IELTS Band Score Calculator
Convert your Listening and Reading raw scores out of 40 into band scores using the indicative conversion tables IELTS publishes, then combine all four skills to work out your overall band with the official rounding rule applied automatically.
Work Out Your Band Scores
Enter your raw scores below. Results update instantly and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Listening
Raw score out of 40
Enter a score from 0 to 40 to see your band.
Reading
Raw score out of 40
Enter a score from 0 to 40 to see your band.
Overall Band Score
Pick your four section scores
Select all four scores to see your overall band.
What Do You Need for Your Target?
Pick your target overall band, then fill in any three of the four skills and leave the one you're solving for blank.
Select a target band, then leave exactly one skill blank.
IELTS Conversion Tables
The indicative raw-score-to-band conversions IELTS publishes for Listening and Reading — the same tables the calculators above use.
Listening (Academic & General Training)
| Raw score (out of 40) | Band score |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 32–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–31 | 7.0 |
| 26–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–25 | 6.0 |
| 18–22 | 5.5 |
| 16–17 | 5.0 |
| 13–15 | 4.5 |
| 11–12 | 4.0 |
| 8–10 | 3.5 |
| 6–7 | 3.0 |
| 4–5 | 2.5 |
| 0–3 | below 2.5 |
Reading — Academic
| Raw score (out of 40) | Band score |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 33–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–32 | 7.0 |
| 27–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–26 | 6.0 |
| 19–22 | 5.5 |
| 15–18 | 5.0 |
| 13–14 | 4.5 |
| 10–12 | 4.0 |
| 8–9 | 3.5 |
| 6–7 | 3.0 |
| 4–5 | 2.5 |
| 0–3 | below 2.5 |
Reading — General Training
| Raw score (out of 40) | Band score |
|---|---|
| 40 | 9.0 |
| 39 | 8.5 |
| 37–38 | 8.0 |
| 36 | 7.5 |
| 34–35 | 7.0 |
| 32–33 | 6.5 |
| 30–31 | 6.0 |
| 27–29 | 5.5 |
| 23–26 | 5.0 |
| 19–22 | 4.5 |
| 15–18 | 4.0 |
| 12–14 | 3.5 |
| 9–11 | 3.0 |
| 6–8 | 2.5 |
| 0–5 | below 2.5 |
How the overall band is rounded
IELTS averages your four section scores, then rounds that average 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 — both round up rather than to the nearest neighbour.
- 6.125 average → rounds down to 6.0
- 6.25 average → rounds up to 6.5
- 6.75 average → rounds up to 7.0
A note on accuracy
The tables above are the indicative Listening and Reading conversions IELTS publishes for candidate preparation. The exact raw-to-band mapping is set separately for every test version and can shift by a mark or two, so treat results here as a close estimate rather than your official score. Writing and Speaking have no raw-score table at all — both are marked directly by an examiner against the four assessment criteria, so there is no raw count to convert.
Listening and Reading Are Objective. Speaking and Writing Are Not.
A raw score turns into a Listening or Reading band by table lookup — there's no judgment involved. Speaking and Writing have no such table: an examiner scores them against four criteria, and that's exactly where most candidates lose half a band without realizing it. IELTS Mentor AI scores your Speaking and Writing against those same four criteria and returns a band range, so you can see where the half-band is slipping away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about how IELTS band scores are calculated and rounded.
How is the IELTS overall band calculated?
IELTS averages your four section scores (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) and rounds the result to the nearest whole or half band. An average ending in .25 is rounded up to the next half band, and an average ending in .75 is rounded up to the next whole band.
Is the Listening conversion the same for Academic and GT?
Yes. The Listening test and its raw-score-to-band conversion are identical for both the Academic and General Training versions of IELTS. Only the Reading conversion differs between the two.
Why is my Reading band lower than my Listening band with the same raw score?
The Academic Reading test is considered more linguistically demanding than Listening, so its conversion table generally requires a higher raw score to reach the same band. General Training Reading is more lenient than both, since its texts are less complex.
Does IELTS round 6.25 up or down?
Up. An overall average of 6.25 is rounded up to 6.5 under the official IELTS rounding rule. Only .75 averages round up to the next whole band; .25 averages round up to the next half band.
Are half bands possible in each section?
Yes for all four sections. Listening and Reading band scores land on whole or half bands because of how raw scores map onto the conversion tables, and Writing and Speaking are scored directly in whole and half bands by examiners against the four criteria.
How do I work out what I need in one skill to reach my target overall band?
Fix the three skills you already know or expect, then test candidate scores for the remaining one from 0.0 upward in half-band steps. For each candidate, average all four scores and round using the official IELTS rule. The first candidate whose rounded overall meets your target is the minimum you need in that skill. If even a 9.0 in that skill isn't enough, your target isn't reachable with those three scores, and the best possible overall is whatever a 9.0 there rounds to.