IELTS Band Score Calculator and Rounding Rules

IELTS reports five numbers: a band for each of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, plus an overall band. The overall band is the average of the four, rounded — and the rounding rule is precise enough that one half-band in one skill can move your overall score.

Everything below uses the figures IELTS publishes. Where IELTS does not publish a figure, this page says so rather than filling the gap.

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Key Takeaways

• Listening and Reading are scored out of 40 raw marks, then converted to the 9-band scale.
• IELTS publishes average marks per band, not a fixed conversion table — the exact marks vary slightly between test versions.
• Official Listening averages: band 5 = 16 marks, band 6 = 23, band 7 = 30, band 8 = 35.
• Official Academic Reading averages: band 5 = 15 marks, band 6 = 23, band 7 = 30, band 8 = 35.
• The overall band is the average of the four skills: an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and .75 rounds up to the next whole band.

IELTS band score calculator

Pick your four skill bands and press Calculate to get your overall band, or enter your correct answers out of 40 to get an estimated Listening or Reading band.

Listening and Reading results are estimates. IELTS publishes average marks per band, and the exact marks needed vary slightly between test versions.

The official average marks per band

IELTS states that scores out of 40 are converted to the 9-band scale, and publishes average marks at selected bands. It also states that the precise number of marks needed varies slightly from test version to test version.

Band	Listening: average marks out of 40	Academic Reading: average marks out of 40
5	16	15
6	23	23
7	30	30
8	35	35

Two things follow. Academic Reading needs one mark fewer than Listening at band 5 and the same from band 6 upward. And the step from band 7 to band 8 is five marks, two fewer than the seven from 6 to 7 — the scale is not steeper at the top in raw terms, though the questions are harder.

Why there is no exact conversion table

Fact	Consequence for you
IELTS publishes averages, not cut scores	Any table claiming “32 marks = band 7.5” is an estimate
Marks needed vary between test versions	The same raw score can give different bands on different papers
Both sections have 40 questions and 1 mark each	A Listening Part 1 form question is worth the same as a Part 4 lecture question
No penalty for wrong answers	Never leave a box empty in either section

The practical reading of this: treat any raw score as a band range. Thirty marks is band 7 territory; whether a given paper puts 31 at 7 or 7.5 is not something you can plan around.

The overall band score rule

The overall band is the average of the four skill bands, rounded to the nearest half band. IELTS states the rule for the two boundary cases explicitly: an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.

L	R	W	S	Average	Overall
7.0	7.0	6.5	7.0	6.875	7.0
7.5	7.0	6.0	6.5	6.75	7.0 — .75 rounds up to the whole band
7.0	6.5	6.0	6.5	6.5	6.5
6.5	6.5	6.0	6.0	6.25	6.5 — .25 rounds up to the half band
8.0	7.5	6.5	7.0	7.25	7.5
6.0	6.0	5.5	6.0	5.875	6.0
7.0	7.0	5.5	6.0	6.375	6.5

Row two is the one worth understanding. Four skills averaging 6.75 report as an overall 7.0, which means a candidate needing 7.0 overall does not need 7.0 in every skill.

Which combinations reach a target overall band

Because the four bands are averaged, the total across the four skills is what matters. To reach an overall band you need the following totals.

Target overall	Minimum total of the four bands	Example combination
6.0	23.0	6.5 + 6.0 + 5.5 + 5.0
6.5	25.0	7.0 + 6.5 + 6.0 + 5.5
7.0	27.0	7.5 + 7.0 + 6.5 + 6.0
7.5	29.0	8.0 + 7.5 + 7.0 + 6.5
8.0	31.0	8.5 + 8.0 + 7.5 + 7.0

This is why a strong Listening score is worth building even if your Writing is the weak skill: the average does not care which skill supplied the marks. Many organisations do, however, set a minimum per skill as well as an overall score, so check the specific requirement rather than the overall alone.

The nine bands and what they are called

Band	Name
9	Expert
8	Very good
7	Good
6	Competent
5	Modest
4	Limited
3	Extremely limited
2	Intermittent
1	Non-user

How Writing and Speaking are scored

Writing and Speaking are not raw-mark sections. An examiner awards a band on each of four criteria, and the criteria carry equal weight within the skill.

Writing criteria	Speaking criteria
Task achievement (Task 1) / task response (Task 2)	Fluency and coherence
Coherence and cohesion	Lexical resource
Lexical resource	Grammatical range and accuracy
Grammatical range and accuracy	Pronunciation

Within Writing, the two tasks are not equal: Task 2 contributes twice as much to the Writing band as Task 1. A candidate who spends 30 minutes on Task 1 and 30 on Task 2 has misallocated the time, which is why the recommended split is 20 and 40 minutes.

Which skill to push first

Your profile	Push	Why
Listening and Reading well above Writing and Speaking	Writing	Writing is usually the lowest of the four, and Task 2 carries double weight within it
Reading behind Listening by a band or more	Reading	Usually timing, not comprehension — unattempted questions are the single biggest loss
Speaking a half band behind the rest	Speaking	The fastest half band available: extending answers moves fluency and coherence directly
All four within a half band of each other	Listening	Raw-mark section with the most technique-dependent marks available
Overall 0.25 short of target	Any half band anywhere	.25 rounds up, so one half band in one skill is enough

Scoring facts worth knowing before test day

1. Listening and Reading have 40 questions each, one mark per question, no penalty for a wrong answer. Fill every box.
2. Spelling and word limits are marked in Listening and Reading. A correct answer spelled wrongly or written over the limit scores zero.
3. On paper, Listening gives extra time to transfer answers to the answer sheet; Reading does not. The Reading 60 minutes includes transfer.
4. Writing Task 1 has a 150-word minimum and Task 2 a 250-word minimum, and Task 2 is worth twice as much.
5. The overall band is an average of four numbers, so no single skill decides it — unless the organisation you are applying to sets a per-skill minimum, which many do.

FAQ

Is there an official IELTS band score conversion table?

Not a fixed one. IELTS states that raw scores out of 40 are converted to the 9-band scale and publishes average marks at selected bands — 16 marks for band 5 in Listening, 23 for band 6, 30 for band 7, 35 for band 8 — while noting that the precise marks needed vary slightly between test versions.

How is the IELTS overall band score calculated?

It is the average of the four skill bands, 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, so 6.75 reports as 7.0 and 6.25 reports as 6.5.

How many marks do I need for band 7 in IELTS Reading?

Around 30 out of 40 on average for Academic Reading, which is the same average as Listening at band 7. The exact figure varies by test version, so treat 30 as the middle of a band 7 range rather than a threshold.

Do I need band 7 in every skill to get 7.0 overall?

No. Because the overall band is an average, a combination such as 7.5 Listening, 7.0 Reading, 6.5 Writing and 6.0 Speaking averages 6.75 and reports as 7.0. Many institutions do set a minimum per skill in addition to an overall requirement, so check the specific rule that applies to you.

Are Writing Task 1 and Task 2 worth the same?

No. Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing band, which is why the recommended time split is about 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 on Task 2.

Is Academic Reading marked differently from General Training Reading?

The band conversion differs between the two. The official averages on this page are the Academic figures; the calculator above also gives an estimate for General Training (General Reading). Both have 40 questions with one mark each, but the marks needed for a given band are not the same.

Related practice resources

• IELTS Reading Passage 1 practice
• IELTS Listening Part 1 practice
• IELTS cheat sheet

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