How to Read a CEFR Comparison Table: IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge and National Exams
OBARA Hiroki · DeveloperAlphaGeorgeHow-To
The CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, was developed by the Council of Europe and describes language ability in six levels, from A1 to C2. Universities, employers and some visa rules state their English requirements as a CEFR level, so a common question is how a score you already have translates. Is IELTS 6.5 a C1? What does a TOEFL 4 mean? Where does a national exam fit?
Comparison tables answer this, but the numbers in them mean different things for different tests. In one column they are minimum scores, in another they are ranges, and in a third they are the name of an exam. This post explains how the main tests link to the CEFR, using each test provider’s own documents, and what to watch for when you read a table. I checked every figure in October 2026.
The six levels in plain words
The Council of Europe’s CEFR page groups the levels as basic users (A), independent users (B) and proficient users (C). In my own short paraphrase of the global descriptions:
- A1: can introduce yourself and handle very simple exchanges about familiar things
- A2: can manage short, routine exchanges such as shopping or asking the way
- B1: can follow the main points on familiar topics like work, school and hobbies, and give simple reasons for an opinion
- B2: can deal with abstract topics too, and talk with native speakers without much strain on either side
- C1: can understand long, demanding texts and use the language flexibly for social, academic and work purposes
- C2: can understand almost everything heard or read and express fine shades of meaning
The CEFR describes what you can do, not a score. Each test provider links its scores to these levels in its own way, and that is where comparison tables get tricky.
Three ways a test can link to the CEFR
A test built for one level. Cambridge English Qualifications work this way. A2 Key targets A2, B1 Preliminary targets B1, and so on up to C2 Proficiency (Cambridge English qualifications). Results come on the Cambridge English Scale, and a result above or below the target can be certified one level up or down. In B2 First, 160 to 179 is B2, 180 and above is certified as C1, and 140 to 159 as B1 (B2 First results). In a table, the Cambridge column usually shows an exam name, not a score.
A score scale designed around the CEFR. TOEFL iBT moved to a 1 to 6 scale in January 2026. ETS built it so that the whole numbers line up with the levels: 1 is A1, 2 is A2, 3 is B1, 4 is B2, 5 is C1 and 6 is C2, with half points sitting inside the lower level (ETS report on the banded score scale, April 2026). Here the table is almost built into the test. Older results on the 0 to 120 scale still circulate, and the same report links the two scales.
A separate mapping study. IELTS and TOEIC were not designed around the CEFR levels, so their providers link them through research. The IELTS page on the CEFR says IELTS is not level based and so has no one-to-one correspondence with the levels. It places the C1 minimum between bands 6.5 and 7, recognises 8.5 and above as C2, and describes some scores, 5 for example, where the level is unclear. TOEIC, which is widely used by employers in Japan and Korea among other places, publishes minimum scores per skill from a standard-setting study with 22 experts from 10 European countries (ETS, Mapping the TOEIC tests on the CEFR):
| CEFR | TOEIC Listening (5 to 495) | TOEIC Reading (5 to 495) |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 60 | 60 |
| A2 | 110 | 115 |
| B1 | 275 | 275 |
| B2 | 400 | 385 |
| C1 | 490 | 455 |
There is no C2 row. ETS calls these figures guidelines and says it does not recommend rigid cut scores.
National exams
Many countries have their own English exams, and some publish their own CEFR links.
Japan’s Eiken is an example. The Eiken Foundation of Japan gives CEFR levels from the four-skill total on its CSE score scale: A1 from 1400, A2 from 1700, B1 from 1950, B2 from 2300 and C1 from 2600. Which level can appear is limited by the grade you sat. Grade 2 can show A2 or B1, Grade Pre-1 B1 or B2, and Grade 1 B2 or C1 (Eiken CSE score, in Japanese). So “Grade 2 equals B1” is not quite right. The score report is what tells you.
China took a different route. In 2018 it published its own framework, China’s Standards of English Language Ability, with nine levels, and the National Education Examinations Authority later published alignment studies with the British Council and ETS linking IELTS (January 2019) and TOEFL (December 2019) to it (China Daily on IELTS, China Daily on TOEFL). If your exam is a national one, look first for what its own organiser publishes. A conversion found on a forum, with no source, is not something I would rely on.
Reading a table without being misled
Putting the official statements in one table looks like this. Each column holds a different kind of information.
| CEFR | Cambridge (exam) | IELTS (official notes) | TOEFL iBT (1 to 6) | TOEIC L / R (minimum) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | A2 Key | not stated | 2 | 110 / 115 |
| B1 | B1 Preliminary | around 5 can be unclear | 3 | 275 / 275 |
| B2 | B2 First | below the C1 threshold | 4 | 400 / 385 |
| C1 | C1 Advanced | minimum between 6.5 and 7 | 5 | 490 / 455 |
| C2 | C2 Proficiency | 8.5 and above | 6 | not covered |
Here is what I would check whenever I meet a table like this.
What kind of number is it? A TOEIC figure is the lowest score for a level, not a range. A Cambridge entry is an exam you sit. A TOEFL score is the level itself. Many tables made by schools or publishers mix these up without saying so.
Which skills does it cover? TOEIC Listening and Reading measures only listening and reading. Speaking and writing are a separate TOEIC test with their own minimum scores. IELTS, TOEFL iBT and the Cambridge exams test all four skills. A B2 based on reading and listening alone is a different claim from a B2 across four skills.
Who made it, and from what? Most tables you find online are rebuilt from the providers’ documents. A link to the original, with a date, tells you whether the numbers are still current. TOEFL’s 2026 scale change is a good reason to check the date.
What does the place you are applying to ask for? If a university names a test and a score, that requirement matters more than any CEFR equivalence. The IELTS partners and ETS both say the CEFR was not designed for exact equating. I think the CEFR is most useful as a shared language when you are switching from one test to another, or simply want to know roughly where you stand.
About AlphaGeorge
AlphaGeorge, an app I make for iPhone and iPad, is for preparing for the Cambridge exams. Its course has six levels named after the CEFR, A1 to C2, with 66 units in total, and the levels from A2 to C2 match KET through CPE. A diagnostic test of about five minutes decides where you start, and the mid-course and end-course test reports show an estimated level and progress for each CEFR level. These are the app’s own estimates, not an official result or certificate. The interface and explanations are in English and Japanese.
The questions were all written for the app, and it is not a Cambridge publication. It is free to start, with ads and a limit of hearts, and AlphaGeorge Premium, a monthly or yearly subscription, removes ads, makes hearts unlimited and lets you replay finished lessons. How Cambridge compares with IELTS and TOEFL in format and validity is in Cambridge English Exams vs IELTS and TOEFL, and Getting Started with AlphaGeorge walks through the first session.
