Duolingo English Test Score Converter - IELTS and TOEFL Ranges

A Duolingo English Test score converter places an official DET overall score beside the IELTS band, TOEFL iBT total range, and broad CEFR level shown in published comparison guidance. It helps applicants read requirements written in another test's scale, but it does not replace a score report or promise that an institution will accept a converted result. Use it before contacting admissions, when you already hold a DET result and want a quick sense of how it lines up with the scales a program quotes.

• • Screen applications: Compare your DET result with programs that describe English requirements using IELTS or TOEFL iBT.
• • Talk with an adviser: Put several test scales in one view before asking which official report a university accepts.
• • Set a retake target: See the next DET row and associated range before planning more preparation.
• • Read CEFR language: Connect a numeric result with the broad A1-C2 framework used in course descriptions.

The converter is useful when a university page is inconsistent. One department may list a DET minimum, another may mention IELTS 6.5, and a scholarship page may refer to B2. Entering your score provides a common reference point so you can identify which policy needs confirmation. The current admissions page remains the deciding source.

Treat the returned values as ranges because the tests sample language with different tasks, timing, and scoring models. A student who earns one DET score would not necessarily earn the midpoint of the TOEFL range on another day. The comparison describes group-level alignment rather than predicting an individual's future test result.

The calculation is a table lookup rather than a linear equation. Every valid score selects one published row, so no values are invented between official increments.

• DET overall score: The 10-160 result on the official report, issued in five-point increments.
• IELTS band: The whole or half-band comparison shown for that row, sometimes expressed as a range.
• TOEFL iBT total: The comparison interval associated with the score, not a newly awarded TOEFL result.
• CEFR level: Broad proficiency context from A1/A2 through C2 rather than an institution-specific cutoff.

No interpolation occurs. A value of 122 is rejected because DET reports overall results in steps of five. Rounding it to 120 or 125 could place an applicant on the wrong side of a requirement. Use the exact number printed on the report.

The outputs remain text ranges on purpose. A range such as 87-92 means the DET row relates to several TOEFL totals; it does not mean that 89.5 is your personal TOEFL score. Keeping the interval visible preserves the source's uncertainty.

According to Duolingo English Test, DET overall scores use a 10-160 scale in five-point increments and the score page publishes comparison ranges for IELTS, TOEFL iBT, and CEFR

According to IELTS, overall results use a 0-9 band scale reported in whole and half bands, with each band describing a level of English-language command

If your application contains a TOEFL result, the TOEFL score converter explains that test's own scale without treating a DET comparison as an awarded TOEFL score.

The Duolingo English Test score converter depends on four distinctions that prevent a planning range from being mistaken for an official credential.

The scales carry different meanings. IELTS uses bands, TOEFL moved to a 1-6 scale for tests from January 2026 while temporarily showing comparable 0-120 totals, and DET retains 10-160. This page labels the TOEFL output as the 0-120 comparison used in Duolingo's applicant chart. Read the date and scale named in each requirement.

CEFR is useful when direct cross-test evidence is limited. It lets a program begin with the language ability needed for study, then choose thresholds on accepted tests. For an applicant, it explains policy language; it is not an independent certificate issued by this calculator.

When you have actual IELTS section bands, the IELTS score calculator calculates overall-band rounding from those components instead of relying on a DET comparison.

Start with the exact overall result, then compare it with the wording and date on each program's policy.

1. 1 Read the report: Locate the overall score, not an individual subscore or practice estimate.
2. 2 Enter the score: Type a value from 10 through 160 exactly as reported.
3. 3 Read both ranges: Note the IELTS band and TOEFL interval without choosing a personal midpoint.
4. 4 Check CEFR context: Use the broad level to understand proficiency language in a policy.
5. 5 Verify acceptance: Confirm overall, subscore, test-date, and reporting rules for the program.
6. 6 Record the action: Save the threshold and decide whether to submit, ask admissions, or retake.

Suppose your report shows 125 and a master's program lists IELTS 7.0 but not DET. The converter places 125 at IELTS 6.5, suggesting that you should not assume it meets the requirement. Ask whether the program accepts DET and what threshold it uses; do not present 6.5 as an IELTS result.

If the comparison shows a gap before your deadline, the study schedule calculator turns the remaining weeks and study hours into a repeatable preparation plan.

The Duolingo English Test score converter does not produce a substitute score. It organizes application questions and preparation decisions. Applicants juggling several program pages can keep one reference point instead of switching between three different scoring charts.

• • Translate policy language: Read an IELTS- or TOEFL-based requirement beside the DET scale you know.
• • Preserve uncertainty: Keep an interval visible instead of claiming one exact cross-test result.
• • Spot a likely shortfall: Identify programs where your comparison band lies below a requirement.
• • Prepare questions: Bring the source score, range, policy wording, and date to admissions.
• • Set a target: Compare the current row with the next while planning a retake.
• • Separate credentials: Keep the actual DET result distinct from tests you have not taken.

During early screening, the tool can sort policies into likely match, likely gap, and needs confirmation. That triage leaves more attention for programs where a direct email or current handbook is necessary.

It can guide skill work without diagnosing it. Review subscores and practice evidence to decide what to work on. An overall lookup cannot tell whether reading speed, listening detail, spoken fluency, or written organization caused the result.

For a measurable reading-practice baseline before a retake, the reading speed calculator tracks words per minute separately from the official language-test score.

A correct lookup can still lead to a poor decision if the policy, scale, date, or score type is read incorrectly. Admissions pages change more often than test scales, so recheck the requirement close to each deadline rather than trusting a screenshot from an earlier cycle.

• • Outputs are planning ranges, not official IELTS or TOEFL scores or proof that an institution accepts DET.
• • The lookup does not use subscores, test age, program minimums, or current accepted-test policies.
• • TOEFL introduced a 1-6 scale in January 2026; this page reports the 0-120 comparison in Duolingo's chart.

Use a conservative reading near a cutoff. If an interval crosses a threshold, the chart does not establish that you meet it. Look for an explicit DET minimum or ask admissions to interpret your actual score. Keep its written response because departmental policies can differ from university-wide pages.

When a policy names CEFR but no test, start with that level and locate accepted evidence. Avoid chaining DET to TOEFL and then TOEFL to CEFR, which compounds uncertainty. Direct institutional evidence is stronger than sequential conversions.

According to ETS TOEFL, ETS has not conducted a direct TOEFL concordance study with DET and recommends choosing requirements through CEFR

For programs that weigh written English, the TOEFL iBT writing score calculator shows how the writing section contributes to a TOEFL total, a separate exam you would take instead of relying on a DET comparison.