Reading Level Checker
Paste text to get its Flesch-Kincaid grade level and Flesch Reading Ease score, with the word, sentence and syllable counts behind them.
A reading level checker scores text by sentence length and word length. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level is 0.39 x words per sentence + 11.8 x syllables per word - 15.59, a rough U.S. school grade. The sample on this page has 24 words, 3 sentences and 31 syllables, for a grade level of 2.8 and a Flesch Reading Ease of 89.4.
This checker is for general guidance. Its scores come from two published formulas that count sentence and word length only; they do not judge meaning, accuracy or tone, and they were built for English prose. Syllables are counted by a fixed rule, not a dictionary, so results can differ from other checkers. A school, publisher or regulator that requires a readability score may name its own tool and counting rules, and its result is the one that counts.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
2.8
- Flesch Reading Ease
- 89.4Higher is easier to read
- Words
- 24
- Sentences
- 3
- Syllables
- 31
- Words per sentence
- 8.0
- Syllables per word
- 1.29
Syllables are counted by a vowel-group rule, so other checkers may differ by a few points.
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About the Reading Level Checker
Both scores use two averages: words per sentence and syllables per word. Rudolf Flesch published the Reading Ease formula in 1948: 206.835 - 1.015 x words per sentence - 84.6 x syllables per word. Higher scores mean easier text, and a score can fall below 0 or rise above 100. In 1975 J. Peter Kincaid and colleagues turned the same two averages into a grade level: 0.39 x words per sentence + 11.8 x syllables per word - 15.59. The sample text has 24 words in 3 sentences, 8 words per sentence, and 31 syllables, about 1.29 per word; worked with the exact 31 / 24, that gives a grade of 2.8 and an ease of 89.4. A two-sentence passage of 18 words and 51 syllables, packed with long words, scores a grade of 21.4 and an ease of -42.0. Neither formula reads meaning, so plain short sentences score as easy even if the ideas are hard. Syllables are counted by a rule about groups of vowels, not a dictionary. The rule miscounts many single words, some up and some down, so scores here can differ from other tools by more than a rounding error, and a text of only a few sentences moves a lot.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Flesch-Kincaid grade level calculated?+
Divide the words by the sentences, and the syllables by the words. Then take 0.39 times the first average, add 11.8 times the second, and subtract 15.59. For the sample on this page, 8 words per sentence and 1.29 syllables per word give a grade of 2.8.
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?+
There is no single target. Scores rise as sentences and words get shorter, so the right score depends on who will read the text. Compare a draft against your own earlier writing or against text your readers already handle well.
Why does another checker give a different score?+
The formulas are fixed, but counting is not. Checkers split sentences differently around abbreviations and quotes, and count syllables with different rules or dictionaries. This page states its rules, so the same text always gets the same result here.
How do I lower the reading level of my writing?+
The formulas reward two things only: shorter sentences and words with fewer syllables. Splitting long sentences and swapping long words for short ones lowers the grade. Check that the meaning stays clear, since the score cannot.
Reading Ease: Flesch R, A new readability yardstick, J Appl Psychol 1948;32:221-233. Grade Level: Kincaid JP, Fishburne RP, Rogers RL, Chissom BS, Derivation of new readability formulas for Navy enlisted personnel, Research Branch Report 8-75, 1975.
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