TOEFL to IELTS Score Conversion

December 28, 2018

Preparing for the TOEFL is an investment of time, energy, as well as finances, depending on your course of study. However, if you reside in another country and are aiming for a spot at a university or college in the English-speaking world, the TOEFL is crucial for admittance success.

Similarly, the IELTS is an English assessment used to screen candidates for schools as well as emigration purposes. If you are immersed in the world of English language learning, you are probably curious about what your projected IELTS score would be based on your TOEFL score. This is only natural, especially since the tests are similar in format and subject matter.

If you have your TOEFL score handy—either from a practice test or a real one—then you can most certainly determine what your IELTS score would be, thanks to some very helpful conversion charts. Let's dive in and walk away with some answers—more specifically, scores!

TOEFL vs. IELTS: The Basics

Before getting into composite and sectional scores, it's important to take a look at some differences and similarities between the TOEFL and IELTS. Below is a table chronicling the major aspects of each exam to provide a "macro viewpoint" as to what makes these tests unique and different from one another.

Upon preparing for the TOEFL, the fundamentals about the exam you probably already know, but juxtaposed with the IELTS hopefully sheds some light.

	TOEFL	IELTS
Length of Exam	3.5 hours	2 hours, 45 minutes
Scoring Range	0-120	0-9
Order of Sections	Reading Listening Speaking Writing	Listening Reading Writing Speaking
Who accepts it?	Over 9,000 institutions	Over 9,000 institutions

TOEFL vs. IELTS Conversion: Total Score

Nothing beats determining your composite IELTS score with your TOEFL score handy. Below is a breakdown of how ranges on the TOEFL that could possibly correlate with a total IELTS score.

As you can see, the TOEFL has a total point range of 120, whereas, the IELTS is 0-9.

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

TOEFL to IELTS Scoring: Speaking

It's important to note that on the TOEFL, you are expected to take the speaking score along with the other three sections; with the IELTS, however, the speaking section can be scheduled on a different day, if desired. This is good and bad news for most students; some who would prefer to take the entire exam "all at once" and others who feel grateful to tackle the speaking section at a separate time.

Below is a conversion chart from TOEFL to IELTS on the speaking section:

TOEFL	IELTS
30	9
28-29	8.5
26-27	8
24-25	7.5
23	7
20-22	6.5
18-19	6
16-17	5.5
14-15	5
12-13	4.5
0-11	0-4

TOEFL to IELTS Scoring: Listening

Below is a TOEFL to IELTS conversion chart for the listening section. As with all the other sections, the highest score you can get on this section is a 30 on the TOEFL and a 9 on the IELTS.

TOEFL	IELTS
30	9
29	8.5
28	8
27	7.5
24-26	7
20-23	6.5
12-19	6
7-11	5.5
4-6	5
3	4.5
0-2	0-4

TOEFL to IELTS Scoring: Writing

Below is a TOEFL to IELTS conversion chart for the writing portion:

TOEFL	IELTS
30	9
30	8.5
30	8
29	7.5
27-28	7
24-26	6.5
21-23	6
18-20	5.5
14-17	5
12-13	4.5
0-11	0-4

TOEFL to IELTS Scoring: Reading

Finally, below is a breakdown of the TOEFL to IELTS conversion for the reading section:

TOEFL	IELTS
30	9
29	8.5
29	8
27-28	7.5
24-26	7
19-23	6.5
13-18	6
8-12	5.5
4-7	5
3	4.5
0-2	0-4

It always helps to know how well you would do on one exam by determining a projected score thanks to another. In this instance, you can find out how well you would do on the IELTS, which is the TOEFL's main competitor at this point in time. Naturally, high scores for both exams are cultivated through a rigorous course of study where an even distribution of practice on all four skills is implemented.