Duolingo English Test · Guides · November 5, 2026 · 7 min read

Duolingo English Test scores: the 10–160 scale, subscores, CEFR and IELTS and TOEFL equivalents

Your Duolingo English Test (DET) result is an overall score from 10 to 160 in steps of 5, plus four skill subscores (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking) and four combined subscores, all on the same 10–160 scale. The overall score is simply the average of the four skill subscores, rounded up to the next number ending in 0 or 5. Duolingo’s own comparison puts 120 at IELTS 6.5 and 130 at IELTS 7, and places 100–125 at CEFR B2 and 130–150 at C1.

All numbers here come from Duolingo’s Scoring Guide for Teachers (2026), the DET Question Guide (2026) and the DET help center, checked on 5 November 2026. We only reproduce official tables; unofficial “converters” online often disagree with them.

How the overall score is calculated

Each of the four skills gets its own subscore from 10 to 160. The overall score is their average:

Listening 90 + Speaking 100 + Reading 110 + Writing 120 = 420; 420 ÷ 4 = 105

If the average falls between two reportable scores, it is rounded up to the next score ending in 0 or 5. So subscores of 115, 120, 120 and 125 average 120 exactly, while 115, 120, 125 and 125 average 121.25, reported as 125.

This has a practical side: one weak skill pulls the average down by a quarter of its gap. Raising your weakest subscore by 20 points lifts the overall score by about 5. For most students that skill is Speaking or Writing, which is why preparation plans focus there.

The four combined subscores

Since 1 July 2024 the score report also shows four combined subscores, each the average of two skills:

Combined subscore	Average of	What it shows
Comprehension	Reading + Listening	understanding written and spoken English
Conversation	Speaking + Listening	taking part in spoken interaction
Literacy	Reading + Writing	working with written text
Production	Speaking + Writing	producing your own English

Example: Reading 110 and Writing 120 give Literacy (110 + 120) ÷ 2 = 115. Combined subscores from before July 2024 were calculated differently and cannot be converted to the new ones, so an old report is not directly comparable.

Some universities set a minimum for a combined subscore rather than a single skill. If a program asks for “Literacy 105”, it is asking about your reading and writing together.

Which questions feed which subscore

Subscore	Question types
Reading	Read and Select, Fill in the Blanks, Read and Complete, Interactive Reading
Listening	Listen and Type, Interactive Listening (Listen and Complete, Listen and Respond), the content of your conversation summaries
Writing	Write About the Photo, Interactive Writing, Writing Sample, Summarize the Conversation
Speaking	Speak About the Photo, Read, Then Speak, Interactive Speaking, Speaking Sample

Duolingo does not publish fixed percentage weights for question types: many questions are adaptive, so the score is not a count of right answers. Reading and listening questions are scored right or wrong or with partial credit (Listen and Type, Highlight the Answer, Listen and Complete). Writing and speaking answers are scored by AI on content, discourse coherence, grammar and lexis, with fluency and pronunciation added for speaking. Duolingo reports that its AI scores agree with human raters about 85% of the time, about as often as two human raters agree with each other.

DET scores and CEFR levels

CEFR	DET score
C2	155–160
C1	130–150
B2	100–125
B1	60–95
A1–A2	10–55

Many university courses taught in English expect at least B2. In DET terms that is 100 or more, and competitive programs often ask for well above the bottom of the band.

Official comparison with IELTS and TOEFL

This is the comparison table from Duolingo’s Scoring Guide (2026). The TOEFL column uses the old 0–120 TOEFL iBT scale: Duolingo’s help center states that its concordance data was collected in 2024–2025 on the 0–120 scale and does not yet reflect the 1–6 scale TOEFL introduced in 2026. Any DET-to-new-TOEFL comparison is therefore preliminary.

DET	CEFR	IELTS	TOEFL iBT (0–120)
160	C2	8.5–9	120
155	C2	8	119
150	C1	8	117–118
145	C1	7.5	113–116
140	C1	7.5	109–112
135	C1	7	104–108
130	C1	7	98–103
125	B2	6.5	93–97
120	B2	6.5	87–92
115	B2	6	82–86
110	B2	6	76–81
105	B2	6	70–75
100	B2	5.5	65–69
95	B1	5.5	59–64
90	B1	5	53–58
85	B1	5	47–52
80	B1	5	41–46
75	B1	4.5	35–40
70	B1	4.5	30–34
65	B1	4.5	24–29
60	B1	4	18–23
10–55	A1–A2	0–4	0–17

Duolingo also notes that its subscore comparisons and its overall comparison come from different data sets, so adding up subscore equivalents may not match the overall equivalent exactly.

How to read a university’s requirement

Universities set their own minimums, and they change them. Always check the program’s admissions page rather than a list on a blog. Then use the table above like this:

The page lists a DET minimum. That number is what counts. Check whether there are subscore minimums too: a 120 overall with a 95 in Writing may fail a rule of “no subscore below 100”.
The page lists only IELTS. Ask admissions whether they accept the DET at all. If they do, the table tells you roughly where to aim: an IELTS 6.5 requirement sits at DET 120–125.
Scholarships and visas. These often have their own rules and may not accept the DET even when the university does. See Duolingo English Test vs IELTS.

Give yourself a margin of about 10 points above the minimum in practice before you book. Practice estimates are never exact.

What schools see besides the number

When you share a result, institutions also see your Writing Sample and a video of your Speaking Sample from that same test. They cannot see samples from your other tests. An admissions officer who reads a confident, well-organized Writing Sample learns something the number does not show. How to prepare them: DET writing tasks and DET speaking tasks.

How long scores last and how they are sent

Results are valid for two years. After that you can no longer share the result or view the certificate.
Sharing is free and online. You can select up to 25 institutions at a time and add more later.
Results normally arrive within two days of the test, after proctors review it.

Fees, retakes and the faster-results option are covered in fee, registration and how to take it at home.

Raising your score: where the points usually are

Speaking and Writing are often the lowest subscores for students who read well. Short, complete, well-linked answers that use the full time beat long but unfocused ones.
Listen and Type rewards exact spelling and punctuation. Many students lose points on plural -s and past -ed.
Read and Complete never penalizes a guess more than a blank. Always type something.

Before booking, take a full Nomto practice test: it estimates your overall score and the four subscores on 10–160 and reviews every speaking and writing answer. Our estimate is a model, not an official result, so compare it with Duolingo’s free official Practice Test too.

Common questions

What is a good Duolingo English Test score? It depends on the program. As a reference, 100 is the start of B2, 120 equals IELTS 6.5 in Duolingo’s table, and 130 is the start of C1.

Is the overall score rounded up or down? Up, to the next score ending in 0 or 5.

What is the maximum DET score? 160.

Are the DET’s TOEFL equivalents valid for the new TOEFL? Not yet. Duolingo’s table uses the old 0–120 TOEFL scale; comparisons with the 2026 1–6 scale are preliminary.

Can I combine subscores from two different tests? The score report shows one test’s results. Whether a university accepts best scores across tests is its own decision; ask admissions.

Duolingo English Test is a trademark of Duolingo, Inc. Nomto is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Duolingo.

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