Readability Scores
Lower grade levels mean easier-to-read content. Most web content should target grades 6-8.
Text Statistics
How to use the Readability Checker
Most online content reads at a higher grade level than the audience needs. The checker tells you whether your writing matches your readers — or whether you're losing them in long sentences and dense vocabulary.
Paste your content
Drop in the article, blog post, or landing page copy. Skip nav, footer, and code blocks — they skew the score.
Read the Flesch score
60–70 is "plain English" — the target for most web content. 30–50 is "college-level" — fine for technical or academic readers. Below 30 is hard to read for most adults.
Check the grade level
8th-grade or lower is the standard for general audiences. Specialized B2B SaaS readers tolerate 10th–12th grade. Anything above 12th grade is a red flag for general content.
Address the warnings
Long sentences (25+ words), passive voice, and complex words drag scores. Break long sentences, switch passive to active, swap multi-syllable words for shorter equivalents.
Why readability quietly drives engagement metrics
Hard-to-read content gets bounced. High bounce rate is a ranking signal. The path from "writing too dense" to "losing rankings" is short, and most writers don't realize their writing is the problem.
What the Flesch score actually measures
The Flesch Reading Ease formula calculates a 0–100 score based on average sentence length and average syllables per word. Higher = easier. The scale was calibrated by Rudolf Flesch in 1948 against US Navy training materials, and remains the most widely used readability metric.
- 90–100 — very easy, 5th-grade reading level.
- 80–90 — easy, 6th grade. Standard for consumer content.
- 70–80 — fairly easy, 7th grade. Sweet spot for most blogs.
- 60–70 — plain English, 8th–9th grade. Default web target.
- 50–60 — fairly difficult, 10th–12th grade.
- 30–50 — difficult, college level.
- 0–30 — very difficult, college graduate.
Three patterns that crush readability
- Sentences over 25 words — readers lose the subject before reaching the verb.
- Passive voice over 10% — adds words, hides the actor, reads as bureaucratic.
- Multi-syllable words when shorter exist — "utilize" vs "use", "facilitate" vs "help".
Frequently asked questions
What's a good Flesch reading ease score?
60–70 is the sweet spot for general web content (plain English, 8th-grade level). Consumer-facing content should aim for 70–80. Technical or B2B content can reasonably sit at 50–60. Below 50 starts losing readers; below 30 is academic-only.
Does readability affect SEO rankings?
Not directly — Google has stated readability isn't a ranking factor. But unreadable content increases bounce rate and decreases dwell time, both of which are ranking signals. Better readability indirectly improves rankings via better user-engagement metrics.
What grade level should my content target?
Match the grade level to the audience. Consumer content: 6th–8th grade. B2B SaaS: 9th–11th grade. Academic or technical research: 12th+ grade. As a rule of thumb, write 2 grade levels below your audience's actual reading level — even highly literate readers prefer easy reading.
How do I improve a low readability score?
Three highest-leverage fixes: (1) break long sentences — anything over 25 words should be split; (2) switch passive voice to active; (3) replace multi-syllable words with shorter equivalents ("utilize" → "use"). Do these three and most content jumps 10–15 Flesch points.
Are short sentences always better?
No — varied sentence length is what makes writing flow well. Aim for an average of 15–20 words per sentence with a mix of short (5–10 words) and longer (25–30 words). All-short-sentences reads choppy; all-long sentences reads dense. Variety wins.