Readability Score Calculator

Understanding Readability Scores

These formulas measure how easy your text is to read and understand:

Flesch Reading Ease (0-100)

• 90-100: Very Easy (5th grade) - Comic books, simple stories
• 80-89: Easy (6th grade) - Casual conversation, general fiction
• 70-79: Fairly Easy (7th grade) - Magazine articles
• 60-69: Standard (8th-9th grade) - Most popular novels
• 50-59: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th grade) - Business writing
• 30-49: Difficult (College) - Academic papers
• 0-29: Very Difficult (College graduate) - Scientific journals

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

Indicates the US school grade level needed to understand the text. A score of 8.0 means an 8th grader can understand it.

SMOG Index

Simple Measure of Gobbledygook. Estimates years of education needed. More accurate for technical documents. Requires at least 30 sentences.

Coleman-Liau Index

Based on characters per word and words per sentence. Useful for texts where syllable counting is difficult.

Recommended Reading Levels by Content Type

• General web content: 7th-8th grade (Flesch: 60-70)
• Marketing copy: 6th-7th grade (Flesch: 70-80)
• Legal documents: College level (Flesch: 30-50)
• Technical documentation: 10th-12th grade (Flesch: 50-60)
• News articles: 8th-10th grade (Flesch: 60-70)
• Children's books: Varies by age, typically 1st-5th grade
• Academic papers: College level (Flesch: 30-50)

How to Improve Readability

• Use shorter sentences: Aim for 15-20 words per sentence
• Choose simpler words: Avoid jargon and complex vocabulary
• Break up long paragraphs: 3-4 sentences maximum
• Use active voice: "The dog chased the ball" vs "The ball was chased by the dog"
• Remove unnecessary words: Cut filler and redundancy
• Use bullet points: Make information scannable
• Add subheadings: Break content into digestible sections
• Know your audience: Match complexity to reader expertise