How do I find my Pokemon's level?

Enter its species and current CP above. With CP alone you get a possible level range; add its HP and the range narrows further; add its exact IVs (use the IV calculator if you don't know them) and you get the exact level.

What is the max level for a Pokemon?

50 through normal power-ups, capped at your Trainer level + 10. Levels 50.5 and 51 are only reachable if the Pokemon is your Best Buddy.

Why does CP alone only give a level range, not an exact level?

CP is computed from base stats, three separate IVs (0-15 each), and the level's CP multiplier all combined into one number. A low-IV Pokemon at a higher level can land on the same CP as a high-IV Pokemon at a lower level, so CP by itself can't distinguish between them - that's exactly why it only narrows things to a range.

Can my Pokemon be a higher level than my Trainer level?

It depends how you got it. Wild catches and hatches are capped at your Trainer level (up to species-specific ceilings), but raid encounters and Team GO Rocket encounters give a fixed level regardless of your Trainer level - so yes, a low-level Trainer can catch a level 20 raid Pokemon. Powering up, though, is always capped at Trainer level + 10.

Pokemon GO Level Calculator - Find Pokemon Level from CP

Work out what level your Pokemon is from its CP - add HP or known IVs to narrow it down to an exact number.

What Is a Pokemon's Level?

Every Pokemon in Pokemon GO has a level, separate from your own Trainer level, that determines how strong it currently is. Unlike the core series games, Pokemon GO never displays this number directly - it only shows CP, which is derived from level, base stats, and IVs combined. Level increases in half steps (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5...) each time you spend Stardust and Candy to power up, up to a maximum of 50 through normal power-ups. A Pokemon set as your Best Buddy can reach 50.5 or 51, the only way past the level-50 ceiling.

Your own Trainer level matters too: powering up a Pokemon is capped at your Trainer level + 10, so a Trainer level 30 account can power Pokemon up to level 40, even with unlimited Stardust and Candy.

How the CP Multiplier Scales With Level

CP = floor( √(Base Stamina + Stamina IV) × (Base Attack + Attack IV) × √(Base Defense + Defense IV) × CPM² / 10 )

CPM = the CP Multiplier for that level - the same CPM is applied to all three stats

Niantic publishes a fixed CP Multiplier (CPM) for every half-level from 1 to 51, and it's applied to base stats and IVs to get a Pokemon's effective Attack, Defense, and Stamina at that level. CPM doesn't scale in a straight line - it grows faster at low levels and flattens out at high levels, which is why two levels apart near level 2-4 add far less CP than two levels apart near level 48-50.

Why CP Alone Gives a Level Range, Not One Number

CP packs three independent IVs (0-15 each for Attack, Defense, Stamina) and a level into a single output - and that compression loses information. A Pokemon with low IVs at a high level can land on the exact same CP as a Pokemon with high IVs at a lower level. With just a species and CP, the calculator above works out the minimum possible CP (0/0/0 IVs) and maximum possible CP (15/15/15 IVs) at every level, and shows you every level whose range includes your number - usually a handful of consecutive levels, not one.

Adding HP narrows it further, since HP depends only on the Stamina IV and level, not Attack or Defense - and knowing the exact IVs (check them with the IV calculator if you don't already) pins the level down exactly, the same way the main CP calculator works in reverse.

Wild Catch, Raid, and Trade Level Limits

Where a Pokemon comes from affects what level it can start at:

Wild spawns: level 1 up to your Trainer level, capped at level 30 - weather-boosted encounters run higher.
Hatched from Eggs: up to your Trainer level, capped at level 20 - not affected by weather boost.
Raid battles: a fixed level 20 regardless of your Trainer level - weather-boosted raids run higher.
Team GO Rocket encounters: a fixed level 8 regardless of your Trainer level - weather-boosted encounters run higher.
Purified Pokemon: raised to the lower of your Trainer level (capped at 25) or its original level, whichever is higher.
Traded Pokemon: capped at your Trainer level + 2, or its original level if that's lower.

"Weather-boosted" encounters (the ones with a weather icon on the catch screen) start at a noticeably higher level than an unboosted encounter of the same type - useful to know if your CP-only result above looks higher than expected for where you caught it.

Level and Power-Up Cost

Each power-up raises level by exactly 0.5 and costs Stardust plus Candy (or Candy XL from level 40 onward) - the cost increases every two levels, not every power-up. The table above shows the minimum and maximum CP your Pokemon can reach at every level for its species, so you can check what a future power-up is actually worth before spending resources on it.

Level Calculator FAQ

For the full CP mechanics, see our Pokemon GO Guide.