Readability Analyzer
Check word count and complexity.
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Quick Tip
Paste your email draft into the editor.
About This Tool
Why use Readability Analyzer?
Paste an email draft and see its word count, estimated reading time and reading grade level as you type. The grade is the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level — the published formula, 0.39 x (words per sentence) + 11.8 x (syllables per word) - 15.59 — counting syllables per word rather than approximating across the whole text.
The verdict line is tuned for email rather than for prose generally: up to 150 words is optimal, 150 to 300 is long, and past 300 it is flagged as too heavy. That reflects how business email is actually read. A cold email over 200 words gets skimmed at best, and a reading grade above 8 or 9 slows people down whatever their education — short sentences and plain words are read faster by everyone, which is why newspapers aim around grade 6 to 8.
Key Benefits
The real Flesch-Kincaid formula
Uses the published grade-level equation with per-word syllable counting, not a reading-ease score converted by an invented mapping.
Thresholds tuned for email
Optimal, long and too heavy are set at 150 and 300 words, which is how business email actually gets read.
Updates as you type
Every metric recalculates live, so you can see the effect of cutting a sentence immediately.
How to use Readability Analyzer
- 1
Paste your email draft into the editor.
- 2
Watch the word count, reading time and grade level update as you type.
- 3
Aim for under 150 words and a grade level around 8 or below.
- 4
Cut long sentences in half and replace long words — both move the grade down.
Best use cases
Check that a cold email is short enough to be read.
Simplify a dense internal update before sending it.
Bring marketing copy down to a grade level most people read comfortably.
Give a writer a concrete target rather than the note make it simpler.
Readability Analyzer FAQs
What grade level should I aim for?
Around 8 or below for most business and marketing email. That is not about the reader's education — short sentences and plain words are read faster by everyone, which is why newspapers target grade 6 to 8.
How long should an email be?
Under 150 words for cold outreach; the tool marks that band as optimal. Between 150 and 300 it is long, and past 300 most recipients will skim rather than read.
How is the grade level calculated?
With the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula: 0.39 times the average words per sentence, plus 11.8 times the average syllables per word, minus 15.59.
How do I bring the grade down?
Split long sentences and replace long words. Both terms in the formula are averages, so cutting one sentence in two and swapping utilise for use moves the number immediately.
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