CEFR to IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge, Duolingo English Test and TOEIC: the conversion table, with the boards’ own caveats
By Daniel Reeves, Language Expert · Sep 2, 2026 · 11 min read
The whole conversion on one table
A CEFR level converts to a range on every exam, never to a single score.
B2, the level most people are sent here for, is IELTS 5.5 to 6.5 and TOEFL 4 to 4.5 on the 2026 scale.
Every number below is the publishing board’s own, and each board warns that it is a range. IELTS publishes nothing under B1, so its A1 and A2 rows come from IDP’s table.
• A1: IELTS 2.0–3.0, TOEFL 1–1.5, Cambridge 100–119, DET 10–55, PTE 10–29
• A2: IELTS 3.0–3.5, TOEFL 2–2.5, Cambridge 120–139, DET 10–55, PTE 30–42
• B1: IELTS 4.0–5.0, TOEFL 3–3.5, Cambridge 140–159, DET 60–95, PTE 43–58
• B2: IELTS 5.5–6.5, TOEFL 4–4.5, Cambridge 160–179, DET 100–125, PTE 59–75
• C1: IELTS 7.0–8.0, TOEFL 5–5.5, Cambridge 180–199, DET 130–150, PTE 76–84
• C2: IELTS 8.5–9.0, TOEFL 6, Cambridge 200–230, DET 155–160, PTE 85–90
Why every conversion is a range, and why the boards disagree
Because three different methods built these tables, and they were never going to agree.
ETS mapped TOEIC that way, and TOEFL’s 2026 Speaking and Writing cuts, requiring two-thirds of its panel to agree on each cut.
The boards say so themselves. IELTS states there ‘will not be a one-to-one correspondence’ with the levels, and Cambridge writes that only ‘broad comparability’ can be shown.
They also contradict each other. IELTS calls 5.5 a B2 score, while ETS’s own IELTS-to-TOEFL table puts 5.5 at 3.5, which is B1 on ETS’s map.
Neither is wrong: different people, different methods, different rounding.
• Standard setting: a panel votes on the score a minimally competent B2 would get
• Concordance: scores from people who sat two exams close together, lined up
• Linking: a new scale tied to the old through takers who answered both
CEFR to IELTS: the board’s own mapping and its caveats
In IELTS’s own words, 5.5 to 6.5 ‘is equivalent to CEFR level B2’, and 7 to 8 correspond to C1.
IELTS puts the C1 threshold between 6.5 and 7, so plan for 7 if an organisation wants confidence in C1.
The rounding rule decides more cases than the table. Your overall band is the mean of four sections: .25 rounds up to the next half band, .75 to the next whole one.
Listening 7, Reading 7, Writing 6 and Speaking 5 average 6.25 and are reported as 6.5: a B2 on paper with a B1 in the mouth. I meet that candidate most weeks.
• If the institution names a band, treat that band as the floor
• If it only says B2, ask which band it means and plan for 6.0
CEFR to TOEFL iBT: the 2026 rescale changed every table you have seen
Since 21 January 2026 the TOEFL iBT reports 1 to 6 in half points, per section and overall.
The overall is the mean of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half band, with ties going up.
The mapping applies to each section too, so a 5 on Speaking is a C1 speaking score.
Old scores convert through ETS’s concordance, below, and ETS adds that its methods ‘do not assume equal interval’ scores.
A page saying B2 is TOEFL 72 to 94 is not wrong about the past. It is just about the past.
• B1: a 3 from 44 on the retired 0–120 scale, 3.5 from 58
• B2: a 4 from 72, 4.5 from 86
• C1: a 5 from 95, 5.5 from 107
• C2: a 6 from 114
CEFR to Cambridge English and the Duolingo English Test
Cambridge fixes the levels on one scale from 80 to 230, so its exams differ only in the window they report.
Then the caveat every agent blog drops: Cambridge warns that ‘very careful consideration would be needed before accepting scores on B2 First as comparable to IELTS scores of 7.0’.
A grade A on B2 First is a C1 certificate that some doors will not read as C1.
The DET alignment is its own, checked by an external study in 2023. Its TOEFL column is the trap: after the rescale it kept the old 0 to 120 concordance, so check the date.
• A2 Key 82–150, B1 Preliminary 102–170, B2 First 122–190
• C1 Advanced 142–210, C2 Proficiency 162–230
• On B2 First: 160–179 certifies B2, grade A at 180–190 states C1
• DET anchors: 160 is IELTS 8.5–9, 130 is IELTS 7, 100 is IELTS 5.5
CEFR to TOEIC: per-section cut scores, and no total
TOEIC publishes no B2 total. ETS’s standard-setting study set a minimum per section and nothing else.
The 785 on job adverts is 400 plus 385. ETS Global’s European sheet prints it only as a footnoted estimate, and a 785 can hide a Reading score below the cut.
ETS does not recommend rigid cut scores. Listening and Reading and Speaking and Writing are separate products, so a Listening and Reading certificate says nothing about speaking.
One number to distrust: the 2025 mapping reference rests the Reading C1 cut on 45 percent of a 22-strong panel, below the two-thirds required elsewhere.
• B1: Listening 275, Reading 275, Speaking 120, Writing 120
• B2: Listening 400, Reading 385, Speaking 160, Writing 150
• C1: Listening 490, Reading 455, Speaking 180, Writing 180
• C2: no cut published on any section
What B2 means for UK visas and university admission
For visas the level sits in the rules; for admission it sits on the course page and nowhere else.
Nobody publishes a universal admission number, and anyone quoting one is selling something. ETS points institutions to B2 for moderate language demands and C1 for high ones.
The course requirement is the only number that binds, and it usually carries per-component minimums. A B2 certificate meets the language condition; it does not make the first seminar comfortable.
• Skilled Worker: B2 in all four skills, for applications from 8 January 2026
• Extensions of visas granted before that date still need B1
• Student visa: B2 at degree level, B1 below it
• Verify on gov.uk before you rely on any of this
What the tables cannot tell you: the speaking sub-score
Every table above is an overall-score table, and everyone who decides about you meets the speaking sub-score instead.
None of it tells you what you sound like. I know the overall-B2, speaking-B1 candidate by the second minute: short correct answers, then a pause you could park in.
The free CEFR level test on this site estimates reading and grammar in five minutes, and says speaking usually sits a step below.
The other is to talk out loud to something that answers back. Lucida, the app whose blog you are reading, is that, so weigh my bias.
It is practice with feedback, not a prediction of a band. Only the exam issues one.
• IELTS: 11 to 14 minutes with a certified examiner, face to face
• Cambridge: paired with another candidate before two examiners, 14 to 16 minutes
• TOEFL: about eight minutes recorded, scored centrally, not at the centre
• DET: scored by AI, and institutions can play your speaking sample
• TOEIC Speaking is a separate test; PTE is computer-scored
Frequently asked questions
What IELTS score is B2?
IELTS says 5.5 to 6.5 is B2, with 7 to 8 as C1. Two cautions from the boards: IELTS notes there is no one-to-one correspondence with the CEFR, and ETS’s IELTS-to-TOEFL table places 5.5 in the B1 range. If your institution names a band, that is the floor.
What is C1 in IELTS?
Bands 7 to 8, so 7.5 is C1, not C2. IELTS states that the C1 threshold falls between 6.5 and 7, which is why 7 is the band to plan for. In IELTS’s own words, 8.5 and above is recognised as C2, and band 8 is borderline.
Is TOEFL 80 a B2 score?
Yes, at the bottom of B2. On the retired 0 to 120 scale, 72 to 94 was the widely quoted B2 window. Since the 2026 rescale TOEFL reports 1 to 6, ETS maps 4 to 4.5 to B2, and 80 on the old scale corresponds to a 4. Any table still quoting 0 to 120 describes the old test.
What Duolingo English Test score is B2?
100 to 125 on the test’s own alignment, with 130 to 150 as C1 and 155 to 160 as C2. Its 2026 comparison table puts 120 to 125 at IELTS 6.5 and 130 at IELTS 7. The TOEFL column there is still the old 0 to 120 scale, by the test maker’s choice after the rescale.
What TOEIC score is B2?
There is no B2 total, only per-section minimums: Listening 400, Reading 385, Speaking 160, Writing 150. ETS Global’s European sheet prints 785, but as a footnoted estimate from adding the two cuts, with advice to read the sections separately. A 785 says nothing about speaking, a separate test.
Which exam is easiest for getting a B2 certificate?
None is officially easier. Each board set its own cut scores independently, by different methods, so the certificates are comparable rather than identical. IELTS and Cambridge test speaking face to face, TOEFL records it, the DET scores it by AI. Choose the exam your institution lists and the format you perform best in.
Hear your speaking level before you book a test date
Lucida is an AI speaking coach app for iOS and Android: you hold real spoken conversations with an AI coach, Lucy, and get real-time feedback on pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, pace and filler words, with CEFR-aligned speaking scores tracked over time. Free to download on iOS and Android; some features require a subscription.
