Readability Checker
This readability checker analyzes any text and tells you how easy or hard it is to read, using proven formulas built on sentence length, word length, and syllable count. Paste your writing and it instantly returns a Flesch Reading Ease score, a grade level, and the audience that text is best suited for.
It is built for anyone who writes for readers: content and copywriters matching a target audience, technical writers checking documentation, educators verifying reading levels, healthcare staff simplifying patient information, and business professionals tightening emails and reports.
How to Check Readability
Enter your text
Paste or type your content into the input area, or use Sample to load example text. Scores are most accurate with at least 100 words, but any blog post, email, landing page, or document works.
Review your score
The main Readability Score (Flesch Reading Ease) appears instantly with color-coded feedback, alongside the Grade Level, target Audience, and statistics like words, sentences, average sentence length, and complex-word percentage.
Open detailed scores
Expand Detailed Scores to see all six formulas with their individual bars, and read each formula's description to understand what it measures and how to interpret it.
Follow the tips, then copy
The Improvement Tips panel highlights what you are doing well and where to simplify based on your sentence length and complex words. Use Copy Report to save every score and statistic, or Clear to start over.
Features
Flesch Reading Ease
The headline score from 0 to 100 — higher means easier to read, with 60 to 70 considered standard for general audiences.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
Translates your text into a U.S. school grade level, so a result of 8 means an eighth grader can follow it.
Gunning Fog Index
Estimates the years of formal education a reader needs, with 12 pointing to a high-school senior reading level.
SMOG Index
Based on polysyllable count and widely preferred for health and medical documents where clarity is critical.
Coleman-Liau Index
Uses character count instead of syllables, making it reliable for automated analysis and cross-language comparison.
Automated Readability Index
Combines character and word counts to estimate grade level for fast, real-time readability checks.
Multi-Language Support
Adapts its formulas and syllable rules for German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, and Russian.
Grade Level & Audience
Averages five grade-based formulas into a single grade level and names the audience your writing fits best.
Improvement Tips
Automatic, color-coded feedback flags long sentences and complex words so you know exactly what to simplify.
Copy Report
Export every score and statistic as a clean text report you can paste into notes, docs, or messages.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good readability score?
For general audiences, aim for a Flesch Reading Ease score between 60 and 70 (standard difficulty), which corresponds to an eighth-to-ninth grade reading level. Most popular newspapers and magazines write at this level.
What readability score should I target for my content?
It depends on your audience. Children's content suits 80 to 100 (very easy), the general public 60 to 70 (standard), technical documentation 50 to 60 (fairly difficult), and academic papers 30 to 50 (difficult). Legal text often lands at 0 to 30 (very difficult).
How is the grade level calculated?
The grade level is the average of five formulas — Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman-Liau, and ARI. Averaging them gives a more balanced estimate than relying on any single formula.
Why are there so many different formulas?
Each formula was created for a different purpose and measures readability from a slightly different angle. Using several together gives you a fuller, more reliable picture of how difficult your text really is.
What counts as a complex word?
A complex word is any word with three or more syllables. For example, "information" (four syllables) is complex, while "data" (two syllables) is not. Reducing complex words is one of the fastest ways to improve readability.
How can I improve my readability?
Keep sentences to about 15 to 20 words, swap complex words for everyday alternatives, break long paragraphs into shorter ones, and prefer active voice. Reading your text aloud also helps — if you stumble, your readers probably will too.
Does it work with languages other than English?
Yes. The tool supports German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, and Russian, applying adapted formulas with language-specific syllable-counting rules for each.
Are readability formulas accurate?
They measure structural complexity — sentence length, word length, and syllables — but cannot judge meaning, organization, or visual layout. Treat the scores as useful guidelines rather than the only measure of writing quality.
Is my text stored or shared?
No. All analysis happens in your browser with JavaScript. Your text is never sent to any server, stored, or shared with third parties.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!