Beyond Grammarly: 11 Top Grammar Check Software Apps Compared

When it comes to writing, good grammar is a must. In both personal and professional settings, good grammar helps make your writing more persuasive and inspires trust. The problem, however, is that grammar is a challenge for most people.

If you spend a good amount of time writing or editing, you may have heard of Grammarly. But, Grammarly isn’t perfect and the cost can be prohibitive for some users. Luckily, there are several other writing tools and plugins to consider.

In this article, we will introduce Grammarly, explore popular alternatives to Grammarly, and look at other tools to improve your writing. You’ll also want to check out our guide to a hidden feature in Microsoft Word that can help improve your writing.

11 Powerful Grammar Check Software Apps For Writers and Editors

We’ve analyzed some of the most popular options for checking English grammar. They’ll help you improve word choice, eliminate unnecessary words, and catch other common errors.

Let’s take a look and compare them based on features, price, and what platforms they support.

Grammarly: Error Detector Web App & Plugin

Grammarly is a writer’s tool designed to check for a wide range of mistakes, including standard misspellings, misused words, overly used words, passive tone, and wordy sentences. It is one of the most popular tools on the market, and for good reason.

Grammarly doesn’t just tell you there’s an error, it also explains why the mistake is wrong, so you can learn more about grammar over time. In addition, the built-in plagiarism checker ensures your content is unique.

Grammarly For Businesses /Teams: Grammarly also offers a business plan that includes all Grammarly Premium benefits and shared access under one account. Features include usage monitoring, integration with many popular business tools, and 256-bit AES security.

• Pricing:$29.99/month, with discounts for annual membership
• Free version available? Yes, but limited
• Stand-out features: Plagiarism checker, customized feedback based on preferred style/tone
• OS Support?  Mac, Windows
• Browser Support? Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge
• Mobile version: No

ProWritingAid: Style Editor and Writing Coach

Advertised as a “grammar checker, style editor, and writing mentor” in one, ProWritingAid suggests a range of fixes including misspellings, passive voice, over-complicated sentences, repetitiveness, and vagueness. The tool also has a built-in “word explorer” and thesaurus to help writers find the perfect word.

ProWritingAid makes suggestions that improve the overall flow of writing, not just grammatical correctness. It also integrates with Word, Google Docs, Scrivener, and Open Office.

• Pricing: $70.00/year
• Free version available?  Yes, as a Chrome plugin
• Stand-out features: Checks for style issues and integrates with Scrivener; an ideal choice for fiction writers
• OS Support? Mac, Windows
• Browser Support?  Chrome, Safari, Firefox
• Mobile version:  No

Ginger: Rephraser and Translator

Ginger is an online grammar tool for Windows that helps catch and fix misspellings, punctuation mistakes,  subject-verb agreement, and sentence structure. It also integrates with most social media and online business tools, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Gmail, Slack, Word, and Zapier.

Unlike Grammarly, which aims to correct your writing and teach you along the way, Ginger helps improve your writing with personalized practice sessions that address areas of struggle. However, it offers less detailed feedback on why errors are incorrect compared to Grammarly.

• Pricing: $20.97/month (Discounts for annual payments)
• Free version available?  Yes, as a Chrome plugin
• Stand-out features: Language translation, text reader, and practice sessions
• OS Support?  Windows only
• Browser Support?  Chrome
• Mobile version:  Yes

WhiteSmoke: Grammar Checking with Built-In Thesaurus

WhiteSmoke is an online grammar and translation software that catches misspellings, style mistakes, and punctuation errors. It is tailored for students, business professionals, and English learners. WhiteSmoke integrates with social media accounts, writing platforms, and Gmail. It does not offer reporting tools.

WhiteSmoke For Businesses /teams: WhiteSmoke also offers a business plan that includes phone support and extended download warranty. Pricing for the business account is $11 per month, however, it is unclear if this includes multiple licenses.

• Pricing: $5.00/month  (or $4.16/month for Chrome extension only)
• Free version available?  Yes
• Stand-out features: Translation to and from 55 different languages, includes a dictionary and thesaurus
• OS Support?  Windows and iOS Sierra (10.12)
• Browser Support?  All (web-based)
• Mobile version:  Yes, iOS and Android

Slick Write: Spellchecker with Writing Statistics

Slick Write is a free online application designed to catch grammar mistakes, style issues, and misspellings. A popup window displays a variety of stats about the document as you edit, including word count, number of long sentences, and the time it will take to read the piece.

Similar to Grammarly, Slick Write can customize feedback based on writing style.

• Pricing: Free
• Free version available?  Yes
• Stand-out features: Graphical stats on every document
• OS Support?  Windows, Linux, Mac
• Browser Support?  All (web-based)
• Mobile version: No

PaperRater: AI-Driven Writing Editor

PaperRater is an AI-powered proofreader and grammar checking tool. Backed by AI and data science, the tool checks for misspellings, syntax issues, verb-subject agreement, and plagiarism. This is a browser-based tool, so users have to upload documents for review. It does not integrate with social media, email, or other business tools.

Files must be uploaded in doc, docx, txt, or rft.

• Pricing: $7.95/month for up to 200 submissions
• Free version available?  Yes
• Stand-out features: Robust free plan (up to 50 five-page submissions), plagiarism checker, no downloading required
• OS Support?  Windows, Mac
• Browser Support?  All (web-based)
• Mobile version:  No

Hemingway: In-Depth Readability & Grammar Checker

Hemingway is a writing tool designed to help writers create succinct and error-free writing. More than just a grammar tool, Hemingway highlights hard to read sentences, overused adverbs, and passive voice too. While it does check for grammar mistakes and misspellings, its main focus is on making content easier to read.

The online version is free but to download the program, you can expect to pay a one-time fee of $19.99. The premium download includes in-depth analysis, the ability to save and export content, and on-going updates.

• Pricing: $19.99 one-time fee for download
• Free version available?  Yes, web only
• Stand-out features: 
• OS Support?  Windows, Mac
• Browser Support?  All (web-based)
• Mobile version:  Yes

Reverso: Translator and Grammar Checker

Reverso is a free online translator and writing tool. Its core function is to translate content into a variety of languages including English, French, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. However, it also features a built-in spell checker and grammar checker that checks errors with verb tenses, articles, and pronouns, and also looks for complex sentence structures.

To use the tool, you can copy and paste your content into the browser version or upload files to preserve formatting.

• Pricing:  Free
• Free version available?  Yes
• Stand-out features: A reading tool allows you to hear text pronounced by a native speaker, browser plugin to translate websites
• OS Support?  Windows, Linux, Mac
• Browser Support?  Chrome, Firefox, Safari
• Mobile version:  Yes

Linguix: AI-Backed Writing Assistant with Templates

Linguix is a grammar checking tool designed to eliminate mistakes and create clean, easy to read writing. It uses artificial intelligence to look for thousands of errors, including missing commas, misspellings, incorrect word choices, and also offers stylistic suggestions. The premium plan features content templates, which can speed up writing time.

Users can copy/paste content for analysis in the free web version. The premium version checks for more advanced grammar mistakes and even suggests synonyms.

• Pricing: $8.00/month when paid annually
• Free version available?  Yes
• Stand-out features: Content template library (paid only), genre-specific suggestions
• OS Support? Mac, Windows, Linux
• Browser Support?  All (web-based)
• Mobile version:  Yes

GradeProof: Integratable Plagiarism Checker

GradeProof is an AI-powered proofreading tool that learns how you write over time. Features include a spelling and grammar checker, of course, but also rephrasing suggestions to improve clarity.

The tool allows you to create a personal dictionary and includes a plagiarism checker (limited to 50 per month). It integrates with Google Doc, Word, and Chrome.

• Pricing: Starts at $10.00/month
• Free version available?  Yes, but limited features
• Stand-out features: Plagiarism checker and customization
• OS Support?  Windows, iOS
• Browser Support?  Chrome
• Mobile version:  Yes, iOS

Language Tool: Multi-Language Grammar and Language Software

Language Tool is a writing tool that proofreads text in more than 20 different languages including English, Spanish, German, and Russian. It checks for thousands of errors, including standard typos and misspellings as well as advanced errors such as incorrect gender (in German only.)

It is an open-source software with an API is available, allowing developers to customize the tool for their needs. It does not offer a plagiarism checker.

Browser extensions are available for Chrome, Firefox, Google Docs, and Open Office. They also offer a Word add-on.

• Pricing: $4.92/month
• Free version available?  Yes for up to 20,000 characters per check
• Stand-out features: Multilingual grammar tool, detects typos in ISBN and IBAN numbers
• OS Support?  Mac, Linux, Windows
• Browser Support? Chrome, Firefox
• Mobile version:  Yes

Grammarly vs. ProWritingAid vs. Ginger

With dozens of grammar tool options, it can be overwhelming to select the right one. How do the three top grammar tools compare when it comes to features?

Grammarly’s free plan has generous features and allows you to edit text, but it does not offer a plagiarism checker. ProWritingAid’s paid version allows you to edit longer text and offers a very detailed report about sentence length, similar to Hemingway.

Whilst Grammarly and ProWritingAid stand out, Ginger does impress with text-translation features, as well as an algorithm to detect grammar errors within specific contexts of each sentence.

All three work on Windows and Mac and offer a Chrome plugin.

Pricing:

• Grammarly is $29.99 billed monthly and $11.66 per month billed annually
• ProWriting Aid is $70 a year (a little over $5.00 a month.)
  • They also offer a $ 240.00-lifetime membership.
• Ginger is $20.97 billed monthly and $7.49/mo on annual contracts

Guide: Grammar Check Options in Microsoft Word

Many people don’t go beyond the ever-reliable Microsoft Word spellcheck. The issue is Word’s standard spell check isn’t particularly sensitive. It tends to miss nuanced errors, such as misplaced commas, or might recommend changes that aren’t necessary.

However, there are advanced options you can use to get the most out of Microsoft’s native tool.

Here’s how:

1. Open up Word, then go to File > Options (it is in the bottom left corner on the current version of Word)
2. Select Proofing
3. Then, look for Writing Style, right next to that click Settings
4. That opens up a huge list of Grammar Settings right in Word. The best part is that you can pick and choose which features you want word to check for, including first-person, vague quantities, cliches, weak verbs, and even the Oxford comma. 5. Select the errors you want Word to check for, and click Okay. 

That is all there is to it! If you aren’t looking for a powerful editor with fancy tools like a plagiarism checker, this feature can be a valuable option. And it’s free if you already have Word.

FAQ

Got questions about grammar checkers? We’ve got you. Here are the answers to your most-asked grammar software queries.

What writing software is best for screenwriters?

Screenwriting often includes dialogue, which can make working with a grammar tool tedious. You can consider ProWritingAid, which serves as a grammar tool, style editor, and writing mentor all in one. It will suggest better word choices and help spot style issues. Then again, the best writing software for you depends on your writing style and preference of correction mechanisms.

Are there specialized software tools for book writers?

Yes. ProWritingAid and Hemingway are combination grammar tools and style editors, both popular with authors. They can spot both misspelled words and weak areas that need a bit more love. ProWritingAid integrates with Scrivener, a popular app with both fiction and nonfiction authors and Google Docs.

What are the best grammar and writing plugins for WordPress users?

Grammarly and Ginger may be ideal choices as they both integrate with WordPress, allowing you to check for grammar mistakes and misspellings in WordPress. Other tools like WhiteSmoke and Slick Write are extensions of your browser so they can be used in conjunction with WordPress.

Which writing software works best for team projects?

Both Grammarly and WhiteSmoke offer business plans, which can make paying for a whole team more affordable. Ideally, the tool you select will work with the other tools you use, such as Google Docs and Gmail, either through a browser plugin or integration.

Which writing software is best for students?

Slick Write is a totally free grammar checker that will catch most mistakes students are prone to make. If you can afford $10.00 per month, we suggest PaperRater, which checks for more issues, such as wordy sentences, and offers a plagiarism checker too.

Summary

Now that we’ve covered all the most popular grammar tools, you have a decision to make! Which one will you choose? Start by selecting a few that have the features you need, then take their free trial for a spin. A week or two should be all you need to choose the right writing support tool for your needs.