Check how easy your text is to read
Paste English text. Get the Flesch Reading Ease score and the Flesch-Kincaid grade level, and see your longest sentences. Your text stays in your browser.
Your text
Your text stays in this tab. It is scored on your device as you type and never sent anywhere.
The formulas were built for English text. Scores for other languages are not meaningful.
Scores
Scores show up here as soon as you paste or type a sentence.
Next: grade the page for AI citation
The AI content grader scores how likely AI search engines are to cite your content, across 12 factors.
Grade your whole site for AI answers
The AEO grader in the AY Rank app checks crawler access, answer-ready pages and whether AI engines name you.
Paste your text
Paste English text up to 200,000 characters, or load the sample.
Count words and sentences
The tool splits the text into sentences and words and estimates the syllables in each word.
Apply both formulas
Average sentence length and average syllables per word go into Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch-Kincaid grade level.
Fix the longest sentences
The 5 longest sentences are listed so you know which lines to split first.
Short sentences with one idea each are easier to quote whole. A readability score will not tell you whether ChatGPT or Google will cite a page, but it shows which pages are hard work and which sentences to split first.
How the scores are worked out
Flesch Reading Ease = 206.835 - (1.015 x ASL) - (84.6 x ASW)Flesch-Kincaid Grade = (0.39 x ASL) + (11.8 x ASW) - 15.59
- ASL is the average sentence length: words divided by sentences. ASW is the average number of syllables per word: syllables divided by words. These are the formulas as Microsoft gives them for the readability statistics in Word.
- Words are runs of letters. An apostrophe or hyphen inside a word keeps it whole, so "don't" and "well-known" count as one word each. Numbers are not counted.
- A sentence ends at a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, at a blank line, and before a list item. A full stop after a common abbreviation (Dr., e.g., U.S.), after an initial (J. Smith) or before a lower-case word does not end a sentence. Decimals like 3.5 stay inside the sentence.
- Syllables are an estimate. The tool counts vowel groups, drops a silent final e (make), a silent -es (makes) and a silent -ed (played), and keeps -le after a consonant (table). Some words come out one syllable off.
- The 5 longest sentences are listed by word count. Words of three or more syllables are counted separately.
- Very simple text can score above 100 and very dense text below 0. The tool shows the result of the formula as it is.
- Only the first 200,000 characters are scored. The page makes no network request while you type, so your text is not sent anywhere.
Sources
Microsoft's page and the report record read on 2026-11-11. The 1948 paper is behind a paywall, so the formula is quoted from Microsoft.
- Microsoft Support, Get your document's readability and level statistics in Microsoft Wordhttps://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/get-your-document-s-readability-and-level-statistics-in-microsoft-word
- Flesch, R. (1948). A new readability yardstick. Journal of Applied Psychology, 32(3), 221-233https://doi.org/10.1037/h0057532
- Kincaid, J. P., Fishburne, R. P., Rogers, R. L. and Chissom, B. S. (1975). Derivation of new readability formulas (Automated Readability Index, Fog Count and Flesch Reading Ease Formula) for Navy enlisted personnelhttps://stars.library.ucf.edu/istlibrary/56
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?
Higher is easier. Microsoft's Word help says that for most standard files you want a score between 60 and 70. Compare drafts of the same page rather than pages on different topics.
What does a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 8 mean?
It maps the text to a US school grade. Microsoft's example is that a score of 8.0 means an eighth grader can understand the document, and it suggests about 7.0 to 8.0 for most documents.
How are the two scores different?
Both use the same two inputs, average sentence length and average syllables per word, with different weights. Reading Ease runs from about 0 to 100 and higher is easier. The grade level is a US school grade and lower is easier.
Does it work for French, German or Arabic?
No. The formulas were built for English, and the syllable counter follows English spelling. This page is translated, but the calculator is for English text only.
Is my text uploaded?
No. The scores are worked out in your browser as you type. The page sends no request with your text, and closing the tab removes it.
Why does my score differ from Word or another tool?
The formulas are fixed, but the counting is not. Tools split sentences and count syllables in different ways, so the same text can score a few points apart. This page lists its counting rules above.
Want us to fix this for you?
We rewrite pages so AI answers can quote them: clear sentences, direct answers and the structure ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google pick up.