What is a concordance table?

A concordance is an official statistical mapping between two tests, built jointly by College Board and ACT from students who took both exams. It tells you which scores represent equivalent performance, so an SAT total can be expressed as an ACT composite.

Is the conversion exact?

No. The concordance gives the most likely equivalent, but the two tests measure slightly different skills, so the mapping is a statistical best fit rather than a precise translation. Treat the result as a close estimate.

Should I report my SAT or my ACT?

Report whichever is stronger relative to typical admitted students at your target schools. Use this conversion to compare them on a common scale, then choose the one that places you higher.

Which concordance does this use?

It uses the official 2018 College Board and ACT concordance, the current standard updated for the redesigned and now Digital SAT scale of 400 to 1600. Both organizations endorse this table.

Why might colleges see a slightly different number?

Some colleges apply their own internal concordance or superscore policies. The official table is the most widely accepted reference, but always check whether a school publishes its own conversion.

What is the SAT to ACT Score Conversion Calculator?

Enter your SAT total from 400 to 1600 to get the equivalent ACT composite using the official College Board and ACT concordance table, so you can compare scores across both exams. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

SAT to ACT Score Conversion Calculator

Name: SAT to ACT Score Conversion Calculator
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Compare your SAT and ACT on one scale

Applicants often hold scores from both exams or want to know how an SAT total stacks up against the ACT. This calculator uses the official College Board and ACT concordance to translate your SAT total into the equivalent ACT composite, letting you compare the two directly and decide which to report.

Why a concordance exists

The SAT and ACT are not the same test. They cover overlapping but distinct skills, use different question formats, and weight time pressure differently. A student might genuinely outperform on one over the other. The concordance was built by having a large sample of students take both exams and using statistical methods to identify which score pairs represent comparable levels of achievement — not identical performance, but equivalent standing among test-takers.

Because the scales are different (SAT: 400–1600 in 10-point increments; ACT: 1–36 in whole numbers), the concordance cannot be a perfect one-to-one map. Several SAT scores map to the same ACT composite, and one ACT composite might correspond to an SAT range of 20–30 points.

Key reference points in the concordance

These are illustrative values from the official College Board and ACT concordance table, shown here to help you calibrate your result:

SAT Total	Equivalent ACT Composite
1600	36
1540	35
1490	34
1430	32
1360	30
1290	28
1210	26
1130	23
1010	20
880	17

Values in between these anchors interpolate within the SAT’s 10-point bands.

How to decide which score to report

After finding your ACT equivalent, compare it against the published middle-50% ranges for your target schools. Most colleges publish both SAT and ACT ranges for admitted students. Pick the metric where your score falls higher within that range — reporting a score in the 75th percentile of admitted students is more compelling than one at the 50th, even if both are technically above the cutoff.

If your ACT equivalent from this tool is stronger than your actual ACT score, and the concordance suggests you would do well, consider whether additional ACT prep and a retake is worth it. The same applies in reverse: a strong ACT that concords to a higher SAT range than your actual SAT is a signal that submitting the ACT may be strategically better.

Notes

An SAT total of 1400 concords to approximately an ACT composite of 31, while 1500 maps to approximately 34. The mapping is statistical, drawn from students who took both tests, so it reflects the most likely equivalent rather than an exact translation. Some colleges use their own internal concordance, so confirm a school’s policy when it matters.