Free Readability Checker for iPhone and Mac — No Download Needed

There is no Flesch-Kincaid readability checker built into macOS or iOS. Microsoft Word has one, but it is buried in settings and only works with Word documents. Google Docs does not have one at all. The fastest option on iPhone and Mac is a browser-based scorer — open it in Safari, paste your text, and see every readability metric instantly.

Check Readability on iPhone — Step by Step

1. Open Safari and go to the Readability Scorer.

2. Tap the text area and paste your content. You can copy text from Notes, Mail, Pages, Google Docs, or any other app on your iPhone.

3. Tap "Analyze Readability."

4. See your Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease score, Gunning Fog Index, average words per sentence, reading time, and speaking time.

5. Scroll down to see long sentences highlighted in your text — these are the ones dragging your score down.

The tool runs entirely in Safari. No app download, no account, no data sent to any server. Your text stays on your iPhone.

Pro tip: add the page to your Home Screen (Safari share menu > Add to Home Screen) for one-tap access.

Check Readability on Mac — Step by Step

1. Open Safari or Chrome and go to the Readability Scorer.

2. Paste your text with Cmd+V. Works with text copied from Pages, Word, Google Docs, TextEdit, or any source.

3. Click "Analyze Readability" to see all scores.

4. The scores grid shows: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease, Gunning Fog Index, and average words per sentence. Below that, reading time and speaking time estimates.

Workflow tip for Mac: keep the readability scorer open in a pinned Safari tab while you write in another app. Copy your draft, switch to the scorer tab, paste, analyze, see scores, switch back and edit. Repeat until you hit your target score.

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Why Not Use Word Readability Stats on Mac?

Microsoft Word for Mac does include readability statistics, but the feature has limitations:

• You have to enable it manually in Word Preferences > Spelling & Grammar > "Show readability statistics" (not obvious to find)
• It only shows results after you run a full spelling and grammar check — you cannot just check readability alone
• It only works with the document currently open in Word — you cannot paste text from other sources
• It shows Flesch Reading Ease and Grade Level but not Gunning Fog or detailed sentence analysis
• It does not highlight specific long sentences in your text

For quick readability checks on text from any source — email drafts, social posts, blog content, Slack messages — a browser-based tool is faster and more flexible than Word.

Works on iPad Too

The same browser-based scorer works identically on iPad in Safari. The interface is responsive — on iPad you get a comfortable desktop-like experience with the same scores and features.

For iPad with keyboard: paste text with Cmd+V just like on Mac. For iPad without keyboard: tap the text area, then tap Paste from the popup menu.

Apple Watch: no, you cannot realistically check readability on a watch. But you probably knew that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a readability app for iPhone?

You do not need a dedicated app. Open a browser-based readability scorer in Safari, paste your text, and see Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, grade level, and reading time. No download, no signup.

Can I check readability in Pages on Mac?

Apple Pages does not have built-in readability scoring. Copy your text from Pages, paste it into a browser-based readability scorer, and check your scores there. Takes about 5 seconds.

Does the readability checker work offline on iPhone?

After the page loads initially (requires internet), the scoring works offline because all processing happens locally in your browser. You can check readability on a plane or subway.