One of the most common questions I get from families right now is simple to ask but not always easy to answer: should the student take the ACT on paper or on a computer? Of the two main college admissions tests, the ACT is now the one that still gives most students a paper option, so students actually have a choice to make, and that choice can affect how comfortable they feel on test day.
My short answer, after more than twenty years of tutoring, is that paper is the better default for most students. But “default” is not the same as “always,” and some students do their best work on the screen. Here’s what actually differs between the two formats, the case for each, and how to decide for your own situation. If you want to practice as you read, our free ACT drills cover every section in both the skills and the pacing the test rewards.
What’s the Same on Both Formats
Before the differences, it helps to know what doesn’t change. The tested skills, question types, score scale, and meaning of the scores for colleges are the same; individual forms can vary slightly, but ACT equates them to the same 1–36 scale. For national testing, English, Math, and Reading are the core sections, and Science and Writing are optional on either format. The base cost doesn’t depend on whether you choose paper or online, though the optional sections carry their own add-on fees. Accommodations are supported on both formats. You also can’t take the online ACT from home; it must be taken at a test center, either on a test-center device or through an approved bring-your-own-device setup. One thing that does differ: score release timing can vary by format and test date, and ACT currently says online scores are usually available sooner than paper scores.
One scheduling detail matters: you choose your format when you register, and you can only change it up until the late registration deadline, for a fee. You can’t switch at the test center on test day. Format changes also depend on seat availability, so you could lose access to a preferred location or time if you wait too long. Decide early.
Paper vs. Online ACT at a Glance
Here’s a side-by-side of the practical differences. The rest of the article explains each one in more depth.
Content, skills, score scale, and accommodations are the same on both formats. Both are taken at a test center. “Edge” reflects which format tends to help most students on that feature, not a universal rule.
The Case for Paper
Most of the students I work with who prefer paper give a consistent set of reasons, and they line up with what I see drive scores in practice.
You can write directly on everything
This is the big one. On paper, you can underline and bracket key phrases in Reading and English, draw on geometry figures and label diagrams in Math, and, if you take Science, annotate the tables and graphs as you work. On Reading and Science especially, much of what you need is right in front of you, and being able to mark it up helps you find and use that information faster. Math and Science are already tight on time, and working directly on the problem removes a small but real source of friction.
No scrolling, no eye strain
On paper, a passage and its questions sit in front of you at once. On screen, longer Reading passages (and Science, if you take it) can require scrolling back and forth between the text and the question, which costs a little time and attention on every item. Several hours of screen reading can also cause eye fatigue late in the test, when you can least afford it.
Fewer things that can go wrong
Paper has no software to crash, no device check to pass, and no network to depend on. I had a student this past June run into problems on the online ACT despite having done every required software update ahead of time; she ended up having to retake the test on paper the next day, which was stressful in exactly the way you don’t want test day to be. That’s one anecdote, not a statistic, but the point is still worth considering: the digital format simply has more moving parts, and more moving parts means more that can go sideways.
The trade-off people worry about with paper is bubbling. In practice it’s minor. Your answer sheet is separate from the test booklet, and if you bubble a page at a time rather than one answer at a time, it adds maybe a minute or two over the whole section, not the time sink students fear.
The Case for Online
The digital format can be the better choice for some students, and I want to be fair to it, because some of my students genuinely score better on screen. Here’s when it can be the right call.
You’re comfortable testing on a screen
Students who’ve grown up taking school assessments on computers sometimes feel more at home with the digital interface. If reading on a screen and clicking answers feels natural to you and bubbling feels fussy, that comfort is worth something on a high-stakes day.
The interface keeps you focused on one item
The digital interface generally keeps you focused on the current item rather than showing a whole booklet-style spread. For students who tend to get rattled glancing ahead at how much is left, or who linger on a question they’ve already finished, that cleaner view can reduce second-guessing. You also click your answer instead of bubbling, which removes the small worry of mis-gridding.
Built-in tools, including Desmos
Starting with the December 2025 administration, the online ACT replaced its basic on-screen scientific calculator with the Desmos graphing calculator for the Math section. The digital format also includes tools like a highlighter, answer eliminator, answer masking, a line reader, and a magnifier. For a student who already uses Desmos fluently and likes these tools, that’s a real point in the online column.
Two caveats, though. First, Desmos helps on a smaller share of ACT Math than it does on the SAT. The SAT was rebuilt around the kind of algebra-meets-coordinate-geometry questions Desmos handles very efficiently; the ACT’s math is more varied, so Desmos tends to help on a minority of questions and often only modestly. Second, you can bring your own permitted physical calculator on either format. If you’re fluent with a graphing calculator like a TI-84, you already have most of that power in your hand on paper, too. Desmos is a nice addition for the right student, not a reason on its own to switch formats.
A Note on Scoring
You may have heard claims online that the digital ACT is “curved harder” than paper. ACT converts raw scores to scale scores specifically to adjust for small differences among forms, so that scores can be compared across forms and a given scale score means the same thing regardless of which form you took. Some released forms have shown small raw-to-scale differences at certain points, but I’d be cautious about treating that as a reliable, predictable edge in either direction, since the conversion is designed precisely to even those differences out. The more dependable reasons to choose a format are the practical ones above: how you read, how you work problems, and how you feel about technology on test day.
One Practical Wrinkle: Devices
If you’re leaning digital and want to bring your own device, check ACT’s current technical requirements before you register. As of this writing, ACT supports Windows and MacBook computers and school-managed Chromebooks for ACT Gateway; it does not support iPads, tablets, personal Chromebooks, Chrome OS Flex, or Windows S Mode. Because these rules are detailed and can change, confirm the latest list on the official ACT Gateway requirements page rather than relying on any one blog’s snapshot, including this one. If you bring your own device, you’ll also need to install ACT Gateway and complete the required device checks before the deadline, or you may not be able to test.
How to Actually Decide
The best practical advice, from ACT itself to independent tutors, is this: practice in the format you plan to test in, and if you can, try both before you commit. The mechanics differ enough that familiarity matters, and the only way to know which format suits you is to experience each one.
Here’s the approach I’d suggest:
ACT’s free practice resources are useful, but don’t assume a PDF alone will perfectly recreate the online testing experience. Take a full official paper practice test, try ACT’s official online sample questions and tools, and compare both your score and your comfort level. If you’re considering digital and want to get comfortable with the calculator first, you can practice on the official Desmos testing build for the ACT.
Then compare not just your scores but how each felt. Did scrolling slow you down, or did you barely notice it? Did writing on the math problems help, or do you do that work cleanly in your head anyway? Did the screen tire your eyes by the end? For most students the paper experience wins on these, which is why it’s my default recommendation. But if your scores and your comfort both point toward the screen, trust that. The format that lets you do your best work is the right one, and it isn’t the same for everyone.
If you’re forced into the digital format through school-day testing, don’t panic. The content is the same, you can prepare for the interface ahead of time, and at worst it’s another shot to add to a superscore.
Practice Either Way
Whichever format you choose, the skills are identical, so the prep that matters most is the same: read each question carefully before looking at the answers, use all the information in front of you, write out your work, and find a pace that’s unhurried but focused. Our free, no-login ACT practice drills are built around exactly that, with full explanations for every answer choice across English, Math, Reading, and Science. Decide on your format early, practice in it, and walk in knowing what test day will feel like.
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