# Flesch Reading Ease Calculator

> The Flesch Reading Ease test scores text from 0 to 100, where higher is easier. It uses two inputs only: average words per sentence and average syllables per word. Aim for 60 to 70 for a general audience - that is plain English at around eighth to ninth grade. Paste your text and the score is computed in your browser as you type.

Source: https://rankcert.com/tools/flesch-reading-ease-calculator
Free, no signup. Updated: 2026-09-08

## How to use it

1. Paste the text you want scored - a paragraph is enough, a full article is better.
2. The score updates as you type, along with words per sentence and syllables per word.
3. If the score is low, split the long sentences first - sentence length moves it further than word choice.

## Flesch Reading Ease bands

The formula is 206.835 minus 1.015 times words per sentence, minus 84.6 times syllables per word. Scores can technically fall below zero on dense academic writing; this tool floors the display at 0.

| Score | Reads as | Audience |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 90-100 | Very easy | Around 5th grade |
| 80-89 | Easy | 6th grade |
| 70-79 | Fairly easy | 7th grade |
| 60-69 | Plain English | 8th to 9th grade - the target for most web writing |
| 50-59 | Fairly difficult | 10th to 12th grade |
| 30-49 | Difficult | University |
| 0-29 | Very difficult | Postgraduate |

## Questions

### What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?

60 to 70 for general web writing, marketing copy and documentation. Below 50 you are writing for a university-educated reader whether you meant to or not. Above 80 can read as simplistic for a technical audience.

### How is the Flesch Reading Ease score calculated?

206.835 - 1.015 x (words per sentence) - 84.6 x (syllables per word). That is the whole formula. It measures sentence and word length, nothing else.

### What is the difference between Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid?

Same two inputs, opposite direction. Reading Ease gives a 0-100 score where high is easy. Flesch-Kincaid gives a US school grade level where high is hard. Use Reading Ease for a target to hit, Flesch-Kincaid when someone asks for a grade number.

### Does a high Flesch score mean the writing is good?

No. The formula cannot see whether a sentence is true, clear or worth reading - only how long it is. A page of disconnected short sentences scores 90 and reads badly. Treat it as a check on density, not a quality grade.

### Does readability affect SEO?

Not as a ranking factor. It affects whether people finish the page, and Google has said plainly that there is no readability score in the ranking systems. Write for the reader; the score is a proxy for whether you did.

### Why did my score change when I only fixed punctuation?

The formula counts sentences by terminal punctuation. Adding a full stop splits one long sentence into two shorter ones, which moves the score more than any word swap will.

### How does this tool count syllables?

With the standard vowel-group heuristic that every browser-based implementation uses - it groups adjacent vowels and strips common silent endings. It is right the large majority of the time and occasionally off on unusual names, which is enough for a score you are reading as a band, not a decimal.

### How much text do I need for a reliable score?

At least 100 words. Under about 30 words a single long sentence swings the result by twenty points or more, so short snippets give you noise.

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