Raygor Readability Estimate
Plot your text on the Raygor readability graph. It counts words of six or more letters instead of syllables, so no syllable judgement is needed at all.
Raygor graph
Paste some text above and the sample counts will appear here.
Raygor’s grade regions are printed lines, not an equation. This tool redraws them from the graph’s own axis endpoints (6–44 long words, 6–28 words per sentence, grade 1 to 17), and the result agrees with the Fry graph to within about one grade on the same text. Treat it as an estimate, not a measurement.
What is the Raygor Readability Estimate?
Alton Raygor built his readability estimate as the syllable-free companion to Fry's graph. Instead of counting syllables — the step that slows teachers down and causes most of the disagreement between raters — it counts words of six or more letters, which anyone can do consistently.
- No syllable counting — long words are simply words of six or more letters
- Automatic sampling from the start, middle and end of the document
- Manual mode for three pasted 100-word samples
- Canvas graph with labelled axes, straight grade lines and your plotted point
- Flags the rare-combination corners where the graph cannot grade reliably
- PNG download, and all processing stays in your browser
How to use the Raygor Readability Estimate
- 1
Choose automatic sampling or paste your own three 100-word samples.
- 2
Paste your document — 300 words or more lets the tool take three full samples.
- 3
Read the grade band, the long-word count and the average sentence length in the stats row.
- 4
Check where the red dot sits on the graph relative to the grade lines.
- 5
Download the graph as a PNG if you need it for a report or a reading-level file.
About the Raygor Readability Estimate
Alton Raygor built his readability estimate as the syllable-free companion to Fry's graph. Instead of counting syllables — the step that slows teachers down and causes most of the disagreement between raters — it counts words of six or more letters, which anyone can do consistently. This tool measures three 100-word samples, averages them and plots the point on a drawn Raygor graph.
Paste a document and samples are taken automatically from the start, middle and end, or switch to manual mode and paste the three passages yourself. Sentences are counted fractionally, so a sample that ends part-way through a sentence contributes the correct fraction rather than being rounded. The graph, the sample table and the grade band all update live.
Everything runs locally in your browser using JavaScript and the HTML canvas. No text is uploaded, nothing is stored on a server, and the tool keeps working with no network connection once the page has loaded.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Raygor readability estimate?
It is a graph-based reading-level estimate that plots the average number of sentences per 100 words against the average number of words with six or more letters per 100 words. Where the two meet gives a US school grade level.
Why use Raygor instead of Fry?
Counting letters is faster and far more consistent than counting syllables, because two people will always agree on how many letters a word has. Raygor built his graph so that it gives roughly the same answer as Fry without that source of disagreement.
How accurate is the Raygor estimate?
Like Fry, it is a graph, so read it as accurate to about one grade level. On the same text this tool's Raygor and Fry readings normally land within a grade of each other, which is the level of agreement the two graphs were designed to have.
What counts as a long word?
Any word of six or more letters, counting only letters — so “well-known” counts as nine and “don't” as four. That is Raygor's own definition and it needs no dictionary, no syllable rules and no judgement calls.
How many words do I need to paste?
Three hundred, so the tool can take three separate 100-word samples. It will still give a reading for shorter text and tells you when a sample fell short, but the estimate gets noisier the less text it has to work with.
Related tools
Fry Readability Graph
Plot your text on the Fry readability graph. Three 100-word samples are measured for syllables and sentences, then charted to read off the US grade level.
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