How many times should you retake the SAT or ACT?
Two or three sittings total is the sensible range. Scores typically rise between a first and second attempt, gains flatten after that, and beyond three the time is almost always better spent elsewhere. Colleges do not see how many times you sat unless you choose to send those scores.
What the pattern usually looks like
A meaningful improvement from the first sitting to the second, mostly from familiarity and from targeted work on identified weaknesses. A smaller gain on a third. After that, most students move within the noise of the test rather than upward, and the effort is better spent on essays or on grades.
Score choice and superscoring
Policies vary by institution and this is worth checking rather than assuming. Some colleges superscore, combining your best section results across dates. Some require every score. Some let you choose what to send. Check each school on your list, because the policy changes what a retake is worth.
Retake only with a plan
Sitting the same test again without changing anything produces the same score. A retake is worth it when you can name what you are fixing: pacing on a section, a specific content gap, or a test-day problem you can solve. Without that, it is a Saturday and a fee.
Know when to stop
If a score is at or above the middle range for your target schools, you are done. If two attempts with real preparation have not moved it, the honest read may be that this test is not where your application will be won, and the test-optional route is available at many schools.