Guide
What Is a Good Readability Score? Flesch-Kincaid Explained
February 10, 20256 min read
Understanding Readability Scores
Readability scores measure how easy your text is to read. They're based on factors like sentence length and word complexity (syllable count). The most popular formula is the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score.
The Flesch-Kincaid Scale
- 90-100: Very easy to read. Understood by an average 11-year-old.
- 80-90: Easy to read. Conversational English.
- 70-80: Fairly easy. Suitable for most audiences.
- 60-70: Standard. Understood by 13-15 year olds.
- 50-60: Fairly difficult. Best for educated audiences.
- 30-50: Difficult. Academic or technical writing.
- 0-30: Very difficult. Graduate-level complexity.
What Score Should You Aim For?
For most web content, blog posts, and marketing copy, aim for a score between 60-80. This range is accessible to most adults while still sounding professional.
Major publications target these scores: Reader's Digest (65), Time Magazine (52), Harvard Law Review (32).
Check Your Score
Use our Word Counter to instantly check your text's readability score. Just paste your content and the Flesch-Kincaid score appears automatically alongside word count, reading time, and more.