Flesch reading ease and grade level for any text.
Free to use, no sign-up required. Readability is one of 198 tools built into Xenition, alongside a chat that can use them for you.
Scores how easy a piece of English text is to read, using the Flesch Reading Ease score and the Flesch–Kincaid grade level. Writers use it to check web copy, reports and letters.
Reading ease = 206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words). Grade = 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59, shown as at least 1. Sentences end at . ! or ?. Syllables are estimated as groups of vowels (including y) after dropping a final e. Bands: 80+ Very easy, 60+ Easy, 50+ Fairly hard, 30+ Hard, below 30 Very hard.
“Readability formulas estimate how difficult a passage is to understand. They count sentences, words and syllables.” has 16 words, 2 sentences and 33 counted syllables, giving a reading ease of 24 (Very hard) and grade 12.
Around 60 or higher is a common target for general audiences. Short sentences and shorter words raise the score more than anything else.
Counting syllables by rule is approximate, and tools use different rules. This one counts vowel groups, so words such as “table” count as one syllable, and results can differ by a few points from other checkers.
You do not have to open Readability to use it. Ask Xenition in plain language and it runs the right tool, then carries the answer into whatever you are working on — a document, a spreadsheet, a deck.