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TOEFL and IELTS Score Comparison

Rachel Wisuri

September 21, 2015

The TOEFL vs. Other Tests

We’ve already written a post about the differences between the content of the two exams, TOEFL and IELTS. We’ve also covered which exam is harder (answer: it depends on your skills!). But, you might still be curious about how scores on the two exams compare. Maybe your TOEFL score doesn’t meet the minimum requirement for your target university, and you’re wondering if you’d be more successful taking IELTS instead to meet the requirement, or if you should forget the IELTS and study to take the TOEFL one more time.

In any case, here’s how scores on the two tests compare.

TOEFL and IELTS: Score Comparison

ETS has published data that helps you correlate your TOEFL score to IELTS bands. You can see that information here, and below:

TOEFL Score	IELTS Band
0-31	0-4
32-34	4.5
35-45	5
46-59	5.5
60-78	6
79-93	6.5
94-101	7
102-109	7.5
110-114	8
115-117	8.5
118-120	9

So, if you score a 112 on the TOEFL, that means you should score about an 8 on IELTS (that is, if your performance remains steady!).

Have you taken both exams? Is this data from ETS accurate? Let us know in the comments below! 🙂

Author

Rachel Wisuri

Rachel helps eager students find out about Magoosh. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a super helpful double major in History and French. In her free time she can be found eating peanut butter, drinking five cups of tea per day, and playing with cats.

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32 responses to “TOEFL and IELTS Score Comparison”

pratik

November 14, 2016

I haved scored 62 on my toefl.
11,12,17 and 22
What will be my score band ? Please help me to find my range in ielts.thank you

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  November 16, 2016
  
  Your TOEFL of 62 would be about a 6 on the IELTS, according to the official TOEFL-to-IELTS conversion page on the TOEFL website. If you visit that page and scroll down below the whole-test score comparison tool, you’ll also see conversion charts that show the IELTS equivalents of your individual TOEFL section scores.
  
  Reply
  1. Lakshay Anand
    
    July 10, 2020
    
    Hi, i have 76 on Teofl can you convert to ilets
    
    Reply
    1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
      
      July 24, 2020
      
      According to the chart in this blog post, a 76 on the TOEFL is roughly a 6.5 on the IELTS.
      
      Reply
Chandra

November 23, 2016

I think it’d be inappropriate to compare these two tests head to head. First, the sections vary a lot, especially the speaking section. Also, writing section can be difficult for IELTS takers as compared to TOEFL takers, the former being pen-and-paper based. One of my friends scored an 8.5 on IELTS speaking but few weeks before, she could only achieve a 22 on TOEFL. Besides, her overall IELTS band was 8 as compared to her 102 on TOEFL. She did not practice a single day between these two exams. I think the skills these two tests test are significantly different in several aspects, only similar in broader sense. And perhaps, ETS knows it as it explicitly states that the comparison of the TOEFL and IELTS scores should not be made to set a cut-off score for institutions.

Reply
Ajay

April 11, 2017

Hi how much score do we need in tofel writing to equals to 8 in ielts

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  April 12, 2017
  
  Good question, Ajay!
  
  ETS designed an interactive resource to help students compare TOEFL and IELTS scores, which you can find here. As you’ll see using that tool, an 8 on the IELTS is comparable to a 30 on the TOEFL writing section.
  
  Hope this helps, and happy studying!
  
  Reply
vimal

May 7, 2017

how much score/band is consider as a good score in toefl and IELTS

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  May 8, 2017
  
  Hi Vimal,
  
  That is a highly subjective question that depends on the places you want to enter and their visa/admissions requirements! As a blanket base, I would say 6.5+ in IELTS bands or a 20+ in TOEFL is a good starting point, but the more competitive programs will expect more of you.
  
  Reply
Sana

June 4, 2017

Hello I get 5.5 in ielts and I need to compare it with toefl.please how I can do that
My organization need 550 toefl

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  June 5, 2017
  
  Hi Sana,
  
  The TOEFL score is on a scale from 0-120, so there is no such thing as a 550 TOEFL score! A 5.5 in IELTS corresponds to around a 46-59 score in the TOEFL, which is around the 6-8th percentile. I think you may need to ask about the TOEFL requirement again, and you can use this tool on the ETS website to determine your TOEFL score based on your IELTS. Good luck!
  
  Reply
2. Edward
  
  April 12, 2020
  
  Wait so basically I got 5.5 in IELTS but then I got 102 in toefl so I do not know what my level is.
  
  Reply
  1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
    
    January 15, 2021
    
    Hi Edward, it looks like you did much better in the TOEFL exam, so I’d recommend using that score for any university admissions applications.
    
    Reply
Shabab

July 19, 2017

I scored 8 overall in my IELTS exam. Does that mean it is equivalent to 110-114 range of TOEFL? That’s awesome!

Reply
sai

August 21, 2017

Hi,
I have scored 313 in GRE test( Q167 and V146). Hence to compensate my poor verbal score i want to give another English proficiency test. I want to apply for universities in USA and I’m not sure to write which of these tests, IELTS or TOEFL. Do Universities have any preference?

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  August 23, 2017
  
  Hi Sai,
  
  More universities in the US recognize the TOEFL than the IELTS, but you should make sure that taking an English proficiency test will be a substitute for the verbal score. This is not a guaranteed outcome. If you find out for sure, then go for it! 🙂
  
  Reply
Md Shariful Islam Sozal

April 7, 2018

What is the equivalent speaking score of IELTS for the speaking score of 19 or 20 in TOEFL?

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  April 12, 2018
  
  Thanks for reaching out to Magoosh! ETS has a useful chart for comparing sores between the IELTS and TOEFL. A 19-20 speaking score in TOEFL is roughly a 6-6.5 band in the IELTS.
  
  Reply
Ethan

May 16, 2018

I got 112 in toefl IBT 3 years after reaching IELTS 5.5

Reply
1. David Recine
  
  May 16, 2018
  
  that’s quite an impressive improvement! Way to go, Ethan! 🙂
  
  Reply
Ashish

May 29, 2018

As a rule of thumb, the score comparisons are kinda true. I got 110 for TOEFL and Band 8 in IELTS. But as many people have pointed out here, both exams are different in the way the tests are conducted as well as in content.

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  May 30, 2018
  
  Hi Ashish,
  
  You are absolutely right that the differences in the test make some comparisons difficult! If you get a 105 in the TOEFL today you aren’t guaranteed a 7.5 overall band score in the IELTS tomorrow! These comparisons are taken from a sample of over 1500 students who took both tests, so they provide a good idea of how general English skill level “translates” between the tests 🙂
  
  Reply
JAtinder

July 19, 2018

I haved scored 85 on my toefl.
Reading -15,,listening- 24,,speaking -23,writing-23,
What will be my score band ?(in each module )??Please help me to find my range in ielts.thank you

Reply
1. David Recine
  
  July 22, 2018
  
  For each individual section, multiply your score by 4 to get the whole test equivalent. That would make your Reading 15 a 60 on the chart above. Listening is a 96, and Speaking and Writing are both 92. Based on the table, you have roughly the equivalent of a 6 in IELTS Reading, a 6.5 in IELTS Speaking and IELTS Writing, and a 7 in IELTS Listening.
  
  Reply
Mehdi

September 18, 2018

Hello magoosh
Hope everybody is doing well
My toefl score is 92. speaking 23 ,reading 24, writing 20 ,and listening 25. Is it possible for me to get into any (engineering,for master’s)top university in europe?? By the way I know my question is totally irrelevant😅.but i would appreciate it if you gave me a list or sth, please tell me your opinion as well.

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  September 21, 2018
  
  Hi Mehdi,
  
  Our expertise is in test prep, not admissions advice, so I’m afraid we aren’t the best people to give you this advice, and we don’t really have any lists like that. You can look through the Admissions Section of our blog for some more information, but I don’t think we have anything specifically for European Universities. In any case, you’ll have to do a lot of research on your own to find a school that fits your interests and profile. Good luck!
  
  Reply
Sagar

October 24, 2018

Is 94 a good TOEFL score for a graduate student?

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  October 29, 2018
  
  Hi Sagar,
  
  This really depends on your target school! Each school sets its own TOEFL requirements. Some schools require one score for admission, but have a higher score requirement for funding opportunities like teaching and research assistantships. I recommend that you do some research for your target schools and see what their requirements are! This blog post might also be helpful: https://magoosh.com/toefl/2017/what-is-a-good-toefl-score/
  
  Reply
BELINDA

May 28, 2019

What is the favourable score for TOEFL in order to be considered by a university

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  June 5, 2019
  
  Hi Belinda! Unfortunately we aren’t able to provide admissions help for specific universities. Your best bet is to reach out to your programs directly and ask 🙂 Programs often have a point person who handles requests like these and who can tell you about admissions statistics!
  
  Reply
Meghna Nalamothula

March 24, 2020

I got an 8.0 band in my IELTS (L-9.0, R-8.5, W-7.5, S-7.0). I was honestly expecting an 8.5 but somehow managed to mess up the speaking part. Is 8 good enough for top unis or should i retake for a mere 0.5 increase?

Reply
1. Magoosh Test Prep Expert
  
  March 24, 2020
  
  Hi Meghna!
  
  Thanks for reaching out to us. A band score of 8.0 suggests that you’re a “very good user” of English. With that said, we’re experts in test prep and not in admissions – so we can’t be of very much help! My advice to you would be to take a look at the websites for the schools that you’re interested in and contact them directly about your IELTS score.
  
  This blog post may be a good place to start:
  
  What is a good IELTS score?
  
  Reply