US GPA Calculator 2026

Calculate your weighted and unweighted GPA on the US 4.0 and 5.0 scales. Enter letter grades, credit hours, and course types (AP, IB, Honors, Regular) to compute your GPA instantly.

Last revised 25 September 2026

By Team GlobalCalqulate · About our editorial standards

Course 1

Grade

Course Type

Credits

Academic Disclaimer: This calculator estimates GPA using common weighting scales for AP, IB, Honors, and Regular courses; actual weighting policies vary by school, district, and state, so results may not exactly match your official transcript GPA. Use this as a planning estimate, not an official record — confirm your GPA with your school's registrar. Full disclaimer.

Sources & methodology

Formula:: Grade point average (credit-weighted)
Reference:: BigFuture, College Board
Data source:: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
Content last updated:: September 2026
Scheduled re-verification:: September 2027

Calculation type: Exact calculation. Figures are taken from BigFuture, College Board and National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and College Board — see sources below.

Your entries stay on this device. This calculator runs entirely in your browser — the figures you type are not sent to us or to anyone else. The page itself uses cookies for analytics and advertising, described in the privacy policy.

Formula & methodology

Formula used

Grade point average (credit-weighted)

GPA = Σ (grade points × credit hours) ÷ Σ credit hours

Each course's grade is converted to points, multiplied by that course's credit hours, and the total is divided by the total credits. A 4-credit course therefore moves your GPA roughly four times as much as a 1-credit course with the same grade.

Origin: The standard US credit-weighted average, as described by College Board's BigFuture guidance for the 4.0 scale.

Weighted GPA

weighted points: AP/IB A = 5.0 | Honors A = 4.5 | Regular A = 4.0

The weighted figure runs the same average over a point table that adds a bonus for advanced coursework. Regular courses score identically on both scales — weighting only adds to AP/IB and Honors courses, it never subtracts from a Regular course.

There is no national weighted scale. The +1.0 for AP/IB and +0.5 for Honors used here are the most common US high school convention, not a rule.

Variable definitions

Symbol	Meaning	Unit
grade points	Grade points. The numeric value of a letter grade on the selected scale (A = 4.0 unweighted, 5.0 for AP/IB, 4.5 for Honors).	points
credit hours	Credit hours. The weight your school assigns the course. US high schools most often use 1.0 for a year-long course and 0.5 for a semester course; colleges typically use 3 or 4.	credits
course type	Course type. Regular, Honors, AP or IB — the selector that chooses which point table a course is scored against.	category

Step-by-step calculation

1. Convert each letter grade to points
An A- in a Regular course is 3.7; the same A- in an AP course is 4.7 on the weighted table.
2. Multiply by that course's credit hours
3.7 points × 1 credit = 3.7 quality points.
3. Add the quality points across all courses
For the default five courses: 4.0 + 3.8 + 4.7 + 3.0 + 5.0 = 20.5 weighted.
4. Divide by total credit hours
20.5 ÷ 5 credits = 4.10 weighted GPA. The same five courses on the unweighted table give 18.0 ÷ 5 = 3.60.

Clinical interpretation

Result	What it means
3.7 - 4.0 (unweighted)	An A average — every course at or near the top of the unweighted scale.
3.0 - 3.69	A B average, the range most US high school graduates fall in.
2.0 - 2.99	A C average. Commonly the minimum for graduation and for continued eligibility in many programs.
Below 2.0	A D average or lower. Many institutions treat this as academic-probation territory; check your school's own policy.

These bands follow arithmetically from the 4.0 point table. They are not admissions thresholds: what a given GPA means for a given application depends on the institution, the rigour of the courses behind it, and everything else in the file.

Common mistakes

Averaging the grade points and ignoring credits
GPA is credit-weighted. A 4-credit C pulls harder than a 1-credit C, which is why the totals are divided by credits rather than by the number of courses.
Assuming the weighted figure is the one on your transcript
Some schools report only unweighted, some only weighted, some both. Ask your registrar which one your transcript carries.
Leaving an unused course slot at its default credit value
Set the credits to 0 for a slot you are not using — otherwise it counts as a full course at its default grade.

Limitations

Grade-point scales are set by each school, district and state. Some award A+ = 4.3 rather than capping at 4.0; some do not use +/- modifiers at all. Where your school's table differs, this result will differ from your transcript.
The weighted bonus (+1.0 for AP/IB, +0.5 for Honors) is a common convention, not a national standard. Some schools weight IB Higher Level differently from Standard Level, or weight AP differently from IB.
Many colleges recalculate GPA from the transcript on their own scale — often stripping the weighting, or counting only academic core courses — so neither figure here is necessarily the number an admissions office will use.
This calculator takes five courses at a time. It computes a term GPA, not a cumulative GPA across prior terms.
Pass/fail, audited and transfer credits are treated differently by every institution and are not modelled here.

This page is educational. It applies a standard grading formula to the figures you enter and shows the arithmetic behind the result. The weighting, rounding and grade-point scale it uses are the common ones described above, but each school, college and examination board sets its own, so the figure here is a planning estimate rather than your official record. Check your institution's published grading policy before acting on it.

Sources & references

ReferenceHow to Calculate Your GPA on a 4.0 Scale — BigFuture, College Board
The letter-grade-to-grade-point conversion and the credit-weighted average this calculator applies on the unweighted 4.0 scale.
Reference dataHigh School Transcript Study (HSTS) — National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
The federal study of actual US high school transcripts. It collects courses taken, credits earned, final grades and grade point averages — evidence that a US GPA is derived from final grades weighted by credits, and that the transcript rather than any calculator is the record of it.
ReferenceParent Resource: Understanding AP — College Board
Supports the limitation stated below: most high schools give AP coursework a GPA boost, but the size of that boost is set by the school, not by the College Board — which is why the 5.0 weighted figure here reflects a common policy rather than a national standard.

Help & FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Clear answers to common questions to help you use this calculator confidently.

How do I calculate my weighted GPA?

Tap to view the answer

Weighted GPA gives extra points for advanced courses: AP and IB courses receive up to 5.0 for an A, Honors courses receive up to 4.5, and regular courses use the standard 4.0 scale. The calculator applies these weights automatically based on your course type selection.

What's the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?

Tap to view the answer

Unweighted GPA uses a standard 4.0 scale for all courses regardless of difficulty. Weighted GPA adds extra points for AP, IB, and Honors courses (typically up to 5.0). Colleges look at both — weighted shows course rigor, unweighted shows raw performance.

How many credits should each course be?

Tap to view the answer

Most high school courses are 1 credit per year (or 0.5 per semester). College courses are typically 3-4 credits. Enter the credit value as shown on your transcript — the calculator works with any credit system.

Is this GPA calculator US-specific?

Tap to view the answer

Yes — this calculator uses the US 4.0 (unweighted) and 5.0 (weighted with AP/IB/Honors) grading scales with A+/A/A- and +/- letter grade variants common in American high schools and colleges.

Need more help? Contact support or email globalcalqulate@gmail.com

We typically reply within 24–48 hours.

More United States calculators

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Understanding Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA

Unweighted GPA treats every course the same regardless of difficulty: an A is worth 4.0 whether it was earned in a Regular-track class or an AP class. This calculator's standard point table runs A/A+ = 4.0 down to F = 0.0, with plus/minus grades stepped in between (A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, and so on). Unweighted GPA is useful for comparing students on a common scale, but it doesn't reward students who take harder courses.

Weighted GPA adds extra points for courses considered more rigorous, so a student who earns a B in an AP class can end up with a higher GPA contribution than a student who earns an A in a Regular class. This calculator uses two weighting tiers: AP and IB courses use a 5.0-scale table (A/A+ = 5.0), and Honors courses use a 4.5-scale table (A/A+ = 4.5) — both scaled up from the same 4.0 Regular baseline. A Regular-track A stays at 4.0 in both the weighted and unweighted calculation, since there's no bonus to add.

There is no single national standard for GPA weighting — schools, districts, and states each set their own policies. Some schools add a flat +1.0 for AP/IB and +0.5 for Honors; others use different bumps, cap the number of weighted courses that count, or don't weight some Honors classes at all. This calculator's tables (5.0 for AP/IB, 4.5 for Honors, 4.0 standard) reflect common conventions, but your official transcript GPA is whatever your school's registrar calculates under its own policy. Treat this tool as a planning estimate, not a substitute for your transcript.

GPA is a credit-weighted average, not a simple average of grades. Each course's grade points are multiplied by its credit hours, the results are summed, and the total is divided by total credits attempted. A 3-credit course therefore affects your cumulative GPA three times as much as a 1-credit course. This calculator applies that same weighting across up to five courses at once — enter each course's grade, type, and credit value to get an accurate blended result.

Formula & methodology

Formula used

Grade point average (credit-weighted)

GPA = Σ (grade points × credit hours) ÷ Σ credit hours

Origin: The standard US credit-weighted average, as described by College Board's BigFuture guidance for the 4.0 scale.

Weighted GPA

weighted points: AP/IB A = 5.0 | Honors A = 4.5 | Regular A = 4.0

There is no national weighted scale. The +1.0 for AP/IB and +0.5 for Honors used here are the most common US high school convention, not a rule.

Variable definitions

Symbol	Meaning	Unit
grade points	Grade points. The numeric value of a letter grade on the selected scale (A = 4.0 unweighted, 5.0 for AP/IB, 4.5 for Honors).	points
credit hours	Credit hours. The weight your school assigns the course. US high schools most often use 1.0 for a year-long course and 0.5 for a semester course; colleges typically use 3 or 4.	credits
course type	Course type. Regular, Honors, AP or IB — the selector that chooses which point table a course is scored against.	category

Step-by-step calculation

1. Convert each letter grade to points
An A- in a Regular course is 3.7; the same A- in an AP course is 4.7 on the weighted table.
2. Multiply by that course's credit hours
3.7 points × 1 credit = 3.7 quality points.
3. Add the quality points across all courses
For the default five courses: 4.0 + 3.8 + 4.7 + 3.0 + 5.0 = 20.5 weighted.
4. Divide by total credit hours
20.5 ÷ 5 credits = 4.10 weighted GPA. The same five courses on the unweighted table give 18.0 ÷ 5 = 3.60.

Clinical interpretation

Result	What it means
3.7 - 4.0 (unweighted)	An A average — every course at or near the top of the unweighted scale.
3.0 - 3.69	A B average, the range most US high school graduates fall in.
2.0 - 2.99	A C average. Commonly the minimum for graduation and for continued eligibility in many programs.
Below 2.0	A D average or lower. Many institutions treat this as academic-probation territory; check your school's own policy.

Common mistakes

Averaging the grade points and ignoring credits
GPA is credit-weighted. A 4-credit C pulls harder than a 1-credit C, which is why the totals are divided by credits rather than by the number of courses.
Assuming the weighted figure is the one on your transcript
Some schools report only unweighted, some only weighted, some both. Ask your registrar which one your transcript carries.
Leaving an unused course slot at its default credit value
Set the credits to 0 for a slot you are not using — otherwise it counts as a full course at its default grade.

Limitations

Grade-point scales are set by each school, district and state. Some award A+ = 4.3 rather than capping at 4.0; some do not use +/- modifiers at all. Where your school's table differs, this result will differ from your transcript.
The weighted bonus (+1.0 for AP/IB, +0.5 for Honors) is a common convention, not a national standard. Some schools weight IB Higher Level differently from Standard Level, or weight AP differently from IB.
Many colleges recalculate GPA from the transcript on their own scale — often stripping the weighting, or counting only academic core courses — so neither figure here is necessarily the number an admissions office will use.
This calculator takes five courses at a time. It computes a term GPA, not a cumulative GPA across prior terms.
Pass/fail, audited and transfer credits are treated differently by every institution and are not modelled here.

Sources & references

ReferenceHow to Calculate Your GPA on a 4.0 Scale — BigFuture, College Board

The letter-grade-to-grade-point conversion and the credit-weighted average this calculator applies on the unweighted 4.0 scale.

Reference dataHigh School Transcript Study (HSTS) — National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education

The federal study of actual US high school transcripts. It collects courses taken, credits earned, final grades and grade point averages — evidence that a US GPA is derived from final grades weighted by credits, and that the transcript rather than any calculator is the record of it.

ReferenceParent Resource: Understanding AP — College Board

Supports the limitation stated below: most high schools give AP coursework a GPA boost, but the size of that boost is set by the school, not by the College Board — which is why the 5.0 weighted figure here reflects a common policy rather than a national standard.

Understanding Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA

Calculator inputs

Course 1

Course 23 options

Course 33 options

Course 43 options

Course 53 options

Your results

Sources & methodology

Formula & methodology

Formula used

Grade point average (credit-weighted)

Weighted GPA

Variable definitions

Step-by-step calculation

Clinical interpretation

Common mistakes

Limitations

Sources & references

How do I calculate my weighted GPA?

What's the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?

How many credits should each course be?

Is this GPA calculator US-specific?

More United States calculators

More United States calculators

Calculator inputs

Course 1

Course 23 options

Course 33 options

Course 43 options

Course 53 options

Your results

Sources & methodology

How to Use This Calculator

Worked example: five 1-credit courses

Understanding Your Results

Key Tips

Understanding Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA

Formula & methodology

Formula used

Grade point average (credit-weighted)

Weighted GPA

Variable definitions

Step-by-step calculation

Clinical interpretation

Common mistakes

Limitations

Sources & references

How to Use This Calculator

Worked example: five 1-credit courses

Understanding Your Results

Key Tips

Understanding Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA