Free tool
Readability checker
Paste an article, a help page or a paragraph. You get its Flesch Reading Ease score, its grade level and its reading time, with the longest sentences listed so you know where to start editing.
- Free
- No sign-up
- Runs in your browser
Paste an article, a help page or a paragraph in English. Scores are steadier from about 100 words.
Flesch Reading Ease
Fairly easy: 7th grade (age 12-13).
- Grade level
- 6.2
- Words per sentence
- 13.6
- Words
- 68
- Reading time
- under 1 min
1 sentence is over 25 words
- 35 words: When a paragraph is packed with long, abstract terms and clauses that keep adding qualifications before the main point finally arrives, many readers skim, scroll past or leave without finding the answer they came for.
Long words to check
- qualifications
Ask readers whether the page helped
A readability score tells you how hard a page is to read. Asklet asks the readers whether it answered their question, with one short survey on every article or help page and results for each page.
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How to use the readability checker
- 01
Paste your text
Paste the body of the page in English. Headings and list items count as sentences of their own, as readers see them.
- 02
Read the score
Reading Ease runs from 0 to 100: higher is easier. The grade level is the US school year that could follow the text.
- 03
Edit the longest sentences
Sentences over 25 words and words of four or more syllables are listed. Split or reword them, and the score updates as you type.
How the Flesch scores work
Both scores come from two numbers: the average words per sentence and the average syllables per word. Longer sentences and longer words make a text harder to read.
- Reading Ease = 206.835 - 1.015 × (words per sentence) - 84.6 × (syllables per word)
- Grade level = 0.39 × (words per sentence) + 11.8 × (syllables per word) - 15.59
Syllables are counted with a rule of thumb for English words, so scores can differ by a few points from other checkers.
What is a good readability score?
For most web pages, aim for a Reading Ease of 60 or more, which is plain English, about 8th to 9th grade. Help pages and instructions should be easier still, because people read them while trying to get something done.
Technical and specialist writing scores lower, and that can be fine when the audience knows the terms. Either way, the longest sentences are the best place to start.
A score is not the same as clear
Readability formulas measure length, not meaning. A page full of short sentences can still miss the question the reader came with. To know whether a page helped, ask the people reading it.
Common questions
What is the Flesch Reading Ease score?
A readability score from 0 to 100 based on sentence length and word length. Higher is easier: 60 to 70 is plain English, and below 30 is very hard to read.
What is a good readability score for a website?
A Reading Ease of 60 or more, or a grade level of about 8 or below, suits most web pages. Help content and instructions should aim higher on Reading Ease.
What is the difference between Reading Ease and grade level?
They use the same inputs on different scales. Reading Ease runs from 0 to 100, where higher is easier. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level gives the US school grade that could follow the text, where lower is easier.
How do I improve my readability score?
Split long sentences, put one idea in each, and use short, everyday words where they mean the same thing. The checker lists the longest sentences and the longest words so you can start there.
Does it work for other languages?
No. The Flesch formulas and the syllable count are made for English. Other languages have their own readability formulas.
Do you store my text?
No. The checker runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent to us or saved.