Cooper test vs beep test: which one should you use?
Use the beep test when you need a group tested in a gym, when an audio track should set the pace, or when your target test is a beep test. Use the Cooper run when you have a track or a measured loop, one runner or many, and no speaker. The Cooper is self-paced for a fixed 12 minutes and gives a distance. The beep test is paced by the recording and gives a level. Their scores do not convert into each other.
The difference in one line
The Cooper test is a 12-minute run where you choose the pace. The beep test is a 20 m shuttle run where a recording chooses it, getting faster every minute until you stop. Both end up estimating aerobic fitness, but they ask the runner for different things.
Side by side
| Cooper test | Beep test | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | run as far as you can in 12 minutes | shuttle between two lines 20 m apart on the beeps |
| Who sets the pace | you | the recording |
| Length | 12 minutes, fixed | until you cannot keep up, about one minute per level |
| Space | a track or a measured loop | a gym or any flat 20 m strip |
| Result | distance in metres | level (or laps) |
| VO₂max equation | Cooper 1968, from distance | Léger 1988, from level and age |
| Main risk to the result | starting too fast and fading | poor turning, bad speaker, wrong chart |
The protocols are on the Cooper test page and the beep test page.
Pacing decides the Cooper
In a Cooper you have to guess your pace. Start at a speed you cannot hold and the last four minutes cost more than the first four gained. Start too gently and the distance is short. Pacing skill moves the distance as much as fitness does.
The beep test removes that decision. The speed of each level is on the recording, and your only task is to be at the line on the beep. A beginner cannot start too fast, and a group of thirty cannot split into four different paces.
The price is the turns. Every 20 m the runner decelerates, turns and accelerates. Turning technique therefore counts toward the level, which it does not in a Cooper.
Space and group size
A beep test needs 20 m by 1.5 m per runner, a flat floor and a speaker loud enough for the whole room. It can be run indoors in any season. How to organise it for a squad is in How do I run a beep test for a team?.
A Cooper needs a 400 m track, or any loop whose length you know, and someone to count laps. A big group on a track gets crowded, and runners at different speeds lap each other. It suits a handful of athletes, a solo runner with a GPS, or a team that has the whole track for twenty minutes.
The same speed, two estimates
Both tests turn a result into a VO₂max, with equations from different groups. Put them on the same speed and they disagree. The table below uses each Cooper distance’s average speed and the beep test level of that speed. The beep test row is the VO₂max for an adult who stops during the next level, as Léger’s equation requires.
| Cooper distance | Average speed | Cooper VO₂max | Level completed at that speed | Beep test VO₂max, adult |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 m | 10 km/h | 33.4 | 4 | 35.6 |
| 2,400 m | 12 km/h | 42.4 | 8 | 47.6 |
| 2,800 m | 14 km/h | 51.3 | 12 | 59.6 |
| 3,200 m | 16 km/h | 60.3 | 16 | 71.6 |
The gap grows from 2 to 11 points as the speed rises. The two runs are not the same effort either: a Cooper runner holds the average speed for twelve minutes, a beep test runner reaches it after many minutes of slower running. Do not put a Cooper VO₂max and a beep test VO₂max on the same chart. The equations are in Cooper test to VO₂max and Beep test score to VO₂max.
Which to choose
- A school class or a squad in a gym: beep test.
- A runner on a track who wants a distance to beat: Cooper.
- No speaker, no marked 20 m: Cooper.
- A coach who wants every athlete forced to the same pace: beep test.
- An entry test with a named protocol: the one it names. For the level required by police and military forces, see What beep test score do you need for the police?.
- A beginner who wants a maximal aerobic speed: either, but read What is MAS? first. The beep test gives the speed of the last level completed. The Cooper gives the average speed over the 12 minutes: distance divided by 200.
Whatever you pick, retest with the same test. A change from one test to the other is a change of test, not a change of fitness. The Cooper calculator and the beep test calculator turn each result into speed and VO₂max.
Go further
- 01Cooper test to VO₂max: formula and tableQuestions
- 02How do you convert a beep test score to VO₂max?Questions
- 03What is MAS (maximal aerobic speed)?Questions
- 04What is a good beep test score?Questions
- 05Cooper test (12 minutes)Tests
- 06Beep test (20 m shuttle run)Tests
- 07Cooper test calculator: 12-minute distance to MAS and VO₂maxCalculator
- 08Beep test calculator: level to MAS and VO₂maxCalculator
- 09VO₂max calculator: beep test, PACER or CooperCalculator
Frequently asked questions
Is the Cooper test harder than the beep test?
Neither is harder in general. The Cooper asks you to hold the fastest even pace you can for 12 minutes, so pacing decides the result. The beep test sets the pace and gets faster every minute until you cannot keep up.
Can I convert a Cooper distance to a beep test level?
Not directly. You can convert both to an estimated VO₂max, but the two equations were fitted on different groups and give different numbers for the same speed. Compare a Cooper with an earlier Cooper, and a beep test with an earlier beep test.
Which test is better for a school class?
The beep test, because one gym and one speaker take a whole class and the recording controls pacing. A Cooper needs a track or a long measured loop and a lap counter for each runner.
Which test should I train for if I am applying to the police or army?
The one the force names. Entry tests publish their own protocol and minimum, so practising a different test only helps your general fitness.
Sources
- Cooper K. H., “A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake: correlation between field and treadmill testing”, JAMA, 1968; 203(3): 201-204, via BrianMac Sports Coach — 12-minute protocol and the equation VO₂max = (distance in metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73
- Léger L. A., Mercier D., Gadoury C., Lambert J., “The multistage 20 metre shuttle run test for aerobic fitness”, Journal of Sports Sciences, 1988; 6(2): 93-101, PubMed abstract — VO₂max equation from the last level announced and age (adults: age 18)
- 20 m multistage shuttle run speed table, 8.0 km/h version — level speeds and lap counts as used on the Cadlo beep test page. The comparison table on this page is computed from the two published equations