Free IB UCAS points calculator covering HL and SL grades, TOK and Extended Essay. Official tariff values, updated for 2026 university applications.
IB UCAS Points Calculator takes your six IB subject grades, converts each one at the correct level, and adds your Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay points on top. The result is your UCAS tariff total, the figure some UK universities use in their entry requirements.
The reason IB students need a dedicated tool is that the conversion has more moving parts than any other qualification. Higher Level and Standard Level carry different values for the same grade. TOK and the Extended Essay earn points of their own, which most students never realise. Grades 1 and 2 earn nothing at all. And the number everyone knows, the diploma score out of 45, plays no part in any of it. Enter your grades subject by subject above and the calculator handles every one of those rules for you.
Six subjects, then two more entries for TOK and the Extended Essay. That is the whole process.
Six rows for a full diploma, or fewer if you are taking IB certificates rather than the whole thing.
Set each subject to Higher Level or Standard Level first. The same grade is worth more at Higher Level, so this step matters.
Both are graded A to E and both carry points. Skipping these is the most common way students undercount their total.
The IB UCAS Points Calculator adds everything as you go. Download a PDF if you want a copy to check against an offer letter.
This is the mistake almost every IB student makes at first, and plenty of websites make it too. The IB grades your diploma out of 45. UCAS ignores that number completely. Tariff points are awarded per subject, based on the grade and whether it was taken at Higher or Standard Level.
Two students can both finish on 36 out of 45 and hold different UCAS totals, because it matters where their marks came from. A 36 built on strong Higher Level grades converts to more tariff points than a 36 carried by Standard Level subjects. So when a course lists an offer in UCAS points, work through your subjects one at a time, or let the calculate UCAS points IB tool above do it for you. Never try to convert the 45-point score directly, because no such conversion exists.
Three tables cover everything an IB points to UCAS points calculator needs: Higher Level subjects, Standard Level subjects, and the two core components that carry points. These are the values behind every row of the tool above.
|
IB Grade |
UCAS Points |
A-Level Equivalent |
|
7 |
56 |
A* |
|
6 |
48 |
A |
|
5 |
32 |
C |
|
4 |
24 |
D |
|
3 |
12 |
Below E |
|
2 or 1 |
0 |
No Points |
|
IB Grade |
UCAS Points |
|
7 |
28 |
|
6 |
24 |
|
5 |
16 |
|
4 |
12 |
|
3 |
6 |
|
2 or 1 |
0 |
|
Grade |
TOK Points |
Extended Essay Points |
|
A |
12 |
12 |
|
B |
10 |
10 |
|
C |
8 |
8 |
|
D |
6 |
6 |
|
E |
4 |
4 |
⚠ The HL 6 to 5 cliff. Dropping from a 6 to a 5 at Higher Level costs 16 points, falling from 48 to 32. It is the steepest single drop anywhere on the tariff, so a wobble in one HL subject moves your total more than most students expect. CAS carries no tariff points at all.
A student with 6, 6, 5 at HL and 6, 5, 5 at SL, plus B in TOK and C in the Extended Essay
Higher Level: 48 + 48 + 32 = 128 points
Standard Level: 24 + 16 + 16 = 56 points
Core: TOK B (10) + EE C (8) = 18 points
Total: 202 UCAS points
Notice this student’s diploma score is 33 out of 45, a solid but not spectacular result, yet their tariff total of 202 comfortably clears the highest figure three A-Levels can produce, which is 168. This is normal for IB students, and it is exactly why the most selective universities set IB offers on the 45 scale instead. More on that below.
56
The same as an A* at A-Level. The highest single-subject value on the IB side of the tariff.
48
Matches an A at A-Level. Three HL 6s alone give 144 points, the same as AAA.
144
From Higher Level subjects only, before adding Standard Level and core points. A common baseline in selective offers.
28
Exactly half the Higher Level value. Standard Level grades run from 28 points down to 6.
It splits cleanly in two. Mid-tariff universities, which make points-based offers, will happily state a figure like 112 or 128 UCAS points and let your IB subjects meet it however they fall. For these courses your tariff total is the number that matters, and this page gives it to you.
The most selective universities do it differently. Oxford, Cambridge and most Russell Group courses write IB offers on the diploma’s own scale, something like 38 points overall with 6, 6, 6 at Higher Level. If you receive an offer written that way, your UCAS tariff total is irrelevant to meeting it. Read the offer letter carefully, because the two systems use the word points to mean entirely different things, and mixing them up is the most common IB application error there is.
An A in each adds 12 points, up to 24 combined. Plenty of IB students leave these out of their total and undersell themselves by two dozen points.
Creativity, Activity, Service is required for the diploma but carries no tariff points. It still matters to admissions tutors reading your application, just not to the number.
Tariff points start at grade 3. A subject finishing on 2 contributes nothing to your total, at either level.
If you take individual IB subjects rather than the full diploma, each one still carries its tariff points. Enter each certificate subject in the calculator as normal.
IBCP students earn tariff points from their IB subjects and from the reflective project, which is the only part of the CP core that carries points.
If you retake an IB subject, your final certificated grade is the one that counts. An earlier lower result does not pull your total down.
You cannot convert the overall score directly. Two students on 36 can hold different tariff totals depending on how their grades split between Higher and Standard Level. List your six subject grades, convert each at its level, add TOK and Extended Essay points, and that sum is your answer. The IB UCAS Points Calculator above does this in seconds.
The maximum is 276 points: three HL 7s (168), three SL 7s (84), and an A in both TOK and the Extended Essay (24). A typical solid diploma lands between 150 and 220 points.
In tariff points, yes. Both are worth 56. An HL 6 matches an A at 48 points.
Yes. Each is graded A to E and carries points from 12 down to 4. Together they can add up to 24 points to your total. CAS carries none.
Because the diploma contains six subjects plus the core, against three A-Levels. A middling diploma often clears 168 points, the A-Level ceiling. Universities know this, which is why selective courses set IB offers on the 45 scale rather than in tariff points.
Yes. Enter your predicted grades to estimate your total during the application year, then enter your final results in July to confirm it.
Yes. The tariff adds qualifications together regardless of type. A student with IB certificates and an A-Level simply sums the points from each.
Completely free, no account needed, and nothing you enter is stored. This IB UCAS points calculator runs entirely in your browser.