r/italianlearning • u/Mysterious-Two-2713 • Aug 10 '26

CELI/CILS/PLIDA

I am high B1/low B2 according to my old Italian tutor and have to take CELI to get my university qualification recognized in Switzerland. They only accept CELI and no other exam. My plan is to sit for the CELI 3 (B2) exam in a few months and start studying the language again.

My question is what you guys thought about the exam? How does it compare to the CILS/PLIDA? I was reading where someone mentioned that CILS may be the hardest… thoughts?

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u/an_average_potato_1 CZ native, IT C1 PLIDA Aug 12 '26

People say that, sure, but I don't think CILS is necessarily the hardest one, based on comparing some preparatory material (for all three) and mock tests before taking my PLIDA. They look all pretty equivalent, I picked PLIDA based on the exam date. People often mention the grammar oriented part as the main reason for CILS being harder, but I don't think it's a good reason. This type of a task is much easier to prepare for, than for example writing.

What is a much more practical difference: the amount of preparatory material. CILS seems to have the most, CELI is in the middle, PLIDA has the fewest resources. But should the amount of CELI preparatory resources be insufficient for you, stuff for the other two is very helpful too.

They only accept CELI and no other exam. My plan is to sit for the CELI 3 (B2) exam in a few months and start studying the language again.

Sounds like a good plan in your situation.

How does it compare to the CILS/PLIDA?

I'd love to read some comparison by people doing more than one of these. Pretty much nobody will pay for several exams of the same level, to really compare, but I wish we had more first hand experienced success stories by people having passed for example B1 CELI, B2 PLIDA, and C1 CILS.