What is Flesch-Kincaid?

A readability formula that estimates the US school grade level needed to understand a text, based on sentence length and syllable count.

Flesch-Kincaid Explained

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula calculates reading difficulty as a US school grade equivalent: 0.39 × (total words / total sentences) + 11.8 × (total syllables / total words) − 15.59. A score of 8.0 means an average 8th grader can understand the text. The companion Flesch Reading Ease formula uses the same inputs but outputs a 0-100 score (higher = easier). Developed by Rudolf Flesch and J. Peter Kincaid in 1975 for the US Navy, these formulas remain the most widely used readability measures in content marketing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level calculated?

The formula: 0.39 × (words per sentence) + 11.8 × (syllables per word) − 15.59. It considers sentence length and word complexity. Longer sentences and more syllables increase the grade level.

What Flesch-Kincaid grade should I target?

Grade 8-10 for business content. Grade 6-8 for consumer content. Grade 10-12 for technical or academic content. The New York Times averages grade 10; BuzzFeed averages grade 6.

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