Flesch Reading Ease Calculator
Flesch Reading Ease returns a single 0 to 100 score for any piece of writing. Higher means easier. Flesch called a score of 60 to 70 "standard", and his table matches that band to 8th and 9th grade. The score is widely used in publishing, education and plain-language work.
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What Flesch Reading Ease measures
Rudolf Flesch published the Reading Ease formula in 1948, in the paper “A New Readability Yardstick”. The formula gives a score from 0 to 100, where a higher score means easier reading. Flesch's own table links each score band to a school grade.
The formula combines two measures: average sentence length and average syllables per word. Both enter the score in a straight line, so small edits show up as point changes you can track from draft to draft.
How to interpret your Flesch Reading Ease score
| Score | Flesch's label | Flesch's school grade |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Very easy | 5th grade |
| 80–89 | Easy | 6th grade |
| 70–79 | Fairly easy | 7th grade |
| 60–69 | Standard | 8th–9th grade |
| 50–59 | Fairly difficult | 10th–12th grade |
| 30–49 | Difficult | College |
| 0–29 | Very difficult | College graduate |
The labels and grades are Flesch's, as reproduced in William DuBay's review of readability research. For a general audience, 60 to 70 is a common target, and Microsoft suggests that range for most standard files. Below 50, Flesch's table puts the text at college level.
When to use Flesch Reading Ease
- Web content aimed at a broad audience. Yoast SEO shows a Flesch Reading Ease score in its Insights tab. Google lists no reading-level ranking factor.
- Insurance policies — some US states set a minimum score. Florida law, for example, requires a policy to reach "a minimum score of 45 on the Flesch reading ease test" (Fla. Stat. 627.4145).
- Comparing drafts — the 0 to 100 scale makes it easy to talk about "going from 52 to 64" with editors and reviewers.
How Flesch Reading Ease is calculated
Two penalties are subtracted from the constant 206.835: one for average sentence length and one for syllables per word.
Both matter. Going from 1.8 to 1.3 syllables per word adds about 42 points. Going from 30 to 10 words per sentence adds about 20 points.
Flesch Reading Ease vs other readability formulas
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level uses the same two inputs but produces a US school grade. The two scores move in opposite directions. In Flesch's table, a Reading Ease of 70 to 80 corresponds to 7th grade.
Gunning Fog takes a different approach: it uses the percentage of complex (3+ syllable) words instead of total syllables.
Coleman-Liau and ARI use letter counts instead of syllables. A 2013 review found SMOG best suited to health care applications. McLaughlin's SMOG method uses 30 sentences, which makes it less useful for short passages.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?
For general readers, 60 to 70 is a common target. Flesch called that band 'standard' and matched it to 8th and 9th grade. Microsoft suggests the same range for most standard files. Scores of 30 to 50 are 'difficult', at college level.
How do I improve my Flesch Reading Ease score?
Use shorter sentences and shorter words. Both count: cutting average sentence length by 10 words adds about 10 points, and cutting 0.1 syllables per word adds about 8.5 points.
What is the difference between Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid?
Reading Ease returns a 0 to 100 score (higher is easier). Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level returns a US school grade (lower is easier). Both use sentence length and syllables per word, with different weights.
Can a Flesch Reading Ease score be negative?
Yes. The raw formula goes below 0 for text with very long sentences and long words. This calculator limits the result to the range 0 to 100.
Does Flesch Reading Ease work for non-English text?
Not directly. Flesch built the formula on English text. Other languages have their own formulas.