Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid calculator
Paste text to calculate both Flesch scores, then see exactly how sentence length and syllables push the number up or down.
Your scores will appear here. Paste some text above, or use the sample. Everything is calculated in your browser.
The two formulas
Reading Ease = 206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words)
Grade Level = 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59
Both use the same two ingredients: average sentence length and average word length in syllables. Reading Ease turns them into a 0–100 score where higher is easier. Kincaid’s version, made for the US Navy in 1975, turns them into a school grade where higher is harder.
Flesch Reading Ease score chart
| Score | Difficulty | School level |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Very easy | 5th grade |
| 80–90 | Easy | 6th grade |
| 70–80 | Fairly easy | 7th grade |
| 60–70 | Plain English | 8th–9th grade |
| 50–60 | Fairly difficult | 10th–12th grade |
| 30–50 | Difficult | College |
| 10–30 | Very difficult | College graduate |
| 0–10 | Extremely difficult | Professional |
See what moves the score
Drag the sliders or pick an example text type.
Every text starts with 206.8 points. Long sentences and long words each take a bite; what’s left is the Reading Ease score.
Notice the weights: one extra syllable per word costs 84.6 points, while one extra word per sentence costs just 1 point. Word length matters far more, per unit, than sentence length. But sentences vary by 20 or more words, so both count.
Raising a Flesch score
- Swap long words for short ones. Given the 84.6 weight, trading “approximately” (5 syllables) for “about” (2) helps more than trimming a word from a sentence.
- Split long sentences. Look for “and”, “which” and semicolons: natural break points.
- Keep necessary jargon, but define it once. The score will dip; the reader won’t.
Need the full picture? The readability checker adds four more formulas and an optional AI rewrite to a target grade.
Questions people ask
What is the Flesch Reading Ease formula?
Reading Ease = 206.835 − 1.015 × (total words ÷ total sentences) − 84.6 × (total syllables ÷ total words). Scores usually fall between 0 and 100; higher means easier.
What is the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula?
Grade = 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59. The result is a US school grade; 8.0 means an eighth-grader should understand the text.
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?
For most web and business writing, 60–70 (plain English) is a good target. Rudolf Flesch suggested 60–70 as the level most adults read comfortably.
Who created the Flesch-Kincaid formulas?
Rudolf Flesch published the Reading Ease formula in 1948. In 1975 J. Peter Kincaid and colleagues adapted it into a grade-level formula for the US Navy, which used it to check technical manuals.
Why does my word processor give a different score?
Tools count syllables and split sentences differently, especially around abbreviations, numbers, headings and lists. Differences of a few points are normal. Compare texts with the same tool.