📖 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Deterministic formulas that never go out of date, and a case where a tool beats a chatbot, which only estimates readability by feel.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.