More
More
Readability Checker
Reading ease and grade level of a text.
Free. Runs in your browser: nothing you enter or open is uploaded.
Scores appear here as you type.
Your text, marked up
Long sentence Possible passiveThe formulas count words, sentences and syllables, and syllables are estimated with English spelling rules, so the scores are a guide rather than a verdict. Passive voice is spotted by a simple pattern (a form of to be followed by a past participle), which misses some cases and flags a few that are fine.
How to use it
- Paste a few paragraphs of English text into the box.
- Read the reading ease score and the grade level. For a general audience, aim for a reading ease of 60 or more and a grade of 8 or below.
- Look at the highlighted sentences, split the long ones and rewrite passive phrases where an active one reads better.
Questions
What is a good Flesch reading ease score?
Scores of 60 to 70 read as plain English that most adults follow easily. 70 and above is easy. Below 50 is hard going and usually needs shorter sentences and simpler words.
What does the grade level mean?
It is the number of years of US schooling a reader needs to follow the text on first reading. Grade 8 means a typical 13 to 14 year old could follow it, which suits most web pages.
Is passive voice always wrong?
No. It is useful when the person doing the action is unknown or unimportant. It becomes a problem when it piles up and hides who did what, so treat the highlights as prompts to check.
Does this work for other languages?
The formulas were built for English. Other languages have different word and syllable lengths, so the numbers will not mean the same thing.