How to Check a Text's Readability
Paste complete English prose into the editor, choose the grade level you want to target, and review the live results. The headline score combines five grade-level formulas by taking their median, while the Flesch Reading Ease result remains separate because it uses a different 0–100-style scale.
1. Add a useful sample
Use at least 100 words and several complete sentences when possible.
2. Compare the scores
Review the consensus first, then inspect where individual formulas differ.
3. Edit for the audience
Shorten difficult sentences and replace avoidable complex words without losing meaning.
What the Six Readability Formulas Measure
How to Interpret the Results
A Flesch Reading Ease result near 60–70 is commonly described as standard English prose. Grade-level formulas answer a different question: approximately how many years of US schooling a reader may need to follow the structure and vocabulary comfortably. They do not measure intelligence, correctness, persuasion, originality, or whether the information is useful.
Differences between formulas are normal. A passage with short sentences but technical vocabulary may score well in a character-based formula and poorly in a syllable-based one. Use the median consensus as an overview, then inspect the full comparison before editing.
Editing for Clarity Without Oversimplifying
- Give each sentence one clear job and split it when several ideas compete.
- Prefer familiar words when they preserve the same precise meaning.
- Keep necessary legal, medical, scientific, and technical terms—and explain them.
- Use headings, examples, and logical order because formulas cannot measure organization.
- Read the revised passage aloud to catch rhythm, ambiguity, and missing context.
- Ask a person from the intended audience to review important material.
Privacy and Important Limitations
The analysis runs in your browser, and the tool does not need to upload the text to calculate the scores. Syllables are estimated with an English-language heuristic, so names, abbreviations, specialist terms, and unusual pronunciations can affect the result. Short samples are especially unstable, and SMOG is traditionally most reliable with at least 30 sentences.
Continue Your Writing Workflow
Review repeated terms and phrase density with the Word Frequency & Keyword Density Checker, check length and reading time with the Word Counter, standardize headings and identifiers using the Text Case Converter, compare the original and edited draft with the Text Compare & Diff Checker, or turn Markdown into clean HTML with the Markdown Converter.