How to use the Readability Checker
- Paste at least a few sentences of text.
- Read your Flesch Reading Ease score and grade levels.
- Review highlighted long sentences and complex words.
- Simplify and re-check until you hit your target.
Example
| Input | The cat sat on the mat. It was happy. |
|---|---|
| Result | Flesch Reading Ease ≈ 100+ (very easy) |
Flesch Reading Ease
The main score is Flesch Reading Ease, which rates text from very hard to very easy based on sentence length and syllables per word. Higher is easier. The tool labels it with a band:
- 90 and above: Very easy.
- 80 to 89: Easy.
- 70 to 79: Fairly easy.
- 60 to 69: Plain English, the target for most web content.
- 50 to 59: Fairly difficult.
- 30 to 49: Difficult.
- Below 30: Very difficult.
Grade level formulas
Below the score you will see five formulas, each estimating the US school grade a reader needs to understand the text, plus the average of them: Flesch-Kincaid Grade, Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman-Liau and the Automated Readability Index. A result of 8 means roughly an eighth-grade reading level. For general audiences, aim for grade 6 to 9.
Spotting what makes text hard
- Long sentences: sentences over 25 words are highlighted, up to eight of them, so you know where to split.
- Long words: words with four or more syllables are listed, so you can look for simpler alternatives.
- Other figures include words per sentence, syllables per word and the number of complex words.
How to improve your score
- Shorten sentences. Aim for an average of about 15 to 20 words.
- Swap long words for short ones: “use” for “utilize”, “help” for “facilitate”.
- Prefer the active voice. The Passive Voice Checker finds passive sentences.
- Use short paragraphs and lists to give the reader room to breathe.
- Count your sentences and spot the longest ones with the Sentence Counter.
Limits of readability scores
The formulas measure sentence and word length only. They cannot tell whether your text is accurate, well organized or suited to its audience, and they work best on English prose of a few paragraphs or more. Technical terms can lower the score even when your readers know them well, so use it as a guide, not a rule.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?
Scores of 60–70 are considered plain English, easily understood by 13- to 15-year-olds. Higher is easier. Most web content should aim for 60 or above.
How accurate are readability scores?
They are estimates based on sentence length and word length or syllables. They do not measure meaning, structure or tone, so use them as a guide alongside your own judgment.
Why do the grade levels differ between formulas?
Each formula weights different features (syllables, characters, complex words), so results vary. Look at the average and the trend as you edit.
What is a good Flesch score for a website?
Most web content works well between 60 and 70. Specialist or legal writing can be lower, while content for a broad audience can aim higher.
Does it work for languages other than English?
The syllable counting is designed for English, so scores for other languages are not reliable.