Readability checker.

What the scores mean

• Flesch reading ease (0 to 100): higher is easier. 60 to 70 is plain English that most adults read comfortably; above 70 is easy; below 50 is hard going.
• Flesch-Kincaid grade: the US school year a reader needs to follow the text. Around 7 to 9 suits most business websites.
• Gunning Fog: years of education needed, based on sentence length and words of three or more syllables. Under 12 is a good target.
• Reading time: based on an average reading speed of about 238 words a minute.

Why readable copy matters

People skim websites, often on a phone and in their second language. Short sentences and familiar words get your point across before they leave. Clear writing also tends to convert better, and it's easier for search engines and AI assistants to pull an accurate answer from. That matters more now that AI tools quote websites directly.

Readability scores are a guide, not a target to game. Technical or legal content will naturally score lower. What matters is that your intended reader understands it on the first read.

Quick ways to improve a score

• Split sentences over 25 words into two.
• Swap long words for short ones: "use" for "utilise", "help" for "facilitate", "buy" for "purchase".
• Write in the active voice: "We fix leaks the same day" rather than "Leaks are fixed on the same day".
• Put one idea in each paragraph, and keep paragraphs to two to four sentences.
• Use headings and lists so readers can scan.

Readability and SEO

Google doesn't use a readability score as a ranking factor, but pages that people find easy to read and act on tend to perform better. Pair this with our keyword density checker to check the page stays on topic, or let our content SEO service write it for you.