Table of Contents
- Key Pointers
- The Short Version
- So, what does a readability score actually measure?
- The three readability scores you’ll see most often
- What readability score should you aim for?
- Why readability scores matter
- How to check your readability score
- How to actually improve your readability score
- When you should ignore the score
- A quick readability checklist before you publish
- Wrap-up
- FAQs
- Sign Up for Quetext Today!
Key Pointers
- Readability score measures the ability to read and comprehend a piece of writing; with factors such as sentence length, the number of syllables per word, and the complexity of vocabulary.
- The three most commonly used formulas to measure readability are the Flesch Reading Ease formula, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula, and the Gunning Fog Index.
- When writing for the web in general, you should target a Flesch Reading Ease score between 60 and 70 (which corresponds to a grade level between 8 and 9).
- Don’t assume that higher readability scores are necessarily better. The best score for your written material will be determined based on the reader demographic that you are targeting.
- The three primary methods of increasing the readability score of any given written document are: write short sentences, use common English words instead of technical terms or jargon, and use the active voice.
The Short Version
A readability score tells you roughly what grade level a reader needs to understand your writing. The Flesch Reading Ease scale runs from 0 to 100, where higher means easier. Most online content lands between 60 and 70. To improve a score, shorten your sentences, swap long words for shorter ones, cut filler, and break up dense paragraphs. The score isn’t the goal. Clear writing is the goal. The score just helps you spot where you’ve drifted.
So, what does a readability score actually measure?
Picture this: you finish a 1,200-word blog post, hit publish, and a week later your editor sends a Slack message saying “this reads like a textbook.” You re-read it. The information is solid. The grammar is clean. But the sentences are long, the words are technical, and every paragraph is six lines deep. Nobody’s going to finish reading it.
That’s the problem a readability score helps you catch before you publish.
A readability score is a numeric estimate of how easy a piece of writing is to read and understand. The most popular formulas plug in things like average sentence length, syllables per word, and the number of complex words to spit out a single number. That number maps roughly to a reading grade level or an ease rating.
It’s a rough estimate, not a perfect measure. The Nielsen Norman Group on legibility, readability, and comprehension covers the limits clearly: the scores measure surface complexity, not whether your ideas are clear or your reasoning holds up. Still, they’re useful as a sanity check.
The three readability scores you’ll see most often
A few formulas dominate. Knowing the difference helps you read the numbers correctly.
Flesch Reading Ease
The Flesch Reading Ease scale runs from 0 to 100. Higher means easier. A score of 90-100 reads at a 5th grade level. A score of 30-50 reads at a college level. A score below 30 is “very difficult” and usually means academic or legal writing.
For most online content, aim for 60-70. That’s the sweet spot for general audiences. Marketing copy often targets 70+ to be even easier.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
Same inputs as Flesch Reading Ease, different output. This one gives you a grade level directly. A score of 8.0 means an 8th grader should be able to read it. Most newspapers target a 6th-9th grade level. Hemingway, the writing tool, suggests aiming for grade 6.
The Readable’s explainer on Flesch reading ease walks through both formulas in plain language if you want the math.
Gunning Fog Index
The Gunning Fog index gives an also includes a grade level for writing, but with more emphasis placed on the “long” (3+ syllable) words. Overall it will identify jargon-heavy communications as being more difficult than Flesch. Typical targets are Grade 8 through 10 for general audiences, with Grade 7 or lower targeting marketing documents.
What readability score should you aim for?
The answer depends on who you’re writing for.
| Audience | Flesch Reading Ease | Flesch-Kincaid Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing & social copy | 70-80 | 6-7 | Short, punchy, conversational |
| Blog posts & general web | 60-70 | 8-9 | Standard digital content sweet spot |
| News articles | 60-70 | 7-9 | Most major newspapers sit here |
| Business writing | 50-60 | 10-12 | More formal, still readable |
| Academic & technical | 30-50 | 13-16 | College-level vocabulary expected |
| Legal & medical | Below 30 | 17+ | Specialized terminology required |
Higher isn’t always better. Writing for surgeons at a 5th grade level would feel patronizing. Writing for casual blog readers at a college level loses them in the first paragraph. Match the score to the audience.
The federal Plain Language guidelines make this point well: clarity for the intended reader is what matters, not the score itself.
Why readability scores matter
Many people who write cannot envision what makes their writing readable for most people until after someone has said something. This is why it’s important to regularly check.
Research indicates that most people skim. A recent study found that users will read about 20% to 28% of the content on an average web page. Long, dense sentences are typically skimmed and discarded; those with short, scannable sentences will receive more reads.
Readability is also rewarded by SEO. Search engines do not directly use a Flesch score as part of their algorithm but do analyze metrics such as time spent on page, scroll depth, and bounce rate, and generally, the more complex the writing or the higher the reading level, the less success a website seems to have.
non-native speakers, readers with learning disabilities or other disabilities who are using assistive technology, and other special needs, will have difficulty accessing complex written material and will generally frustrate them.
Studies consistently show that conversion rates will be higher for clear, simple writing on a landing page compared with those written with more complex styles; studies of conversion rate optimization (CRO) frequently support this conclusion.
How to check your readability score
Three options, from simplest to most precise:
Built-in tools. Microsoft Word has a readability check (File → Options → Proofing → Show readability statistics). Google Docs has it via add-ons. These work but are basic.
Free online checkers. Hemingway Editor (free version) gives you a grade level and highlights hard-to-read sentences in real time. Hemingway Editor is the go-to for quick checks. Other free tools like Readable.com show multiple scores at once.
Writing assistants with built-in scoring. Many grammar checkers now show readability stats alongside grammar feedback. That’s the workflow most working writers prefer because you fix grammar and readability in the same pass.
For a deeper dive into the writing-assistant workflow, our breakdown on how to use AI to write better sentences walks through the checks that matter most when you’re polishing copy.
How to actually improve your readability score
Seven practical fixes that move the number every time.
- Reduce Sentence Length
Average sentence lengths determine your total score in most readability formulas. If your average sentence length exceeds 25 words, then you are likely to struggle in scoring. Aim for an average of 15-20 words per sentence and not to exceed 10 words per sentence when writing a “normal” sentence.
A good rule of thumb is that if you have two “and”s or a semicolon in a sentence, you can most likely make it into two separate sentences.
- Replace Long Words with Short Words
Longer words such as “utilize” are often replaced with easier and shorter words such as “use.” “Demonstrate” should be replaced with the word “show,” and when the word “approximately” is used it can easily be replaced with “about.” Longer words decrease your readability score, and readers rarely get anything from using longer words than they would get from shorter words.
- Remove Filler Words/Phrases
Certain groups of words such as “in order to,” “due to the fact that” and “for the purpose of” add no real value to your sentence; they are just fillers. By eliminating them your overall score will improve and your writing will also read better.
- Use the Active Voice
Using the active voice eliminates unnecessary words from a sentence, making it shorter and clearer. An example of this is to say “The report was prepared by the team” will become “The team prepared the report.” Same meaning with lesser words.
- Shorten Your Paragraphs
Web pages should be limited to 2-4 lines per paragraph. When paragraphs are too long, they are hard for people to read even when the individual sentences are easy to comprehend.
- Use Subheading, Lists & Pull Quotes
Readability scores are great but visually structuring your content is just as important. By using subheadings for each subject or making a list of items that you have explained in a long paragraph you are creating a more enjoyable and user-friendly experience for your audience.
- Read it out loud
The cheapest readability check. If you stumble while reading a sentence, simplify it. If you run out of breath, shorten it. This catches problems no formula will flag.
Try this: Paste a paragraph into Quetext’s grammar checker and rewrite anything that scores rough. The combined grammar-and-readability pass usually flags the same problem twice, which makes it easier to fix. If you’d rather start with a quick spot-check, you can also try Quetext’s free writing tools and run a paragraph through to see how it lands.
When you should ignore the score
Worth saying out loud: don’t chase the number blindly.
If you’re writing for medical journals, legal contracts, or technical documentation, a “low” readability score is appropriate. Your audience expects specialized vocabulary, and dumbing it down to grade 6 would feel wrong.
The opposite is also true. A landing page that scores at college level is almost certainly losing readers. The number is a signal, not a verdict. Use it the way you’d use a thermometer: helpful for spotting a problem, not the entire diagnosis.
For context on writing across formats, the guide on essay writing: check grammar, punctuation, and more covers the trade-offs between formal and conversational writing.
A quick readability checklist before you publish
A 30-second checklist that catches most issues:
- Average sentence length under 20 words?
- No paragraph longer than 4 lines?
- Active voice in most sentences?
- No filler phrases like “in order to” or “due to the fact that”?
- Subheadings every 200-300 words?
- Read out loud without stumbling?
If you can check five of those six, your score is probably fine. For professional emails specifically, the same checklist applies. Our piece on email writing tips for professional emails breaks down the email-specific patterns that hurt readability.
Wrap-up
A readability score is a quick check, not the final word. It tells you whether your sentences are too long, your words too dense, your paragraphs too thick. Fix those things and the score climbs on its own. The number isn’t the prize. Clear writing that gets read is the prize.
Run your next draft through Quetext and see what the score tells you. If it’s higher than you expected, take the win. If it’s lower, you’ve already got your list of things to fix.
FAQs
What is a good readability score?
A Good Score using the Flesch Reading Ease Scale for most internet-writing is 60–70 which translates to Grade 8–9. Marketing materials often try to achieve scores of 70–80 since they are preferred to be shorter and catchier. Conversely, academic and technical writing have lower scores on average (31-50) because the vocabulary utilized in these between two written works are more specific. The best score to be achieved will vary from audience to audience as opposed to an overall standard. However, try to achieve at or above your reader’s comfort level with whatever is being evaluated.
- Most blog/web writers will have score averages between 60-70
- Most marketing-social writers will have score averages of even 70+
- Academic writers usually use either low or upper (low.) at or near their reader’s normal usage
How is a readability score calculated?
Most readability assessments calculate a score using the length of sentences and the number of syllables or the number of syllables per word. The Flesch Reading Ease test uses average sentence and syllable length in a consistent formula. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test uses the same measurements but provides a grade level instead of an ease score. The Gunning Fog test adds a count of “complex words”. The mathematics behind these systems are fairly clear; however, what they provide is only surface-level complexity. Idea clarity should also be included in the evaluation.
- Sentence length matters the most.
- Word length is the second largest item.
- Readability formulas measure only the form of the text, meaning of the individual word itself is not taken into consideration.
Can I improve my readability score with a tool?
Yes. Free tools like the Hemingway Editor highlight long sentences and complex words in real time. Grammar checkers from Quetext, Grammarly, and others show readability stats alongside grammar suggestions, which lets you fix both in one pass. Using an editor’s workflow (Hemingway, Grammarly) allows you to generate a draft then immediately run that draft through an editor prior to making corrections. As you make corrections, you will see your score improve.
- Hemingway provides immediate feedback on problem sentences
- Grammar tools display readability and matching fixes
- Typically, after one edit, your score will have changed significantly.
Does Google use readability score for SEO?
Although readability score is not graded directly by Google, it does track related signals such as bounce rate, scroll depth and dwell time on a webpage. More dense/hard to read content tends to lose readers from the page therefore causing a negative hit to those engagement signals. However, as it relates to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts; content that presents itself with improved readability will generally perform better in terms of SEO performance. The key here is to write for the reader; if you do that then it stands to follow that your score/ranking will follow as well.
- No direct header to header readability scoring in Google
- Easy to read means better engagement signals
- Write for the readers, not the formula
