Readability Score Checker

How to use Readability Score Checker

1. 1
   Paste or type your text

   Click the text area and paste the content you want to analyse — a blog post, landing page copy, email, or any prose. The scores update in real time as you type.

2. 2
   Read the Flesch Reading Ease score

   The top card shows a score from 0 to 100. Higher is easier: 70+ is suitable for a general web audience, 60–69 is standard, and below 50 signals text that will challenge most readers.

3. 3
   Check the grade-level scores

   Flesch-Kincaid Grade, Gunning Fog, and SMOG each estimate the US school grade a reader needs to comfortably understand the text. Aim for grade 6–9 for most online content.

4. 4
   Use the stats to identify what to fix

   The stats row shows average words per sentence and syllables per word — the two main drivers of all the scores. Long sentences and polysyllabic words push grade level up; shortening them brings it down.

5. 5
   Revise and re-check

   Edit directly in the text area and watch the scores respond instantly. When the numbers land in the range for your target audience, your copy is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Flesch Reading Ease and what score should I aim for?

The Flesch Reading Ease formula produces a score from 0 to 100. Scores of 70–80 are considered easy and suitable for a general consumer audience (roughly grade 6–7). Marketing copy and web content typically targets 60–70. Academic or legal text often falls below 30.

What is the difference between Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, and SMOG?

All three estimate the US school-grade level a reader needs to understand the text, but they weight sentence length and word complexity differently. Flesch-Kincaid uses average syllables per word. Gunning Fog focuses on the proportion of 'complex' words (3+ syllables). SMOG counts polysyllabic words and is considered the most accurate predictor of reading comprehension, especially for health and medical writing.

Why is SMOG less reliable for short texts?

The SMOG formula was originally calibrated on samples of exactly 30 sentences. With fewer sentences, the estimate becomes less statistically stable. The tool computes it regardless and flags when the text is under 30 sentences so you can interpret the number with appropriate caution.

What are Coleman-Liau and ARI?

Coleman-Liau and the Automated Readability Index (ARI) are grade-level formulas that use character counts instead of syllable counts, making them faster to compute and immune to syllable-counting errors. They are particularly useful as a cross-check against the syllable-based scores.

Does the Readability Checker store my text?

No. All analysis runs in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never sent to any server. The session is saved in your browser's local storage so you can return to your work, and cleared whenever you clear the text area.

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