Readability score checker

Updated 2026-09-26

What the readability scores mean

Paste English prose to estimate Flesch reading ease and Flesch–Kincaid grade level. The result exposes the word, sentence and syllable counts so you can check what changed between drafts.

Reading ease = 206.835 − 1.015 × words per sentence − 84.6 × syllables per word. Grade = 0.39 × words per sentence + 11.8 × syllables per word − 15.59. A higher ease score means easier wording under that formula.

Words are letter or number runs with internal apostrophes; hyphens separate words. The browser segments English sentences and counts a final fragment. Correct abbreviations or list segmentation in Options. Dictionary variants produce a score range, and unknown words need your supplied syllable count before a score appears. This differs from the word counter: state-of-the-art counts as four words here and one there.

Next: Syllable counter

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A worked example

“The cat sat on the mat.” has 6 words, 1 sentence and 6 syllables. The formulas give reading ease 116.1 and grade −1.5 after rounding to one decimal place.

Before you use the result

These English-only formulas estimate surface complexity, not comprehension, accuracy, audience suitability or writing quality. Short samples are unstable; a negative grade or an ease score above 100 is possible. Scores are not clamped or converted to a made-up quality rating.

Next: Word counter