Readability Score
Check your text’s Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid grade level.
Enter at least one sentence.
A readability score rates how hard text is to read from average words per sentence and syllables per word. Flesch Reading Ease runs 0–100, where higher is easier and 60–70 is plain English; Flesch-Kincaid converts the same inputs into the US school grade needed to read it.
Reading ease and grade level
Both scores come from the same two ratios — average words per sentence and average syllables per word. Flesch Reading Ease runs 0–100, where higher is easier and 60–70 is plain English. Flesch-Kincaid grade level rescales the same inputs into the US school grade needed to read the text comfortably. To check the sentence and word totals the formulas rely on, the word counter reports them as you type.
Flesch Reading Ease; grade level = 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59
Worked example
A passage with 20 words across 2 sentences and 30 syllables — so 10 words per sentence and 1.5 syllables per word:
- 1 Find the two ratios. Words per sentence: 20 ÷ 2 = 10. Syllables per word: 30 ÷ 20 = 1.5.
- 2 Compute Reading Ease. 206.835 − 1.015 × 10 − 84.6 × 1.5 = 206.835 − 10.15 − 126.9 = 69.8 (standard / plain English).
- 3 Compute the grade level. 0.39 × 10 + 11.8 × 1.5 − 15.59 = 3.9 + 17.7 − 15.59 = 6.0, about US grade 6.
Reading Ease bands
Flesch Reading Ease ranges and roughly who can read them.
| Score | Difficulty | Audience |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Very easy | Grade 5 |
| 60–70 | Standard | Grade 8–9, general public |
| 30–50 | Difficult | College |
| 0–30 | Very difficult | University graduate |
How to improve a low score
Shorten sentences. Words per sentence weighs heavily in both formulas — splitting one long sentence into two raises the ease score directly.
Choose shorter words. Fewer syllables per word lowers the second term, so swapping “utilize” for “use” nudges the score up.
Treat it as a guide. Syllables are estimated with a vowel-group heuristic, so the score is a close approximation, not a verdict — readability never replaces a careful read-through.