Many writers use Grammarly. It’s one of the most popular writing tools for checking grammar and spelling mistakes in the market. Grammarly offers a free version that provides basic features for writers: detecting passive voice, grammar mistakes, spelling errors, and other basic writing suggestions etc. However, Grammarly’s advanced features are only in the Grammarly premium version.
While Grammarly is a popular tool, some writers look for free writing tools that offer advanced features. In this article, we’ll cover some of the top Grammarly alternatives, the importance of writing assistance tools for enhancing writing skills and improving copy, and how to choose the most suitable Grammarly alternative. Let’s see how you can improve your writing skills with some of these powerful tools.
Importance of Writing Assistance Tools for Enhancing Writing Skills
Many believe that writing tools only check for basic writing mistakes and grammatical errors, but they check and fix mistakes other than typos and grammar errors. Those tools are relevant for enhancing your writing style. Let’s see how they can make a difference in your writing and the mistakes they detect.
Basic Spelling and Grammar Checker
We know that you know all the grammar rules. The subject always agrees with the verb, and you don’t use much instead of many. If you don’t know the grammar rules, we won’t tell. But let’s face it, whether you know the rules or you don’t, writers often make many grammar mistakes, especially if they have many drafts they need to revise.
We’re also culprits of some spelling mistakes or typos. How many “their, there, they’re” are you guilty of so far? Do you often misspell receive or forget to hyphenate error-free? Whether you’re a beginner or a writing nerd, you need a good writing tool to detect those mistakes to look more professional and deliver a decent piece of writing you are proud of.
Sentence Structure
Many are under the impression that writing tools focus mainly on spelling and grammar checkers. Good tools also detect mistakes in the structure of your sentences.
If you often write incomplete sentences (dependent clauses), a good writing tool will notify you to correct this mistake and complete the sentence. Writing and editing tools will also alert you if you forget to capitalize the first letter in the sentence or forget to end the sentence with a period or question mark. A good tool will also help if you are guilty of using comma splices. A comma splice is when you end your sentences with a comma instead of a period.
Writing and editing tools can detect many more mistakes in sentence structure and help you improve your writing. You’ll figure out how those tools can help you as you write and make mistakes.
Readability
Although error-free writing is relevant, many more aspects are relevant for better writing. Readability is one of them. You expect others to understand and engage with your writing. After all, the sole purpose of being a writer is for others to read what you have to say.
If you write complex sentences or choose hard-to-understand vocabulary, this might be a problem. It depends on your target audience. However, the more readable your writing is, the better. Readability scores help you figure out how easy or difficult your text is. In short, readability scores give you an idea of how to improve and tailor your writing to engage more readers.
Writing Style Guides
Some writers rely on style guides. Style guides are a standard set of rules for how writers should write, edit, and format their writing.
Different newspapers, firms, or companies use various style guides, and it can be taxing for writers to jump from one style guide to another if they write for different places. So, a writing tool with style guides is a great addition to many writers.
Why Look for Free Alternatives?
Cost
This is the main reason why you should look for a free Grammarly alternative. Grammarly’s premium version costs $12 per month. For businesses, it’s $15 per month. Many writers do not want to pay that amount (small businesses, students, freelancers).
Privacy Concerns
While Grammarly ensures that it protects users’ data, some users have concerns about using Grammarly and about the data it collects. If you have privacy concerns about Grammarly, looking for other alternatives is better.
Limited Features
Grammarly’s free plan has limited features. You can check the Hemingway Editor to find ways to make your writing more readable. If you need a thesaurus, you can use ProWritingAid. Google Docs would be a good option for non-native English speakers who would benefit from translating texts. As for editing texts in other languages, LanguageTool is a good alternative.
Grammarly’s premium doesn’t offer translation or editing for other languages. So, because of the limited features of the free plan or different business needs, it’s better to look for other alternatives.
Top 10 Free Grammarly Alternatives
- ProWritingAid
- LanguageTool
- Hemingway Editor
- PaperRater
- Slick Write
- Scribens
- Google Docs
- Ginger Software
- GrammarLookup
- Linguix
Grammarly Alternatives in Detail
ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is an AI-powered writing assistant and a free alternative to Grammarly. This service offers a completely free version and a paid version. The paid version offers more features. ProWritingAid offers a 14-day money-back guarantee for those who want to try the paid version.
Features
- ProWritingAid includes spelling and grammar checking and a punctuation checker.
- It also offers ten rephrases in one day in the free version.
- It has a thesaurus.
- It also offers a 500-word-count limit in the free version, so it’s suitable for minor editing like emails or social media posts.
Pros
- 100% data security and privacy
- ProWritingAid offers a thesaurus and ten rephrases per day.
Cons
- No plagiarism checker tool in the free plan.
- The free version doesn’t have advanced style improvements
- There is a limit on how many words you can edit in the free version, making it unsuitable for those who write a lot.
URL: https://prowritingaid.com
LanguageTool
LanguageTool is a web-based writing assistant tool (web version). If you want to correct grammar mistakes and spelling, fix punctuation, improve style, and paraphrase texts, LanguageTool’s free version is for you.
Features
- This tool offers basic language checks for multiple languages.
- LanguageTool offers Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, Spanish, etc.
- LanguageTool offers multiple browser extensions as the Chrome extension.
- This tool integrates with your office programs and offers Microsoft Word and Google Docs plugins.
- The LanguageTool free account gives users a distraction-free writing experience and a personal dictionary.
- The writing assistant offers the picky mode, which offers advanced style suggestions and punctuation suggestions.
Pros
- The free version offers a maximum text length of 20000 words.
- LanguageTool offers basic edits for multiple languages in the free version.
- Office plugins (MS Word and Google Docs)
- A browser extension is available in the free version for Edge, Chrome, Firefox, etc.
Cons
- Paraphrasing is available in the Beta Version only.
- Casing errors are not in the free version.
Hemingway Editor
Hemingway Editor is different from the other tools mentioned in this article. It focuses on readability. The Hemingway Editor is not a grammar-checking tool. It is not a tool used to detect grammar and spelling errors. Ernest Hemingway is an American novelist. He is famous for his simple and direct writing; the tool is named after him.
Features
- The Hemingway Editor focuses on showing if the text is easy or difficult to read.
- It has a readability score, which is a school grade. When the grade level is low, it means the text is easier to read.
- The Hemingway Editor gives a readability score based on the use of adverbs and the use of passive voice.
- It also checks if the phrase used has a simpler alternative.
Pros
- The Hemingway Editor is a completely free tool.
- Readability scores make your text understood and help you engage more of the audience.
Cons
- No spelling or grammar check.
- For better editing, you have to use this tool with other tools.
PaperRater
PaperRater is a basic tool for editing your writing. PaperRater is web-based and helps students rate their papers and receive a grade before submitting their work.
Features
- PaperRater is a tool that offers free grammar and spelling checks.
- It also offers online proofreading and detects plagiarism.
- This tool provides writing suggestions to help writers improve their writing.
- The web version allows users to paste their text or upload the document and get a detailed report.
Pros
- Free alternative to Grammarly with basic language checks
- PaperRater offers writing suggestions
- The plagiarism checker is available
Cons
- Doesn’t correct on the spot (have to submit the document and get a detailed report).
URL: https://www.paperrater.com
Slick Write
Slick Write is also a web-based tool for editing spelling and grammar. It is a basic tool for writing a resume, an essay for school, etc.
Features
- Slick Write detects grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes.
- This tool also highlights mistakes in structure, like long sentences.
- It has extensions for Chrome and Firefox.
- Slick Write keeps documents safe and doesn’t redistribute them.
Pros
- Documents are secure (no privacy concerns)
- Slick Write notifies writers of problems in sentence structure (lengthy sentences, incomplete sentences, etc.).
- You can save the edited documents easily on your computer.
- Has grammar notes that appear on the screen when you click on the mistakes to explain the grammar rules.
Cons
- Slick Write is not easy to use.
- It doesn’t offer suggestions on improving text (only notifying writers about the mistake: use of adverbs, long sentences, etc.)
- Paraphrasing suggestions are not included.
URL: https://www.slickwrite.com/#!home
Scribens
Scribens’ free edition offers correction. Scribens is a Grammarly alternative that corrects 10x more errors than Microsoft Word and is a suitable option for many writers.
Features
- The free version provides grammar explanations and dictionaries.
- Scribens also suggests style improvements by detecting repeated words, redundancies, and synonyms or vocabulary suggestions.
- Scribens alerts you if your text has slang, colloquial, formal, or rare words.
- It also finds run-on sentences and comma overuse.
- Extensions are only available for the premium version, but you can try extensions in the free version.
Pros
- Scribens detects slang, colloquial, or formal words so you can adjust your writing to your audience.
- Free spelling and grammar checker with suggestions for style improvements and detection of sentence structure mistakes.
- Your data on Scribens is secure.
Cons
- It doesn’t offer suggestions for improving the text (only the grammar rule or the mistake).
- Extensions are not available in the free version.
Google Docs
Google Docs is an online document editor that helps you create and collaborate on writing and editing documents online and helps you access them from any device. Google Docs is a free Grammarly alternative for basic editing.
Features
- Google Docs is a secure and free tool that provides basic spelling and grammar for writers.
- It keeps documents safe, secure, and accessible from anywhere.
- Google Docs offers quick document translation.
- Google Docs also provides word count, citations, a dictionary, and voice typing.
Pros
- Google Docs provides a free translation tool.
- Free tool for checking grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes.
- The Voice typing feature makes life easier for writers.
- You can store documents on Google Drive and access them from anywhere.
Cons
- No paraphrasing or style suggestions.
URL: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/?usp=direct_url
Ginger Software
Ginger Software is also an AI-powered writing assistant. It is a proofreading tool that corrects all types of mistakes. It is suitable for basic grammar and spelling errors.
Features
- Ginger Software offers a grammar checker and paraphraser.
- It highlights mistakes, and when you press correct, it corrects them automatically.
- It also rephrases sentences and gives a limited number of suggested phrases in the free plan.
- You can add it to Chrome for free.
- You can also download the desktop app for free and get the MS Word add-in for free.
Pros
- Rephrasing suggestions helps writers improve their writing by suggesting how their sentences could be.
- Chrome extension is available in the free plan.
Cons
- It automatically corrects all mistakes. While this is a good feature, it doesn’t allow writers to verify the changes.
- Limited rephrasing in the free version.
URL: https://www.gingersoftware.com
GrammarLookup
GrammarLookup or GLU is a web-based tool with no extensions available or any downloadable software. GLU is a simple editing tool for punctuation.
Features
- GrammarLookup is a basic grammar and punctuation checker only.
- It detects punctuation mistakes such as apostrophes, commas, etc.
Pros
- GLU is an easy-to-use software.
Cons
- It fails to detect some punctuation mistakes, so it is not reliable.
- The GLU directs users to Grammarly if they want a more thorough check of errors in the text.
- It detects punctuation mistakes only and has to be used with other tools.
URL: https://www.grammarlookup.com
Linguix
Linguix is a web-based free writing assistant tool. Linguix offers a free grammar and spell checker. The free version, however, doesn’t provide writing recommendations, full-sentence rewrites, or style guides.
Features
- Linguix’s free version fixes basic grammatical errors and punctuation.
- It also offers content quality scores.
- You can add Linguix to Chrome for free.
Pros
- This Grammarly alternative has a Chrome extension for free.
- Basic grammar checker and spelling checker.
Cons
- The free version has no style guides or writing recommendations.
URL: https://linguix.com
How to Choose the Right Alternative?
There are many Grammarly alternatives out there, and choosing a grammar checker or spelling checker is easy as there are various tools that provide those services, but sometimes a writer wants more: style suggestions, writing scores, readability, style guides, collaboration tools, translation, etc.
Choosing the best Grammarly alternative from the different Grammarly alternatives depends on your needs. What do you want from an editing tool? And if you’re unhappy with the free plans, how much will you pay?
Let’s share some basic tips and guidelines on choosing the best free Grammarly alternative that suits your writing needs.
Features
The first thing you need to look for is the tool’s features. Do you need only grammar checkers or spell checkers? Or do you need a tool that checks for writing styles, style errors, sentence structure, and complex sentences? Maybe you are interested in a plagiarism checker. Or your main priority is the readability of your text.
Most tools do basic spelling, grammar checking, and minor editing. The tool you pick will depend on the rest of the features you need.
Limitations
Some tools have limitations about how many words you can edit with a free plan or how many rephrases it offers. If you’re looking for an alternative to Grammarly for minor edits, such as editing your emails, and you’re not much of a writer, then limitations shouldn’t be a problem.
But if you’re a professional writer, check how many words you can edit with a free plan, and consider the premium version for your favorite tool if you write a lot.
Style Guides
Most tools, if not all tools, don’t offer style guides for free. So, if you’re interested in a tool with style guides, you have to subscribe to a premium version. LanguageTool offers a style guide on the paid plan for $2.50 per month for the annual subscription.
Number of Users
If you have many users and would love to use a grammar checker and spelling checker tool, a collaborative tool like Google Docs might be a good choice.
Conclusion
There are many alternatives to Grammarly. We’ve shared in this article some of the top Grammarly alternatives so you can pick the suitable tools for you.
Using spelling and grammar checkers and writing recommendations can help you enhance your skills by pointing out your mistakes and how you can improve, not just by fixing minor errors but also by recommending how to improve the readability of your texts and your sentence structures.
Since the article covers the best free Grammarly alternatives, feel free to try those tools to improve your writing skills. The best thing is you can use more than one tool to edit your texts.
Writing is better and clearer when you have a tool that spots the tinniest mistakes you make. And if you have a favorite tool and you think you need more features, you can always subscribe.
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