If you do any kind of writing, you have probably heard of Grammarly. It’s a wonderful tool, useful for any writer at any level. If you are not familiar with Grammarly, you may have guessed just by the name: Grammarly is a tool that can monitor your words and sentences as you type, much like the spelling and grammar checker in a program like Microsoft Word, but it goes much farther.
Grammarly not only checks your spelling and grammar but also suggests changes in your writing style and checks for plagiarism if you subscribe to the paid version.
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Why Do You Need an Alternative to Grammarly?
If you have used Grammarly or read our review, you’ve probably figured out that Grammarly is best-in-the-business for an automated editing tool. I use the free version myself and find it helpful for finding typos, misspellings, punctuation errors, and simple grammar mistakes. If Grammarly is so great, why would anyone want to look for an alternative?
It’s simple: no tool is perfect. There are always features a competitor may focus on and provide a better solution for. If those features are critical to you, you might look at an alternative solution.
Another factor that comes to mind is the price. The free version of Grammarly is nice, but to get all the features, you need to purchase a subscription. There are some alternatives out there that provide nearly the same features at a lower cost.
Some other things to think about would be the effectiveness of the tool, its ease of use, and what apps or platforms it’s available on. It’s hard to beat Grammarly in these areas, but some tools come close. As with any solution, Grammarly has its flaws. I have seen it miss some mistakes, and I have also seen it flag things that are not problematic. Some alternatives may perform better or worse in those areas.
Security, privacy, and the rights to your work are other things to consider. Grammarly defines them in their “Terms Of Service,” but these can change frequently. Everyone knows how we all hate to read legalese; it’s hard to keep up with the constant changes.
One last thing is their advertising and how aggressively Grammarly may try to get you to sign up for the paid version. While other products take similar tactics, some Grammarly users complain that the product is pushy and that they would rather try a different provider.
Let’s look at some alternatives to Grammarly that might suit the needs of many writers.
Grammarly Alternative: Quick Summary
- If you are looking for a grammar checker like Grammarly that is more affordable, consider ProWritingAid, Ginger, or WhiteSmoke.
- If you are looking for a plagiarism checker, consider Turnitin or Copyscape.
- If you want to find a free alternative that has many of Grammarly’s features, LanguageTool or Hemingway might be what you’re looking for.
- For a writing tool that is designed specifically for Microsoft Word, take a look at StyleWriter.
The Best Alternative Tools to Grammarly
1. ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is Grammarly’s top competitor because it has similar features and tools. It checks spelling, grammar, and helps with your style. It can check for plagiarism and provide some helpful reports showing statistics on your writing and where you can make improvements.
Many features, such as style checking, reports, and explanations of what you are doing wrong, are available in the free version. The catch is that it limits you to checking 500 words at a time. It works with most desktop apps and browsers and even has an Add-on for Google Docs, which I appreciate.
We also have a detailed comparison review of ProWritingAid vs Grammarly, check it out.
Pros
- Pricing for the paid version is significantly lower than Grammarly. Prices change, so check their website for current packages.
- 20 unique types of reports to analyze your writing and help you make improvements
- Integration with MS Office, Google Docs, Chrome, Apache Open Office, Scrivener, and many other apps
- Word Explorer and Thesaurus help you find the words you need
- In-app suggestions help you learn as you write.
- The free version gives you much more than spelling and grammar checking.
- You can purchase a lifetime subscription for a reasonable price.
- They claim to have the highest security and privacy standards to assure that your writing is yours and that they have no legal rights to it.
Cons
- The free version only allows you to edit 500 words at a time
- It’s not as good as Grammarly at guessing the correct words for some spelling mistakes
2. Ginger
Ginger is another popular alternative and is a big Grammarly competitor. It has standard spelling and grammar checkers along with tools to help you write better and faster. It works with almost any browser and is also available for Mac and Android.
You can download the Chrome extension for free. There are multiple paid plans to choose from. We also compared Ginger vs Grammarly in detail.
Pros
- Paid plans are cheaper than Grammarly. See their website for current pricing.
- The Sentence Rephraser helps you explore unique ways to structure your sentences.
- Word prediction can speed up your writing.
- The translator can translate 40 languages.
- A text reader allows you to listen to your text read aloud.
Cons
- There is no plagiarism checker.
- It does not support Google Docs.
- It includes many services that you may not need, such as the language translator.
3. StyleWriter
StyleWriter claims to be the most powerful proofreading and editing software available. Editors and proofreaders designed it, along with experts in plain written English. It is great for any genre of writing and, like most other tools, has a spelling and grammar checker.
StyleWriter 4 has lots of cool features, including a “Jargon Buster,” which detects and makes suggestions to reduce jargon words and phrases. Jargon Buster is an excellent tool that has been developed specifically for Microsoft Word but does not support other platforms or applications. You can purchase it for a one time fee, with different packages available. There is also a 14-day trial available. It requires no subscriptions.
Pros
- It is a great all-around tool with lots of cool features.
- Advanced spelling and grammar checker that can find issues not found by other checkers
- Jargon Buster gets rid of difficult words, phrases, and acronyms to create jargon-free writing.
- Advanced writing statistics help you to improve your writing.
- Select different writing tasks and audiences
- Customize to fit you or your company’s writing styles
- It is available as an app/program that you can purchase. No subscription required.
Cons
- It only supports integration with Microsoft Word.
4. WhiteSmoke
As another big competitor to Grammarly, WhiteSmoke has all the features you would look for in a grammar, spelling, and style checking tool. What’s cool is how it underlines mistakes and then puts suggestions right above the words as a real live editor would do.
It’s available on multiple platforms and is compatible with all browsers. Subscription prices are still quite a bit lower than that of Grammarly. You can read our detailed WhiteSmoke vs Grammarly comparison for more.
Pros
- Recently redesigned to increase efficiency
- Integrated with MS Word and Outlook
- Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Style and Plagiarism Checker
- Reasonable monthly subscription prices
- Translator & Dictionary For Over 50 Languages
- Video tutorials, error explanations, and text enrichment
- Works on all Android and iOS devices
Cons
- There is no free or trial version available.
5. LanguageTool
This easy-to-use tool has a free version that lets you check up to 20,000 characters. It does not have a plagiarism checker, but the other tools are convenient when you just want to do a quick check by pasting your text into its web interface.
LanguageTool also has add-ins for Chrome, Firefox, Google Docs, LibreOffice, Microsoft Word, and more. The premium package gives you access to the API (application programming interface), so you can also develop custom solutions.
Pros
- The free web version gives you almost everything you need.
- Superb ease-of-use
- The paid packages are reasonably priced.
- The Developer’s package gives you access to the API.
Cons
- It does not have any extra features.
- It may not be as accurate as some of the other tools out there.
6. Turnitin
Turnitin has been popular with students and teachers for quite some time. While it does have some simple spelling and grammar tools, one of its strongest features is its plagiarism checking.
Turnitin is excellent for the academic world because it allows students to turn in assignments, and teachers can give feedback and grades.
Pros
- One of the best plagiarism checkers around
- Allows students to check their work and then turn in their assignments
- It helps teachers to ensure their student’s work is original.
- Teachers can give feedback and grades to students.
Cons
- You need to be a student at a school that subscribes to the tool.
7. Hemingway
Hemingway has a free online web tool as well as an app that can be purchased for a small onetime fee. This editor checks your style and helps you clean up your writing, making it clearer and more concise.
Hemingway helps you focus on how you write and helps you to learn how to improve by using a color-coded system for things such as adverb usage, passive voice, and simplifying phrases and sentences.
Pros
- It focuses on teaching you how to write better.
- The color-coding is clear and easy to understand.
- The desktop app is affordable.
- It can be integrated with Medium and WordPress.
- It imports text from Microsoft Word.
- It exports edited material to Microsoft Word or PDF format.
- You can save your edits to PDF format.
Cons
- It does not check spelling and basic grammar.
- No Add-ins are available for browsers or Google Docs.
8. Copyscape
Copyscape has been around since 2004 and is one of the best plagiarism checkers around. It does not help you with spelling, grammar, or writing style, but focuses solely on making sure that content is original and has not been copied from another website.
The free version allows you to put in a URL and check to see if any similar content is out there. The paid version offers more tools, including a monitor you can install on your website notifying you if anyone posts content copied from your site.
Pros
- It scans the internet for possible plagiarism issues.
- It can monitor the internet for others who post copies of your work.
- It’s been around since 2004, so you know it’s reliable.
Cons
- It does not help with spelling, grammar, or style.
- It is only a plagiarism checker.
A Note About Free Web Checkers
If you search for spelling, grammar, or style tools, you will find many web checkers that claim to edit and correct your writing for free. While some of these are legitimate, I advise that you use caution when looking at them. Many of them are little more than spell checkers with numerous ads; sometimes, they try to trick you by getting you to click on a link that installs add-ons that aren’t writing-related.
Some even require a minimum word count before it will check grammar or style. Some say that they have a premium or advanced checker, and when you click on them, it just takes you to Grammarly or another alternative.
Most of these free online grammar tools are worthless and are not truly useful, like the ones listed above. So test those free tools thoroughly before you use them for any of your essential writing.
Final Words
I hope that our overview of alternative tools has helped you by showing you that there are some valid alternatives to Grammarly. They will probably not perform as well as Grammarly overall, but they may have some features that make them an attractive product.
Let us know if you have any questions or know of other excellent Grammarly alternatives.