Readability Checker
Score your writing with Flesch Reading Ease and grade level.
- Reading time:
- 2 min
- Last updated:
- Price:
- Free, no signup
Type or paste text to see the result.
What the Readability Checker does
Paste a paragraph or a whole article and get its Flesch Reading Ease score and an estimated school grade level. A score of 60–70 is plain English most adults read easily; below 30 reads like an academic paper.
The scores come from the length of your sentences and the number of syllables per word, the same formulas used by many word processors.
Why the Readability Checker is useful
Writers often can't judge how hard their own text is. A number gives you a neutral check before you publish a blog post, a product page or a letter to customers.
Simpler writing reaches more people — including readers on phones and those reading in a second language.
Also known as: readability checker, flesch score, reading level, free readability checker, online readability checker, readability checker online free, readability checker tool.
How to use the Readability Checker
- 1
Paste your text
At least a few sentences gives a meaningful score.
- 2
Read the scores
Check Reading Ease and grade level together.
- 3
Edit and recheck
Shorten long sentences and swap long words, then paste again.
Key features
- Flesch Reading Ease score
- Grade-level estimate
- Counts sentences, words and syllables
- Updates as you edit
Benefits
- Know if your audience will follow you
- Measure the effect of each edit
- Write clearer emails, pages and guides
Real-life use cases
Healthcare leaflet
A clinic worker scores a patient leaflet at grade 13, splits long sentences, and brings it down to grade 8 so more patients understand it.
Product page
A shop owner finds their description scores 35, replaces jargon with everyday words, and raises it to 62.
Tips for the best results
- Average sentence length is the biggest lever — aim for 15 to 20 words.
- Very short texts give unreliable scores; test at least 100 words.
- Technical terms raise the grade; keep them if your readers need them, but explain them.
Conclusion
Check your writing's difficulty before publishing, edit the heaviest sentences, and watch the score improve as your text gets clearer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Flesch score?
- 60 to 70 suits most general audiences. Higher is easier.
What does grade level mean?
- Roughly the US school year a reader would need to understand the text.
Why is my score negative?
- Very long sentences full of long words can push the formula below zero.
Does it work for Urdu?
- No. The syllable rules and formulas are designed for English.
How are syllables counted?
- With rules based on vowel groups, which is accurate for most words but not perfect.
Is a high score always better?
- Not always — a legal contract or scientific paper may need precise, longer words.
Related tools you may need
- Readability Score Calculator — Flesch, Fog, SMOG, ARI and Coleman–Liau in one pass.
- Text Complexity Calculator — Measure sentence length, long words and grade level.
- Text Similarity Checker — Compare two texts and get a similarity score.
- Keyword Prominence Checker — Score how early and prominently a keyword appears.
- Reading Time Calculator — Estimate how long a piece of text takes to read aloud or silently.
- Grammar Checker — Catch common grammar mistakes with pattern-based checks.
- Keyword Density Checker — See the most frequent words and their density in your text.
- Spell Checker — Highlight likely misspellings against a common-word dictionary.
Keep exploring
Browse the full tools directory, filter by category, or read guides on the Text Tools Hub blog.