How to use the readability checker
Type or paste a paragraph or more — the formulas need a reasonable sample to be meaningful — and the scores update live. You get the Flesch Reading Ease number, the Flesch-Kincaid grade level, a reading-level label, and the underlying statistics: words, sentences, average words per sentence, and average syllables per word. A scale at the bottom shows how to read the ease score. Everything is computed in your browser.
What the two scores mean
Both scores come from the same two ingredients — how long your sentences are and how many syllables your words contain — combined in different ways. Flesch Reading Ease runs from 0 to 100, and higher is easier: 90 to 100 is very easy (around fifth-grade), 60 to 70 is plain, standard English suitable for a general audience, 30 to 50 is difficult and academic, and below 30 is very difficult. Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level translates the same data into a U.S. school grade, so a score of 8 means the average eighth-grader could read it. The two move in opposite directions — as ease goes down, the grade level goes up — and together they give both an intuitive number and a concrete audience.
What to aim for
Most general-audience writing should target a Flesch Reading Ease of 60 to 70, roughly a seventh- to ninth-grade level. That is not "dumbing down" — it is the level at which the widest range of readers can absorb your point without effort, and it is where most newspapers, popular non-fiction, and effective marketing sit. Technical, legal, and academic writing naturally scores lower because the subject demands longer words and more complex sentences, but even there, unnecessarily low scores signal prose that could be clearer. If you are writing for children or a broad public audience, push for 70 or above; if you are writing a research abstract, a score in the 30s is normal.
How to improve your score, and its limits
To raise readability, do the two things the formula measures: shorten your sentences and choose shorter words. Split long sentences at their conjunctions, cut filler, and swap multi-syllable words for plain ones ("use" for "utilise", "help" for "facilitate"). The sentence counter is a useful companion for finding your longest sentences to break. Bear in mind the limits: these formulas count syllables with a heuristic and measure structure, not meaning, so they cannot judge whether your argument is clear, your examples land, or your jargon is defined. A well-organised piece with a slightly higher grade level can read far more easily than a choppy one that games the score. Use the number as a guide, not a goal in itself.