How to Check the Readability Score of Your Text
Updated 2026-06-21
To check the readability of your text, paste it into a readability analyzer and read the two scores it returns: the Flesch Reading Ease score (0-100, higher is easier) and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (the US school grade a reader needs). Both are calculated instantly from your sentence and word lengths, so you can edit and watch the numbers move.
What the scores actually mean
The two standard metrics measure the same thing from opposite ends.
- Flesch Reading Ease runs 0 to 100. Roughly: 70+ is easy and conversational, 50-69 is fairly hard (think a serious news article), and below 50 is hard, dense, or academic. Most web copy and marketing should aim for 60 or above.
- Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level maps to a US school grade. A score of 8 means an average 13-to-14-year-old can follow it. For a general audience, grade 7-9 is a safe target; technical docs often land higher and that is fine if the readers are specialists.
Both formulas reward shorter sentences and shorter, fewer-syllable words. Splitting one long sentence into two will nudge the ease score up and the grade down.
How to check readability in your browser
- Open the Readability Analyzer and paste or type your text into the box.
- Read the live readout: reading ease, grade level, word and sentence counts, average words per sentence, and estimated reading time.
- Look at the long-sentence flags — any sentence over 25 words is surfaced so you can break it up. This is where most readability problems hide.
- Edit in place and watch the scores update, then copy your cleaner text back out.
Everything runs locally in your browser. Your draft is never uploaded to a server, which matters when you are checking unpublished posts, internal memos, or anything confidential. There is no AI and no account.
A quick worked example
Take this sentence: "The implementation of the aforementioned methodology necessitates a comprehensive evaluation." It is one 11-word sentence, but the words are long and multi-syllable, so the grade level spikes well past 12.
Rewrite it as: "Using this method means we have to test it fully." Same meaning, shorter words, and the grade level drops to roughly 5. The analyzer shows that shift immediately, which makes it a fast feedback loop for tightening prose.
Common pitfalls to watch
- Passive-voice hints are a guide, not gospel. The tool flags likely passive constructions, but the heuristic also catches plain phrases like "is great" or "was sent." Treat each flag as a prompt to reread, not a hard error.
- Grade level is not a quality score. A low grade does not mean dumbed-down; clear writing usually scores low precisely because it is easy to read.
- Match the target to the audience. Legal and medical readers tolerate a higher grade; a landing page does not.
Ready to tighten your writing? Run it through the Readability Analyzer and aim for a reading ease above 60.