About the SAT to ACT Converter
This SAT to ACT converter uses the official concordance tables published jointly by ACT and College Board in 2018 to translate a total SAT score (400–1600) into the equivalent ACT composite (1–36), or an ACT composite into its SAT equivalent. Pick a direction, enter your score and you get the matching score, the full SAT score band that maps to it, and the complete concordance table for reference.
Students use it to decide which test plays to their strengths after taking a practice test of each, to compare their scores with a college’s middle-50% ranges when the school reports only one test, and to set a target score on the other test. Counselors use it to compare applicants who submitted different tests.
Concordance tables show scores that represent similar levels of performance; they are not exact predictions of what you would score on the other test. SAT scores below 590 and ACT composites below 9 fall outside the published table, so the converter says so instead of showing a number. ACT and College Board have not published a newer concordance for the digital SAT or the enhanced ACT, so the 2018 tables are still the official comparison.
With the default inputs, the equivalent score is 25. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the sat to act converter
- 1Choose whether you are converting SAT to ACT or ACT to SAT.
- 2Enter your total SAT score (400–1600) or ACT composite (1–36).
- 3Read the equivalent score and the SAT band that corresponds to it.
- 4Compare the result with the middle-50% ranges of the colleges on your list.
Formula and method
There is no algebraic formula linking the two tests. ACT and College Board built the 2018 concordance by equipercentile linking — matching the percentile ranks of students who took both tests — and published it as a lookup table. Each ACT composite corresponds to a band of SAT totals (for example ACT 26 = SAT 1230–1250) and to a single SAT score used when converting from ACT to SAT (ACT 26 = SAT 1240).
This converter rounds SAT scores to the nearest 10 (SAT totals are always multiples of 10), finds the band containing the score, and returns the matching ACT composite. For the reverse direction it returns the single-point SAT equivalent.
Worked examples
SAT 1200 to ACT
SAT scores from 1200 to 1220 concord to an ACT composite of 25, so a 1200 is equivalent to a 25.
ACT 30 to SAT
An ACT composite of 30 corresponds to SAT scores between 1360 and 1380, with 1370 as the single-point equivalent.
SAT 1450 to ACT
A 1450 is the bottom of the 1450–1480 band, which concords to an ACT 33 — about the 98th percentile on ACT’s national ranks.
SAT 550 (below the table)
The official concordance starts at SAT 590 = ACT 9. A 550 falls below the lowest band, so there is no official ACT equivalent and the converter says so rather than inventing a score.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 1200 SAT on the ACT?+
A 1200 SAT is equivalent to an ACT composite of 25 under the official 2018 concordance, which maps SAT totals from 1200 to 1220 to an ACT 25.
What SAT score equals a 30 on the ACT?+
An ACT 30 corresponds to an SAT score of 1370, with the full concordance band running from 1360 to 1380.
Is the SAT or the ACT easier?+
Neither is objectively easier. The digital SAT is adaptive and has two sections (Reading and Writing, Math); the ACT is not adaptive, and since 2025 its science section is optional and no longer part of the composite. Take a practice test of each and compare the results with this converter.
Do colleges prefer the SAT or the ACT?+
US colleges that require or consider test scores accept both equally. Many use these same concordance tables to compare applicants who submitted different tests.
Does the concordance apply to the digital SAT and the shorter ACT?+
The 2018 tables are still the only official ACT/SAT concordance; ACT notes they are not updated annually, and College Board still publishes the same 2018 tables. The digital SAT reports on the same 400–1600 scale and the enhanced ACT on the same 1–36 scale, so colleges continue to use them, but no joint study of the new formats has been published.