Readability checker
Paste any text to see its reading level. Get the Flesch-Kincaid grade, Flesch Reading Ease and four other formulas, with the sentences that make it hard highlighted.
Your scores will appear here. Paste some text above, or use the sample. Everything is calculated in your browser.
How to read your scores
Flesch Reading Ease runs from 0 to 100. Higher is easier. Most newspapers land around 50–60, children’s books above 80, and academic journals often below 30.
Grade levels (Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman–Liau, ARI) estimate the US school grade a reader needs to understand the text on first reading. A score of 8 means a typical 13- to 14-year-old. The formulas use different ingredients, so they disagree by a grade or two. That is normal, and why the checker shows an average.
They all count surface features only. A short sentence full of unfamiliar ideas can score “easy” and still confuse readers. Use the numbers to find problem sentences, then judge by reading aloud.
Scores are a floor, not a ceiling, for clarity. Short sentences help, but the real test is whether a reader walks away understanding the idea. For an example of dense material made followable, try ahaboo’s take on tax brackets, a topic most tax forms make needlessly hard.
Target levels by audience
| Audience | Grade | Reading ease |
|---|---|---|
| Primary school pupils | 3–5 | 80–90+ |
| General public, health leaflets | 6–8 | 60–80 |
| News, blogs, web copy | 8–10 | 50–70 |
| Business and legal documents | 12–14 | 30–50 |
| Academic papers | 15+ | 0–30 |
Guides, not rules. Many health organisations aim for grade 6–8 for patient materials.
Formula guides
Questions people ask
What is a good readability score?
For content aimed at the general public, aim for a Flesch Reading Ease of 60 or higher and a grade level of 8 or below. Plain-language guidance from government bodies such as the US Plain Language Action and Information Network recommends writing for about a 7th–8th grade reader.
Which readability formula is the most accurate?
None is perfect, because they all measure surface features: sentence length and word length or syllables. Flesch-Kincaid is the most widely used. SMOG is often preferred for health materials. Averaging several formulas, as this checker does, smooths out their individual quirks.
How do I check the reading level of a text?
Paste it into the box above. The checker counts words, sentences and syllables in your browser and instantly shows the Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman–Liau and Automated Readability Index, plus an average grade level.
How do I lower the grade level of my writing?
Split sentences longer than about 20 words, swap long words for common short ones (use instead of utilise), use active voice, and explain necessary jargon. The “Highlight hard parts” view shows exactly which sentences and words push the score up.
Is my text uploaded?
The scores are calculated entirely in your browser. Text is only sent to an AI model if you press one of the optional AI helper buttons, and it is not stored.