IELTS Band Score Calculator
Enter your four section bands to get your overall band score, or convert Listening and Reading marks out of 40 to a band score.
Overall band score
Pick all four bands.
Listening and Reading marks to band score
Enter your marks.
Approximate. Each test has its own boundaries, so the real band can be half a band higher or lower.
How the IELTS band score calculator rounds your overall band
Your overall band is the average of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, rounded to the nearest half band:
- 6.5, 6.5, 5.5, 6.0 → average 6.125 → overall 6.0
- 6.5, 6.5, 6.0, 6.0 → average 6.25 → overall 6.5 (.25 rounds up)
- 7.0, 7.0, 6.5, 6.5 → average 6.75 → overall 7.0 (.75 rounds up)
Rounding rule and guide marks: British Council, IELTS scoring in detail. The British Council publishes guide points only (for example, about 30 correct Listening answers for band 7); the tables below fill in the bands between them and are approximate.
Listening and Reading band scores from marks out of 40 (approximate)
| Marks | Band score |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 32–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–31 | 7.0 |
| 26–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–25 | 6.0 |
| 18–22 | 5.5 |
| 16–17 | 5.0 |
| 13–15 | 4.5 |
| 11–12 | 4.0 |
| 8–10 | 3.5 |
| 6–7 | 3.0 |
| 4–5 | 2.5 |
| 2–3 | 2.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 0 | 0.0 |
| Marks | Band score |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 33–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–32 | 7.0 |
| 27–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–26 | 6.0 |
| 19–22 | 5.5 |
| 15–18 | 5.0 |
| 13–14 | 4.5 |
| 10–12 | 4.0 |
| 8–9 | 3.5 |
| 6–7 | 3.0 |
| 4–5 | 2.5 |
| 2–3 | 2.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 0 | 0.0 |
| Marks | Band score |
|---|---|
| 40 | 9.0 |
| 39 | 8.5 |
| 38 | 8.0 |
| 36–37 | 7.5 |
| 34–35 | 7.0 |
| 32–33 | 6.5 |
| 30–31 | 6.0 |
| 27–29 | 5.5 |
| 23–26 | 5.0 |
| 19–22 | 4.5 |
| 15–18 | 4.0 |
| 12–14 | 3.5 |
| 9–11 | 3.0 |
| 6–8 | 2.5 |
| 3–5 | 2.0 |
| 1–2 | 1.0 |
| 0 | 0.0 |
What each band score means
IELTS reports every section and the overall result on the same 0 to 9 scale. In short:
| Band | Level |
|---|---|
| 9 | Expert user: full, accurate and fluent command of English. |
| 8 | Very good user: occasional slips or misunderstandings in unfamiliar situations. |
| 7 | Good user: handles complex language well, with some mistakes. |
| 6 | Competent user: generally effective, with some errors and misunderstandings. |
| 5 | Modest user: partial command, gets the overall meaning in most situations. |
| 4 | Limited user: basic language in familiar situations, with frequent problems. |
| 0–3 | Very limited understanding, or the test was not attempted. |
Universities and immigration programmes set their own minimums, overall and per section; check the exact requirement before you book a test.
Need a Writing band score?
Writing is marked by examiners, not by counting answers. Paste a Task 2 essay into the IELTS writing checker to get an estimate for all four criteria.
Independent practice tool. Not affiliated with, approved or endorsed by IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge University Press & Assessment. IELTS is a registered trademark of its owners. Scores are AI estimates, not official results.