📖 Readability Score Checker
Measure how readable your writing is with six standard formulas — Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman-Liau and ARI — and get the target reading grade level.
Flesch Reading Ease
16.2/100
Very difficult — College graduate / professional
Average grade level
14.4
College
| Index | Score | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Flesch–Kincaid Grade | 13.6 | US grade level |
| Gunning Fog | 15.5 | years of education |
| SMOG | 13.0 | years of education |
| Coleman–Liau | 17.3 | US grade level |
| Automated Readability (ARI) | 12.6 | US grade level |
32 words · 3 sentences · 68 syllables · 9 complex (3+ syllable) words
Six standard formulas, computed exactly in your browser. Aim for Flesch Reading Ease 60+ (grade 8–9) for general audiences. 🔒 Your text is never uploaded.
How the readability score checker works
The tool counts words, sentences, syllables and complex (three-or-more-syllable) words, then applies the six published readability formulas exactly. Flesch Reading Ease gives a 0–100 score (higher is easier); the other five give a US grade level. It reports each score, a plain-English band, and the average grade so you know the education level your text demands.
Deterministic formulas that never go out of date — and a case where a tool beats a chatbot, which only estimates readability by feel. Aim for Flesch Reading Ease of 60 or more (roughly grade 8–9) for a general audience.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good readability score?
For a general audience, aim for a Flesch Reading Ease of 60–70 (grade 8–9). Marketing and web copy often target 60+, while academic or legal writing scores lower (more difficult). Higher Reading Ease = easier to read.
What is the Flesch-Kincaid grade level?
It converts sentence length and syllable count into a US school grade — a score of 8.0 means an eighth-grader can understand the text. It uses 0.39×(words/sentence) + 11.8×(syllables/word) − 15.59.
Why do the six scores differ?
Each formula weights different features — sentence length, syllables, complex words, or letters per word. Reporting all six (and their average) gives a more robust picture than any single index.
How are syllables counted?
With the standard vowel-group heuristic used by readability tools: count contiguous vowel groups, adjust for silent endings, minimum one per word. It is highly accurate across normal prose.
Is my text uploaded?
No — every count and formula runs in your browser.