By English Test Coach · Updated
Free calculator · Official rounding rule
IELTS band score calculator
Your overall IELTS band is the average of your Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking bands, 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. For example, 7 + 6.5 + 6 + 7 = 26.5; divided by 4 that is 6.625, which rounds to 6.5.
Choose your four bands to see your overall band and how it was rounded. You can also estimate a Listening or Reading band from your marks out of 40, or a Writing band from your Task 1 and Task 2 bands. The calculator works in your browser and nothing you enter is saved.
Work out your overall band
Choose your band for each section. Use real results, or your best estimate from practice.
Choose a band for all four sections to see your overall band.
This uses the official rounding rule. Only an official IELTS test report gives you an official band.
Estimate a Listening or Reading band from your marks
Enter how many of the 40 questions you answered correctly in a full practice test.
Whole numbers only.
Your estimate will appear here.
Estimate your Writing band from Task 1 and Task 2
Task 2 is worth twice as many marks as Task 1. IELTS does not publish how the combined Writing band is rounded, so this result is an estimate.
Choose a band for both tasks.
How the overall band is calculated
- Add your four section bands. Add your Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking bands together. Each is reported from 0 to 9 in whole or half bands.
- Divide the total by four. The result is your average. For example, 7 + 6.5 + 6 + 7 = 26.5, and 26.5 ÷ 4 = 6.625.
- Round 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. Otherwise, use the nearest whole or half band: 6.625 becomes 6.5.
These are the official examples from IELTS scoring in detail:
| Example | Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking | Average | Overall band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test taker A | 6.5, 6.5, 5.0, 7.0 | 6.25 | 6.5 |
| Test taker B | 4.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.0 | 3.875 | 4.0 |
| Test taker C | 6.5, 6.5, 5.5, 6.0 | 6.125 | 6.0 |
Each section counts equally. A strong Listening band can make up for a weaker Writing band in the overall score, but many universities and visa routes also set a minimum for each section.
Listening and Reading: marks needed for each band
Listening and Reading each have 40 questions worth one mark. IELTS publishes the average number of correct answers needed for some bands. The precise number changes slightly from one test version to another.
| Section | Average marks out of 40, and the band they give |
|---|---|
| Listening | 16 → band 5 · 23 → band 6 · 30 → band 7 · 35 → band 8 |
| Academic Reading | 15 → band 5 · 23 → band 6 · 30 → band 7 · 35 → band 8 |
| General Training Reading | 15 → band 4 · 23 → band 5 · 30 → band 6 · 35 → band 7 |
General Training Reading needs more correct answers than Academic Reading for the same band: about 30 marks give band 7 in Academic Reading but band 6 in General Training. Tables that list a precise band for every mark are unofficial, and they often disagree with each other. That is why the calculator shows a range when your marks fall between two reference points. Read our guide to IELTS Listening band scores for how answers are marked and where marks are usually lost.
How Writing and Speaking are scored
Writing and Speaking have no marks to count. Examiners award a band for each of four criteria with equal weight.
- Writing: task achievement (Task 1) or task response (Task 2), coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. According to IELTS Australia, Task 2 is worth twice as many marks as Task 1.
- Speaking: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.
Our plain-English guide to the Writing band descriptors explains what separates bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 in each criterion.
Why half a band in Writing matters
With Listening 7, Reading 7, Writing 6 and Speaking 6.5, the average is 6.625, so the overall band is 6.5. Raise Writing to 6.5 and the average becomes 6.75, which rounds up to 7.0. Writing is often the lowest section, so it is usually the one worth working on first. To find the lowest Writing band that reaches your target, use the Writing band needed tool.
What each IELTS band means
Every IELTS band describes a level of English. This is a summary in our own words of the official 0 to 9 band scale.
| Band | Level | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Expert user | Full command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent, with complete understanding. |
| 8 | Very good user | Full command with only occasional, unsystematic errors. Unfamiliar situations may cause some misunderstanding. |
| 7 | Good user | Operational command with occasional errors and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and follows detailed reasoning. |
| 6 | Competent user | Effective command despite some errors and misunderstandings. Uses and understands fairly complex language, especially in familiar situations. |
| 5 | Modest user | Partial command. Copes with overall meaning in most situations but makes many mistakes. |
| 4 | Limited user | Basic competence in familiar situations, with frequent problems in understanding and expression. |
| 3 | Extremely limited user | Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations, with frequent breakdowns. |
| 2 | Intermittent user | Great difficulty understanding spoken and written English. |
| 1 | Non-user | No ability to use the language beyond a few isolated words. |
| 0 | Did not attempt the test | The questions were not answered. |
A half band, such as 6.5, sits between the two descriptions around it.
Questions about IELTS band scores
How is the IELTS overall band score calculated?
Add your Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking bands, divide by four and round 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.
Does 6.25 round up to 6.5 in IELTS?
Yes. An overall average of 6.25 is rounded up to 6.5. An average of 6.125 is rounded down to 6, because 6 is the nearest half band.
Is an average of 6.75 rounded to 7?
Yes. An average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band, so 6.75 becomes an overall band of 7.
How many correct answers do I need for band 7 in IELTS Listening?
Official IELTS guidance gives an average of 30 correct answers out of 40 for band 7 in Listening and Academic Reading, and 35 for band 7 in General Training Reading. The exact number varies slightly between test versions.
Is IELTS 7.5 a good score?
Band 7 describes a good user of English and band 8 a very good user, so 7.5 sits between the two. Whether it is good enough depends on your goal, so check the exact overall and section scores your university, employer or visa route asks for.
Does Writing Task 2 count more than Task 1?
Yes. Task 2 is worth twice as many marks as Task 1, so a weaker essay pulls your Writing band down more than a weaker report or letter.
How are Task 1 and Task 2 combined into a Writing band?
Task 2 is worth twice as many marks as Task 1, so the calculator takes a weighted average: Task 1 plus twice Task 2, divided by three. IELTS does not publish how the combined Writing band is rounded, so the half band shown is our estimate.
How long is an IELTS score valid?
The IELTS partners recommend treating a result as evidence of your current English for a maximum of two years from the test date, because language skills can fade. Each university, employer or visa authority decides which results it accepts, so check its own rule; some may accept an older result with proof that you have kept up your English. Source: ielts.org, Verifying IELTS results (checked 15 October 2026).
Is this an official IELTS calculator?
No. English Test Coach is independent of IELTS, the British Council, IDP and Cambridge. The overall band uses the official rounding rule, but Listening, Reading and Writing estimates are approximate. For a Writing estimate based on your own response, use our AI writing checker.
Know your Writing band before test day
Write a timed Task 1 or Task 2 response and get an estimated band for each of the four writing criteria, with the evidence behind it and what to fix first. Your first check needs no account.
Sources: IELTS scoring in detail (ielts.org) for the rounding rule, examples and average marks; Writing band scores (IELTS Australia) for Task 2 weighting. Checked 13 October 2026.