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Readability Checker
Paste a blog post to get its Flesch Reading Ease score, Flesch-Kincaid grade level and four more readability scores. Long sentences are marked so you can see what to fix.
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Sentence of 25+ words
Reading level, five ways
Each formula gives the US school grade a reader needs. They count different things, so they rarely agree. Dots in the green band read as plain English, the same level as a Flesch score of 60 to 70.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
The same two counts as Flesch Reading Ease, given as a US school grade.
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Gunning Fog
Sentence length plus the share of words with 3 or more syllables, leaving out names.
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SMOG
Counts only words of 3 or more syllables, scaled to a 30-sentence sample.
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Coleman-Liau
Counts letters per word instead of syllables, plus sentence length.
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Automated Readability Index
Counts characters per word and words per sentence, so it needs no syllable count.
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Average grade
The mean of the five scores above, steadier than any one of them.
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What drives the scores
Words per sentence
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Every formula above uses it. Splitting long sentences lowers it fastest.
Syllables per word
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The other big lever. Swapping long words for short ones lowers it.
Sentence variety
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How much your sentence lengths differ. Our Blog Grader passes 0.5 and up.
Counted
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Words, sentences and syllables, counted as you type.
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?
Rudolf Flesch published the formula in 1948. It looks at two things: how many words your sentences have, and how many syllables your words have. The result runs from 0 to 100, and higher is easier.
| Score | Reads as | School level |
|---|---|---|
| 90 to 100 | Very easy | 5th grade |
| 80 to 90 | Easy | 6th grade |
| 70 to 80 | Fairly easy | 7th grade |
| 60 to 70 | Plain English | 8th to 9th grade |
| 50 to 60 | Fairly hard | 10th to 12th grade |
| 30 to 50 | Hard | College |
| 0 to 30 | Very hard | College graduate |
Most blog posts should land between 60 and 70. A post for doctors or engineers can sit lower, because their words are long. A score far above 80 can read choppy unless your readers are children.
What is the Flesch-Kincaid grade level?
It uses the same two counts but gives the answer as a US school grade. Peter Kincaid and his team built it in 1975 for the US Navy, to check that training manuals matched the reading level of the sailors using them. A grade of 8 means a typical eighth grader can follow the text.
The two Flesch scores move in opposite directions. When Reading Ease goes up, the grade level goes down.
The other four scores
- Gunning Fog: counts words of 3 or more syllables, leaving out names and words made long by -es, -ed or -ing.
- SMOG: counts words of 3 or more syllables. It was built on 30-sentence samples, so it is most reliable on full posts.
- Coleman-Liau: counts letters instead of syllables.
- ARI (Automated Readability Index): counts characters per word and words per sentence.
All four give a school grade. They rarely agree, because each counts something different. The average of the five grade scores is a steadier guide than any one of them.
How to make your writing easier to read
- Split the longest sentences first. The checker marks every sentence of 25 words or more. Cut each one where the idea changes.
- Swap long words for short ones. “Use” for “utilize”, “help” for “facilitate”. The long words list shows the ones you lean on most, and our Word Counter shows which words you repeat.
- Keep some long sentences. A post where every sentence is short reads flat. Our Blog Grader checks for a mix: sentence variety of 0.5 or more passes.
Our guide on how to format a blog post covers paragraphs and headings. To score a post that is already live, run it through the free Blog Grader. Google’s own guide to helpful content never names a score, so treat the number as a guide for your readers, not for search.
Questions about the tool
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. Every score is worked out in your browser. Nothing you paste leaves the page, and closing the tab clears it.
What is a good readability score for a blog post?
A Flesch Reading Ease of 60 to 70, which is plain English, or a Flesch-Kincaid grade of about 8 or 9. Our Blog Grader passes a Flesch score of 50 and up, because expert topics need some longer words.
Why is my score different in another readability checker?
Each checker counts syllables and sentences its own way, and the formulas are sensitive to both. This one uses an open-source syllable counter that knows common English exceptions, and treats a heading or list item on its own line as a sentence. Expect a few points of difference between tools.
Does readability affect SEO?
Google has not said it uses any readability score. Its guide to helpful content asks whether a page is written for people first. A readability score is a check for you: it shows where readers may slow down.
Is the readability checker free?
Yes. No account, no email and no limit on length.
Rather have posts that read easy from the start?
Blog Hands writes researched posts in your voice for small businesses and agencies, every month, and grades each one for readability before you see it. Your first post is free, with no card.