If a university asks for "IELTS 6.5 or equivalent," what does that actually mean in TOEFL or PTE Academic terms? Conversion tables exist to answer this, but they come from several different sources — IELTS's own administrators, ETS (which owns TOEFL), Pearson (which owns PTE Academic), and the Council of Europe (which maintains the CEFR framework) — and they don't always agree with each other down to the point. This guide lays out the most widely used conversion table and explains exactly how much weight to put on it.
The Master Conversion Table
| IELTS Band | TOEFL iBT (0–120) | PTE Academic (10–90) | CEFR Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 118–120 | 85–90 | C2 |
| 8.5 | 115–117 | 81–84 | C2 |
| 8.0 | 110–114 | 76–80 | C1 (upper) |
| 7.5 | 102–109 | 73–75 | C1 |
| 7.0 | 94–101 | 65–72 | C1 |
| 6.5 | 79–93 | 58–64 | B2 (upper) |
| 6.0 | 60–78 | 50–57 | B2 |
| 5.5 | 46–59 | 43–49 | B1 (upper) |
| 5.0 | 35–45 | 36–42 | B1 |
| 4.5 | 32–34 | 30–35 | A2/B1 borderline |
| 4.0 | 31 and below | below 30 | A2 |
How to read this table: each row represents a band of scores that different institutions treat as roughly equivalent — not an exact mathematical mapping. A candidate scoring IELTS 7.0 could reasonably score anywhere from 94–101 on TOEFL iBT depending on which skill (reading, listening, speaking, writing) is strongest, because the two tests measure language ability through different task formats.
Why These Numbers Don't Line Up Perfectly
The tests measure English differently
IELTS Speaking is a live, face-to-face interview with an examiner. TOEFL Speaking is recorded responses to prompts, scored later (often by a mix of AI and human raters). PTE Academic is fully computer-delivered and machine-scored, including its speaking section. Two candidates with genuinely identical English ability can land in different relative positions on each test simply because of how the test format rewards different skills — for example, PTE's integrated skills scoring (where speaking and writing responses can affect reading/listening scores) has no equivalent in IELTS or TOEFL.
Each conversion table comes from a different source
- IELTS/British Council and IDP publish their own comparison guidance aligning IELTS bands to CEFR levels, based on empirical research studies conducted on test-taker performance.
- ETS (TOEFL's owner) publishes its own TOEFL-to-IELTS concordance tables, built from studies of test-takers who sat both exams.
- Pearson (PTE's owner) publishes its own PTE-to-IELTS and PTE-to-CEFR mapping.
- CEFR itself is maintained by the Council of Europe and was never designed with any specific test in mind — it's a general framework for describing language proficiency (A1 through C2) that all three testing bodies map their own scores onto independently.
Because each organization runs its own concordance studies with its own methodology and sample of test-takers, the published tables are broadly consistent with each other but not identical — you'll sometimes see IELTS 6.5 listed as TOEFL 79 in one source and TOEFL 80 in another.
These are approximate equivalencies, not identical measurements
Treat every number in the table above as a midpoint estimate, not a guarantee. The same person could sit IELTS and TOEFL in the same month and score at slightly different relative levels on each, simply due to test-day variation, format familiarity, or which skill each test happens to weight more heavily in its overall score.
Always Confirm With the Specific Institution
This is the most important caveat on this entire page: universities are not obligated to use any published conversion table, and many use their own. A university might state "IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 79" as equivalent minimums on its general admissions page, while a specific competitive program within that same university requires IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 100 — a stricter standard than the standard published conversion would suggest. Some institutions also set different minimums per skill (e.g., no individual band below 6.0) that don't show up in a single overall-score conversion table at all.
Before relying on a conversion table to decide which test to take, check:
- The specific program's admissions page — not just the university's general international admissions page
- Whether minimum skill-by-skill scores apply, in addition to (or instead of) an overall score
- Whether the university explicitly states it accepts your intended test — some programs accept IELTS and TOEFL but not PTE, or vice versa
- Whether the score requirement differs for visa purposes versus admissions purposes (in the UK, for instance, Student visa requirements are set separately from a university's own academic entry requirements)
A Note on TOEFL's Reporting Scale
TOEFL iBT scores are reported on the traditional 0–120 total scale, made up of four section scores (Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing) each out of 30. As of this writing, that remains the scale used for official score reports and the scale universities reference in their admissions requirements. If you see TOEFL scores referenced elsewhere using a different band-style scale, verify directly on the ETS TOEFL website before assuming it applies to your score report — score-reporting formats are occasionally updated, and the safest source of truth is always ETS's own current documentation rather than a secondary table.
Quick Reference: Common University Minimums and Their Typical Equivalents
| Requirement Level | IELTS | TOEFL iBT | PTE Academic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitive graduate programs | 7.0–7.5 | 100–105 | 65–73 |
| Standard graduate admission | 6.5 | 79–90 | 58–64 |
| Standard undergraduate admission | 6.0–6.5 | 71–90 | 50–64 |
| Foundation/pathway programs | 5.5–6.0 | 46–78 | 43–57 |
These are illustrative bands reflecting commonly seen requirements — not a substitute for checking your target program's published minimums.
The Bottom Line
Use the conversion table on this page to get a general sense of where you stand, or to decide which test format might suit your strengths better. But the moment you have a specific university and program in mind, switch to their published score requirements directly. Conversion tables are a starting point for planning your test prep — not the document that determines your admission.
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