. Widely used where language would otherwise get in the way of measuring reasoning.

Start the Culture-Fair IQ Test →

First time? Read the abstract reasoning card below — every item on this test works the way that one describes.

Culture-Fair IQ Test

20–25 minutes · 40–50 items

Language-free visual matrices — no vocabulary, no arithmetic, no culturally specific knowledge. Widely used where language would otherwise get in the way of measuring reasoning.

Start the Culture-Fair IQ Test →

Retesting? Matrix items are especially prone to practice effects, because the underlying transformation rules repeat across tests. Compare bands, not points.

Culture-Fair IQ Test

20–25 minutes · 40–50 items

Language-free visual matrices — no vocabulary, no arithmetic, no culturally specific knowledge. Widely used where language would otherwise get in the way of measuring reasoning.

Start the Culture-Fair IQ Test →

Warming up first? Practise rule-spotting on matrix items — row-wise and column-wise changes are what every question here turns on.

Kids IQ Test

Ages 4–17 · parent-guided · age-normed

Children are routed here whatever the goal, because a child’s score only means something against an age-matched norm. Items are banded by age and the session is parent-guided.

Open the Kids IQ Test →

First time? Sit with them and read the instructions aloud. The aim is an unhurried, low-pressure session — a stressed child measures their stress, not their reasoning.

Kids IQ Test

Ages 4–17 · parent-guided · age-normed

Children are routed here whatever the goal, because a child’s score only means something against an age-matched norm. Items are banded by age and the session is parent-guided.

Open the Kids IQ Test →

Retesting a child? Children’s scores move more than adults’ between sittings, because they are still developing. Leave a good gap and expect variation.

Kids IQ Test

Ages 4–17 · parent-guided · age-normed

Children are routed here whatever the goal, because a child’s score only means something against an age-matched norm. Items are banded by age and the session is parent-guided.

Open the Kids IQ Test →

Warming up first? A short, playful run at a few puzzle-style questions is plenty. Anything longer turns preparation into pressure.

The four domains

What an IQ test actually measures

By the IQ Metrics Research Team · A plain-language guide to scores, scales and test selection

An Intelligence Quotient is a standardised measure of how well someone solves novel reasoning problems relative to an age cohort. That last part does the work: the number is not a count of correct answers and not a percentage. It is a rank, expressed on a scale built so the average always lands on 100.

A well-built assessment samples that reasoning from several directions at once, because no single item type is a clean window onto general ability. Four domains do most of the sampling.

Verbal reasoning

Relationships between words and ideas — analogies, categories, and the logic carried by language rather than the size of your vocabulary.

Doctor : Hospital :: Teacher : ?

Numerical reasoning

Quantitative pattern recognition — series logic, proportion and rate. It tests whether you can find the rule, not whether you can do arithmetic quickly.

2 · 4 · 8 · 16 · ?

Spatial reasoning

Mental rotation and three-dimensional visualisation — holding a shape in mind, turning it, and recognising it from an angle you were never shown.

Which net folds into this cube?

Abstract reasoning

Rule deduction from non-verbal evidence — working out how a matrix of shapes transforms across rows and columns, then applying that rule to a case you have not seen.

Complete the 3×3 matrix

Those four are what an IQ test is built to reach. It matters just as much to be clear about what it deliberately leaves alone.

It is not acquired knowledge

What you know about history, science or literature reflects education, curiosity and opportunity. A reasoning test is designed specifically not to reward facts you happen to have picked up.

It is not academic memory

Recall of studied material is a different capacity, and one that responds strongly to revision. Items are built so that having seen the material before confers no advantage.

It is not emotional intelligence

Reading a room, regulating your own reactions and understanding what someone else is feeling are real and consequential skills. None of them are measured by a matrix puzzle.

Distribution

Why 100 is always the middle

IQ scores sit on a normal distribution with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. That scale is constructed rather than discovered: raw performance is converted into a rank, and the rank is expressed on this curve.

The construction is what makes scores comparable between people. About 68.2% fall within one standard deviation of the mean — the range from IQ 85 to IQ 115. Roughly 95% fall between 70 and 130. A score therefore tells you where someone sits relative to everyone else, not how many questions they answered correctly.

68.2% OF PEOPLE SCORE 85–115 7085100 115130 −2 SD−1 SDMEAN +1 SD+2 SD IQ SCORE 68.2% score 85–115 7085100 115130 −2 SD−1 SDMEAN +1 SD+2 SD IQ SCORE

Figure 1. The standard IQ scale: mean 100, standard deviation 15. The shaded region spans one standard deviation either side of the mean and contains 68.2% of the population.

The scale

How scores are classified

These are the bands used across IQ Metrics. The percentile column is the share of the population scoring at or below that range, computed from the normal distribution at mean 100 and SD 15.

IQ classification bands on the standard scale (mean 100, SD 15)
Score range Classification Population percentile What it indicates
130+ Very Superior Top 2.3% Two standard deviations above the mean or higher.
120 – 129 Superior 91st – 97th Well above the population average.
110 – 119 High Average 75th – 90th Above average, still within the common range.
90 – 109 Average 25th – 73rd The band most people fall into.
80 – 89 Low Average 9th – 23rd Below average, still within the common range.
Under 80 Below Average Lower 9% A single online test is not a diagnosis.

Percentiles are computed from the normal distribution and rounded to the nearest whole percentile. Every online score carries a margin of error of a few points, so the band is the meaningful unit rather than the exact number.

Formats

Four tests, four different jobs

Every variant draws on the same reasoning domains. What changes is how many items you see, how long you get, and what the report hands back.

Comparison of the assessment formats available on IQ Metrics
Test Items Time What you get Best for
Classical IQ Test 40 – 50 20 – 25 min Full composite score plus a four-domain profile The most complete picture
Timed IQ Test 15 – 18 10 min, hard cap Fast composite estimate When time is short
Culture-Fair IQ Test 40 – 50 20 – 25 min Composite score from language-free visual matrices No language or arithmetic
Kids IQ Test Age-banded Varies by band Age-normed profile, parent-guided session Ages 4 – 17

The Classical and Culture-Fair tests run to the same length. They differ in what the items are made of, not in how long they take.

Questions

Frequently asked

How long does an online IQ test take?

It depends on the variant. The Timed IQ Test runs to a hard ten-minute cap. The Classical IQ Test and the Culture-Fair IQ Test each take approximately 20 to 25 minutes. The Kids IQ Test varies by age band, because younger children work through fewer items.

Are online IQ tests accurate?

A well-constructed online test uses the same standardised item types as established cognitive assessments, and can give a useful estimate of general reasoning ability. It is best understood as a screening tool rather than a clinical evaluation: a formal diagnosis requires an in-person assessment by a licensed psychologist. Our IQ Test Accuracy page covers the margin of error in more depth.

Can I prepare or practice before taking the test?

Yes. Familiarising yourself with the item formats reduces test anxiety, and knowing what a matrix or a number-series item looks like means you spend your time reasoning rather than decoding the question. Practice does not change your underlying ability, but it does stop the format itself from costing you points. See our Can You Improve Your IQ page for what genuinely helps versus what doesn’t.

What is a normal IQ score?

On the standard scale the average is 100 and the standard deviation is 15, so about 68.2% of people score between 85 and 115. Scores from 90 to 109 are classified as Average. A score is a rank relative to an age cohort, not a percentage of questions answered correctly. Our IQ Bell Curve page shows how these classifications map onto the full distribution.

What’s the difference between a percentile and a standard score?

The standard score (mean 100, SD 15) tells you how far your result sits from the average in standardised units; the percentile tells you what share of the norm group you scored higher than. The two are directly related but not the same number — a standard score of 115 corresponds to roughly the 84th percentile, not 115%. Our IQ Percentile Calculator converts between them directly.

Why do some tests report scores on a scale of 15 and others on a scale of 24?

Both are standardised scales, just with a different standard deviation, so a given rank within the population produces a different number depending on which one is used. Neither is more “correct” — you simply have to know which scale a score is on before comparing it to another. Our IQ Score Converter handles this conversion for you.

Does my age affect which norm group or test I should use?

Yes. Scores are only meaningful when compared against an age-matched norm sample, since typical reasoning speed and accumulated knowledge shift across the lifespan. This is why children’s tests use dedicated age-band norms rather than the adult scale. Our IQ and Age tool breaks down how that adjustment works.

If I retake the test later, how do I know whether my score genuinely changed?

Compare full retests spaced at least a few months apart rather than back-to-back attempts, which mostly reflect familiarity with the format rather than a real change in ability. A single point or two of difference is within normal measurement error and isn’t meaningful on its own. Our IQ Score Over Time tool is built for tracking multiple results on one chart.

Ready to find out
where you stand?

The Classical IQ Test gives you a standardised score, your percentile, and a breakdown across all four reasoning domains — in about twenty to twenty-five minutes.

Start the Classical IQ Test → Only 10 minutes? Take the Timed IQ Test →
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