Duolingo 105 to 115 to IELTS: what band is it?
Quick answer
Duolingo's scoring page relates a Duolingo English Test overall of 105 to 115 to IELTS 6. The table compares overall scores only, and it is Duolingo's own estimate: IELTS publishes no Duolingo table. Each institution decides which tests it accepts and at what score.
Practise what this page describes in the app: Speaking and Writing marked on the four official criteria as a band range, Reading and Listening tests marked the moment you finish.
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Part of The IELTS test, answered
The widest row on Duolingo’s table is the one for IELTS 6, and it holds three scores: 105, 110 and 115.
Three scores, one band
Duolingo’s “Understand scoring” page relates an overall of 105, 110 or 115 to IELTS 6. The edges matter in practice: 100 belongs to the IELTS 5.5 row, and 120 starts IELTS 6.5. So a 115 and a 105 get the same IELTS reading even though they are two steps apart. This is Duolingo’s comparison, supported, it says, by its research; IELTS publishes no Duolingo table. The general answer has the full table.
IELTS 6 as IELTS describes it
Band 6 is the competent user: effective command despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings, able to use and understand reasonably complex language, particularly in familiar situations. Overall bands 5.5 to 6.5 are B2 on “IELTS and the CEFR”. The IELTS 6.0 answer covers it further.
Reaching an overall 6
Speaking 6, Listening 6.5, Reading 6 and Writing 5.5 total 24, an average of 6.0. Lower scores in one section can be balanced by others, but only the overall is compared in this table.
Limits of the comparison
It does not decide acceptance. Each institution decides which tests it accepts and at what score, so read its own page, and where it names a Duolingo score, rely on that. If a page asks for “IELTS 6” and you hold a Duolingo 105, 110 or 115, the table tells you which row you are in; it does not tell you whether the page will take your result, nor whether it wants the four subscores to clear their own minimums.
The rows either side
The next row up is Duolingo 120 and 125 for IELTS 6.5 and the next down is Duolingo 95 and 100 for IELTS 5.5. Use the band score calculator for section averages.
What this means for your score
A requirement written as "IELTS 6 overall" and read against Duolingo's table points to 105 as the lowest score in the row. A 100 sits in the IELTS 5.5 row, and 120 starts the IELTS 6.5 row.
Frequently asked questions
Is Duolingo 105 equal to IELTS 6?
On Duolingo's table, an overall of 105 to 115 relates to IELTS 6. It is Duolingo's comparison of overall scores, not an IELTS figure, and where an institution states its own Duolingo requirement, that figure is what counts.
Do universities accept Duolingo instead of IELTS?
Only each institution can say. Neither test maker decides for the institutions that accept their scores, so read the admissions, employer or visa page you are applying through for the tests it accepts and the score it asks for on each.
Is Duolingo easier than IELTS?
Neither test maker publishes a difficulty comparison. Duolingo's table relates scores to IELTS bands; it says nothing about which test is harder, and a page that claims otherwise is not quoting either official source.
How do I convert section scores?
Duolingo publishes a similar comparison for its four subscores against the IELTS section bands on its scoring page, and the table on this page covers overall scores only. Read each section on Duolingo's own page; IELTS reports the overall as the average of the four sections to the nearest half band, which the band score calculator shows.
Sources
- Understand scoring: overall score comparison — Duolingo English Test
- IELTS scoring in detail: band scores explained — IELTS.org
- IELTS and the CEFR — IELTS.org
Last verified 3 Nov 2026
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