Free tool
Check how easy your text is to read
Paste any text and get its Flesch Reading Ease score and grade level instantly. Free, no signup.
Free, no signup. Nothing you paste here is stored.
How it works
Paste your text
Drop in a paragraph, blog post, or email — any length works.
We calculate the score
Sentence length and syllables per word are measured to produce both a Flesch score and a grade level.
See where you land
A plain-language label ("easy," "standard," "difficult") tells you what the number actually means, not just a raw score.
Why use this tool
Two standard scores in one place
Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level are calculated together, since most style guides reference one or the other.
Plain-language interpretation
Instead of just a number, you get a label like "7th grade" or "college level" that's immediately meaningful.
Works on any length of text
Check a single sentence or a full article — the math scales to whatever you paste in.
Free, no signup, no limit
Check as many drafts as you want with no account and no cap.
Nothing you paste is stored
The calculation happens entirely in your browser — your draft is never sent anywhere.
Instant results as you edit
The score updates live while you type or paste, so you can see the effect of trimming a long sentence immediately.
When you'd actually use this
Writing for a general audience
Check that a blog post or landing page lands around the commonly recommended 8th-9th grade level for broad readability.
Simplifying technical writing
See how much a passage's grade level drops after shortening sentences and swapping in simpler words.
Meeting a style guide requirement
Some publications and content teams set a specific target readability score — check a draft against it before submitting.
Comparing two versions of the same copy
Paste both a technical draft and a simplified rewrite to see the actual measured difference in reading ease.
Writing for accessibility
Plain, easy-to-read content is more accessible to readers with cognitive disabilities and non-native speakers alike.
Tips for best results
- 1Shorter sentences reduce grade level faster than shorter words — if your score is too high, split long sentences before hunting for simpler vocabulary.
- 2Aim for a Flesch Reading Ease score of 60-70 for general web content — that roughly matches an 8th-9th grade reading level.
- 3Technical or academic writing can reasonably score lower — don't force simplicity where precision actually matters more to your reader.
- 4Check readability on the final edited draft, not an early outline — heavy editing later can change the score meaningfully.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Flesch Reading Ease score?
It's a 0-100 score estimating how easy a piece of English text is to read, based on average sentence length and syllables per word. Higher scores mean easier reading; most general-audience web content aims for 60 or above.
What is the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level?
It converts the same underlying measurements into a US school grade level — a score of 8 means the text is roughly readable by an eighth-grader, which is a common target for general-audience writing.
What readability score should I aim for?
For general web content and marketing copy, a Flesch Reading Ease score of 60-70 (roughly 8th-9th grade level) is a common target — technical or academic writing can reasonably score lower.
Is the syllable count perfectly accurate?
It uses the same standard approximation most readability tools use (counting vowel-sound groups), which is accurate for the vast majority of English words but can occasionally miscount unusual words — this affects the score only marginally.
Does a low readability score mean the writing is bad?
Not necessarily — it means the text is harder to read quickly, which is appropriate for some contexts (legal documents, academic papers) and a liability in others (marketing copy, instructions). Match the target score to your actual audience.
Does this work for languages other than English?
The Flesch formulas were developed for English and calibrated against English syllable and sentence patterns — scores for other languages using the same formula won't be reliably meaningful.
Why did my score barely change after I simplified the vocabulary?
Sentence length usually has a bigger effect on the score than word choice — if you swapped in simpler words but kept long, complex sentence structures, the score often won't move much.
Can I use this to check email subject lines or short copy?
The formula needs at least one full sentence to produce a meaningful result — very short fragments (a few words) may return a score, but it's less reliable than checking full paragraphs.