Your Listening band is the simplest number on your Test Report Form. Forty questions, one mark each, and a conversion chart.
The chart is short. What to do with it takes a little longer.
IELTS Listening band score chart
| Correct answers (out of 40) | Band score |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 32–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–31 | 7.0 |
| 26–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–25 | 6.0 |
| 18–22 | 5.5 |
| 16–17 | 5.0 |
IELTS publishes four reference points: on average, 16 correct answers for Band 5, 23 for Band 6, 30 for Band 7 and 35 for Band 8. The rows between them are the widely published approximations, and they agree with those four figures.
The same chart applies to Academic and General Training, because both sit the same Listening test.
How the Listening score is calculated
- Each correct answer earns one mark. Every question is worth the same, whether it is a phone number in Part 1 or a detail from the lecture in Part 4.
- Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer. A wrong answer and a blank both score zero, so a guess can only help.
- Your total out of 40 is converted to a band, reported in whole and half bands. The Listening band score calculator converts your score and shows the marks needed for the next band.
- That band is averaged with Reading, Writing and Speaking to give your overall band. The band score calculator does the averaging and rounding for you.
Why the chart is a guide, not a promise
IELTS says the precise number of marks needed for a band “will vary slightly from test version to test version”. Each version is calibrated separately, so a slightly harder recording needs slightly fewer correct answers for the same band.
In practice the boundary moves by about a mark. That matters most if you are sitting exactly on a line. Thirty correct answers is a Band 7 on most papers and a 6.5 on an easy one.
So set your practice target two marks above the band you need:
| You need | Aim for in practice |
|---|---|
| Band 6.0 | 25 or more |
| Band 6.5 | 28 or more |
| Band 7.0 | 32 or more |
| Band 7.5 | 34 or more |
| Band 8.0 | 37 or more |
What each mark is worth
Look at how wide the bands are. Band 5.5 covers five different scores, Band 6.5 covers four, and Band 8.5 covers two.
Two things follow.
In the middle of the scale, one or two answers move you half a band. From 29 correct to 30 is the difference between 6.5 and 7.0. If you are stuck at 6.5, you are not a long way from 7. You are between one and four answers away.
At the top, there is no room. Band 8.5 allows three mistakes in forty questions. At that level the marks you lose are almost never about understanding. They are spelling, plurals and the word limit.
Where the marks actually go
Most candidates do not lose Listening marks evenly across the test. They lose them in the same few places.
- Spelling. A word you heard correctly and spelled wrongly scores nothing. This is the most common reason a candidate’s real listening ability is higher than their band.
- The word limit. Three words where the instruction says no more than two is wrong, even when the meaning is right. Completion questions covers the rule in full.
- The first answer you hear. Speakers say one thing and then correct it. The first option is usually the trap, which is the whole design of multiple choice.
- Losing your place. On map labelling one missed step can cost every answer after it.
- Part 4. It has no break in the middle, and it is where concentration fails. The four parts explains what changes from part to part.
- Blanks. A blank is a guaranteed zero. A guess is not.
Count your errors by cause after each practice test, not just your total. “I got 28” tells you your band. “I lost four to spelling and three in Part 4” tells you what to do next.
From 6.5 to 7.0
This is the step most candidates ask about. On the chart it is the move from 26–29 correct to 30–31.
If you score 27 today, you need three more answers. For most people those three are already within reach:
- one from spelling and plurals, by checking every answer in the review time
- one from the word limit and from blanks you never filled
- one from reading the questions ahead, so you know what kind of word each gap needs before the speaker reaches it
None of these needs better English. They need a more careful routine, and that is why Listening is usually the fastest of the four skills to improve.
Practise it
Take a full Listening test under real conditions, with the audio played once, and convert your score with the chart above. IELTS Studio has timed Listening practice and mock tests that mark your answers and show the band straight away.
Related: how raw scores become band scores covers Listening and Reading together, and the Reading band score chart shows why Reading needs a different number of correct answers.
Sources
- IELTS scoring in detail Official statement that Listening has 40 questions worth one mark each, the average marks for Bands 5, 6, 7 and 8, and that the precise marks vary slightly between test versions.
- IELTS Listening test format Official description of the four parts, the 40 questions and the recordings being heard once only.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026. See our editorial policy for how guides are checked and corrected.
Frequently asked questions
- How many correct answers do I need for Band 7 in IELTS Listening?
- About 30 out of 40. The official guide figure for Band 7 is 30, and published charts put Band 7 at 30 to 31. Because each test version is calibrated separately, aim to score 32 or more in practice so that a hard paper does not drop you to 6.5.
- Is the IELTS Listening band score chart the same for Academic and General Training?
- Yes. Both groups sit the same Listening test and the same conversion applies. Only the Reading test has separate charts for Academic and General Training.
- What is the IELTS Listening band score for 25 out of 40?
- About Band 6.0. Published charts place 23 to 25 correct answers at Band 6.0 and 26 to 29 at Band 6.5, so one more correct answer would usually move you up half a band.
- What Listening score is 35 out of 40?
- About Band 8.0. The official guide figure for Band 8 is 35 correct answers, and published charts put 35 to 36 at Band 8.0.
- Does a spelling mistake lose the mark in IELTS Listening?
- Yes. A misspelled answer is marked wrong even if you clearly heard the right word, and so is an answer that goes over the word limit. These two errors cost many candidates a half band they had earned by listening.
- Can I get a half band such as 6.5 in IELTS Listening?
- Yes. Listening is reported in whole and half bands, so 5.5, 6.5 and 7.5 are all possible. Your Listening band is then averaged with the other three skills to give your overall band.