IELTS Listening Band Score: Convert Your Raw Score out of 40
Enter how many of the 40 Listening questions you answered correctly and get your band from 0 to 9, using the same conversion as our IELTS Band Calculator.
🎧 Listening raw score to band
📊 Need your overall band?
Your overall IELTS band is the average of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, rounded to the nearest half band. Add all four in the IELTS Band Calculator.
📖 Converting Reading too?
Reading has its own chart, and General Training needs more correct answers than Academic for the same band. Use the IELTS Reading band score converter.
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IELTS Listening band score chart (raw score out of 40)
In IELTS Listening, 30 correct answers out of 40 is about band 7.0, 35 is about band 8.0 and 23 is about band 6.0. Each correct answer earns one mark, and your total out of 40 is converted to a band from 0 to 9, reported in whole or half bands. The exact number of marks for a band changes slightly from one test version to another, so read the chart as a close estimate rather than a guarantee.
| Correct answers (out of 40) | Listening band | Published by IELTS |
|---|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 | — |
| 37–38 | 8.5 | — |
| 35–36 | 8.0 | Band 8: average 35 marks |
| 32–34 | 7.5 | — |
| 30–31 | 7.0 | Band 7: average 30 marks |
| 26–29 | 6.5 | — |
| 23–25 | 6.0 | Band 6: average 23 marks |
| 18–22 | 5.5 | — |
| 16–17 | 5.0 | Band 5: average 16 marks |
| 13–15 | 4.5 | — |
| 10–12 | 4.0 | — |
| 8–9 | 3.5 | — |
| 6–7 | 3.0 | — |
| 4–5 | 2.5 | — |
| 0–3 | 2.0 or below | — |
Source: IELTS, IELTS scoring in detail, which gives the average number of marks for bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 in Listening: 16, 23, 30 and 35 out of 40. Checked 28 October 2026. The other rows, including the half bands and band 9, are Galvanize estimates on the same scale.
How is IELTS Listening scored?
The Listening test has 4 parts and 40 questions and takes about 30 minutes. Every correct answer receives 1 mark, so your raw score is simply the number you got right. IELTS then converts that raw score to the 9-band scale. Academic and General Training test takers sit a Listening test of the same format, and IELTS publishes a single Listening chart for both.
How many correct answers do you need for band 6, 7 or 8?
On the chart above, these are the fewest correct answers for each band:
- Band 6.0: 23 out of 40
- Band 6.5: 26 out of 40
- Band 7.0: 30 out of 40
- Band 7.5: 32 out of 40
- Band 8.0: 35 out of 40
- Band 8.5: 37 out of 40
- Band 9.0: 39 out of 40
Between band 6.0 and band 7.0 there are only 7 marks, so a few extra correct answers in each part can lift your band by a full point.
Listening and Reading use different charts
Reading is also marked out of 40, but its chart is not the same. IELTS gives the average marks for Academic Reading as 15 for band 5, 23 for band 6, 30 for band 7 and 35 for band 8. General Training Reading needs more correct answers for the same band: 35 out of 40 is band 7.0. To convert a Reading score, use the IELTS Reading band score converter.
What to do with your band
- Add your Listening band to the other three in the IELTS Band Calculator to see your overall band.
- Check it against what you need on the IELTS band score guide.
- Take the free IELTS Diagnostic to see which skill is costing you the most marks.
Frequently Asked Questions
About 30 out of 40. IELTS gives 30 marks as the average for band 7 in Listening. On our chart, 30 or 31 correct answers is band 7.0 and 32 to 34 is band 7.5.
About 35 out of 40, the average IELTS gives for band 8. On our chart, 35 or 36 correct answers is band 8.0, 37 or 38 is band 8.5, and 39 or 40 is band 9.0.
Yes. Both take a Listening test of the same format, with 4 parts and 40 questions, and IELTS publishes one Listening chart for both. Reading is different: General Training Reading needs more correct answers than Academic Reading for the same band.
IELTS says the number of marks needed for a band varies slightly from one test version to another. The marks it publishes are averages, so on some versions a band needs slightly fewer correct answers and on others slightly more.
One. Each correct answer receives 1 mark, so the most you can score is 40. Your band is then read from that total, in whole or half bands.
Your overall band is the average of your four section bands, rounded to the nearest whole or half band. For example, Listening 7.5, Reading 6.0, Writing 6.0 and Speaking 7.0 average 6.625, which rounds to an overall 6.5. The IELTS Band Calculator does this for you.