Readability Scores Explained: Write Content People Actually Read
Great content fails if it's a slog to read. Readability scores measure how easy your writing is to follow — and improving the score keeps readers (and helps SEO).
How readability is scored
The best-known measure, the Flesch Reading Ease score, is based on sentence length and syllables per word: shorter sentences and simpler words score higher (easier). A score of 60–70 is "plain English"; below 30 is very hard (academic). Related grade-level scores tell you the school grade needed to understand the text.
How to improve it
- Shorten sentences — break long ones in two.
- Prefer simple words over jargon.
- Use short paragraphs, lists and subheadings.
- Read it aloud — if you stumble, simplify.
Check your score
Our free readability score checker rates any text and flags hard sentences. Pair it with the word counter for length, and our writing-for-SEO guide.
Bottom line
Readability scores reward short sentences and plain words. Aim for ~60+ Flesch (roughly an 8th-grade level) for general audiences — clear writing keeps readers on the page, which is good for them and for your rankings.
