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textstat

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Spec score 7.7 #17 of 26 in AI Readability Checkers

What it is

textstat is a free, open-source Python library for measuring readability, text complexity, and grade level. It calculates Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade, SMOG, Coleman-Liau, ARI, Dale-Chall, and Gunning Fog scores. Its text_standard function combines multiple tests to estimate the school grade needed to understand a passage. Other functions count words, sentences, characters, letters, syllables, polysyllabic words, and monosyllabic words, while reading-time estimates use character counts. English is the default language, with listed variants and measures for Spanish, Arabic, Italian, and German. Installation is documented through pip, Poetry, Pipenv, pipx, or GitHub source; pipx can provide a command-line tool. Python 3.6 or later is required, and the package uses the MIT license. Documentation says SMOG is statistically invalid below 30 sentences, despite returning results from three sentences. Two Spanish formulas also have stated reliability limits. The project requests GitHub issues for problems and email reports for vulnerabilities.

Spec sheet

Purpose
Textstat is a Python library for calculating text statistics to assess readability, complexity, and grade level.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Integrations
For syllable calculation, it uses Pyphen in most languages and defaults to nltk.corpus.cmudict for en_US.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Support
The project asks users to report problems by opening a GitHub issue.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
License
The repository identifies its license as MIT.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Command line
The documentation says Textstat can be installed standalone as a command-line tool with pipx.Read 4 Oct 2026 · docs.textstat.org
Consensus score
Its text_standard function estimates the school grade level needed to understand text based on multiple readability tests.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Formula limitations
The documentation says the Spanish Gutiérrez de Polini scores are unreliable for more complex text and the Crawford formula is valid only for elementary-school-level texts.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Installation
The project documents installation with pip or easy_install, from GitHub source, or from PyPI.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Language coverage
English is the default, and the documentation lists language variants for some formulas, including German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, and Russian.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Language-specific formulas
The library includes Spanish-specific formulas, an Arabic Osman score, an Italian Gulpease index, and the German Wiener Sachtextformel.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Other metrics
Its functions include reading time, syllable, word, sentence, character, letter, polysyllable, and monosyllable counts.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Readability formulas
It includes measures such as Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, SMOG, Coleman-Liau, ARI, Dale-Chall, and Gunning Fog.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Reading time
It estimates reading time using a default assumption of 14.69 milliseconds per character.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Runtime requirement
PyPI lists Python >=3.6 as a requirement.Read 4 Oct 2026 · pypi.org
Security reporting
The security policy asks people to report vulnerabilities by email and says Textstat does not offer a paid bug bounty programme.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
SMOG limitation
The documentation says SMOG is statistically invalid for texts under 30 sentences, although textstat requires at least 3 sentences to return a result.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Spanish formula limits
The project says Gutiérrez de Polini scores for complex text are unreliable and Crawford is valid only for elementary-school-level texts.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Support and contributions
The project directs users to open GitHub issues for problems and pull requests for fixes or contributions.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Supported users
PyPI classifies the intended audience as developers, education, and science/research.Read 4 Oct 2026 · pypi.org
Text counts
It can count syllables, words, sentences, characters, letters, polysyllabic words, and monosyllabic words.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plans and prices

textstat Free Python package · MIT license Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com

Every textstat plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Multiple established readability formulas
  • Grade-level consensus estimate
  • Counts words, sentences, and syllables
  • Supports several language-specific measures
  • MIT-licensed Python package

Limits

  • Requires Python 3.6 or later
  • SMOG is invalid below 30 sentences
  • Spanish formulas have stated limitations
  • No plain-language rewrites

Who it suits

textstat suits developers, educators, and science or research users working with text input. It is appropriate for Python projects needing readability scores and basic text statistics.

Verdict

textstat offers broad readability scoring and text-count functions in a free MIT-licensed package. Interpret its documented formula limits, especially for short texts and certain Spanish measures.

Where Specifiction places it

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