Free tool
IELTS Listening Band Score Converter
Set your number of correct answers out of 40 and see the Listening band it converts to, based on the average marks IELTS publishes for each band.
Drag to your number of correct answers out of 40. The band updates as you go.
Listening band
7.0
30 out of 40 is the average IELTS publishes for band 7 in Listening. 5 more marks reach the band 8 average.
- Correct answers
- 30 / 40
- Next published average
- Band 8 at 35
- Marks to reach it
- 5
How a Listening raw score becomes a band
The Listening test has 40 questions worth one mark each, with no penalty for a wrong answer and no partial credit. Your total out of 40 is converted to a band on the 0 to 9 scale. IELTS publishes the average marks for several whole bands rather than a full table:
| Band score | Marks out of 40 |
|---|---|
| 8 | 35 |
| 7 | 30 |
| 6 | 23 |
| 5 | 16 |
These figures come from the scoring guidance IELTS publishes on ielts.org, last checked September 2026. If that guidance changes, this tool changes with it. For the full explanation, including where marks go missing, read IELTS Listening raw score to band score.
Why the result is a range, not a half band
The averages above are not fixed cut-offs. IELTS sets the boundaries for each test version so that the band stays constant across papers of slightly different difficulty, and it says directly that the precise marks needed vary from version to version. A raw score of 33 sits between the band 7 and band 8 averages, so it converts to band 7 or 7.5 depending on where the boundary fell on that version. This tool shows what IELTS publishes and no more.
Once you have a Listening band, it joins Reading, Writing and Speaking in a straight average. Try any combination in the band score calculator, and if you sit Reading too, its conversion differs by test version: see the Reading band score converter.
Frequently asked questions
Is Listening scored the same for Academic and General Training?
Yes. Listening is the same test with the same conversion whichever version you sit, so there is one table to learn. Only Reading converts differently between the two.
Is 22 out of 40 a band 5 or a band 5.5?
Either, depending on the test version. IELTS publishes 16 marks as the band 5 average and 23 as the band 6 average, and the exact boundary between them moves slightly from paper to paper. One more mark reaches the band 6 average.
Do spelling mistakes cost marks in Listening?
Yes. Answers are checked against a fixed key, so a misspelled word earns nothing, an answer over the word limit earns nothing, and a missing plural loses the mark. Both British and American spellings are accepted.
Why does the tool stop at band 8?
Band 8 is the highest average IELTS publishes for Listening, at 35 marks. Band 8.5 and 9 exist, but IELTS gives no average for them, so anything above 35 shows as band 8 or higher rather than a boundary this tool would have to invent.
See your Listening band before test day
A converter tells you what a raw score is worth. A practice test tells you what your raw score is. Sit a full Listening test, score it honestly against the key, and convert the result.