Your GPA, calculated course by course.
Add each class with its grade and credit hours. Ace works out your semester GPA, your quality points, and — if you add last term's numbers — your new cumulative GPA, all on the standard 4.0 scale.
- ✓Semester + cumulative in one place
- ✓Honors & AP bonus for weighted GPA
- ✓Goal planner — see the GPA you need next term
GPA Calculator
Add your courses to see your GPA.
Cumulative GPA
Already have a GPA from previous terms? Add it here and this semester gets folded in.
What GPA do I need next term?
Tell us your target cumulative GPA and how many credits you're taking next — we'll show the GPA those credits need to average.
The full toolbox
Every grade tool in one place
GPA is the long view. When your question is about a single course, an exam, or a single test score, these tools use the same grade math for that job.
Grade Calculator
Your current course grade from scores and syllabus weights — percentage, letter and GPA.
Calculate →Final Grade Calculator
The exact score you need on your final exam to finish with the grade you want.
Calculate →GPA Calculator
You are here — semester and cumulative GPA from grades and credit hours.
Calculate →Weighted Grade Calculator
Category-by-category breakdown of a weighted course grade, with per-item contributions.
Calculate →Grade Percentage Calculator
Turn any points score — 43 out of 50, say — into a percentage and a letter grade.
Calculate →EZ Grader
For teachers: pick the number of questions and read off grades by wrong answers.
Open chart →Grading Scale Chart
Every letter cutoff on the standard US scale, with plus/minus bands and GPA values.
See chart →Grade Curve Calculator
See how a curve — flat points, percentage bump or square-root — shifts a set of scores.
Calculate →Points Grade Calculator
For points-based gradebooks: total what you earned over what was possible, no weights needed.
Calculate →Getting started
How to use this GPA calculator
Add a row per course
One row for every class on your schedule this term. Names are just labels — only the grade and credits change the math.
Enter each grade
Pick the letter grade you earned, or flip to Percentage mode and type the final percentage — it converts on the 4.0 scale automatically.
Add credit hours
Credits are the weight in a GPA. A 4-credit lab science moves your GPA more than a 1-credit elective with the same grade.
Read & plan
Your semester GPA updates as you type. Add previous terms for a cumulative figure, or set a target and see what next term needs to average.
Taking Honors or AP classes? Turn on Weighted GPA and set each course type — Honors adds 0.5 grade points and AP/IB adds 1.0 before the average is taken, the pattern most US high schools use.
See the math
A worked example, step by step
The calculator above opens with this sample semester — five courses, 16 credits:
| Course | Grade | Points | Credits | Quality pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Composition | A | 4.0 | 3 | 12.0 |
| College Algebra | B+ | 3.3 | 3 | 9.9 |
| Intro Biology | A− | 3.7 | 4 | 14.8 |
| US History | B | 3.0 | 3 | 9.0 |
| Psychology | A | 4.0 | 3 | 12.0 |
| Semester GPA | 16 | 57.7 ÷ 16 = 3.61 | ||
Biology is worth 4 credits, so its A− contributes more than any 3-credit course. That's why two students with the same set of letter grades can end up with different GPAs — the credits decide.
The GPA formula
GPA = Σ (grade points × credits) ÷ Σ credits
Convert each letter to grade points, multiply by the course's credits to get quality points, add them all up, and divide by the total credits attempted.
For a cumulative GPA, do the same across every term: total quality points from all semesters, divided by total credits from all semesters. Never average two GPAs directly unless the terms carry equal credits.
Reference
The 4.0 grading scale
These are the grade points this calculator uses — the standard US scale with plus and minus bands. Percentage ranges are the common cutoffs; your school's exact boundaries may differ slightly.
| Letter | Percentage | Grade points | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97–100% | 4.0 | Exceptional |
| A | 93–96% | 4.0 | Excellent |
| A− | 90–92% | 3.7 | Excellent |
| B+ | 87–89% | 3.3 | Above average |
| B | 83–86% | 3.0 | Good |
| B− | 80–82% | 2.7 | Good |
| C+ | 77–79% | 2.3 | Average |
| C | 73–76% | 2.0 | Average |
| C− | 70–72% | 1.7 | Below average |
| D+ | 67–69% | 1.3 | Poor |
| D | 63–66% | 1.0 | Poor |
| D− | 60–62% | 0.7 | Minimum pass |
| F | Below 60% | 0.0 | Failing — credits still count in the divisor |
Pass/fail and audit courses are normally excluded from GPA entirely — leave them out of the calculator rather than entering them as an A or an F.
The concepts
Semester, cumulative and weighted GPA
Semester GPA
Just one term: the quality points from this term's courses divided by this term's credits. It's the number that decides Dean's List, term honors and, at many schools, academic standing for that term.
Cumulative GPA
Every graded term combined. Because it's built from totals — all quality points over all credits — a single strong semester moves it less as you accumulate credits. That's normal: the more credits behind you, the steadier it gets.
Weighted GPA
High schools often reward harder courses: +0.5 for Honors, +1.0 for AP or IB, so a weighted GPA can exceed 4.0. Colleges frequently recalculate applications on the unweighted 4.0 scale, so it's worth knowing both numbers.
Watch out
Common GPA mistakes
Averaging semester GPAs.
Two terms of 3.0 and 4.0 don't always make a 3.5 cumulative — only if both terms carry the same credits. Always combine quality points and credits instead.Leaving an F out.
A failed course earns 0 points but its credits still sit in the divisor. Excluding it inflates your GPA on paper — and your transcript won't exclude it.Counting pass/fail courses.
P/NP, audit and most transfer-credit courses don't enter GPA at all. Adding them as grades skews the result either way.Mixing weighted and unweighted.
Comparing a 4.4 weighted GPA against a college's published 3.8 average (unweighted) is apples to oranges. Match the scale before you compare.Forgetting repeated courses.
Retake policies differ — some schools replace the grade, some average both attempts, some keep the higher one. Check which rule your school uses before you plan around a retake.Answers
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my GPA?
Convert each course grade to grade points (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, and so on from the scale table), multiply each by the course's credit hours, add those quality points together, and divide by your total credit hours. The calculator at the top of this page does it as you type.
How do I calculate my cumulative GPA?
Add this semester's quality points and credits to your previous totals, then divide. If you know your previous GPA and credits, enter them in the Cumulative GPA box — it multiplies them back into quality points and combines them correctly, weighted by credits.
What is a good GPA?
On the 4.0 scale, 3.0 (a B average) is the common baseline for good standing, 3.5+ typically qualifies for honors lists, and many graduate programs and scholarships look for 3.5 or higher. What counts as "good" depends on your goals — competitive programs often expect more.
Can my GPA be higher than 4.0?
Only on a weighted scale. With Honors (+0.5) and AP/IB (+1.0) bonuses, an A in an AP course is worth 5.0 points, so a weighted GPA can pass 4.0. An unweighted GPA can never exceed 4.0, since an A/A+ is the maximum at 4.0.
What GPA do I need to raise my cumulative to a target?
Use the planner box under the calculator: enter your current cumulative (in the Cumulative box) plus your target GPA and next term's credits. It solves for the average GPA those new credits need — and tells you honestly if the target needs more than a 4.0 term.
Does an A+ count more than an A?
On the standard 4.0 scale used here, no — both are worth 4.0 points. A small number of schools award 4.3 for an A+; if yours does, your official GPA will run slightly higher than this estimate.
Do failed courses count toward GPA?
Yes. An F is worth 0.0 grade points, but its credit hours still count in the total you divide by — which is exactly why one F pulls a GPA down so hard.
How are percentage grades converted to GPA?
Switch the calculator to Percentage mode and type each course's final percentage. Each one is mapped to the letter band it falls in (93% → A → 4.0, 87% → B+ → 3.3, and so on) using the scale table on this page.
Is Ace GPA Calculator free?
Completely — no account, no install. Everything runs in your browser, so the grades you type are never sent anywhere or stored; close the tab and they're gone.
Why students use Ace GPA Calculator
A GPA isn't one number — it's a semester figure, a cumulative figure, and sometimes a weighted figure, and mixing them up leads to bad plans. Ace keeps all three in one tool, shows the quality points behind the average so you can check the math, and pairs it with a planner that tells you what next term actually has to look like.
Results are estimates based on the standard 4.0 scale. Schools vary in rounding, retake and A+ policies, so confirm your official GPA against your transcript or student portal.