Flesch Reading Ease (0–100)
A higher score means easier text. 90–100 is very easy, 60–70 is plain English (ideal for blogs), 30–50 is college level, below 30 is best understood by university graduates.
Textorum.io · Readability scores
Readability Score Explained
A readability score estimates how difficult a text is to read. Here is how the major scoring systems work, what they measure and which target to aim for.
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The major readability scores
Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level
Translates the Flesch formula into a US school grade. A score of 8.0 means the text is understood by an average 8th-grade student. Most popular online content sits between grades 6 and 9.
Gunning Fog and SMOG
Gunning Fog estimates years of formal education needed; SMOG predicts the same from polysyllabic words per sentence. Both are stricter than Flesch and useful for medical or legal copy.
Which score should you trust?
No single score is gospel. Use Flesch Reading Ease as your daily compass, then sanity-check with grade level. If a score swings wildly, the formula is reacting to one outlier sentence — not your whole text.
Dig deeper with related Textorum.io tools: Check readability online & Calculate the Flesch score.
Why understand readability scores?
Side-by-side score comparison
Map Flesch, Flesch–Kincaid, Gunning Fog and SMOG onto one mental model.
Score-to-grade translation
Convert any score into the audience reading level it represents.
Pick the right target band
Decide which range to aim for based on your audience and channel.
Edit-by-edit deltas
Track how each rewrite moves the score so you know what worked.
Who relies on readability scores
- Content marketers and SEOs
- Editors and copy chiefs
- Technical writers
- Educators and curriculum designers
- UX writers and product designers
- Compliance and plain-language teams
How to read your readability score
- 01
Run a baseline score
Get the starting Flesch and grade-level numbers for your draft.
- 02
Compare across formulas
Check whether the formulas agree — disagreement signals an outlier sentence.
- 03
Pick a target band
Choose the score range your audience and content type call for.
- 04
Re-score after each pass
Watch the delta to see which edits actually pulled the score in.
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Readability score FAQ
Which readability score should I trust most?
Use Flesch Reading Ease as your primary compass and Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level as a sanity check. If they disagree sharply, one outlier sentence is usually the cause.
What grade level should my content target?
Aim for grade 7–9 for general audiences, grade 5–7 for plain-language and accessibility, and grade 10+ only for specialist or academic readers.
Why do different tools give different scores?
Each tool implements the formula slightly differently — sentence detection, syllable counting and edge cases vary. Trust the trend across edits, not a single reading.
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