Duolingo 80 to 90 to IELTS: what band is it?
Quick answer
Duolingo's scoring page relates a Duolingo English Test overall of 80 to 90 to IELTS 5. 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.
iOS and Android
Paid app: what it costs · billing and refunds · support
Part of The IELTS test, answered
For a Duolingo score between 80 and 90, Duolingo’s table gives a single IELTS answer: band 5.
What the table says
The “Understand scoring” page relates an overall of 80, 85 or 90 to IELTS 5. Here the row is three steps wide, like IELTS 6, while 95 begins the IELTS 5.5 row and 75 belongs to IELTS 4.5, a row the general answer lists with the others. Duolingo says research backs its comparison, and IELTS has no table for the Duolingo English Test, so the row is an estimate by the test maker.
IELTS 5 on its own terms
Band 5 is the modest user: partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations but likely to make many mistakes. IELTS treats an overall 5 as borderline between B1 and B2 on “IELTS and the CEFR”. The IELTS 5.0 answer goes into the band.
A sample route to 5
Reading 5.5, Speaking 5, Writing 4.5 and Listening 5 give 20 across the four sections, and 20 over four is 5.0. The mix can differ widely, which the one Duolingo row cannot show.
Using the comparison sensibly
It compares overall scores. It does not commit an institution to anything. Each institution decides which tests it accepts and at what score, so read its own page, and use the Duolingo score it states if it names one. If a page asks for “IELTS 5” and you hold a Duolingo 80, 85 or 90, the table shows you are in the matching row; it does not say whether the page will take your result, nor whether it also sets a minimum for each subscore.
The next bracket up
The row above is Duolingo 95 and 100 for IELTS 5.5. Below this row Duolingo lists 65 to 75 for IELTS 4.5. Try other bands in the band score calculator.
What this means for your score
A requirement written as "IELTS 5 overall" and read against Duolingo's table points to 80 as the lowest score in the row. A 75 sits in the IELTS 4.5 row, and 95 starts the IELTS 5.5 row.
Frequently asked questions
Is Duolingo 80 equal to IELTS 5?
On Duolingo's table, an overall of 80 to 90 relates to IELTS 5. 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
Practise this with instant AI feedback
Record your answer in the app and get your grammar, vocabulary, fluency and pronunciation analysed in seconds.
Paid app: what it costs · billing and refunds · support