IELTS Band Score Calculator
How is the Overall Score Calculated?
The score for each component is equally weighted. The overall band score is calculated by taking the average of the four component scores (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) and rounding to the nearest whole or half band.
iRounding Rules
- Average ends in .25 → Round up to next half band
(e.g. 6.25 becomes 6.5) - Average ends in .75 → Round up to next whole band
(e.g. 6.75 becomes 7.0) - Difference below .25 or .75 → Round down
Band Score Conversion Tables
| Band | Score / 40 |
|---|---|
| 9.0 | 39-40 |
| 8.5 | 37-38 |
| 8.0 | 35-36 |
| 7.5 | 32-34 |
| 7.0 | 30-31 |
| 6.5 | 26-29 |
| 6.0 | 23-25 |
| 5.5 | 18-22 |
| 5.0 | 16-17 |
| Band | Score / 40 |
|---|---|
| 9.0 | 39-40 |
| 8.5 | 37-38 |
| 8.0 | 35-36 |
| 7.5 | 33-34 |
| 7.0 | 30-32 |
| 6.5 | 27-29 |
| 6.0 | 23-26 |
| 5.5 | 19-22 |
| 5.0 | 15-18 |
| Band | Score / 40 |
|---|---|
| 9.0 | 40 |
| 8.5 | 39 |
| 8.0 | 37-38 |
| 7.5 | 36 |
| 7.0 | 34-35 |
| 6.5 | 32-33 |
| 6.0 | 30-31 |
| 5.5 | 27-29 |
| 5.0 | 23-26 |
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How scoring works
How IELTS scoring actually works
IELTS reports five numbers: one band for each of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, plus an overall band. Every band runs from 0 to 9 in half-band steps, and the overall figure is simply the average of the four skills, and no skill counts for more than another. That last point surprises people who assume Writing or Speaking carries extra weight. It does not.
Listening and Reading: raw marks converted to a band
Both papers contain exactly 40 questions and each correct answer is worth one mark. Your raw score out of 40 is then converted to a band using a published table. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, which is why leaving a blank is always worse than guessing: a guess might be right, a blank never is.
Spelling counts. An answer that is right in substance but misspelled is marked wrong, and so is one that breaks the stated word limit. These are among the most common ways candidates lose marks they had genuinely earned.
The Reading conversion differs by module. General Training Reading requires more correct answers than Academic Reading to reach the same band, because the texts are less demanding. A raw 30/40 is not one fixed band, because it depends which paper you sat.
Writing and Speaking: judged against four criteria each
These have no raw score to convert. Writing is assessed on Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. The four are averaged into a band for each task, and Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 in your Writing score. An essay with impressive vocabulary can still be capped by a weak response to the actual question, because Task Achievement is marked separately from the language.
Speaking is assessed on Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Notably, the opinions you express are not marked at all. Candidates lose far more to hesitation and self-correction than to saying something an examiner might disagree with.
The rounding rule that decides your overall band
Your overall band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. Anything below those thresholds rounds down.
The same candidate, one skill apart
Your weakest skill is where preparation pays back fastest. Because the overall band is an average, it can never be higher than your best skill or lower than your worst. If you need an overall 7.0, at least one skill has to sit above 7.0 unless every one of them lands exactly there.
Why per-skill minimums often matter more than the overall
Universities and visa authorities frequently set a floor for each individual skill rather than only an overall figure. A candidate with an overall 7.0 built on a 6.0 in Writing may still fail a requirement that asks for 6.5 in every band. Check the per-skill minimum for your specific course or visa route before deciding that an overall score is sufficient, because meeting the average and missing the floor is a common and expensive surprise.
Questions
Frequently asked
- 1How is the IELTS overall band score calculated?
- Your overall band is the average of your four skill bands, Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and .75 rounds up to the next whole band. For example, 6.5 / 6.5 / 5.0 / 7.0 averages to 6.25, which is reported as 6.5.
- 2Is the raw score to band conversion the same for Academic and General Training?
- Listening uses the same conversion table for both. Reading does not: General Training Reading requires more correct answers than Academic Reading for the same band, because the texts are less demanding. This calculator applies the correct table for the module you select.
- 3Can my overall band be higher than all four of my skill bands?
- No. The overall band is an average, so it can never exceed your highest skill band or fall below your lowest. Rounding can push it up to half a band above the true average, which is why a single extra correct answer in Listening or Reading sometimes moves the overall score.
- 4Are Writing and Speaking scored out of 40 like Listening and Reading?
- No. Listening and Reading are marked out of 40 and converted to a band. Writing and Speaking are assessed directly against four official criteria each, and the criteria are averaged into a band, so there is no raw score to convert.
- 5How accurate is this calculator?
- The overall band calculation follows the official rounding rule exactly and will match your result. The raw-score conversion is an estimate: the real exam adjusts band boundaries slightly between test versions to account for difficulty, so treat the converted band as a close guide rather than a guarantee.