swap_horiz TOEFL ↔ IELTS ↔ CEFR Converter star

How the Conversion Works

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) splits proficiency into six bands — A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 — running from beginner to near-native. Testing bodies like ETS (TOEFL), Cambridge Assessment English, IELTS and the British Council have each published their own concordance tables that map their exam's raw scores onto these bands. This tool combines those published tables into a single lookup: enter a score on any supported exam and see the CEFR band plus the approximate range on the other exams.

A concrete example: CEFR B2 — the level most universities and employers ask for — roughly lines up with IELTS 5.5-6.5 and TOEFL iBT 72-94. Notice how wide that TOEFL range is: a 72 and a 94 both get labelled "B2," yet they represent quite different levels of fluency. That width is not a flaw in this tool — it is inherent to the source tables themselves, because a 22-point spread on a 120-point test is what the exam boards themselves publish as equivalent to one CEFR level.

Score conversion works in whichever direction you need: CEFR → exam score, exam score → CEFR, or exam → exam (e.g., IELTS → TOEFL) by routing through the shared CEFR band. Because none of the exams were designed as translations of one another, going exam → exam accumulates the uncertainty of two lookups instead of one, so treat cross-exam comparisons as the roughest estimate the tool offers.

What to Keep in Mind

Every number this tool returns is an approximation, not an official or legally binding conversion. Universities, immigration authorities and employers are free to set their own cut-offs and often do — some require a specific IELTS band regardless of what a TOEFL-equivalent calculator says. Where an institution states its own equivalence table, that document always overrides this one.

• The exams do not weigh skills identically: IELTS Speaking is a live conversation with an examiner, TOEFL Speaking is recorded responses to computer prompts, and TOEIC does not test speaking or writing at all in its standard form — so a "matching" score reflects different underlying skills.
• Concordance tables are revised periodically as testing bodies collect new data; this tool uses the most recent publicly published tables, but always confirm against the requirement page of the school or program you are applying to.
• A single test date is a snapshot, not a fixed ability — most test-takers' scores vary by a band or several points between sittings, which is part of why receiving institutions often average two sittings or accept the highest of several attempts.