PTE to IELTS Conversion Chart 2026: Full Score Table

Looking for an exact PTE to IELTS conversion? Here is the full official chart. Pearson published an updated PTE Academic ↔ IELTS Academic concordance in July 2025 (for the enhanced PTE Academic), and it replaced every older table you may have seen — including the widely shared "IELTS 6.5 ≈ PTE 58–64" ranges, which are now out of date. If a university asks for IELTS 6.5, or Australia's Department of Home Affairs asks for a Proficient English band, this page shows you the exact PTE score to target in 2026.

The conversion table comes first, then the Australia PR cutoffs, then a PTE Core → CLB cross-reference for Canada-bound Nepali applicants. Every number on this page comes from official Pearson and Department of Home Affairs sources, verified in June 2026.

PTE to IELTS Conversion Chart 2026 (Official Pearson Concordance)

This is Pearson's official July 2025 concordance for overall scores — each IELTS Academic overall band mapped to the equivalent PTE Academic score on the 10–90 scale:

IELTS Overall Band	Equivalent PTE Academic Score	What it typically unlocks
4.5	24	Below most academic thresholds
5.0	31	Some foundation / pathway programs
5.5	39	Diploma and pathway entry at some institutions
6.0	47	Common undergraduate minimum
6.5	55	Typical university admission band (many ask 58–65 in practice)
7.0	63	Postgraduate / professional course band
7.5	71	Competitive postgraduate programs
8.0	79	The famous "79+" — Superior-overall territory for Australia PR
8.5	86	Near-perfect performance
9.0	90	Maximum PTE score

Source: Pearson's official score-comparison concordance (July 2025, updated for the enhanced PTE Academic). Older pre-2025 tables are superseded — if a blog or consultancy shows IELTS 6.5 as "PTE 58–64", that information is outdated. And remember: a concordance is a statistical equivalence, not an acceptance guarantee — always confirm which test and which score your institution or visa stream accepts.

Want to see where your own mock-test score lands? Run it through our free PTE score calculator to estimate your overall from per-skill scores before you map it to an IELTS band.

How to Read the Conversion Chart (Per-Skill Guidance)

Pearson's official concordance maps overall scores. There is no official Pearson table that converts each individual skill (Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing) between PTE and IELTS — so treat any per-skill conversion chart you find online as unofficial.

In practice, here is how to use the overall chart safely:

• If a university asks for an overall IELTS band (for example, "IELTS 6.5 overall, no band below 6.0"), use the chart for the overall figure, then check the university's own published PTE per-skill minimums — most Australian universities publish a PTE column directly on their admissions page.
• If a visa authority defines its own PTE bands — as Australia's Department of Home Affairs does — use the authority's own table (next section), not a converted IELTS figure. Authorities set per-skill PTE minimums directly.
• Never average across tables. Hitting PTE 63 overall does not automatically mean "IELTS 7.0 in every skill" — your skill profile may be uneven. If the requirement is per-skill, target per-skill.

Australia PR Cutoffs: PTE Bands for the DHA Points Test (2026)

For Australian skilled migration (subclass 189, 190, 491), the Department of Home Affairs no longer uses the old flat "PTE 50 / 65 / 79 in each skill" rule. For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, DHA uses component-specific PTE Academic minimums, published in Pearson's official DHA concordance:

DHA English level	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	PR points
Competent	47	48	51	54	0 (eligibility baseline)
Proficient	58	59	69	76	+10
Superior	69	70	85	88	+20

Source: Pearson's official DHA concordance and immi.homeaffairs.gov.au, effective for PTE tests taken on or after 7 August 2025. Tests taken earlier are assessed under the previous rules. DHA publishes its own equivalent bands for IELTS and other accepted tests — check the official DHA English-language page for the IELTS column.

How does this line up with the overall concordance? On Pearson's table, IELTS 6.0 overall ≈ PTE 47, IELTS 7.0 ≈ PTE 63, and IELTS 8.0 ≈ PTE 79 — which is why "79+" became shorthand for Superior English. But notice the per-skill reality: Superior now demands Writing 85 and Speaking 88, well above 79. If your migration agent is still quoting "79 in each module", they are working from the pre-August-2025 rule. For the full decision between the two tests, see our guide on PTE vs IELTS for Australia PR.

PTE Core to CLB Cross-Reference (Canada PR)

Heading to Canada instead? Canada's Express Entry system does not use IELTS Academic bands or PTE Academic — it uses PTE Core mapped to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) levels. Here are the official Pearson per-skill minimums for the CLB levels that matter most:

CLB level	Listening	Reading	Speaking	Writing
CLB 7	60	60	68	69
CLB 8	71	69	76	79
CLB 9	82	78	84	88
CLB 10	89	88	89	90

Source: Pearson's official PTE Core scoring page, verified June 2026. Note the trap: CLB 9 Writing requires 88, not 79 — a Writing 79 is only CLB 8.

For the full CLB 5–10 table, skill-by-skill ranges, and what each level means for Express Entry points, read the PTE Core to CLB conversion guide — or check your own scores instantly with the PTE Core → CLB calculator. Comparing tests for Canada? See PTE Core vs IELTS for Canada PR.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using a pre-2025 conversion table. The July 2025 Pearson concordance replaced the older ranges. IELTS 6.5 now maps to PTE 55 overall — not "58–64". Many consultancy websites in Nepal still show the old numbers.
• Treating "79+" as the current Australia Superior rule. For tests on or after 7 August 2025, Superior is per-skill: L69 / R70 / W85 / S88. A flat 79 in every skill no longer guarantees +20 points.
• Converting per-skill scores with an overall table. Pearson's concordance is overall-only. Per-skill requirements must come from the institution or visa authority directly.
• Mixing up PTE Academic and PTE Core. Australia accepts PTE Academic; Canada's Express Entry accepts PTE Core (mapped to CLB). The conversion chart above is for PTE Academic ↔ IELTS Academic only.
• Treating the concordance as an acceptance guarantee. A university can require a specific test, a higher band, or a per-skill floor regardless of what the equivalence table says. Always confirm on the institution's official page.

Step-by-Step: Set Your PTE Target from an IELTS Requirement

1. Find the exact official requirement. Get the IELTS band (overall and per-skill) from the university's admissions page or the visa authority's English-language page — not from an agent's summary.
2. Check whether a direct PTE requirement exists. Most Australian universities and DHA publish PTE minimums directly. A published PTE figure always beats a converted one.
3. Convert the overall band using the chart above. IELTS 6.5 → PTE 55, IELTS 7.0 → PTE 63, IELTS 8.0 → PTE 79.
4. Add a safety margin of 3–5 points. Scoring exactly on the line leaves no room for a weak section on test day. If the converted target is 63, train for 66–68.
5. Take a scored mock test and compare your per-skill profile against the requirement. Run the numbers through the PTE score calculator to see your projected overall.
6. Build a skill-specific plan for whichever skill sits furthest below target — for most Nepali candidates that is Writing or Speaking, exactly the skills the new DHA bands weight hardest.

Tips for Nepali Students

A few Nepal-specific realities that change how you should use this conversion chart:

• Cost favours PTE. In Nepal, PTE Academic costs roughly NPR 27,000–30,000 per attempt at Pearson VUE centres, while computer-delivered IELTS is NPR 33,000 (paper-based is NPR 36,200). If you might need a retake, the gap compounds.
• Accent handling. PTE's AI scoring measures intelligibility, not accent — a clear Nepali accent is not penalised. Many students who plateau at IELTS Speaking 6.5 with human examiners convert that into a higher equivalent on PTE's templated speaking tasks.
• Test centres. PTE Academic runs at Pearson VUE centres in Kathmandu, and IELTS testing runs in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and other cities. Book early — Kathmandu PTE slots fill quickly before Australian university intake deadlines.
• Score validity. Pearson score reports are valid for two years from your test date. For Australian skilled-migration purposes, DHA accepts English test results for around three years — two different rules, so check which one applies to your application.
• Preparing from abroad? If you are already in Sydney, Melbourne, or Toronto and retaking for PR, online 1-on-1 coaching across time zones removes the scheduling excuse — the conversion chart tells you the target, coaching closes the gap.

Frequently Asked Questions

What PTE score is equal to IELTS 6.5?

On Pearson's official July 2025 concordance, IELTS 6.5 overall is equivalent to PTE Academic 55 overall. Older tables showing "PTE 58–64" for IELTS 6.5 are superseded. Note that many universities set their own PTE minimums (often 58–65 overall), which can be higher than the pure conversion — always meet the higher of the two.

Is PTE 79 the same as IELTS 8.0?

Yes — on the official overall concordance, PTE 79 maps to IELTS 8.0. But for Australia PR purposes, the Superior English band for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025 is defined per skill: Listening 69, Reading 70, Writing 85, Speaking 88. So "79 in each skill" is no longer the Superior rule, even though 79 overall still concords with IELTS 8.0.

Is the PTE to IELTS conversion official?

The overall conversion table on this page is Pearson's own published concordance (July 2025, updated for the enhanced PTE Academic). It is the only official PTE-to-IELTS mapping. There is no official per-skill conversion table — per-skill requirements come directly from each university or visa authority.

Does Australia accept PTE instead of IELTS?

Yes. The Department of Home Affairs accepts PTE Academic for skilled-migration visas, and Australian universities accept it for admission. One important exception: AITSL, the skills-assessment body for teachers, accepts only Academic IELTS at the migration skills-assessment stage — PTE is not accepted there, though it remains valid at the separate DHA visa stage.

How long is a PTE score valid?

Your Pearson score report is valid for two years from the test date. Separately, Australia's Department of Home Affairs accepts English test results for approximately three years for skilled-migration applications. These are two different rules — universities follow the two-year window, while a DHA points claim can use an older test within its three-year acceptance window.

Conclusion

The 2026 PTE to IELTS conversion is now simple and official: IELTS 6.0 → PTE 47, 6.5 → 55, 7.0 → 63, 7.5 → 71, 8.0 → 79, with the full band-by-band chart above. Use the overall concordance for university requirements, the DHA per-skill bands for Australia PR points, and the PTE Core → CLB table for Canada — and ignore any pre-2025 conversion ranges still circulating online.

Know your target but stuck below it? That is exactly what 1-on-1 coaching fixes. Smriti Simkhada (90/90 scorer) builds a skill-by-skill plan around your weakest module — with class times that work from Nepal, Australia, Canada, the UK, or the Gulf. Book your 1-on-1 PTE coaching session and turn the conversion chart into a score report.