---
title: "IELTS Band Score Calculator: Overall Score, Rounding and Conversions"
description: "Work out your IELTS overall band from four section scores, see exactly how the .25/.75 rounding rule works, and convert your band to CEFR, CLB, TOEFL and PTE."
lang: "en"
slug: "ielts-band-score-calculator"
pubDate: 2026-09-02
alternates:
  en: "ielts-band-score-calculator"
  es: "calculadora-band-score-ielts"
  fr: "calculateur-score-ielts"
  de: "ielts-punktzahl-rechner"
  it: "calcolatore-punteggio-ielts"
---
# IELTS Band Score Calculator

**Your overall IELTS band is the average of your four section scores, rounded to the nearest half band, with .25 and .75 always rounding up.** That last part catches people out, so the worked examples below cover it.

## Calculate your overall band

## The rounding rule, in full

Average the four sections, then apply this:

| Decimal part of the average | Result |
|---|---|
| .00 to .24 | Rounds down to the whole band |
| .25 to .49 | Rounds up to the half band |
| .50 to .74 | Stays at the half band |
| .75 to .99 | Rounds up to the next whole band |

Worked examples:

| Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking | Average | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 6.25 | **6.5** |
| 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.25 | **6.5** |
| 7.0 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 7.00 | **7.0** |
| 6.5 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.50 | **6.5** |
| 7.0 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.75 | **7.0** |
| 5.5 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.625 | **5.5** |

The practical consequence: half a band in one section can move your overall score, or do nothing at all, depending on where the other three sit. In row two above, raising Writing from 6.0 to 6.5 changes the average to 6.375 and the overall band stays 6.5. Raising Speaking instead does the same. Only a full band in one section, or half a band in two, moves that candidate to 7.0.

Before you pay for a remark, check the arithmetic: if you are at 6.75 you are already rounding up, and if you are at 6.375 a single half-band gain changes nothing. [Is an IELTS remark worth it](/blog/en/ielts-speaking-remark-eor-worth-it) covers when an Enquiry on Results actually pays off.

## IELTS to CEFR

| IELTS band | CEFR level | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 8.5 – 9.0 | C2 | Fully operational command |
| 7.0 – 8.0 | C1 | Effective operational proficiency |
| 5.5 – 6.5 | B2 | Independent user, most university entry sits here |
| 4.0 – 5.0 | B1 | Modest, limited command |
| 3.0 – 3.5 | A2 | Basic user |

These are broad correspondences, not exact equivalences. [CEFR speaking levels compared](/blog/en/cefr-speaking-levels-exam-comparison) describes what each level sounds like when spoken.

## IELTS Speaking to CLB (Canada)

Canadian immigration converts **each skill separately** using IELTS General Training. Your overall band is not used. This is the Speaking column:

| IELTS Speaking | CLB level |
|---|---|
| 7.5 – 9.0 | CLB 10 |
| 7.0 | CLB 9 |
| 6.5 | CLB 8 |
| 6.0 | CLB 7 |
| 5.5 | CLB 6 |
| 5.0 | CLB 5 |
| 4.0 – 4.5 | CLB 4 |

The jump from CLB 8 to CLB 9 is worth a large number of CRS points, and it is only half a band of Speaking. [IELTS Speaking score and CLB for Express Entry](/blog/en/ielts-speaking-score-clb-express-entry) works through the points arithmetic.

## IELTS to TOEFL iBT and PTE Academic

Indicative concordance, useful for deciding which test to sit rather than for meeting a specific institution's requirement:

| IELTS overall | TOEFL iBT total | PTE Academic |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 118 – 120 | 86 – 90 |
| 8.5 | 115 – 117 | 83 – 85 |
| 8.0 | 110 – 114 | 79 – 82 |
| 7.5 | 102 – 109 | 73 – 78 |
| 7.0 | 94 – 101 | 65 – 72 |
| 6.5 | 79 – 93 | 58 – 64 |
| 6.0 | 60 – 78 | 50 – 57 |
| 5.5 | 46 – 59 | 42 – 49 |
| 5.0 | 35 – 45 | 36 – 41 |

Always check the institution's own table. Universities publish their own conversions and they do not always match the test providers'.

If you are still choosing, [IELTS vs PTE Speaking](/blog/en/ielts-vs-pte-speaking-which-is-easier) compares the two speaking formats, which differ far more than the score tables suggest: one is a conversation with a human examiner, the other is recorded responses scored by an algorithm.

## Which section to push

Given the rounding rule, the section to target is whichever gives you the cheapest half band, not whichever is lowest.

Listening and Reading move with technique and volume of practice, and their raw-score-to-band conversion is steep in the middle: a few extra correct answers can be worth half a band around the 6.0 to 7.0 range.

Speaking is the section most learners under-practise, because it is the hardest to rehearse alone and the only one where you cannot review your answer before submitting it. It is also the section where the gap between a 6.0 and a 7.0 is made of a small number of identifiable habits rather than raw knowledge. [Band 6 vs Band 7 in IELTS Speaking](/blog/en/ielts-speaking-band-descriptors-band-6-vs-7) lists what actually separates them.

## Estimate your Speaking band before test day

The calculator above needs four numbers you may not have yet. Speaking is the one you cannot self-score reliably, because the band descriptors ask for judgements about range and accuracy that are hard to apply to your own recording.

OralPrep runs a full IELTS Speaking simulation with an AI examiner across all three parts and scores each criterion against the official descriptors, so you have a realistic Speaking figure to put into the calculation. [Try OralPrep](https://oralprep.app).

Related: [IELTS Speaking band descriptors explained](/blog/en/ielts-speaking-band-descriptors-explained) and [free IELTS Speaking test online with a band score](/blog/en/free-ielts-speaking-test-online-band-score).

## FAQ

### How is the IELTS overall band score calculated?

Add your four section scores (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking), divide by four, then round to the nearest whole or half band. Averages ending in .25 round up to the next half band and averages ending in .75 round up to the next whole band. Anything below .25 rounds down.

### Does IELTS round 6.25 up or down?

Up, to 6.5. The rule is that an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. So 6.25 becomes 6.5 and 6.75 becomes 7.0.

### What is IELTS 7.0 in CEFR?

IELTS 7.0 to 8.0 corresponds to CEFR C1. Bands 5.5 to 6.5 map to B2, and bands 4.0 to 5.0 map to B1. These are broad bands rather than exact equivalences, because the two systems measure with different instruments.

### What IELTS speaking score do I need for CLB 9?

IELTS Speaking 7.0 gives CLB 9. Speaking 7.5 gives CLB 10, 6.5 gives CLB 8, and 6.0 gives CLB 7. Canadian immigration converts each skill separately, so your overall band is not what counts.

### Can you get a half band in an individual section?

Yes for all four sections. Listening and Reading produce half bands from the raw number of correct answers, and Writing and Speaking are awarded in half bands by examiners against the band descriptors.

### Is 6.5 a good IELTS score?

It meets the entry requirement for most undergraduate courses in the UK and Australia and for many master's programmes. Competitive universities, and most professional registration bodies, ask for 7.0 or above, often with a minimum in each section rather than only an overall band.