YouTube Hook Analyzer
A hook analyzer scores the opening lines of a video before you record it, so you can see whether the first seconds give a viewer a reason to stay. This free hook checker reads the first 15 to 30 seconds of your script and returns a score, a per-sentence breakdown, the hook type you used, and three rewritten versions you can paste straight into your script. It is free, it needs no signup, and it applies a writing rubric; it does not predict your real retention curve, so check the result against YouTube Studio after you publish.
What you get
Hook score
A score out of 100 plus a letter grade so you know if your hook is in the green or needs work before you record.
Per-sentence breakdown
Every sentence rated for attention pull and curiosity gap, so you can spot the exact line most worth reviewing.
3 rewrites
A tighter version, a contrarian flip, and a curiosity-gap version. Paste any of them in directly and keep moving.
Common questions
The basics most creators ask before pasting their hook.
What does it actually do?
You paste the first 15 to 30 seconds of your script. You get a score out of 100, a per-sentence breakdown, three specific things that could be tighter, and three rewritten versions you can paste in directly.
Is it free?
Yes. The first one is free, no signup. Drop your email and you get a few more per day. No credit card.
How long should the hook be?
Around 50 to 200 words. That is roughly the first 15 to 30 seconds when you read at normal speaking pace. Longer than that and the analysis gets fuzzy.
Do I need to share my whole script?
No. Just the opening. This tool is intentionally limited to opening clarity, promise, pacing, and structure; it does not measure published retention.
How long does it take?
Processing time varies with service load. The page shows a clear result or error state when the check finishes.
How accurate is it?
Treat it as a structured second opinion before you record, not a measurement or guarantee of viewer behavior. Validate useful flags against your own published YouTube Studio data.
What do you do with my email?
We use it to count your daily limit and add you to our newsletter. That is it. One click to unsubscribe whenever.
How is this different from Prepublish itself?
This tool only looks at your hook. Prepublish analyzes your whole script, flags the lines most likely to lose attention, and suggests fixes for the entire video, not just the opening.
What is a hook checker?
A hook checker scores the opening lines of a script before you record them, so you can see whether the first 15 to 30 seconds give a viewer a reason to stay. This one returns a score out of 100, a per-sentence breakdown, and three rewrites; it applies a writing rubric rather than measuring what published viewers did.
Can I run a hook analysis for free without signing up?
Yes. The first check on this page runs with no account and no card. Add your email if you want a few more checks per day, and you can unsubscribe in one click at any time.
What does the hook score mean?
It is a rubric score out of 100 for the opening you pasted, built from the same checks every time: whether the first line gives a reason to stay, whether the promise is specific, and whether the passage is paced to be read aloud. Use it to compare your own drafts against each other. It is not a YouTube benchmark and it does not say how a published video will perform.
Other free tools
YouTube Title Analyzer
Review title wording with a consistent rubric and get 5 AI rewrites.
Inauthentic Content Checker
Score your script against YouTube's inauthentic content policy before you upload.
Comparing tools rather than scoring one hook? Read the script analyzer comparison, which separates the products that audit a draft you already wrote from the ones that only generate new text.
Want this for your whole script?
The Hook Analyzer covers your first 30 seconds. Prepublish runs on your full draft, maps relative script-level attention risk, and rewrites the sections it flags for review.