Last updated October 23, 2026.
Which one do you need?
If you have letter grades and credit hours on this page’s 4.0 table, use GPA. If you have percent scores and assignment weights, use the grade calculator. If you have a list of numbers and no weights, use the average. A course percent, a GPA, and a mean are three results. They are not three ways to print the same score.
Side by side
| Tool | Use when | Not for | Published example |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPA Calculator | You have letter grades and credit hours and want a 4.0 GPA. | A percent score belongs on the grade calculator. An unweighted list belongs on the average calculator. Schools that use a different scale will not match this table. | A, B+, and A−, each worth 3 credits, produce a GPA of 3.67. |
| Grade Calculator | You have percent scores and weights for assignments or categories. | The letter it prints is from this page’s 90/80/70/60 cutoffs, not from a 4.0 GPA. | 90% weighted 40 and 80% weighted 60 produce a course score of 84, which this page labels B. |
| Average Calculator | You want the arithmetic mean of a list of numbers. | It ignores credit hours and assignment weights. Use GPA or grade when those weights matter. | 80, 90, and 70 average to 80. That is not a GPA and not a weighted course grade. |
Method and assumptions
GPA multiplies each letter’s 4.0 points by credits, then divides by total credits. A+ and A are both 4.0; A− is 3.7; B+ is 3.3. Grade multiplies each percent score by its weight and divides by the total weight, then maps 90/80/70/60 to A/B/C/D. Average adds the numbers and divides by how many there are. No weights.
The same numbers, different questions
The GPA example is A, B+, and A−, each worth 3 credits. On this page A and A+ are 4.0, A− is 3.7, and B+ is 3.3. The result is 3.67. That number is not a percent. Feeding 3.67 into the average calculator does not recover the letters, and a registrar that uses different plus and minus points will not match 3.67.
The grade example uses percents and weights: 90% at weight 40 and 80% at weight 60 is a course score of 84, which this page labels B from the 90/80/70/60 cutoffs. Those cutoffs are this calculator’s labels, not a 4.0 scale and not your syllabus if your syllabus differs. The same 90 and 80 without weights are a different question. The average of a list is the unweighted mean.
The average example is 80, 90, and 70, which is 80. There is no credit hour and no assignment weight. If those three numbers were course grades with different credits, the average page would still divide by three. That is why it can disagree with GPA even when the underlying marks feel related. Use the page whose inputs you actually have.
Put the published grade inputs next to the average and the difference is the weight. Ninety and eighty are not averaged to 85 here, because the 80 is weighted 60 and the 90 is weighted 40, and the page prints 84. The GPA example never sees 90 or 80. It sees letters and credits, then this page’s 4.0 table. A school that sets A− or B+ to different points will not match 3.67, and the tool-testing page is where that table is described. None of the three results is a class rank, a transcript, or a guarantee that a later course will use the same cutoff.
Common mistakes
- Treating a course percentage of 84 as a 4.0 GPA, or a GPA of 3.67 as an 84.
- Assuming A+ is above 4.0. On this page A+ and A are both 4.0.
- Averaging letter points yourself and forgetting to weight by credits.
- Expecting the grade label B to match a school that sets the B cutoff somewhere other than 80.
- Rounding 3.67 to 3.7 or 4.0 before you compare it with a registrar. This page’s published example stays at 3.67 for those three letters and three equal credit weights. Keep the credit hours in the form even when every course is worth 3. Dropping a credit changes the denominator.
GPA Calculator
You have letter grades and credit hours and want a 4.0 GPA.
A percent score belongs on the grade calculator. An unweighted list belongs on the average calculator. Schools that use a different scale will not match this table.
Example. A, B+, and A−, each worth 3 credits, produce a GPA of 3.67.
Grade Calculator
You have percent scores and weights for assignments or categories.
The letter it prints is from this page’s 90/80/70/60 cutoffs, not from a 4.0 GPA.
Example. 90% weighted 40 and 80% weighted 60 produce a course score of 84, which this page labels B.
Average Calculator
You want the arithmetic mean of a list of numbers.
It ignores credit hours and assignment weights. Use GPA or grade when those weights matter.
Example. 80, 90, and 70 average to 80. That is not a GPA and not a weighted course grade.
Sources and limits
- How this GPA scale is defined — The 4.0 points are the table in the calculator, not a claim that every school uses it.
Questions
Why doesn’t my GPA match my course percentage?
GPA converts letters to 4.0 points and weights them by credits. A course percentage weights raw scores. They are not the same scale.
Will this GPA match my registrar?
Only if that office uses this page’s letter points, including A+ = 4.0. Plus and minus values differ by school.