Flesch Reading Ease
56.1Fairly difficult formula rangeContent & publishing
Measure sentence and word patterns without mistaking them for quality.
Inspect three established English readability formulas and the counts behind them. Results stay local, remain auditable, and never become an invented all-purpose score.
- Runs in your browser
- Three named formulas
- Inputs shown
- No signup required
Step 1 · Add a representative sample
Paste the text to inspect.
Use complete, representative sentences. Leave out navigation, footer copy, and interface labels.
796 UTF-8 bytes1,048,576 maximum
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Step 2 · Review the formula results
Readability reference
Analysis complete. Flesch Reading Ease 56.1. Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.6. Gunning Fog 10.1.
Flesch–Kincaid grade
8.6Middle school formula rangeGunning Fog index
10.1High school formula range- Words
- 127
- Sentences
- 10
- Estimated syllables
- 207
- Average words / sentence
- 12.7
- Average syllables / word
- 1.6
- Complex words
- 16 (12.6%)
Latin-script coverage100.0%
Coverage is a guardrail, not language detection. Names, acronyms, specialist terms, and pronunciation can change the estimate.
These are mechanical formula results—not a writing-quality score.
They describe sentence length and estimated syllables. They do not judge accuracy, usefulness, tone, accessibility compliance, comprehension, or search performance.
What is being calculated
Three formulas, kept separate.
Each result emphasizes a different mechanical relationship. Plainview Tools shows the component counts so you can review why a result moved instead of treating the number as a verdict.
206.835 − 1.015 × words/sentences − 84.6 × syllables/words
A higher formula result usually reflects shorter sentences and fewer estimated syllables per word.
0.39 × words/sentences + 11.8 × syllables/words − 15.59
An approximate U.S. grade-form result—not a reading age or proof of comprehension.
0.4 × (words/sentences + percentage of complex words)
Here, a complex word means any token estimated at three or more syllables.
Version 1.0 language and estimation boundary
The three formulas were designed for English. Plainview Tools calculates them only when at least 80% of letter-containing tokens use Latin script.
Syllables are estimated with a deterministic English-language heuristic and a small documented exception list. Names, acronyms, numbers, compounds, and specialist terms can differ from spoken English.
For this implementation, every token estimated at three or more syllables is a complex word. Proper names, familiar words, and compounds are not removed automatically.
Formula and interpretation sources
Use the number as one reference.
Source check: August 24, 2026. The original Navy research documents the recalculated formulas. CDC and W3C guidance explain why sentence-and-syllable math cannot replace audience research, clear meaning, structure, or accessibility review.