Free tool
IELTS band calculator
Turn your scores into bands and see your overall result, for Academic or General Training.
Enter your scores
Raw scores out of 40 for Listening and Reading, then your Writing and Speaking bands.
Overall band
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Fill in all four skills to see your overall band.
- Average of the four
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- Rounded overall
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Score conversion
How a raw score becomes a band
Listening and Reading have 40 questions each, one mark per correct answer. The total is converted to a band on the nine-band scale.
| Band | Listening | Academic Reading | General Training Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 39–40 | 39–40 | 40 |
| 8.5 | 37–38 | 37–38 | 39 |
| 8.0 | 35–36 | 35–36 | 37–38 |
| 7.5 | 32–34 | 33–34 | 36 |
| 7.0 | 30–31 | 30–32 | 34–35 |
| 6.5 | 26–29 | 27–29 | 32–33 |
| 6.0 | 23–25 | 23–26 | 30–31 |
| 5.5 | 18–22 | 19–22 | 27–29 |
| 5.0 | 16–17 | 15–18 | 23–26 |
| 4.5 | 13–15 | 12–14 | 19–22 |
Choose the right test
Academic or General Training: why it matters
Listening is the same test, with the same conversion, for both. Reading is not: General Training Reading is converted more strictly, so the same band needs more correct answers. Pick the wrong test type and your Reading band will be out by a whole band.
Academic
30–32
correct answers for band 7
General Training
34–35
correct answers for band 7
Overall result
How the overall band is rounded
Your overall band is the average of your four skill bands, rounded to the nearest whole or half band. An average ending in .25 goes up to the next half band; one ending in .75 goes up to the next whole band.
| Average | Rule | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| 6.10 | Down to the nearest band | 6.0 |
| 6.25 | Up to the half band | 6.5 |
| 6.50 | Already a half band | 6.5 |
| 6.75 | Up to the whole band | 7.0 |
Assessed skills
Writing and Speaking have no raw score
An examiner marks them against IELTS’s published band descriptors and gives a band. That is why the calculator asks for the band itself: from your examiner, a tutor, or practice marked on the same criteria.
Bands go up in half steps, from 1 to 9.
What examiners assess
- Task achievement / responseAnswers every part of the question, with a clear position or overview.
- Coherence & cohesionIdeas are organised into paragraphs and linked clearly.
- Lexical resourceVocabulary is accurate, varied and fits the topic.
- Grammatical range & accuracySentence forms show variety and control.
The four count equally within each task. Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1.
Common Questions
What candidates ask about scoring
Direct answers to the rounding rules, test differences, and score cutoffs that confuse test-takers most.
How does IELTS round the overall band score?
Your overall band is the average of all four components (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking), each carrying equal 25% weight. IELTS rounds to the nearest half or whole band: an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band (6.25 becomes 6.5); an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band (6.75 becomes 7.0). An average ending in .125 or .625 rounds down (6.125 becomes 6.0, and 6.625 becomes 6.5).
Why do I need 34 correct answers in General Training Reading for Band 7, but only 30 in Academic?
Academic Reading uses texts from research journals, books, and reports containing dense academic language, so getting 30 out of 40 is rewarded with Band 7.0. General Training Reading uses everyday materials in Sections 1 and 2 (timetables, job notices, company policies), which are significantly easier to read. To keep scores fair and comparable, the General Training scale requires 34 correct answers for the same Band 7.0.
Is the Listening test scored differently for Academic and General Training?
No. The Listening test is 100% identical for both Academic and General Training candidates. Both take the exact same audio test and are graded on the exact same scale: 30 correct answers out of 40 gives Band 7.0 on both.
Can a high Listening or Reading score make up for a lower Writing score?
For your overall band score, yes. Because each skill is 25% of your total, scoring 8.5 in Listening can pull a 6.0 in Writing up to an overall 7.0 or 7.5. However, almost all universities, professional licensing bodies (like the UK GMC), and visa programs (like Canada Express Entry CLB 9) require minimum scores in each individual skill. A high overall band does not bypass a skill cutoff.
Why can't I convert raw marks to a band for Writing and Speaking?
Unlike Listening and Reading, which have 40 objective right-or-wrong questions, Writing and Speaking are subjective performance assessments. Certified examiners grade your essay and interview directly against four official criteria: Task Response / Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range & Accuracy. Each criterion is assigned a band, and their average produces your skill score.