Score chart
PTE Core and CELPIP scores, side by side
CELPIP was built in Canada around the Canadian Language Benchmarks, so a CELPIP level is a CLB level. That makes the comparison with PTE Core unusually clean: one column of levels, four columns of PTE Core ranges.
The combined table
| CLB | CELPIP level | PTE Core Listening | PTE Core Reading | PTE Core Speaking | PTE Core Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB 10 | 10 | 89–90 | 88–90 | 89–90 | 90–90 |
| CLB 9 | 9 | 82–88 | 78–87 | 84–88 | 88–89 |
| CLB 8 | 8 | 71–81 | 69–77 | 76–83 | 79–87 |
| CLB 7 | 7 | 60–70 | 60–68 | 68–75 | 69–78 |
| CLB 6 | 6 | 50–59 | 51–59 | 59–67 | 60–68 |
| CLB 5 | 5 | 39–49 | 42–50 | 51–58 | 51–59 |
| CLB 4 | 4 | 28–38 | 33–41 | 42–50 | 41–50 |
PTE Core ranges from Pearson PTE Core Score Guide, Jan 2024 (v1), p. 9. CELPIP-General levels equal CLB levels per the IRCC language-testing equivalency tables (a level is reported per skill, from 1 to 12, with M for minimal). Confirm both on the IRCC site before applying.
Minimum PTE Core score for each CELPIP level
If you have a CELPIP target in mind, these are the PTE Core scores that reach the same benchmark.
| Target | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CELPIP 10 | 89 | 88 | 89 | 90 |
| CELPIP 9 | 82 | 78 | 84 | 88 |
| CELPIP 8 | 71 | 69 | 76 | 79 |
| CELPIP 7 | 60 | 60 | 68 | 69 |
| CELPIP 6 | 50 | 51 | 59 | 60 |
| CELPIP 5 | 39 | 42 | 51 | 51 |
| CELPIP 4 | 28 | 33 | 42 | 41 |
Why CELPIP levels equal CLB levels
CELPIP is designed and administered in Canada by Paragon Testing Enterprises, and its reporting scale was written to the Canadian Language Benchmarks from the start. A CELPIP-General result of 9 in Listening is, by construction, CLB 9 in Listening. There is no lookup table in the way there is for IELTS or PTE Core; the number on the report is the benchmark. That is why candidates who already know their CLB target often find CELPIP's score report easiest to read.
PTE Core takes the other route. It reports a score on a 10 to 90 scale that is shared with PTE Academic, and a separate alignment study maps ranges of that scale to each CLB level, skill by skill. The two approaches arrive at the same place for IRCC, which treats a CELPIP 8 and a PTE Core Listening 71 to 81 as the same CLB 8.
Reading across the table
- One CELPIP level can be a wide or a narrow PTE Core band. CELPIP 9 in Reading corresponds to ten PTE Core points (78 to 87); CELPIP 9 in Writing corresponds to two (88 to 89). On CELPIP you either have the 9 or you do not; on PTE Core you can see how far inside the band you landed, which is useful when deciding whether a retake is likely to hold the level.
- The top is compressed on both. CELPIP 10, 11 and 12 all exceed CLB 9 and earn the same immigration points as CLB 10. On PTE Core, CLB 10 is the last one to three points of the scale in each skill. Beyond CLB 10 there is nothing to gain from either test.
- Speaking floors differ. CELPIP 5 in Speaking is the same benchmark as PTE Core Speaking 51 to 58, while CELPIP 5 in Listening is PTE Core 39 to 49. PTE Core's Speaking scale starts its bands higher than its Listening scale; CELPIP's bands are the CLB itself in every skill.
Translating a CELPIP result into a PTE Core target
Because the CELPIP level is the CLB, the translation is one lookup. A CELPIP-General 8 / 9 / 7 / 8 (Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing) is CLB 8 / 9 / 7 / 8. The PTE Core minimums for those levels are 71 / 78 / 68 / 79. Reaching CLB 9 in all four from that position means 82 / 78 / 84 / 88 on PTE Core, or a 9 in every skill on CELPIP. The score planning calculator gives the gaps from any current result.
The reverse translation has a small trap. A PTE Core Writing 87 "feels" like a 9 because it is one point away, but it is CLB 8 and would be reported as a CELPIP 8. Point scores invite rounding; the tables do not round.
Does the same level feel equally hard?
The alignment is meant to make them equal in ability, not in experience. CELPIP's Speaking component asks you to talk to a computer for around fifteen to twenty minutes across eight tasks, many of them a minute long; PTE Core Speaking is roughly thirty short responses of ten to forty seconds. CELPIP Writing is two longer pieces, an email and a survey response; PTE Core Writing is spread over emails, one-sentence summaries, dictation and typed blanks. People who are strong at sustained speech and weaker at precision tend to find CELPIP more natural; people who are precise but freeze during longer monologues tend to find PTE Core more natural. The full comparison covers format, cost, results timing and who should pick which.
Rules that apply to both
- All four skills must come from one sitting of one test. CELPIP and PTE Core results cannot be combined.
- Results must be less than two years old when you submit a profile and when you apply.
- For Express Entry and most economic programmes, the CELPIP test must be CELPIP-General, not CELPIP-General LS, and the Pearson test must be PTE Core, not PTE Academic.
- Only per-skill results count. Neither test's overall figure is used by IRCC.
This page reproduces published alignment tables for comparison and is not immigration advice. Confirm the current tables on the IRCC site before booking either test.