Tone Checker
See how your message comes across before you send it: formal or casual, positive or negative, confident or unsure. Pick a target tone and get word-by-word suggestions.
- 100% free
- No sign-up
- Runs in your browser
345 characters · 66 words · 7 lines
Changes the usual ranges and which findings are flagged.
Overall tone
Somewhat negative and balanced, casual and energetic.
7 suggestions · 2 notes
Formality
21
Casual
More casual than this target. Write out contractions and replace slang and emoji.
Sentiment
33
Slightly negative
Reads more negative than this target. Lead with what you can do, and soften blaming phrases.
Confidence
56
Balanced
In the usual range for this target.
Urgency
0
Calm
In the usual range for this target.
Intensity
55
Energetic
High energy for this target. Cut repeated exclamation marks, all caps and some emoji.
Passive voice
14
Some passive
In the usual range for this target.
Jargon
0
Plain language
In the usual range for this target.
Readability
81
Easy
The grey band on each meter is the usual range for a customer support reply.
Highlights
Hover or long-press a highlight to see why it was marked.
Suggestions for a customer support reply
Negative · “Unfortunately”
Negative word. Check the sentence still sounds constructive.
Passive voice · “was delayed”
Passive voice ("was delayed"). Saying who does it is usually clearer: "We checked your order" rather than "Your order was checked".
Negative · “delayed”
Negative word. Check the sentence still sounds constructive.
Negative · “sorry”
Negative word. Check the sentence still sounds constructive.
Cold or blaming · “As I said”
Sounds impatient. Repeat the point without referring back.
Cold or blaming · “per our policy”
Sounds rigid. Explain the reason in plain words.
Repeated punctuation · “!!”
Repeated punctuation can read as shouting or anxious.
Hedge · “just wanted to”
Start with the point: "I'm writing about..." or the request itself.
Hedge · “I think”
Say it directly if you're sure: drop "I think".
How the tone checker reads your text
This is a rule-based checker. It doesn't use AI or send your text anywhere. It compares every word and phrase against word lists, applies a few grammar rules, and turns the counts into eight 0-100 meters. Because every result comes from a rule, each highlight tells you exactly which word triggered it and why.
- Formality goes up with formal connectors, longer sentences and longer words, and down with contractions, slang, emoji and exclamation marks.
- Sentiment compares positive and negative words. A negation within three words flips the meaning, so "not good" counts as negative, and intensifiers like "really" add weight.
- Confidence weighs assertive phrasing ("we will", "I recommend") against hedges ("just", "maybe", "I think").
- Urgency counts pressure phrases such as "act now" and "last chance", plus milder time words.
- Intensity counts exclamation marks, repeated punctuation, all caps and emoji per sentence.
- Passive voice is the share of sentences with a be-verb followed by a past participle. Jargon counts buzzwords per 100 words. Readability is the Flesch reading ease score.
Choosing a target tone
The same sentence can be right for one message and wrong for another. "Hey! Can't wait to see you 🎉" is a good social post and an odd email to a client. Each target sets a usual range for the meters and decides which findings become suggestions and which are only notes.
Tips for common messages
- Support replies: start with what you can do, say who is doing it, and drop phrases like "per our policy" and "as I said".
- Sales DMs: one clear next step works better than several pressure phrases, and hedges like "just checking in" give the reader no reason to reply.
- Professional emails: a contraction or two is fine today, but slang, all caps and strings of exclamation marks still read as careless.
How it works
How to use it
- Step 1
Paste your message
Add an email, social post, support reply or DM. The analysis updates as you type.
- Step 2
Pick a target tone
Choose what the message is for. The tool marks meters that fall outside the usual range and flags what matters for that kind of message.
- Step 3
Fix the flagged words
Turn highlight types on or off, hover a highlight for the reason, and work through the suggestions list.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Answers to common questions about the Tone Checker.
It uses word lists and rules, not AI. It counts formal and casual words, positive and negative words (treating "not good" as negative), hedges such as "maybe" and "I think", pressure words, buzzwords, exclamation marks, all caps and emoji. It also spots passive voice with a grammar rule and measures sentence length and the Flesch reading ease score. Each meter turns those counts into a 0-100 score.
No. Word lists can't read context, sarcasm or industry language, so treat the scores as a second opinion. A word like "issue" counts as negative even in "no issues at all" if the negation is far away, and some flagged passive sentences are perfectly fine. You decide what to change.
Each target has a usual range for every meter and its own idea of what is a problem. Contractions and emoji are fine in a friendly social post but noted in a professional email. Stiff phrases like "please be advised" are flagged in support replies and sales DMs. Pressure words are flagged everywhere except casual social posts, where they are only noted.
The tool looks for a form of "be" or "get" (is, was, were, been, got) followed, after up to two adverbs, by a past participle: a word ending in -ed or an irregular form such as "sent", "made" or "written". Common adjectives such as "interested" or "excited" are skipped. Passive sentences aren't wrong, but in support replies they can hide who is responsible.
English only. The word lists, the passive voice rule and the readability formula are all built for English. Other languages will mostly show neutral scores.
No. The analysis runs in your browser and nothing you paste is uploaded or saved.
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