SAT to ACT Score Conversion Calculator (2026) — Plus the Full Concordance Table

You took one test and your friend took the other. Your college has a scholarship threshold in ACT points. A school you’re researching lists its middle 50% in SAT scores. However you arrived at this page, the question is the same: what does this score actually equal on the other test?

This guide gives you the answer, along with the context to use it correctly. Use our SAT/ACT converter tool below, then read on for the full official concordance table and everything you need to know about how these conversions work and where they apply.

SAT ↔ ACT Score Converter

Enter your SAT total score (400–1600) or your ACT composite score (1–36) to instantly see the concordant score on the other test, based on the official 2018 ACT/College Board concordance study.

Note: The range shown alongside each converted score reflects the band of scores on one test that correspond to a single score point on the other. Because the two tests do not measure identical skills, a concordant score is a comparable score — not a guaranteed equivalent. More on that distinction below.

What Is a Concordance Table — and What Isn’t It?

A concordance table establishes a statistical relationship between scores on two assessments that measure similar but not identical constructs. The ACT and the SAT both evaluate college readiness, but they do so through different structures, timing, question types, and scoring scales. Concordance does not equate those scores — it finds the point on each scale where students performed comparably.

ACT and the College Board collaborated on the most recent concordance study in 2018, analyzing data from students who took both tests. The resulting tables are the official industry standard used by colleges, scholarship organizations, athletic conferences, and policymakers when they need to compare scores across the two tests.

What concordance IS: A tool for finding comparable performance levels across two different assessments.

What concordance IS NOT: A prediction of what you would score on the other test if you took it. Your actual score could differ based on your test-taking strengths, preparation, and the specific skills each test emphasizes.

The tables are not updated annually — the 2018 edition remains current as of 2026. Both ACT and the College Board confirmed that these are the tables colleges and institutions should use for comparison purposes.

Official ACT to SAT Concordance Table (2026)

The table below is drawn directly from the official ACT/College Board concordance study (Table A2: ACT Composite to SAT Total). The SAT score shown is the single concordant score point; the SAT range shows the full band of SAT scores that correspond to each ACT composite.

ACT Composite	Concordant SAT Total	SAT Score Range
36	1590	1570–1600
35	1540	1530–1560
34	1500	1490–1520
33	1460	1450–1480
32	1430	1420–1440
31	1400	1390–1410
30	1370	1360–1380
29	1340	1330–1350
28	1310	1300–1320
27	1280	1260–1290
26	1240	1230–1250
25	1210	1200–1220
24	1180	1160–1190
23	1140	1130–1150
22	1110	1100–1120
21	1080	1060–1090
20	1040	1030–1050
19	1010	990–1020
18	970	960–980
17	930	920–950
16	890	880–910
15	850	830–870
14	800	780–820
13	760	730–770
12	710	690–720
11	670	650–680
10	630	620–640
9	590	590–610

Source: ACT/College Board Official Concordance Tables (2018). These tables have not been updated since 2018 and remain the current standard as of 2026.

How to Use Your Converted Score

Comparing Yourself to a College’s Admitted Student Profile

Most colleges publish their middle 50% test score ranges in either SAT or ACT format (or both). If a school lists an SAT middle 50% of 1200–1400 and you have a 27 ACT, the concordance table shows your 27 converts to an SAT of 1280 — right in the middle of that range. If a school lists an ACT middle 50% of 28–33 and you have a 1350 SAT, your 1350 converts to a 29 ACT, which puts you at the lower end of that band.

This is one of the most practical uses of concordance tables for students actively building a college list.

Scholarship and Eligibility Thresholds

Many merit scholarship programs, state scholarship funds, athletic conference eligibility requirements, and honor program admissions use minimum test score thresholds. When those thresholds are stated in one test’s scale, concordance tables let students with the other test determine whether they meet the comparable standard. Check with the specific program — some explicitly accept concordance conversions, while others require the specific test score stated.

Deciding Which Test to Submit

If a college is test-optional but you want to submit scores, converting your scores on both tests helps you identify which one shows your strongest performance relative to the school’s admitted student profile. A 31 ACT (concordant 1400 SAT) submitted to a school whose median admitted SAT is 1380 tells a clearer story than the number alone.

Deciding Which Test to Take

If you’ve taken a practice version of both tests, concordance tables can help you evaluate whether your relative performance on each test is roughly equivalent or whether one clearly shows your strengths better. A student who scores 28 on a practice ACT but only 1200 on a practice SAT (which would concordantly be a 25) may benefit from focusing preparation on the ACT.

Why the Two Tests Don’t Convert Perfectly

The ACT and SAT assess overlapping but distinct skill sets through different structural formats. Understanding those differences helps explain why concordance is approximate rather than exact.

Feature	SAT	ACT
Score range	400–1600	1–36
Sections	Reading/Writing + Math	English, Math, Reading, Science
Science section	No dedicated science section	Yes — tests data interpretation and scientific reasoning
Math calculator policy	All math allows calculator (2024 digital format)	Calculator allowed on math section
Essay	No longer offered	No longer offered (as of 2024)
Timing per question	More time per question on average	Faster pace — more questions per minute
Question style	Longer reading passages; context-heavy	Shorter, more direct questions; science reasoning
Total testing time	~2 hours 14 min (digital)	~2 hours 55 min
Top score	1600	36

Students who excel at data interpretation and fast-paced multiple choice often find the ACT a better fit. Students who prefer longer reading passages and more time per question tend to perform better on the SAT. Neither test is objectively harder — the relative difficulty depends on the individual student’s strengths.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are concordance tables the same as score equivalency tables?

No, and the distinction matters. Equivalency implies that two scores measure the same thing at the same level of precision — like converting inches to centimeters. Concordance is a statistical relationship between scores from assessments that measure similar but not identical constructs. A concorded score tells you where comparable groups of students scored on each test; it does not tell you what you personally would score on the other test if you took it. ACT and the College Board are careful to use the word concordance rather than equivalence for this reason.

Do colleges accept concorded scores in place of the actual test score?

Most do, but not universally. The vast majority of colleges that list test score ranges or minimums accept either the ACT or SAT directly, and use concordance internally to compare across applicants. For specific threshold-based programs — merit scholarships, athletic eligibility, state programs — you should confirm with the organization whether a concordance conversion is accepted or whether the actual score on a specific test is required. The NCAA, for example, uses its own sliding scale that incorporates concordance principles but has specific minimum requirements.

How old are the current concordance tables?

The current official concordance tables were published in 2018, based on a joint study by ACT and the College Board. They have not been updated since and remain the tables both organizations direct colleges and institutions to use. The 2018 study examined data from students who took both the current-format SAT (introduced in 2016) and the current-format ACT. Both organizations explicitly note that the tables are not updated annually.

My ACT score converts to an SAT score that seems lower than what I’d expect. Why?

Concordance is based on population-level statistical relationships, not a perfect one-to-one formula. The conversion reflects where students with your ACT score typically performed on the SAT, based on the large sample in the concordance study. Individual students frequently score differently on the actual other test than their concorded score would suggest — sometimes higher, sometimes lower, depending on which test’s format and content better fits their abilities. Think of the concorded score as an approximation, not a guarantee.

Is a 1200 SAT the same as a 25 ACT?

According to the official concordance table, a 1200 SAT is concordant with a 25 ACT. Colleges and scholarship programs use this equivalence when evaluating applicants from both test populations. That said, a student who scored 1200 on the SAT and a different student who scored 25 on the ACT are not guaranteed to have demonstrated identical academic preparation — they demonstrated comparable performance within their respective testing pools.

What is the ACT/SAT concordance for a perfect score?

A perfect 1600 SAT is concordant with a 36 ACT. A perfect 36 ACT is concordant with an SAT range of 1570–1600, with a single-score concordance of 1590. The slight asymmetry in the range reflects the statistical nature of the concordance study and the fact that more students score 1600 on the SAT than 36 on the ACT in percentage terms.

Do I need to convert my scores if a college accepts both tests?

No. If a college accepts both the SAT and ACT directly (which is true of virtually all U.S. colleges), simply submit whichever score you have. Admissions offices are experienced at reading both scales. The concordance table is useful for your own research — comparing yourself to a school’s published ranges, evaluating scholarship thresholds, or deciding which score to submit at a test-optional school — but you don’t need to convert your score for the college to understand it.

Can I use this tool to compare my SAT section scores to ACT section scores?

The official concordance study also includes section-level tables: SAT Math to ACT Math (Table B) and SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing to ACT English + Reading combined (Table C). The calculator above converts composite/total scores. For section-level comparisons, refer to the full concordance tables available on ACT.org.

The Bottom Line

Concordance tables are one of the most useful and most misunderstood tools in the college admissions toolkit. Used correctly, they help students benchmark their performance, evaluate scholarship and admissions thresholds, and make informed decisions about which test to emphasize. Used incorrectly — as a precise equivalency or a prediction of how you’d score on the other test — they can mislead.

The converter tool above gives you your concordant score instantly. The table below it gives you the full picture. And the context in this article tells you how to actually put that number to work.

Additional Resources

• SAT Calculator 
• ACT Calculator 
• Standardized Test Policies at Top Colleges 
• The Test-Optional Paradox: Why Published SAT Scores Keep Rising Even as Fewer Students Submit Them
• Comprehensive Guide to the SAT and ACT – 2026