Convert a GPA between 4.0, 5.0, 10.0, and percent
A scale is a chart from marks to points. Converting means applying a new chart to each course and averaging again. Multiplying the finished GPA by a constant answers a different question, and it usually gives the wrong number.
Updated October 27, 2026
Why the shortcut fails
Suppose a transcript shows 8.5 on a 10-point scale. A common shortcut multiplies by 0.4, because 4/10 = 0.4, and reports 3.40 as the "4.0 equivalent." On GPACalcy's own 10.0 chart, 8.5 is exactly the point value of a B. On the 4.0 chart, a B is 3.0, not 3.4. The shortcut invented 0.4 grade points that the letter chart does not contain.
The shortcut fails for a second reason. An 8.5 on a transcript is often already an average of unlike courses. You cannot recover those courses by scaling the average. A student with one 10.0 and one 7.0 has the same 8.5 mean as a student with two 8.5s, and their 4.0-scale GPAs will differ if the point chart is not a straight line. GPACalcy's charts are not straight lines. A− is 3.7 on the 4.0 scale and 9.5 on the 10.0 scale. 3.7 × 2.5 = 9.25, not 9.5. Anyone who converts by multiplying has already left this site's tables.
The reliable method is duller. Take each course's mark. Map it through the destination chart to grade points. Multiply by credits. Divide by credits. That is the same formula as calculating a GPA, with a deliberate choice of chart. If you do not have the courses, say you have a 10-point GPA and stop. Do not publish a fake 4.0 number next to it.
The three charts on this calculator
These are the maps the scale menu uses. They match the Grade Scale Reference under the calculator. Another school's 10-point rules may use 9 for an A or may score an A− differently. Use that school's chart for official work. Use these when you want the number GPACalcy will display.
| Letter | 4.0 scale | 5.0 scale | 10.0 scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+, A | 4.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
| A− | 3.7 | 4.7 | 9.5 |
| B+ | 3.3 | 4.3 | 9.0 |
| B | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 |
| B− | 2.7 | 3.7 | 8.0 |
| C+ | 2.3 | 3.3 | 7.5 |
| C | 2.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 |
| C− | 1.7 | 2.7 | 6.5 |
| D+ | 1.3 | 2.3 | 6.0 |
| D | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.5 |
| D− | 0.7 | 1.7 | 5.0 |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
The 5.0 column is the 4.0 column plus 1.0, except F, which stays 0.0 on every scale. The 10.0 column is not a multiple of the 4.0 column. Switching the menu rescores every letter you have already selected. It does not know which courses were honors courses. If only some courses carry a bonus, the 5.0 menu is the wrong tool. The bonus method is in the weighted guide.
Worked example: the same three letters on two scales
Three courses, 3 credits each: A, B, and A−. Unweighted.
On the 4.0 scale, quality points = 4.0 × 3 + 3.0 × 3 + 3.7 × 3 = 12 + 9 + 11.1 = 32.1. GPA = 32.1 / 9 = 3.5666, shown as 3.57. On the 5.0 scale, quality points = 5.0 × 3 + 4.0 × 3 + 4.7 × 3 = 15 + 12 + 14.1 = 41.1. GPA = 41.1 / 9 = 4.5666, shown as 4.57. On the 10.0 scale, quality points = 10 × 3 + 8.5 × 3 + 9.5 × 3 = 30 + 25.5 + 28.5 = 84. GPA = 84 / 9 = 9.333, shown as 9.33.
Now apply the shortcuts people actually use. 4.57 × (4/5) = 3.656, not 3.57. 9.33 × (4/10) = 3.732, not 3.57. Both shortcuts are high. The error is baked into the curves of the tables, and it would be a different error on a different school's tables. Rescore the letters. There is no constant that repairs this for every set of courses.
Percentage marks
Percentages are not a GPA scale until someone publishes the cutoffs. A 90 can be an A at one college and an A− or a B at another. The bands below are an example in the same shape as many U.S. syllabi, paired with this site's 4.0 points so the arithmetic is easy to follow. They are not your syllabus. If your instructor draws the lines at 94 or at 80, use those lines and keep the same multiplication steps.
| Example percent band | Letter on this chart | 4.0 points |
|---|---|---|
| 93–100 | A | 4.0 |
| 90–92 | A− | 3.7 |
| 87–89 | B+ | 3.3 |
| 83–86 | B | 3.0 |
| 80–82 | B− | 2.7 |
| 77–79 | C+ | 2.3 |
| 73–76 | C | 2.0 |
| 70–72 | C− | 1.7 |
| 67–69 | D+ | 1.3 |
| 63–66 | D | 1.0 |
| 60–62 | D− | 0.7 |
| 0–59 | F | 0.0 |
Worked example: four percentage grades, unequal credits
Chemistry 96% (4 credits), Writing 91% (3 credits), Statistics 74% (3 credits), Lab 62% (1 credit). Using the example bands: 96 is an A, 91 is an A−, 74 is a C, 62 is a D−.
Quality points = 4.0 × 4 + 3.7 × 3 + 2.0 × 3 + 0.7 × 1 = 16.0 + 11.1 + 6.0 + 0.7 = 33.8. Credits = 11. GPA = 33.8 / 11 = 3.0727, shown as 3.07 if you enter A, A−, C, and D− on the 4.0 scale with those credits.
Two shortcuts give different answers. The average of the four percentages is (96 + 91 + 74 + 62) / 4 = 80.75. On the example chart, 80–82 is a B−, worth 2.7, and that shortcut ignored the fact that Chemistry is 4 credits and the lab is 1. The average of the four grade-point values, ignoring credits, is (4.0 + 3.7 + 2.0 + 0.7) / 4 = 2.60. The credit-weighted GPA is 3.07. Both shortcuts are low here because the strongest mark carries the most credits. In another term the strongest mark might be the one-credit lab, and the shortcuts would land high instead. There is no direction you can count on. Do the weighted sum.
The calculator cannot accept 96 as a grade. Convert to a letter with your real cutoffs first, then select that letter. If your school averages percentages into a single course grade and only then assigns a letter, convert once, at the end of the course, not on every quiz.
What you can and cannot claim
You can say "on GPACalcy's 4.0 table, these letters and credits produce 3.07." You can say "my transcript reports 8.5 on a 10-point scale" and attach the legend. You cannot honestly say "my 4.0 GPA is 3.40" solely because 8.5 × 0.4 = 3.4. Evaluators who know the receiving chart will rescore anyway. Handing them a homemade equivalent saves no time and can conflict with the rescore.
International transcripts are the case this comes up most. A 10-point university, a percentage university, and a U.S. college do not share a converter that this website is allowed to pretend is official. Professional evaluation services and the admissions office of the receiving school publish the rules they use, when they publish any. GPACalcy is not one of those services. It will apply the three tables above, consistently, to letters you choose. See About for the statement that this site is independent of any school.
If two of your own schools use different plus-minus cuts, keep the letters each school already assigned. Do not translate a B+ from a school that starts B+ at 87 into a different letter just because the table on this page starts B+ at 87 as an example. The example table is for raw percentages that do not yet have letters.
Related guides
- How to calculate GPA — the division step after the chart is chosen.
- Weighted vs unweighted — bonus points versus the 5.0 menu.
- What a good GPA means — why a 9.3 and a 3.7 are not automatically the same kind of news.