What this calculator does
This calculator answers a narrow, common question: what letter grade does a given percentage translate to? Enter a score like 75%, and it maps that directly to a letter using a standard 10-point scale, the kind widely used across schools and universities, with plus and minus grades at the 3-point marks within each letter band.
The scale here is a commonly cited default, not a universal standard. Individual schools, courses and countries set their own grade boundaries, sometimes shifting the cutoff for a C or a pass by several percentage points, so treat this as a reference point and check your own syllabus or institution’s published scale for anything that actually counts toward a result.
The formula
The percentage is compared against a fixed table of grade bands: 90 and above is an A range, 80 to 89 a B range, and so on down to below 60 being an F. Within each letter, the top three points get a plus, the bottom three points get a minus, and the middle four points get the plain letter.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Letter grade | The single letter (A through F, with plus or minus) that a percentage score maps to on the chosen scale. |
| Grade band | The 10-point range of percentages, such as 80 to 89, that corresponds to one letter grade before plus/minus is applied. |
| Plus/minus grading | A refinement that splits each 10-point band into three sub-grades using the top, middle and bottom few points of the range. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Percentage score (%) | The percentage score to convert, from 0 to 100. |
When to use it
Translating a raw score into a familiar grade
A percentage on its own does not always convey how a result compares, while a letter grade is instantly meaningful within a system that uses them, which is the whole point of grading on a letter scale in the first place.
Checking how close a result is to the next grade up
A score sitting just under a boundary, such as 89% just short of an A-, is worth knowing about precisely because a small change could shift the letter grade entirely.
Comparing scores across different reporting formats
When one course reports percentages and another reports letters, converting the percentage version gives a like-for-like comparison, on the standard scale at least.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
Letter grade across a range of percentage scores
A spread of scores from failing to top marks, and the letter grade each one produces.
Questions
What grade is 75%?
On the standard 10-point scale used here, 75% falls in the C range (73 to 76 gives a plain C), between C- below it and C+ above it.
Is this the same scale every school uses?
No. This is a commonly cited default, but grade boundaries vary by school, course and country, sometimes significantly. Always check the specific scale your own course or institution publishes.
How is this different from the grade calculator already on this site?
The grade calculator combines several weighted assignment scores into one overall percentage and letter grade. This calculator skips that step and converts a single percentage you already have straight to a letter.
What about averaging several letter grades I already have?
That is a different calculation, covered by the letter grade average calculator, which converts each letter to a grade-point value, averages them, then converts back to a letter.
To combine several weighted scores into one grade first, use the grade calculator. To average letter grades you already have, see the letter grade average calculator.