IELTS to TOEFL iBT® Score Converter (2026): ETS's Official Comparison, Section by Section

In short

• ETS publishes an official comparison between IELTS Academic bands and the TOEFL iBT 1–6 bands used since January 21, 2026, for the overall score and each section.
• The common requirements: IELTS 6.5 is TOEFL 4.5 overall, IELTS 7 is TOEFL 5, and IELTS 7.5 is TOEFL 5.5.
• The table runs from IELTS to TOEFL. Read backward, it tells you the highest IELTS requirement your TOEFL score meets.

Convert your scores

Common requirements at a glance

ETS's full comparison table

How to read it

• Check every section, not just the overall. The sections don't line up the same way: IELTS 7 compares with TOEFL 4.5 in Reading and Speaking but 5 in Listening and Writing. If a school sets section minimums, convert each one.
• The overall is rounded up on purpose. ETS averaged the section bands and rounded up to the next half band, so a TOEFL overall never stands for a higher IELTS band than the person's level. The same overall can also come from different mixes of section scores.
• Where it comes from. ETS built the table from a 2025 concordance study run with the owners of IELTS (British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge University Press & Assessment) and from its own mapping of the old and new TOEFL scales. The method is in Appendix B of ETS's 2026 score scale report.
• Schools decide. The table helps schools set comparable requirements, but each school sets its own. Many still list a 0–120 TOEFL minimum; turn it into a band with our score converter.

Know your TOEFL band before you book

If you're deciding between the two tests, or checking whether you're ready, a scored mock test in the new format shows where you stand on the 1–6 scale today, section by section. See where to take one and how the 2026 test works.