Free Sentiment Analysis

01 · Definition

What is sentiment analysis?

A sentiment analysis tool scans text for sentiment-bearing words, scores each one using the AFINN lexicon, and returns an overall tone score. Values above zero signal positive sentiment; below zero, negative; exactly zero, neutral. The comparative score normalises the result by word count, letting you compare texts of different lengths on equal terms.

This tool accepts any body of text — email copy, customer feedback, social posts or marketing messaging — and returns the total AFINN score, the per-word comparative score, and the exact words that drove the result. Read the in-depth sentiment analysis guide for how to interpret scores and build tone analysis into your content review workflow.

02 · Process

How it works

1. 1Paste your text.Enter any block of text — at least a sentence, ideally a full paragraph or email body, for a meaningful overall score.
2. 2Tokenise and match against AFINN.The tool splits the text into individual tokens and looks each one up in the AFINN word-score lexicon, which assigns positive or negative integer values to over 2,400 English words.
3. 3Calculate the score and comparative.Matched word scores are summed to produce the total sentiment score; dividing by the total token count gives the per-word comparative score.
4. 4Review positive and negative word lists.The tool lists every sentiment-bearing word found and separates them into positive and negative groups, so you can see exactly which words pulled the score in each direction.

03 · Risk

Why it matters

Tone is one of the hardest things to self-assess in copy you wrote yourself. When you know what you mean to say, the emotional signal feels obvious — but readers encounter the words cold and pick up cues you did not intend. Most sentiment analysis tools return a single positive or negative label; this one shows you the exact words that drove the result so you can act on it.

For email marketing specifically, tone affects open-to-read rate and spam scoring. Subject lines and preview text with strongly negative language flag more often in spam filters. And body copy that reads as anxious or adversarial loses reader trust before it makes its point. A sentiment check catches both risks in seconds.

04 · Use cases

Common ways to use this tool

• Email copy tone check. Paste your email body before sending to confirm the tone lands as intended — particularly important for re-engagement, win-back or transactional emails where the wrong tone can push unsubscribes.
• Customer feedback analysis. Score customer replies, support tickets or survey responses to quickly identify negative themes without reading every message individually.
• Social media post review. Check the tone of social posts or campaign messaging before publishing, especially for brands that need a consistently positive or neutral voice.
• A/B copy tone comparison. Score two variants of the same email section to see which reads more positively, then use the more on-brand version as your test baseline.
• Campaign messaging audit. Score a full campaign sequence to identify which individual emails carry negative sentiment that could erode reader goodwill across the series.

05 · Interpretation

What to check in the result

• Score below zero. Negative total scores mean the text carries more negative-weighted language than positive. Identify the specific negative words in the list and decide whether each is intentional or can be swapped for a neutral alternative.
• Low positive score on a promotional email. A positive AFINN score of 1–2 in a promotional email may mean the copy is technically positive but flat. Add stronger positive language — praise, confidence, enthusiasm — to lift engagement signals.
• Strongly positive score on a transactional email. Very high positive scores in transactional emails (receipts, confirmations) can read as inappropriate. Transactional copy should be neutral — a score near zero is correct for that context.
• Negative words you did not intend. Review the negative word list carefully. Common words such as 'broken', 'stop' or 'problem' carry negative AFINN values even when used in neutral contexts. Decide case-by-case whether to rephrase.
• High total score but comparative near zero. A large positive or negative total score paired with a comparative near zero means sentiment-bearing words are spread thinly across a very long text. Short emails with the same score carry stronger tone per word — consider tightening the copy.