PTE ↔ IELTS
Convert a PTE Academic score to its equivalent IELTS band (with a rough TOEFL note) in either direction.
Nearest concordance row: PTE 65 ≈ IELTS 7.0 (TOEFL iBT roughly 86 — approximate only).
A PTE Academic score of 65 is equivalent to an IELTS band of about 7.0, according to Pearson’s published concordance. PTE Academic is reported on a 10–90 scale, and each score band lines up with a half-point IELTS band — for example, PTE 79 ≈ IELTS 8.0 and PTE 50 ≈ IELTS 6.0. Treat the result as a close guide, not an official score.
How the PTE–IELTS conversion works
PTE Academic, run by Pearson, reports an overall score from 10 to 90 in single points. IELTS reports a band from 0 to 9 in half-point steps. Because admissions teams often quote a minimum in only one test, Pearson published a concordance that lines each PTE score up with the closest IELTS band so the two can be compared.
This tool reads that concordance directly. Enter a PTE score and it returns the nearest listed band; switch direction to start from an IELTS band instead. The mapping is not perfectly linear, so the result snaps to the nearest published row rather than interpolating a number that Pearson never reported.
Reading the table
To convert a PTE Academic 65 to an IELTS band.
- 1 Pick your direction. PTE to IELTS looks up the score; IELTS to PTE finds the nearest score for a band.
- 2 Find the nearest row. A PTE Academic score of 65 sits on the row that maps to IELTS 7.0.
- 3 Read across. So a PTE 65 is comparable to roughly an IELTS band of 7.0 (≈ TOEFL iBT 86, very approximate).
Pearson PTE Academic ↔ IELTS concordance
Pearson’s published PTE–IELTS concordance. The TOEFL column is a rough approximation only, not an official ETS conversion.
| PTE Academic | IELTS band | TOEFL iBT (rough) |
|---|---|---|
| 86 | 9.0 | — |
| 83 | 8.5 | — |
| 79 | 8.0 | ≈ 105 |
| 73 | 7.5 | — |
| 65 | 7.0 | ≈ 86 |
| 58 | 6.5 | ≈ 79 |
| 50 | 6.0 | ≈ 60 |
| 42 | 5.5 | — |
| 36 | 5.0 | — |
| 30 | 4.5 | — |
How accurate is this?
The PTE–IELTS mapping is Pearson’s own published concordance, so it is the most authoritative comparison available — but it is still an estimate of comparable ability, not an exact equivalence. The two tests differ in format and scoring, so an individual result can land a little either side of the listed band.
The TOEFL figures are far rougher. There is no single official PTE-to-TOEFL table, so the few touchpoints shown here (PTE 50 ≈ TOEFL ~60, PTE 58 ≈ ~79, PTE 65 ≈ ~86, PTE 79 ≈ ~105) are approximate guides only — do not quote them as conversions. Always confirm which tests a program accepts and the exact minimum score it requires before relying on any of these numbers.