Readability Score Calculator
Analyze your text using the industry-standard Flesch-Kincaid readability formulas. Find out exactly what education level is required to understand your writing, ensuring your content is perfectly tuned for your target audience. 100% private and runs locally.
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What is the Flesch-Kincaid readability test?
The Flesch-Kincaid readability tests are the most widely used formulas for measuring how difficult a passage in English is to understand. Originally developed for the US Navy to evaluate technical manuals, they are now the standard across SEO, journalism, and academic writing. The formulas rely on two core metrics: sentence length (words per sentence) and word complexity (syllables per word).
Understanding your scores
This tool provides two distinct numbers to help you gauge your writing. The Flesch Reading Ease is a score from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate material that is easier to read; lower numbers mark passages that are difficult to read. A score between 60 and 70 is widely considered acceptable for a general audience. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level translates this formula into a U.S. school grade level. For example, a score of 8.4 means an eighth grader would understand the document. Most mass-market consumer writing aims for an 8th-grade reading level.
How to improve your readability
If your Grade Level is too high for your target audience, the fix is straightforward. The mathematical formula penalizes long sentences and polysyllabic words. To lower your required reading level, break complex, multi-clause sentences into shorter, distinct sentences. Next, replace complex vocabulary (words with 3 or more syllables) with simpler, everyday alternatives. Our Syllable Counter can help you isolate exactly which words are driving your score up.