Readability Checker
Flesch reading ease and grade level, with the sentences that drag the score down.
About this tool
Scores your text with Flesch reading ease and Flesch-Kincaid grade level, then lists the longest sentences so you can see what is pulling the number around.
Both formulas count three things: sentences, words and syllables. That is all. They measure length, not clarity — a passage of short nonsense words scores as very easy to read. Treat a low score as a prompt to look at your longest sentences, not as a defect to be optimised away.
Common questions
What is a good reading ease score?
60 to 70 is plain English that most adults read comfortably. Below 30 is heavy going. There is no single right target — technical writing for specialists legitimately scores lower than a landing page.
Is readability a ranking factor?
No. Google has said repeatedly that it does not score readability. It matters because people leave pages they find hard work, and that is measurable in your own analytics.
How is a syllable counted?
By a vowel-group heuristic with adjustments for silent e and common endings. It is the same approach the original formula used and is accurate to within a few percent on ordinary English prose.
Why did my score drop when I added a heading?
Headings without full stops merge into the sentence after them, making one very long sentence. Paste body prose on its own for a meaningful number.