Home› Writing & Publishing›Readability Checker
Writing & Publishing tool

Readability Checker

Analyze words, sentences, estimated syllables, Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for an English draft.

Check English readability with Flesch metrics

Analyze words, sentences, estimated syllables, Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for an English draft.

Words—
Sentences—
Estimated syllables—
Avg. words / sentence—
Flesch Reading Ease—
Flesch-Kincaid grade—

How the readability checker calculates scores

The calculator uses the classic English-language Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formulas. Both depend on average sentence length and average syllables per word, but their scales are interpreted differently.

Flesch Reading Ease

Reading Ease is calculated as 206.835 − 1.015 × average sentence length − 84.6 × average syllables per word. Higher scores generally indicate easier English prose. The score is a writing diagnostic, not a quality score: specialist material may appropriately require technical vocabulary.

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

Grade Level is calculated as 0.39 × average sentence length + 11.8 × average syllables per word − 15.59. It estimates the U.S. school-grade level associated with the text's sentence and word complexity.

Why online readability tools can disagree

The formulas are fixed, but automated tokenization and syllable counting differ. Names, acronyms, URLs, numbers, hyphenated terms and domain vocabulary can produce different counts. This calculator uses a practical heuristic, so treat small score differences as approximate.

Frequently asked questions

Is a higher Flesch Reading Ease score always better?
No. The right reading level depends on the audience, purpose and subject. Accuracy and necessary technical terminology should not be sacrificed simply to maximize a score.
Why is the grade level only an estimate?
The formula uses sentence length and syllable density, not reader knowledge, document structure, typography or conceptual difficulty.
Does this work well for languages other than English?
No. These formulas and the syllable estimator are designed for English.
Why might another readability tool show a different score?
Tools can split sentences and words differently and may use different syllable dictionaries or heuristics.