IELTS Band Score Calculator
Enter your Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking bands and the calculator applies the rounding rule IELTS publishes to give your overall band, with the working shown. Leave one section blank to see what it would take to reach the overall band you want. Free, no sign-up.
Your section band scores
Bands run from 0 to 9 in half-band steps. Leave one section blank to see what it would need to be.
Overall band
6.0
Overall band score
6.125
Average of the four sections
(6.5 + 6.5 + 5.5 + 6.0) ÷ 4 = 6.125 → 6.0
Rounded down to the nearest half band, as IELTS's rule requires.
Listening and Reading marks (out of 40)
IELTS publishes the average marks for only a few bands, and they vary slightly between test versions. Use them as a guide, not a conversion.
| Band | Average marks out of 40 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 16 |
| 6 | 23 |
| 7 | 30 |
| 8 | 35 |
How to Use the IELTS Band Score Calculator
- 1. Enter your four bands. Type the band for Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, from 0 to 9. Each section is reported in whole or half bands, such as 6 or 6.5.
- 2. Read the overall band. The calculator averages the four sections and rounds the average the way IELTS does. The working line shows the sum, the average and the result.
- 3. Plan a missing section. Leave one box empty and you get a table of the lowest band that section needs for each possible overall band.
- 4. Check your marks. For Listening and Reading, enter your marks out of 40 to see where they sit against the average marks IELTS publishes for each band.
How IELTS Calculates the Overall Band
The overall band score is the average of the four section band scores, rounded to the nearest half band. IELTS spells out the two cases that cause confusion: 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 (IELTS, “IELTS scoring in detail”, retrieved October 2026).
| Average of four sections | Overall band | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 6.125 | 6.0 | Nearer to 6.0 than 6.5, so it rounds down |
| 6.25 | 6.5 | Ends in .25, so it rounds up to the next half band |
| 6.375 | 6.5 | Nearer to 6.5, so it rounds up |
| 6.625 | 6.5 | Nearer to 6.5, so it rounds down |
| 6.75 | 7.0 | Ends in .75, so it rounds up to the next whole band |
| 6.875 | 7.0 | Nearer to 7.0, so it rounds up |
Any average that is already a whole or half band, such as 6.5, is left as it is.
Worked Examples
IELTS's own examples show both directions. A candidate with Listening 6.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 5.0 and Speaking 7.0 has an average of 25 ÷ 4 = 6.25, which becomes an overall band of 6.5. A candidate with 6.5, 6.5, 5.5 and 6.0 has an average of 24.5 ÷ 4 = 6.125, which becomes 6.0. A strong Writing or Speaking score only helps as far as the average moves.
Rounding also helps you plan. Suppose you have 6.5 in Listening, 6.5 in Reading and 6.0 in Writing, and Speaking is still to come. A Speaking band of 6.0 gives an average of 6.25 and an overall 6.5; a Speaking band of 8.0 gives 6.75 and an overall 7.0. The missing-section table in the calculator does this for every possible band.
Listening and Reading: Marks and Bands
Listening and Reading each have 40 questions, scored out of 40, and the marks are converted to a band. IELTS does not publish a full conversion table. It lists the average number of marks scored at a few bands, and says the precise number of marks needed varies slightly from test version to test version. The calculator shows exactly those published figures and nothing more, because the fuller tables on other sites are not issued by IELTS and disagree with one another.
| Band | Listening | Academic Reading | General Training Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | — | — | 15 |
| 5 | 16 | 15 | 23 |
| 6 | 23 | 23 | 30 |
| 7 | 30 | 30 | 35 |
| 8 | 35 | 35 | — |
Average marks out of 40 at each band, as listed by IELTS (retrieved October 2026). Dashes mark bands IELTS does not list. General Training Reading needs more correct answers than Academic Reading for the same band.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How is the IELTS overall band score calculated?
- IELTS averages your Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking bands and rounds the average 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. So 6.25 becomes 6.5 and 6.75 becomes 7.0.
- Does IELTS round up or down?
- It depends on where the average falls. Averages ending in .125 or .625 round down (6.125 becomes 6.0), while those ending in .25, .375, .75 and .875 round up. The rule is the nearest half band, with .25 and .75 deliberately going up.
- How many marks do I need for band 7 in IELTS?
- IELTS lists an average of 30 out of 40 for band 7 in Listening and Academic Reading, and 35 out of 40 for band 7 in General Training Reading. These are averages, and the exact number varies slightly between test versions, so treat them as a guide.
- Is there an official IELTS raw score conversion table?
- IELTS publishes only the average marks at selected bands, not a full table for every half band. Tables for every half band that you see elsewhere are unofficial estimates, and they do not agree with each other.
- Can I retake just one IELTS section?
- IELTS One Skill Retake lets you sit one section again, once per original test and within 60 days of it. It applies only to IELTS on computer taken at a centre that offers the retake, and it is not available for IELTS online. You then get a new Test Report Form with the retake score beside your other three sections, and you choose which form to use (IELTS, retrieved October 2026).
- What IELTS band do I need for university?
- There is no single answer. Each university and course sets its own overall band and often a minimum per section — typically somewhere between 6.0 and 7.5 depending on the course. Always use the requirement published by the institution you are applying to.