10–160 · in steps of 5 · usually within 2 days

Duolingo English Test score chart: 10–160, CEFR, and what it converts to

The Duolingo English Test reports on 10–160 in steps of five, plus four skill subscores and four integrated ones. A competitive application usually sits at 115–130 — but the number on its own means little until you can place it against CEFR or the test your university actually wrote its requirement in.

Score to CEFR level

Score	CEFR	What it describes
10–55	A1–A2	Basic phrases and routine exchanges. Below any degree requirement.
60–95	B1	Independent user. Copes with most travel and everyday situations.
100–125	B2	The usual floor for undergraduate study taught in English.
130–150	C1	Effective operational proficiency. Comfortable in academic settings.
155–160	C2	Near-native range and precision.

Duolingo, IELTS and TOEFL side by side

From Duolingo's own published concordance. Read these as estimates for choosing a test, not as an admissions equivalence — every institution sets its own requirement, and a university that names an IELTS band has not thereby accepted the Duolingo score in the same row.

Duolingo	IELTS band	TOEFL (legacy 0–120)
10–55	0–4.0	0–17
60–95	4.0–5.5	18–64
100–125	5.5–6.5	65–97
130–150	7.0–8.0	98–118
155–160	8.0–9.0	119–120

The TOEFL column is the legacy 0–120 total. TOEFL's January 2026 redesign reports sections on 1–6 per section instead, with ETS's own concordance to the old scale running through 2028 — so a requirement quoting a number out of 120 is still readable, just no longer what a new score report prints.

Reading your report properly

The overall score is the average of the four skill subscores, rounded to the nearest five. A single weak skill moves it by less than candidates expect — and by less than the university minimum on that skill may require.
Many institutions set a subscore floor as well as an overall. An average that clears the headline requirement can still fail on a production or conversation score, so check both before you book a resit.
The four integrated scores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, Production — are averages of pairs of the individual ones. They add no new information; they exist because some institutions ask for them.
Scores are reported in steps of five. There is no 107, so a target of 105 and a target of 110 are genuinely different targets rather than rounding of each other.

All 13 question types, with timings

Common questions

What is a good Duolingo English Test score?

Competitive applications usually sit at 115 to 130, which is upper B2 into C1. Many institutions also set a floor on an individual subscore, so an overall that clears the headline requirement can still fall short.

What is a Duolingo score of 120 in IELTS?

Duolingo's published concordance places 100 to 125 against IELTS 5.5 to 6.5. Treat that as an estimate for choosing a test, not as an admissions equivalence — a university naming an IELTS band has not thereby accepted the Duolingo score beside it.

How is the overall Duolingo score calculated?

It is the average of the four skill subscores — reading, writing, listening and speaking — rounded to the nearest five. The four integrated scores are averages of pairs of those and add no new information.

Why are Duolingo scores always multiples of five?

The scale runs from 10 to 160 in steps of five, so there is no 107. A target of 105 and a target of 110 are genuinely different targets rather than roundings of each other.

How long does a Duolingo English Test score take?

Usually within two days, and the test itself takes about an hour — the fastest turnaround of the four major English tests.

See where you actually land

Our Duolingo mock runs the full adaptive test and returns the four subscores, the four integrated ones and an overall on the 10–160 scale — with the CEFR level and this concordance beside it. The first session is free.

Take a free Duolingo mock →See pricing

This guide is written from the Duolingo English Test test format published by Duolingo, in our own words. For the official wording, see Duolingo's official test resources. MockLive AI is an independent practice tool and is not affiliated with Duolingo. Concordance figures are Duolingo's published estimates and are not an admissions equivalence.