Far above your target grade, or 35 words or more. Split it into two or more sentences.
Free writing tool
Readability Checker
Pick who you're writing for, paste your draft, and fix the sentences that slow readers down. Your grade updates as you type.
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Paste or type straight into the document below. Headings from Google Docs and Word are kept.
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Step by step
How do you check the readability of your writing?
Paste your draft into a readability checker, compare its grade level with the grade your readers need, and rewrite the sentences it marks as hard. Then check again. Most drafts get easier in two or three passes.
- Choose who you're writing forPick your readers above. That sets your target grade and how strict the sentence checks are.
- Add your draftPaste or type into the document, or load a web page, Word file or PDF.
- Fix the highlights, hardest firstClick “Fix this first”, or click any highlight for a tip. Wordy phrases can be swapped in one click.
Flesch Reading Ease
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?
For most web pages, aim for 60 or higher. Flesch Reading Ease scores text from 0 to 100, where higher means easier. 60 to 70 is plain English that most adults read comfortably; below 50 starts to feel difficult for a general audience.
| Score | How it reads | Roughly the level of |
|---|---|---|
| 90 to 100 | Very easy | Age 11, grade 5 |
| 80 to 89 | Easy | Grade 6 |
| 70 to 79 | Fairly easy | Grade 7 |
| 60 to 69 | Plain English | Grades 8 and 9 |
| 50 to 59 | Fairly difficult | Grades 10 to 12 |
| 30 to 49 | Difficult | College |
| 0 to 29 | Very difficult | College graduate |
The formula: 206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words). Shorter sentences and shorter words raise the score.
Your target
What grade level should you write at?
Grade 7 to 9 suits most web content. Go lower for landing pages, emails and anything people skim, and only go higher when your readers are specialists who expect technical language. The grade is a US school level: grade 8 is roughly what a 13 to 14-year-old reads comfortably.
Writing simply isn't writing for children. Busy experts also prefer text they can read fast. That's why the checker lets you set a target, and judges your draft against it rather than against one fixed number.
The colours
What do the readability highlights mean?
Each colour marks a different kind of friction. Sentence colours show sentences that are hard for your target readers. Word colours show passive voice, adverbs and qualifiers, and wordy phrases with a simpler alternative. Paragraphs marked at the side are long for the web.
Above your target grade. Cut extra words or move one idea into its own sentence.
A shorter word or phrase means the same thing. Click it to swap in the suggestion.
Hides who did what. “The plan was approved” becomes “The team approved the plan”.
Words like “really”, “very” and “quickly” soften your point. A stronger verb often works better.
Over 120 words or 5 sentences. On a screen, shorter paragraphs are easier to scan.
Under the hood
Which readability formulas does the checker use?
Six. The big grade is Flesch-Kincaid, the most widely used. “All readability scores” adds Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman-Liau and the Automated Readability Index, plus their average, so you can compare with whichever formula your team or client uses.
| Formula | What it measures | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Flesch Reading Ease | Sentence length and syllables, scored 0 to 100 | A quick, familiar ease score |
| Flesch-Kincaid grade | The same inputs, as a US school grade | Setting a target grade |
| Gunning Fog | Sentence length and words of three or more syllables | Business and technical writing |
| SMOG | Words of three or more syllables across 30 sentences | Health and public information |
| Coleman-Liau | Letters per word instead of syllables | Cross-checking the others |
| Automated Readability Index | Characters per word and words per sentence | Technical documents |
Content and SEO
Does readability affect SEO?
Not directly. Search engines don't rank pages by a readability score. But clear writing helps people find their answer and stay on the page, which is what helpful, people-first content is about.
Write for your reader first, then check your keywords. The Keyword Checker shows whether your draft covers the terms you're targeting, in the same document-style editor.
FAQ
Readability checker FAQ
Which grade level does the big number show?
The Flesch-Kincaid grade level, rounded. Open “All readability scores” to see Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman-Liau and the Automated Readability Index, plus the average of all five.
Why do different readability tools give different scores?
Each tool counts syllables and splits sentences slightly differently, and some use different formulas. Compare drafts in the same tool rather than comparing scores across tools.
Does the checker work for languages other than English?
No. The formulas and word lists are built for English. Scores for other languages will not be reliable.
Is my writing uploaded or stored?
No. Text you paste, type or upload is checked in your browser and never stored. For a link, Pineable fetches the page so your browser can read it, and keeps nothing.
Should I fix every highlight?
No. Highlights point to places worth a second look. Keep a long sentence, a technical term or the passive voice when it's the clearest way to say something.
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