Readability Checker is a free online tool from Tool Hub Zone that measures how easy your writing is to read. Paste your text, run the check, and see a score based on sentence length and word length. It helps you spot writing that is too complex for your readers. It is part of our SEO tools, and no account is needed.
How to Use the Readability Checker
- Paste your text into the box above.
- Run the check.
- Read your score and compare it with the table below.
- Shorten long sentences and replace hard words, then check again.
How Is Readability Measured?
The most common method is the Flesch Reading Ease formula. It looks at only two things: how long your sentences are, and how many syllables your words have. Short sentences and short words give a higher score.
Flesch Reading Ease = 206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words)
A related measure, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, turns the same ingredients into a school grade.
Grade Level = 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59
These formulas were built for English text. They do not measure whether your ideas are correct, interesting, or well organized.
What Does Your Score Mean?
| Reading Ease score | Difficulty | Typical reader |
|---|---|---|
| 90 – 100 | Very easy | About 5th grade |
| 80 – 90 | Easy | About 6th grade |
| 70 – 80 | Fairly easy | About 7th grade |
| 60 – 70 | Plain English | 8th to 9th grade |
| 50 – 60 | Fairly difficult | 10th to 12th grade |
| 30 – 50 | Difficult | College level |
| 0 – 30 | Very difficult | College graduate |
A Worked Example
Suppose a text has 100 words, 5 sentences, and 130 syllables. The average sentence length is 100 ÷ 5 = 20 words, and the average word length is 130 ÷ 100 = 1.3 syllables.
- Reading Ease = 206.835 − (1.015 × 20) − (84.6 × 1.3) = 206.835 − 20.3 − 109.98 = about 76.6
- Grade Level = (0.39 × 20) + (11.8 × 1.3) − 15.59 = 7.8 + 15.34 − 15.59 = about 7.6
That is “fairly easy” text, written for a reader at about a 7th to 8th grade level. This example shows how the formulas work, and the tool’s own results may differ slightly because tools count syllables in different ways.
What Score Should You Aim For?
It depends on your readers. For general websites, blogs, and product pages, a score of about 60 to 70 is a sensible target, because most visitors skim and prefer plain language. Technical, legal, or academic writing can score lower, but even there, shorter sentences help. A higher score is not always better, since very simple text can feel childish for expert readers.
How to Make Your Writing Easier to Read
- Shorten your sentences. Try to keep most of them under about 20 words.
- Use short, familiar words. Write “use” instead of “utilize” and “help” instead of “facilitate”.
- Keep one idea per sentence. If a sentence needs several commas, split it.
- Use short paragraphs. Two to four sentences each are easy to scan on a phone.
- Add headings and lists. They help readers find what they need.
- Prefer the active voice. “We fixed the error” is clearer than “The error was fixed by us”.
Why Readability Matters
People rarely read web pages word by word. They scan, and they leave when the text feels hard. Clear writing keeps visitors on the page, makes instructions easier to follow, and helps readers who are not native English speakers. Search engines do not use a readability score as a ranking number, but pages that people can understand tend to keep readers longer.
Limits of a Readability Score
A score only counts sentence length and syllables. A text can score well and still be confusing, and a text with long words can still be clear if the topic requires them. Names, numbers, abbreviations, and lists can also distort the result. Use the score as a hint, and read your text aloud to judge it yourself. The tool works for English, so results for other languages are not reliable.
Fix Problems After Checking
If your text scores low, simplify it with our Content Improver and review the result for mistakes with the Grammar Checker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the readability checker free?
Yes. It is free to use, and you do not need to sign up.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. You can use it in a browser on a phone, tablet, or computer.
Is my text stored?
Please avoid pasting private or confidential text into any free online tool. Our Privacy Policy in the footer explains how the site handles data.
Why does my score differ from another tool?
Tools count syllables and sentences in slightly different ways, so scores can differ by a few points.
Last updated: October 10, 2026
