Sentence Counter
Count sentences, words and get a reading ease score instantly. Free, private.
What Does the Sentence Counter Track?
This tool counts sentences, words, average words per sentence, paragraphs and the Flesch Reading Ease score — all updating in real time as you type. It splits sentences on periods, exclamation marks and question marks, skipping common abbreviations (e.g. Mr., Dr., vs.) to avoid false splits. Use it to check that your content hits readability targets before publishing, or to compare the sentence density of two pieces of writing side by side.
Ideal Sentence Length by Content Type
| Content type | Recommended avg sentence length | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Blog post / web copy | 14–18 words | Comfortable for most adult readers on screen |
| News article | 12–16 words | Fast to scan on mobile |
| Academic writing | 20–30 words | Allows for nuance and qualification |
| Children's content | 8–12 words | Short sentences aid comprehension at early reading levels |
| Legal / technical | 25–40 words | Precision requires longer constructions |
| Email subject lines | 6–10 words | Displays fully on most mobile clients |
Understanding the Flesch Reading Ease Score
The Flesch Reading Ease formula scores text from 0 (nearly unreadable) to 100 (very easy). It considers two factors: average sentence length and average number of syllables per word. The formula is: 206.835 − (1.015 × avg words/sentence) − (84.6 × avg syllables/word). Shorter sentences and simpler words push the score up. To improve your score: split long sentences at conjunctions (and, but, because), replace multi-syllable words with shorter synonyms, and break up dense paragraphs.
| Score | Difficulty | Typical audience |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Very easy | 5th grade / children |
| 70–90 | Easy | 6th grade / general public |
| 60–70 | Standard | 7th–8th grade / most web content |
| 50–60 | Fairly difficult | High school / professional blogs |
| 30–50 | Difficult | College / specialised content |
| 0–30 | Very difficult | Academic / legal / scientific papers |
Sentence Variety and Rhythm
Average sentence length is only part of the picture. Writing that consists entirely of short sentences feels choppy; writing with only long sentences becomes exhausting. The most readable prose mixes both: a complex idea gets a longer sentence, then a short one lands the point. Vary your sentence lengths deliberately, and the average will take care of itself.