PTE 63 to 70 to IELTS: what band is it?
Quick answer
In Pearson's concordance with IELTS Academic, overall PTE Academic scores from 63 to 70 relate to IELTS 7. The figure 63 is the minimum Pearson ties to band 7, and 71 starts the 7.5 row. These are overall scores compared on Pearson's own estimate; IELTS publishes no PTE table.
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Part of The IELTS test, answered
Many requirements ask for IELTS 7, and 63 is the PTE Academic score Pearson relates to it. This page takes the eight scores from 63 to 70, from Pearson’s scoring page as read on 3 November 2026. The full table is on the IELTS to PTE answer.
How Pearson places 63 to 70
On the concordance each PTE figure is a minimum, so a score sits in the highest row whose figure it reaches. Band 7 begins at 63 and band 7.5 at 71, which makes 63 through 70 the IELTS 7 row. Pearson compares overall scores only and says the table does not show which tests or scores universities and visa authorities accept.
The bottom and top of the row
Sixty-three is the line that most requirements care about: 62 is one short and belongs to the 6.5 row. Sixty-five and 68 are comfortably inside, and 70 is the last score before 71 lifts a result into the 7.5 row. A single point at either end changes the band Pearson relates to it.
What IELTS band 7 means
Band 7 is the “good user” level in IELTS.org’s descriptions: operational command of the language, with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. Band 6 beneath it is the “competent user” and band 8 above it the “very good user”. IELTS’s alignment puts overall bands 7 to 8 at CEFR C1, so 7 is the first band IELTS places there, one half band above the top of B2. See is band 7 in IELTS good.
An overall 7 with a weaker section
Listening 7.5, Reading 7.0, Writing 6.5 and Speaking 6.5 add up to 27.5, which averages 6.875. The overall is the average rounded to the nearest half band, with .25 and .75 going up, so 6.875 becomes 7.0. Take Writing and Speaking down to 6.0 each and the total is 26.5, an average of 6.625, which rounds to 6.5.
Before you rely on it
Check the institution’s own page for the test it accepts and the figure it names. The rows next door are PTE 71 to 78 for IELTS 7.5 and PTE 55 to 62 for IELTS 6.5; the band score calculator checks your IELTS average.
What this means for your score
A condition of "IELTS 7 or equivalent" met with PTE Academic is read from 63. A 70 is still IELTS 7 on this table, whereas 62 sits in the 6.5 row.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PTE score of 63 equal to IELTS 7?
Pearson relates 63 to IELTS 7 as the lowest score for that band; everything up to 70 stays in the row. It is Pearson's estimate for overall scores and not an IELTS figure.
Is PTE accepted instead of IELTS by universities?
Whether it is accepted, and at what score, is for each institution to say. Pearson notes that the table shows nothing about accepted tests or requirements, so the admissions page decides.
Which one is easier, PTE or IELTS?
There is no published difficulty comparison from either Pearson or IELTS. The table sets scores beside each other and no more.
What happens to my section scores?
They are outside this table, which covers overall scores and offers no section figures. IELTS reports four section bands and averages them for the overall, so a PTE overall does not turn into IELTS section bands. Where section minimums are asked, the page will name the PTE ones.
Sources
- PTE Academic scoring: how PTE Academic relates to the CEFR and to IELTS Academic — Pearson
- IELTS scoring in detail: band scores explained — IELTS.org
- IELTS and the CEFR — IELTS.org
Last verified 3 Nov 2026
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