PTE Scores at a Glance
- Score scale: 10–90 overall, plus a 10–90 score for each skill: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing
- IELTS 6.5 = PTE 55–62 overall; IELTS 7.0 = PTE 63–70; IELTS 7.5 = PTE 71–78
- CEFR: B1 = PTE 43–58, B2 = 59–75, C1 = 76–84, C2 = 85–90
- Source: Pearson’s 2025 concordance study, 1,522 people who took both tests within 90 days
- Results: usually within 48 hours, in your myPTE account
How PTE Academic Scores Work
PTE Academic gives you an overall score from 10 to 90, with 90 the highest. You also get a score from 10 to 90 for each of the four communicative skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing. These are the scores universities and visa authorities look at, and many set a minimum for each skill as well as for the overall score.
Pearson reports PTE scores on its Global Scale of English. Results usually arrive within 48 hours of the test, and you get an email when they are in your myPTE account.
Source: Pearson, PTE Academic scoring, read 20 October 2026.
PTE to IELTS Score Chart (Overall)
This is Pearson’s 2025 concordance between PTE Academic and IELTS Academic overall scores. Each row shows the range of PTE scores that matches an IELTS band. The first number in each range is the minimum PTE score for that band.
| IELTS band | PTE Academic overall |
|---|---|
| 9.0 | 90 |
| 8.5 | 86–89 |
| 8.0 | 79–85 |
| 7.5 | 71–78 |
| 7.0 | 63–70 |
| 6.5 | 55–62 |
| 6.0 | 47–54 |
| 5.5 | 39–46 |
| 5.0 | 31–38 |
| 4.5 | 24–30 |
Source: Pearson, Establishing score concordance between the enhanced PTE Academic and IELTS Academic (summary paper, July 2025), read 20 October 2026.
Know Your Section Scores?
Enter them in our PTE score calculator to see your overall score and what it means for your applications.
Open the PTE Score CalculatorSection-Wise PTE Score Chart: Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing
The 2025 study is Pearson’s first PTE–IELTS concordance for each skill. Use it when a university or visa authority asks for a minimum band in every skill, such as “IELTS 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0”.
| IELTS band | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 81–90 | 81–90 | – | – |
| 8.5 | 75–80 | 75–80 | 90 | 90 |
| 8.0 | 69–74 | 70–74 | 88–89 | 85–89 |
| 7.5 | 64–68 | 65–69 | 83–87 | 77–84 |
| 7.0 | 58–63 | 59–64 | 76–82 | 69–76 |
| 6.5 | 53–57 | 54–58 | 66–75 | 60–68 |
| 6.0 | 47–52 | 48–53 | 54–65 | 51–59 |
| 5.5 | 40–46 | 42–47 | 39–53 | 41–50 |
| 5.0 | 33–39 | 36–41 | 24–38 | 29–40 |
| 4.5 | 26–32 | 29–35 | 14–23 | 17–28 |
Source: Pearson, 2025 PTE Academic and IELTS Academic Concordance Table, summary paper page 4, read 20 October 2026. A dash means the study gives no PTE score for that band.
Why the Speaking and Writing numbers are higher
The same IELTS band needs a higher PTE score in Speaking and Writing than in Listening and Reading. Pearson explains that the study matched scores that the same share of test takers reached on each test, and very few people get a 9 in IELTS Speaking or Writing, while many more do in Listening and Reading. That uneven spread on the IELTS side pushes the Speaking and Writing equivalents up.
Example: reading the chart for a typical requirement
A university asks for IELTS 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0. On the charts above, IELTS 6.5 overall starts at PTE 55, and IELTS 6.0 starts at Listening 47, Reading 48, Speaking 54 and Writing 51. Those are the concordance figures; the university’s own PTE requirement, if it publishes one, is what counts.
PTE Score and CEFR Levels
Pearson also aligns PTE Academic scores to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). This alignment did not change in 2025.
| CEFR level | PTE Academic score |
|---|---|
| C2 | 85–90 |
| C1 | 76–84 |
| B2 | 59–75 |
| B1 | 43–58 |
| A2 | 30–42 |
Pearson’s chart also marks lower scores that predict some success at the next level on its easiest tasks, so a score just below a range can still show partial ability at that level.
Source: Pearson, PTE Academic Test Taker Score Guide, page 11 (alignment of PTE Academic scores to the CEFR), read 20 October 2026.
What About TOEFL?
Pearson has not yet published an updated concordance between the current PTE Academic and the TOEFL iBT; it says it will publish relationships with other tests over time. Older PTE–TOEFL tables you may find online were built for earlier versions of both tests. If a university lists both a TOEFL and a PTE minimum, use the PTE number it gives.
What PTE Score Do I Need?
The chart tells you how scores compare. It does not tell you what any university or visa will accept. Pearson itself says a concordance is an approximate relationship, that institutions should weigh other information when setting requirements, and that institutions happy with their current PTE requirements do not need to change them.
See Where Your PTE Score Stands Today
Take a free PTE practice test in the current format to get a score estimate before you book the real test.
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