IELTS Band Score Calculator
Your overall IELTS band with the official rounding, and what you need for a target.
Your section bands
Bands go from 1 to 9 in half bands. For Listening or Reading marks out of 40, see the guide further down.
Target planner
| Section | Now | Needed |
|---|
Ways to reach it
Each set is four section bands in any order — the most even sets first.
Listening and Reading: marks out of 40
| Band | Average marks out of 40 |
|---|---|
| 5.0 | 16 |
| 6.0 | 23 |
| 7.0 | 30 |
| 8.0 | 35 |
IELTS publishes only these averages and says the precise marks needed “vary slightly from test version to test version”, so this is a rough guide, not a conversion table.
About the IELTS Band Score Calculator
Choose your Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking bands and the calculator gives your overall band score the way IELTS works it out: the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band — where an average ending in .25 goes up to the next half band and one ending in .75 up to the next whole band. It explains the rounding for your numbers.
The target planner shows what you need for the overall band a university or visa asks for, optionally with a minimum in every section: the total the four bands must reach, how far one section alone would have to rise, and the most even combinations that get there. A separate guide places Listening and Reading marks out of 40 against the only figures IELTS publishes — the average marks for bands 5 to 8 (4 to 7 for General Training Reading).
How to use it
- Choose your band in each of the four sections.
- Read the overall band and how the average was rounded.
- In the target planner, pick the overall band you need and, if required, the minimum for every section.
- Optional: type your Listening or Reading marks out of 40 for a rough band guide.
- Copy result to keep the figures.
Examples
Listening 6.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 5.0, Speaking 7.0
Overall 6.5 — the average ends in .25, so it rounds up to the next half band
Test taker A in IELTS’ own examples.
4.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.0
Overall 4.0 — nearest half band
6.5, 6.5, 5.5, 6.0
Overall 6.0 — rounded down to the nearest half band
7.0, 7.0, 7.0, 6.0
Overall 7.0 — .75 rounds up to the next whole band
Target 7.0
The four bands must add up to 27, e.g. 7.0, 7.0, 6.5, 6.5 or 7.0, 7.0, 7.0, 6.0
How the overall band is rounded
IELTS: “The overall band score is the average of the four section band scores rounded to the nearest half band.” If the average ends in .25 it is rounded up to the next half band, and if it ends in .75 up to the next whole band. Because each section is a whole or half band, the average always ends in .0, .125, .25, .375, .5, .625, .75 or .875: .125 rounds down to .0, .375 up to .5, .625 down to .5 and .875 up to the next whole band.
In other words, the overall band reaches a target T when the four bands add up to at least 4T − 1: 27 for 7.0, 25 for 6.5, 31 for 8.0.
Listening and Reading marks
Both tests have 40 questions of one mark each, and the marks are converted to the 9-band scale. IELTS publishes the average marks at four levels — Listening: 16 for band 5, 23 for 6, 30 for 7, 35 for 8; Academic Reading: 15, 23, 30 and 35 for bands 5 to 8; General Training Reading: 15, 23, 30 and 35 for bands 4 to 7 — and says the precise number of marks needed varies slightly from test version to test version. So the guide only tells you between which published bands your marks fall; it does not invent the steps in between.
Writing and Speaking
Writing is assessed on task achievement (Task 1) or task response (Task 2), coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy; Task 2 carries more weight than Task 1. Speaking is assessed on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation, with equal weight. Examiners award these bands — enter the band from your Test Report Form or your teacher’s estimate.
Source
- IELTS, IELTS scoring in detail — overall band rounding and its worked examples, average marks for Listening and Reading, Writing and Speaking criteria
Limitations
- The overall band on your Test Report Form is the official one; this calculator reproduces the published rounding rule.
- The Listening and Reading guide is approximate: IELTS publishes average marks for only four bands, and the marks needed change slightly between test versions.
- Universities, employers and visa authorities set their own requirements — check theirs for the overall band and any minimum per section.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How is the IELTS overall band score calculated?
Add your four section bands, divide by 4 and round to the nearest half band, rounding .25 up to .5 and .75 up to the next whole band. For 6.5, 6.5, 5.0 and 7.0 the average is 6.25, so the overall band is 6.5.
Is 6.75 rounded to 7 in IELTS?
Yes. An average ending in .75 goes up to the next whole band, so 7.0, 7.0, 7.0 and 6.0 (average 6.75) give an overall 7.0.
What do I need in each section for an overall 7?
Your four bands must add up to at least 27 — for example 7.0, 7.0, 6.5 and 6.5, or 7.5, 6.5, 6.5 and 6.5. If you also need at least 6.5 in every section, choose that minimum in the planner.
How many correct answers do I need for band 7 in Listening?
IELTS gives 30 out of 40 as the average mark for band 7 in Listening (and in Academic Reading); General Training Reading needs about 35 for band 7. The exact number varies slightly between test versions.
Can my overall band be lower than my average?
Yes, when the average ends in .125 or .625 — it is rounded down to the nearest half band. For example 6.5, 6.5, 5.5 and 6.0 average 6.125, which gives an overall 6.0.