IELTS Band Score Calculator

Your IELTS overall band score is the average of your four skill scores (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking), rounded to the nearest 0.5. Example: 7.5 + 6.5 + 7.0 + 7.0 = 28, divided by 4 is 7.0 overall. A student of mine, Priya, scored 6.5 in three skills and 7.5 in Reading last month; her average came to 6.75, which the official rule rounds up to 7.0.

Listening has 40 questions. Your raw score (the number you get right) converts to a band through the official table above, not a direct percentage. 30 to 31 correct gives Band 7; you need 37 or 38 correct for Band 8.5.

Reading also has 40 questions, but Academic and General Training use different conversion tables. The same 30 correct answers gives roughly Band 6.5 on Academic but Band 6 on General Training, so always check which table applies to your test.

The nine-band scale and the rounding rule are identical for both. What differs is the Reading conversion table (General Training is more forgiving for the same raw score) and the Writing and Speaking task content, not the scoring method itself.

Canada's Express Entry system converts each IELTS band to a CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark) level first, then that CLB feeds into your CRS points. Band 7.0 in each skill is roughly CLB 9. Use our CLB and CRS calculators below for the exact figures.

It depends on your purpose. The UK Skilled Worker visa needs B1, around IELTS 4.0 in each skill. Most UK universities ask for 6.0 to 7.0. Competitive programmes often want 7.5 or higher. Canadian Express Entry at CLB 9 needs roughly IELTS 8.0.

Yes. The scale runs from 1 to 9 in half-band steps, so 6.5 and 7.5 are both valid results. Listening and Reading reach an exact half band through the conversion table. Writing and Speaking are marked directly on four criteria, each in 0.5 steps, then averaged.

The Listening and Reading conversion tables here match the official ones published by IDP and the British Council, so those two results are exact. For Writing and Speaking, enter the band an examiner (or our AI Writing Checker) has already given you, since those two skills cannot be worked out from a raw score.