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Readability Checker

A score tells you little on its own. This shows you the specific sentences where a reader slows down or gives up — the part you can actually fix. Runs entirely in your browser.

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Flesch Reading Ease
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Grade level
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Words
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Avg sentence
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Read time

Sentences worth revisiting

Longest and hardest first. Passive constructions are highlighted.

Nothing to show yet.

    How to Read the Score

    Match Your Audience, Not a Number

    Plenty of advice says "write at an eighth-grade level" as if it were a law. It isn't. Technical documentation for engineers can score badly on Flesch and still be perfectly clear to the people reading it.

    ScoreReads likeFits
    80–100Very easyBroad consumer audiences
    60–79Plain EnglishMost web content — a safe default
    30–59Fairly difficultTrade, B2B, technical readers
    0–29Very difficultAcademic and legal only

    What the formula can't see

    Flesch counts sentence length and syllables — nothing else. A paragraph of short nonsense words scores beautifully. That's why the sentence list matters more than the number: it points at real friction instead of arithmetic.

    Readability isn't a ranking factor either. It matters because text people can follow keeps them reading, and clear passages are easier for AI engines to quote accurately.

    FAQ

    Readability Questions

    What is a good readability score?
    For most web writing, Flesch Reading Ease of 60–70 works well — roughly eighth to ninth grade. But the right target depends on your audience: technical docs for engineers can score far lower and still be perfectly clear. Match your audience, not a number.
    Does readability affect SEO rankings?
    Not directly. It matters indirectly and significantly: text people can follow keeps them on the page, gets shared, and converts. Clear passages are also easier for AI answer engines to extract and quote accurately.
    How is the Flesch score calculated?
    206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words). Higher means easier. Because it only counts length and syllables, it can't judge whether your ideas are clear — nonsense in short words scores well.
    How long should sentences be?
    Around 15–20 words on average, with deliberate variation. Comprehension drops sharply past about 25 words, and uniformly short sentences read like a robot. Vary the rhythm and cut the ones that run long.

    Clear Writing, But Still No Traffic?

    Readability is one input. The free audit shows why your pages aren't ranking — and what to fix first.

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