How to use it
- Paste the English text into Text. The result updates as you type.
- Read Reading Ease: a higher score is easier. Level gives the same result in words.
- Read Grade level for the US school grade that can follow the text.
- Check Words per sentence and Syllables per word: long sentences and long words lower the score.
How the scores are calculated
Both scores use three counts from the text: the words, the sentences and the syllables. Flesch Reading Ease gives a higher score for shorter sentences and shorter words. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level turns the same counts into a US school grade.
The formulas and the score bands below are the ones given on Wikipedia's article on the Flesch-Kincaid readability tests.
Reading Ease = 206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words)
Grade level = 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59How words, sentences and syllables are counted
- A word is a run of English letters. An apostrophe inside a word keeps it one word, so don't is one word. Numbers are not counted as words.
- A sentence ends at a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark followed by a space or the end of the text, and at a line break.
- Syllables are estimated by a rule: a silent e at the end of a word is dropped, and each group of one or two vowels is one syllable (y counts as a vowel). A dictionary would be exact; this rule is not, and words such as science or queue come out one syllable off.
Score bands
A score that falls exactly on a boundary takes the higher band: a score of 90 is very easy.
| Reading Ease | Level | US grade |
|---|---|---|
| 90 and above | Very easy | 5th grade |
| 80 to 90 | Easy | 6th grade |
| 70 to 80 | Fairly easy | 7th grade |
| 60 to 70 | Plain English | 8th and 9th grade |
| 50 to 60 | Fairly difficult | 10th to 12th grade |
| 30 to 50 | Difficult | College |
| 10 to 30 | Very difficult | College graduate |
| Below 10 | Extremely difficult | Professional |
What the scores do not measure
- The formulas measure sentence length and word length only. Two texts with the same score can differ in clarity, structure and how well the ideas are explained.
- Line breaks count as sentence ends, so a list of short lines scores as easier than the same words in one paragraph.
- The syllable rule reads English spelling. For Turkish or other languages, these formulas do not apply.
Worked example: Plants need light to grow.
The text has 2 sentences, 15 words and 17 syllables. Words per sentence: 15 ÷ 2 = 7.5. Reading Ease: 206.835 − 1.015 × 7.5 − 84.6 × (17 ÷ 15) = 206.835 − 7.61 − 95.88 = 103.3, which is in the very easy band. Grade level: 0.39 × 7.5 + 11.8 × (17 ÷ 15) − 15.59 = 0.7, so the sentences are very short and the words very simple.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Sentences | 2 |
| Words | 15 |
| Syllables (estimated) | 17 |
| Reading Ease | 103.3 (very easy) |
| Grade level | 0.7 |
Frequently asked questions
Is the score exact?
The formulas are exact, but the syllable count is a rule, so some words are counted one syllable off and the score moves a little with them. The counts shown let you check the inputs.
Why is my grade level below 1?
The Flesch-Kincaid formula can give a value below zero when the sentences are very short and the words are simple. It means the text is easier than the first grade level the formula measures.
Does a high Reading Ease score mean the writing is good?
No. It means the sentences and the words are short. Ideas, structure and what the reader already knows also decide how clear a text is.
Does the tool work for Turkish text?
No. The formulas were made for English, and the syllable rule reads English spelling. Turkish needs its own formulas, which this tool does not use.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. The counts run in your browser. The text is not stored and is not sent to the site.
Sources
Figures and text last checked on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.