Free Readability Checker
Estimate how easy a draft is to read with Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid grade level, plus words, sentences, and syllable averages.
How to use Readability Checker
- Paste an article, help page, or assignment into the editor.
- Read Flesch Reading Ease, grade level, and sentence averages.
- Shorten sentences or swap long words if you want an easier score.
- Copy or download the draft after you edit.
About Free Readability Checker
Check how easy your writing is to read. Paste a draft to get its Flesch Reading Ease score and Flesch-Kincaid grade level, along with word, sentence, and syllable counts that explain the score.
Related tools: Word Counter, Byte Counter & Character Counter, Case Converter — Title Case & More, Remove Extra Spaces
What the scores mean
Flesch Reading Ease runs from 0 to 100, where higher is easier. Scores of 60 to 70 read comfortably for most adults, and 80 or higher reads like simple conversation. Academic and legal writing often lands below 30.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level estimates the US school grade needed to follow the text. Most general web content reads best around grades 7 to 9. Both scores rise or fall with the same two things: average sentence length and average syllables per word.
How to improve a score
Shorten long sentences first; splitting a 30-word sentence in two usually helps more than any word swap. Then replace long words with shorter ones where meaning allows, such as use for utilize or help for facilitate.
Syllables are counted with a vowel-group method, which is accurate for most English words but can miss unusual spellings. Treat small score differences as noise and look at the trend as you edit.
Common uses
- Website copy
- Make landing pages and product descriptions easy to scan for a general audience.
- Help articles
- Keep support docs simple enough for stressed or non-native readers.
- School and grant writing
- Check that a report matches the reading level of its audience.
- Email newsletters
- Spot dense paragraphs before you send.
Questions about Readability Checker
- What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?
- Many general web pages sit between 60 and 70. Higher scores are easier. Help docs and landing pages often aim for that band.
- What does Flesch-Kincaid grade level mean?
- The grade estimates a US school year. Grade 8 means a typical eighth-grade reader can follow the text.
- Is my draft uploaded?
- No. Scores are calculated in the browser. The text stays on your device.
- Does it work for languages other than English?
- The formulas were designed for English. Scores for other languages are only rough guides.
- Why does a short text give an odd score?
- With only a sentence or two, one long word can swing the result. Paste at least a few paragraphs for a reliable score.
- What score should I aim for?
- For general web content, a Flesch Reading Ease of 60 or higher and a grade level of 8 or lower suit most readers.
More tools like Readability Checker
- Word CounterCount words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time.
- Byte & Character CounterCount UTF-8 bytes, characters, letters, digits, and whitespace.
- Case ConverterConvert text to uppercase, lowercase, title case, camelCase, snake_case, and kebab-case.
- Remove Extra SpacesStrip duplicate spaces, tabs, empty lines, and trailing whitespace.
Comments
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