Paste your text and instantly get Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog and other readability scores — all calculated in your browser.
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Paste text on the left to see readability scores
How to use the Readability Score checker
Paste your text in the left panel. All scores update instantly as you type. The main score shown is Flesch Reading Ease — the most widely used readability metric. Lower scores mean harder text; higher scores mean easier text.
Use these scores to make sure your content is appropriate for your target audience. Blog posts and general web content typically aim for a score of 60–70. Academic and legal writing is often 30–50.
Readability formulas explained
Flesch Reading Ease
Scores range from 0 to 100. Higher is easier. 60–70 is considered standard (understandable by 13–15 year olds). Below 30 is very difficult (university level). Above 80 is very easy (5th grade). Used widely in publishing, government, and education.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
Estimates the US school grade level required to understand the text. A score of 8 means an 8th grader can understand it. Aim for 6–8 for general audiences. Higher values indicate more complex text.
Gunning Fog Index
Estimates the years of formal education needed to understand the text on a first reading. A score of 12 corresponds to a high school graduate. Scores above 17 are considered unreadable by most people. Counts "complex words" (3+ syllables).
SMOG Grade
Simple Measure of Gobbledygook. Estimates the years of education needed to understand text. Particularly reliable for health and medical content. Requires at least 30 sentences for accurate results.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your audience. For general web content and blog posts, aim for a Flesch Reading Ease of 60–70 (Flesch-Kincaid Grade 7–8). For children's content, aim for 80+. For academic or legal content, 30–50 is typical. The goal is always to match your audience's reading level.
Syllables are estimated algorithmically by counting vowel groups and applying common English rules. The count is accurate for most standard English words but may slightly miscount unusual words, proper nouns, and abbreviations.
Readability formulas are statistical in nature — they need a sufficient sample of text to produce meaningful results. With fewer than 100 words, the scores can fluctuate wildly from a single sentence. Most formulas recommend at least 100–300 words for reliable output.
No. All calculations run locally in your browser. Your text is never sent to any server.