Free Readability Checker Tool

A readability checker analyzes text to determine how easy it is to read. It evaluates sentence length, word complexity, paragraph structure, and vocabulary level to generate scores indicating comprehension difficulty.

Paste your content and SnowSEO instantly calculates multiple readability scores: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, and Gunning Fog Index. You also get actionable metrics like sentence length, passive voice percentage, and improvement suggestions.

Flesch Reading Ease provides a 0-100 score where higher means easier. Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level indicates the U.S. school grade needed. Gunning Fog Index offers another grade-level assessment.

We also report average sentence length, complex word percentage, passive voice usage, and paragraph length distribution.

For general web content, aim for 60-70 Flesch Reading Ease. Product pages benefit from higher scores since simpler language reduces friction. Technical documentation can target 50-60. Children's content should target 80+.

Readability isn't a direct ranking factor, but it strongly influences user behavior. Clear content keeps readers on page longer and reduces bounce rate. Readable content earns more shares and links. Confusing content gets abandoned.

Target 15-20 words per sentence on average. Break paragraphs frequently. Use simpler synonyms. Add subheadings every 300 words. Use bullet points for sequences. Minimize passive voice.

Absolutely not. Simple writing clarifies complex ideas. Hemingway wrote at a 4th-grade level. Orwell advocated against unnecessary complexity. Readers don't stop because ideas are profound. They stop because unnecessary complexity exhausts them.

Even for technical audiences, sentence structure should remain clear. Experts value their time. While specialized vocabulary may be necessary, complex sentence construction never is. The best technical writing maintains high vocabulary complexity with low structural complexity.

Voice assistants demand simpler content because responses are spoken aloud. Complex sentences that work visually become confusing aurally. Content optimized for readability naturally performs better for voice search and featured snippets.

General web content: 8th grade. B2B content: 10th-12th grade. E-commerce: 6th-8th grade. Health content: 6th grade per health literacy guidelines. Non-native English speakers: lower levels regardless of their education. When uncertain, simpler is almost always better.

Check every piece before publishing. Review existing high-traffic content quarterly. Consider integrating readability checks into your content workflow.

For most web content, no. Readers who find content "too easy" simply read faster. The real risk is complexity driving readers away, not simplicity offending them.

AI content typically scores moderately. It tends toward consistent sentence lengths that can feel monotonous and may use unnecessarily formal vocabulary. Running AI content through our Readability Checker often reveals opportunities for improvement.

Passive voice constructs sentences where the action's recipient, not the actor, is the subject. It adds words and obscures who is acting. Our tool reports passive voice percentage. Targeting under 10% creates more direct, engaging content.

Subheadings every 300 words create visual breaks making long content approachable. They enable scanning. Bullet points turn dense paragraphs into scannable sequences. Short paragraphs feel less intimidating than long blocks. White space reduces visual overwhelm.

Flesch Reading Ease is the most widely used formula. It scores texts 0-100 based on average sentence length and average syllables per word. Shorter sentences and shorter words create easier reading. A score of 60-70 is accessible to most adults.