About the IELTS Band Score Calculator
Tezmy's IELTS Band Score Calculator turns your practice-test results into IELTS bands. Choose Academic or General Training, type how many Listening and Reading questions you got right out of 40, and pick your Writing and Speaking bands. It converts each raw score with the right table (General Training Reading needs more correct answers than Academic for the same band), then works out your overall band with the official rule: the average of the four skills, rounded to the nearest half band, with .25 and .75 rounded up. You also see your CEFR level, your Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) for each skill in General Training, and whether you meet common requirements such as a UK Student visa, Canada Express Entry or Australia's English levels.
Updated October 2026
How to use the IELTS Band Score Calculator
- 1Choose Academic or General Training.
- 2Type your Listening and Reading correct answers out of 40 (or switch to Band scores if you already have them).
- 3Pick your Writing and Speaking bands; tick the Task 1 / Task 2 box to estimate Writing from both tasks.
- 4Read your overall band, CEFR level and, optionally, check it against a requirement.
IELTS band scores in brief
- Every skill gets a band from 0 to 9, in half bands.
- Listening and Reading have 40 questions each; your correct answers are turned into a band with a table.
- Writing and Speaking are marked by examiners on four criteria each.
- The overall band is the average of the four skills, rounded to the nearest half band.
- Many requirements also set a minimum for each skill, not just the overall band.
What each band means
- 9: expert user. 8: very good user. 7: good user. 6: competent user. 5: modest user. 4: limited user.
- CEFR levels: C2 for 8.5–9, C1 for 7.0–8.0, B2 for 5.5–6.5, B1 for 4.0–5.0.
- Most universities in English-speaking countries ask for 6.0–7.0 overall; medicine, law and teaching often want 7.0 or more.
- Skilled migration usually asks for 6.0–8.0 in every skill, depending on the country and the points you want.
Using the calculator for practice
After each practice test, enter your Listening and Reading scores straight from the answer key and estimate Writing and Speaking with a teacher's feedback or the public band descriptors. Track your results over a few weeks: the skill furthest from your target is usually where extra practice pays off most. The table at the bottom shows how many more correct answers you need to reach the next band.
Academic or General Training?
Take Academic if you plan to study at university or register for a profession such as nursing or medicine. Take General Training for work, training programmes and migration to Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the UK. Listening and Speaking are the same in both; Reading and Writing differ. While you prepare, build speed and accuracy with the Typing Speed Test, since the computer-delivered exam rewards fast typing. The Word Counter checks your Writing answers against the word limits, the Grammar Checker catches mistakes in practice essays, and CGPA & GPA to Percentage helps with university forms that ask for grades.
Features
- Academic and General Training
- Listening and Reading raw scores to bands
- Official overall band rounding
- Writing estimate from Task 1 and Task 2
- CEFR level and CLB level per skill
- Checks UK visa, Canada CLB 7 / 9 and Australia requirements
- Full table of answers needed for each band
Frequently asked questions
How is the IELTS overall band score calculated?
Add your four band scores (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) and divide by four. The result is rounded to the nearest half band, and averages ending in .25 or .75 are rounded up. For example, 6.25 becomes 6.5, 6.75 becomes 7.0 and 6.125 becomes 6.0.
How many correct answers do I need for band 7?
In Listening, about 30–31 out of 40. In Academic Reading, about 30–32. In General Training Reading, about 34–35. The exact numbers can move by a point from one test to another, because each test is set to the same standard of difficulty.
Why does General Training Reading need more correct answers?
General Training Reading uses everyday texts, such as notices, adverts and workplace documents, which are generally easier than the academic articles in the Academic test. To give the same band for the same level of English, General Training needs more correct answers.
How is the Writing band worked out?
Examiners mark each task on four criteria. Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1. This tool's Task 1 / Task 2 option estimates your Writing band as (Task 1 + 2 × Task 2) ÷ 3, rounded to the nearest half band; the exact rounding used by IELTS isn't published.
What IELTS score do I need for Canada?
For Express Entry, Canada uses Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) from IELTS General Training. CLB 7 needs 6.0 in every skill; CLB 9 needs 8.0 Listening and 7.0 in Reading, Writing and Speaking. Choose General Training to see your CLB for each skill.
What IELTS score do I need for a UK Student visa?
For degree-level study, UK Visas and Immigration asks for CEFR B2, which is 5.5 in each of the four skills on an approved test (IELTS for UKVI). Universities often ask for more, commonly 6.0–7.0 overall, so check your course page.
Is this calculator official?
No. It uses the raw-score tables published with official IELTS practice materials and the official rounding rule, so it is a close estimate for practice tests. Your real result comes only from your official Test Report Form.