How to Check Readability Score and Word Count Online

Writers check word counts constantly — for client briefs, meta descriptions, social posts, assignments and articles. Readability is the number they check less often, though it says more about whether anyone will finish the piece. The free SeoSpidie readability and word counter shows both, live, as you paste or edit text.

Step 1: Paste your text

Paste the draft into the box. The counts update immediately. Nothing is uploaded or stored — the text stays in your browser — so you can safely check unpublished work.

Step 2: Read the basic counts

• Words — the standard measure for articles and briefs.
• Sentences — together with words, this gives your average sentence length, the biggest driver of readability.
• Grade level — roughly the years of schooling needed to follow the text comfortably.
• Reading time — an estimate based on an average reading speed. Handy for newsletters and blog post headers.

Step 3: Understand the readability score

The Flesch reading-ease score is based on sentence length and word length. Higher scores mean easier text. As a working rule for general audiences, aim for text most adults can read comfortably; specialist audiences can tolerate harder text, but clearer is almost always better. For a deeper look at why this matters, read how readability affects SEO.

Step 4: Find the sentences dragging the score down

A low score is usually caused by a handful of very long sentences rather than the whole text. Look for sentences over about 25 words and split them. Replace long words with shorter ones where meaning allows. Then watch the score change — seeing the effect of each edit is the fastest way to build the habit.

Useful checks for SEO work

• Meta descriptions: check the length and how it looks in the SERP preview tool, since Google measures in pixels rather than words.
• Introductions: check just the first paragraph. It should be the easiest-reading part of the article.
• Answer paragraphs: for featured snippets, a direct answer of roughly 40–60 words works well. The featured snippet optimizer helps shape it.
• Product descriptions: short, scannable sentences sell better on mobile.

A five-minute editing routine

Here is a routine that works for most blog posts and landing pages:

1. Paste the full draft and note the word count, reading time and score.
2. Scan for the longest sentences and split or simplify them.
3. Break any paragraph longer than four or five lines on a phone screen.
4. Delete filler phrases such as "in order to", "it should be noted that" and "basically".
5. Paste the draft again and compare. A clear improvement in the score with the same meaning means the edit worked.

The routine takes a few minutes and makes almost any draft noticeably easier to read, without changing what it says.

What the numbers cannot tell you

A counter cannot tell you whether your argument makes sense, your facts are right or your examples are helpful. Two articles with identical scores can be very different in quality. Use the numbers to tidy the writing, then read the piece aloud — your ear catches what formulas miss.

Related guides

• How to Build Topical Authority for a New Website
• How to Measure Topical Coverage and Find Content Gaps
• How to Find Blog Post Ideas That People Actually Search For

More free tools: browse all our free utility tools, no sign-up needed.

Frequently asked questions