Flesch Reading Ease: Write Content People Actually Finish

A single number predicts whether people will finish your writing. Here's what Flesch Reading Ease measures — and how to write for a higher score.

What the score means

The Flesch Reading Ease score rates text from 0 to 100 — higher means easier to read. The classic scale:

• 90–100: Very easy — 5th grade. Comics, simple instructions.
• 80–90: Easy — 6th grade. Conversational blog writing lives here.
• 70–80: Fairly easy — 7th grade. Most good web content.
• 60–70: Standard — 8th–9th grade. The sweet spot for general audiences.
• 50–60: Fairly difficult — 10th–12th grade.
• 30–50: Difficult — college level. Academic papers, legal documents.
• 0–30: Very difficult — graduate level. Congratulations on your dissertation.

For context: this article targets the 60–70 range. Most successful web content sits between 60 and 80 — readable by a broad audience without feeling dumbed down.

How it's calculated (the short version)

The formula uses just two inputs: average sentence length and average syllables per word. Longer sentences and longer words drag the score down; short sentences and short words lift it. That's it — no AI, no semantics. It's a blunt instrument, but decades of research show it predicts comprehension remarkably well. (Its sibling, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, converts the same inputs into a US school grade.)

Why it matters more than you think

• Comprehension: readers understand, remember, and act on plain writing. Complex writing doesn't signal intelligence — it signals editing debt.
• SEO: search engines reward content that satisfies readers, and readable content gets read. Google's own guidance emphasizes helpful, accessible content.
• Accessibility: plain language serves non-native speakers, tired readers, and people reading on phones — i.e., most of your audience.
• Conversion: every extra syllable is friction. Product pages, landing pages, and calls-to-action all convert better when they're easy to parse.

7 ways to raise your score

1. Cut sentence length. The single biggest lever. If a sentence runs past 25 words, split it.
2. Prefer short words. "Use" beats "utilize." "Help" beats "facilitate." Your vocabulary isn't being graded.
3. Kill nominalizations. "Make a decision" → "decide." "Provide assistance" → "help." Verbs beat noun phrases.
4. Go active voice. "The team shipped the feature" beats "the feature was shipped by the team."
5. One idea per paragraph. Short paragraphs look inviting and force focus.
6. Read it aloud. If you stumble, your readers will too. Your ear catches what your eyes forgive.
7. Delete throat-clearing. "It is important to note that" adds nothing. Start with the point.

When to ignore the score

Not everything should score 70. Legal contracts, medical instructions for specialists, and poetry all have legitimate reasons to be difficult. The score measures readability, not quality — use it as a diagnostic ("is this as clear as I think?"), not a target to game. And never simplify away necessary precision: a slightly harder sentence that says exactly the right thing beats an easy one that's vaguely wrong.

Before and after: the score in action

Watch what the seven techniques do to a real paragraph. Before (score ~35):

"It is important to note that the utilization of excessive jargon in the facilitation of business communications has a tendency to create significant comprehension difficulties for the majority of recipients, particularly in situations where expeditious decision-making is required."

After (score ~75):

"Jargon slows readers down. When people need to decide fast, plain words win. Say what you mean, then stop."

Same message. One version respects the reader's time; the other bills by the syllable. Run your own drafts through this test: paste any paragraph you're unsure about into a readability checker, note the score, apply two or three techniques, and watch it climb. After a few rounds the habits become automatic — you'll feel the long sentence coming before you finish typing it.

Target scores by content type

• Blog posts & articles: 60–75. Broad audience, skimmable, quotable.
• Product & landing pages: 65–80. Every point of friction costs conversions.
• Email newsletters: 65–80. People read email fast, on phones, between things.
• Technical documentation: 50–65. Precision matters more here, but clarity still wins — the best docs are the ones developers actually finish.
• Legal & compliance: as high as accuracy allows. Plain-language contracts are a growing movement, and they hold up in court.
• Fiction & essays: ignore the score. Voice and rhythm outrank metrics.

Pick your target before you write, check it after your first draft, and edit with the techniques above. Two passes is usually enough to lift a draft 10–15 points — the difference between "fairly difficult" and "fairly easy," which is the difference between readers who finish and readers who bounce.

Frequently asked questions