Find passive voice constructions (be + past participle) and get the percentage of passive sentences.
Use the passive-voice detector when editing reports, emails, marketing copy, or any writing where you want a more direct, active style. Common targets: keep passive voice under 10% in marketing, under 15% in business reports.
Unlike readability scores, passive-voice detection is a structural metric, not a difficulty metric. Use it alongside Flesch or Fog for a fuller style picture.
Passive voice combines a form of "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being) with a past participle.
This tool scans every sentence for the pattern and highlights matches. Some constructions are ambiguous; treat the results as a guide rather than an absolute count.
A small amount of passive voice is fine — but most engaging writing keeps it under 10%.
We look for "be" forms (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being) followed within 3 words by a past participle (verbs ending in -ed, -en, plus common irregulars).
Yes. Use passive when the actor is unknown ("The lock was broken") or when you want to emphasise the action over the actor. Aim for under 10% in most writing.
There is no fixed rule, but many style guides suggest keeping passive sentences under about 10 to 15 percent of the total for clear, direct prose. Technical and scientific writing often runs higher and that is acceptable.
Yes. A 'be' verb followed by an adjective that looks like a past participle, such as 'she is tired,' can trigger a false positive. Always read flagged sentences to confirm they are truly passive before rewriting.
Input
The report was written by the team. The meeting was held in Room 4.
Output
2 of 2 sentences passive (100%) — Very passive.
Both sentences use "was" + past participle ("written", "held"). High passive ratios often signal bureaucratic or evasive writing.
% content words vs. function words.
analysisVocabulary variety — type‑token ratio.
analysisTotal + per‑word syllable counts.
analysisSentence length stats and variety score.