How to use the readability checker
The two scores
Flesch Reading Ease rates text from 0 to 100: higher means easier. Flesch-Kincaid Grade converts the same ingredients into a US school grade level. Both are built from two things: how long your sentences are, and how many syllables your words have.
Score bands, in plain English
| Reading Ease | Band | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Very easy | Almost everyone, including young readers |
| 80–90 | Easy | Conversational posts and stories |
| 70–80 | Fairly easy | A comfortable general audience |
| 60–70 | Standard | Most adults; a good blog target |
| 50–60 | Fairly difficult | Educated readers, longer essays |
| 30–50 | Difficult | Academic and technical writing |
| 0–30 | Very confusing | Specialists only |
Quick ways to raise your score
Split any sentence over 20 words. Swap long words for shorter ones where the meaning survives (“use” beats “utilise”). Keep one idea per sentence. Then re-check — small edits move the number fast.
Example
Simple, short writing scores high: "The cat sat on the mat." scores over 100 on Reading Ease (the scale can pass 100 for very simple text) with a grade level below 1, while a paragraph of long academic sentences lands under 40.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score for a blog or caption?
For a general online audience, 60–80 is the sweet spot: plain, clear English most adults can read quickly. Marketing copy often aims even higher, around 70–90.
What does the grade level mean?
The Flesch-Kincaid grade estimates the US school grade needed to read the text comfortably. A grade of 8 means an average 13–14 year old can follow it. Lower is easier.
How are syllables counted?
By a standard vowel-group heuristic: count the groups of vowels in each word, with adjustments for silent endings. It is an estimate, and unusual names or technical terms can be off by a syllable.
Why does my score jump around on short text?
Both formulas divide by your sentence count, so a two-sentence sample swings wildly. Score results settle down after a paragraph or two.
Is my draft uploaded?
No. The checker runs in your browser only.
More free tools
Word Counter Pro
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs, with reading time, speaking time, and a keyword density top 10.
Instagram Line Break Formatter
Paste a caption and get it back with paragraph breaks that actually survive posting to Instagram.
Hashtag Helper
Type a topic and get ready-to-copy broad and niche hashtag sets for your next post.
Case Converter
Flip text between UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, Sentence case, aLtErNaTiNg case, and tidy spacing.
Text Similarity Checker
Compare two texts you paste side by side and see how similar they are, line by line and word by word.
Duplicate Line Remover & Sorter
Clean up lists in one click: drop repeated lines, remove blanks, and sort A–Z or Z–A.
Caption & Bio Length Checker
Check your draft against the published character limits for Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Lorem Ipsum Generator
Generate placeholder paragraphs, sentences, or words for layouts, mockups, and design drafts.
Blog Title Tools
Turn a headline into a clean URL slug and Title Case version, and check it against the 60-character SEO guide.