Readability Checker
Flesch Reading Ease, grade level, sentence length and passive voice — with the exact sentences dragging your score down.
Paste your text above to get your readability score
Flesch score, grade level, sentence length, and improvement suggestions
Suggestions to improve readability
Why readability matters for SEO
Better user experience
Readable content keeps visitors on your page longer, reducing bounce rate, a key signal for Google rankings.
Wider audience reach
Content written at a 6th-8th grade reading level reaches the widest audience. Even expert readers prefer simpler text.
Featured snippet eligibility
Google favors clear, concise answers for featured snippets. High readability increases your chances of being selected.
Mobile-first indexing
Short sentences and simple vocabulary are essential for mobile readers who scan content on smaller screens.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good readability score?
For a general web audience, a Flesch Reading Ease between 60 and 70 — roughly an eighth to ninth grade reading level. Technical or professional content sits lower and that is fine; the score is only a problem when it is lower than your reader expects. Legal and medical writing routinely scores under 30 by necessity.
Does readability affect SEO?
Not directly: Google does not rank on a Flesch score. It affects the behaviour that does matter. Text that is hard to read gets abandoned, and a visit that ends in seconds is not a visit that converts or earns a link. Readability is a conversion and retention lever that happens to help SEO.
How is the Flesch Reading Ease calculated?
From two ratios: average sentence length in words, and average syllables per word. Longer sentences and longer words push the score down. It is why the fastest way to raise a score is to split sentences, not to hunt for shorter synonyms.
Why does passive voice matter?
Passive constructions add words and hide who does what — "the page was updated" leaves out who updated it. A handful is normal English; a page built from them reads as evasive and takes longer to parse. The checker marks them so you can decide which ones earn their place.
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