Passive Voice Detector
This free passive voice checker highlights every passive construction in your writing instantly, so you can see exactly where to switch to active voice for stronger, clearer writing.
This free passive voice checker highlights every passive construction in your writing instantly, so you can see exactly where to switch to active voice for stronger, clearer writing.
Passive voice instances found
Paste your content and click Detect passive voice. Every sentence containing passive voice will be highlighted in the output panel on the right, and a list of specific instances appears below the input so you can work through them one by one.
In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action: "The writer published the article." In passive voice, the subject receives the action: "The article was published by the writer." Passive voice isn't always wrong, it has legitimate uses in technical and scientific writing, but it often makes sentences longer and harder to follow.
Most style guides recommend keeping passive voice below 10% of your sentences for web content and marketing copy. Above 20% and your writing will feel sluggish and indirect to most readers. The goal isn't to eliminate passive voice entirely, it's to use it intentionally rather than by default.
Every highlighted sentence contains a passive construction: a form of "to be" plus a past participle, was written, is reviewed, were made. The percentage at the top is your key number. Under 10% of sentences is the working target for web content; between 10% and 20% means an editing pass will noticeably tighten the piece; above 20% and the writing will read as sluggish and indirect to most readers, for mechanical reasons rather than mystical ones. Passive constructions run two to four words longer than their active equivalents every time, and across a full article that overhead accumulates into real reading effort that buys nothing.
For each flagged sentence, ask one question: who's performing this action? If naming them improves the sentence, rewrite active, make the doer the subject and use a real verb. "Improvements were made to the checkout flow" becomes "We rebuilt the checkout flow": shorter, clearer, and it reads as ownership instead of distance. The pattern to watch for in business writing is the vanished decision-maker, "it was decided," "mistakes were made", where passive voice hides exactly the information readers want. If the sentence exists to take responsibility or claim credit, passive voice cancels its own purpose.
The target isn't zero, because passive voice has legitimate jobs. Keep it when the recipient is the story: "The CEO was fired last night" correctly emphasizes the firing over the board that did it. Keep it when the actor is unknown or irrelevant: "The site was attacked overnight" beats inventing an actor with "someone attacked the site." Keep it where scientific and process conventions apply: "the sample was heated" is standard method style. The difference that matters is between a passive you chose for a reason and ten passives you never noticed. Run the detector, defend each survivor deliberately, and rewrite the rest.
Passive voice is usually a symptom of a broader pattern, leaning on "to be" verbs instead of action verbs. Even fully active sentences built on "is" and "there are" share the same flatness: "There are three factors that affect rankings" versus "Three factors affect rankings." While you're doing a passive pass, scan for those limp constructions too. The most useful editing question isn't "is this passive?" but "what's the real verb in this sentence, and is it doing the work?" Fix the verbs and the voice largely fixes itself. Worked before-and-after examples are in our passive voice guide.
Before: "The launch date has been pushed back and the client has been informed. A new timeline will be shared once it has been finalized by the team." Three passive constructions in two sentences, and the person doing each action never appears. After: "We pushed back the launch date and told the client. Once the team finalizes a new timeline, we'll share it." Same information, four fewer words, and every action now has a visible owner, which reads as accountable rather than evasive, exactly the quality status updates need most.
In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action rather than performing it. For example, \
Most style guides recommend keeping passive voice below 10 percent of your sentences for web content. Above 20 percent and writing feels sluggish and indirect to most readers.
Paste your content and click Detect passive voice. Every sentence containing passive voice is highlighted in the output panel, and a list of specific instances appears so you can work through them one by one.
Yes. The Writstack Passive Voice Detector is completely free with no account or sign-up required. It runs entirely in your browser.