The best essays, blog posts or articles can be marred by the tiniest grammatical blunders. It’s really sad if you have to learn this the hard way. Even though I’ve titled this the best grammar checkers for content writers, I must say there are a few great options and what you consider the absolute best may be down to user preference.
I am going to avoid giving a long list of tools/services to experiment with and rather focus on only the few I’ve used these past years. I will talk about what I consider the most important features of these tools and make a comparison between them.
You should take note that this post contains a few affiliate links which means that if you sign up I may get a tiny commission. This is why I will be recommending only the tools that I have used.
Best Grammar Checkers to Try in 2020
- ProWritingAid
- Grammarly
- Hemingway App
Who’s This Article For?
Readers that have followed me for a while would expect this article to be tailored to bloggers. Well, if you do, you are correct but not entirely.
It really doesn’t matter what point you have gotten to in your blogging career —beginner, intermediate or expert, your blogging arsenal must include one grammar checker to polish your content.
But guess what? Us bloggers are just one of the many professionals that need one of them!
These apps/services are equally useful to:
- Freelance writers
- Authors
- Students
- Website owners
- Screenwriters
- Educators
- Journalists
- Translators
What to Look out for in Grammar Checkers for Content Writers
You have gotten this far because you understand how important it is to use a proofreading tool.
I will make this comparison fair by rating each tool based on these four critical factors: reliability, usability, pricing, and features.
- Reliability — How precise and reliable are the alerts? The rating increases with the more suggestions and issues it is capable of generating.
- Usability — How long will it take a new user to learn? Properly designed proofreading tools must A well-designed grammar checker should speed up rather than hinder your work and productivity.
- Features — Basically, all these tools would check your grammar, but on top of that, what else can it do? This sometimes is the tiebreaker between the different available options.
- Pricing — This is not necessarily a check on how much spent, but rather how much value for your money. This is the determining factor in the viability of a tool to individual users.
Now We have been able to get this far, let me give you a quick summary of all the tools I have tested:
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ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is a premium grammar checker and editing tool for all kinds of writers —authors, novelists, bloggers, business writers, etc. This tool helps users easily get rid of grammar blunders, edit punctuations and optimize word choice.
The online editing tool can be launched directly from your web browser and has a layout very similar to your average word processor. It is easy to use and new users will get acquainted in no time.
Reliability
This tool generates alerts in real-time the very moment you paste new text or you type a word/sentence. It will highlight and color-code grammar and text that require revision. To receive these realtime alerts, you must have selected the feature by clicking on the realtime button at the top right side of the window.
Usability
It’s modeled after the popular wordprocessing tools and a first time user will find the interface familiar.
It is created for users on multiple platforms and will work seamlessly for users on MS word, Google Docs, Windows OS, Mac OS, and Chrome.
Features
Sentences are the core of every writing. Understanding the structure and making sure they read as smoothly as possible is essential. ProWritingAid comes with a sentence checking feature. Its actionable insights will improve your sentences by checking for length, transition words and so on.
Its readability analyzer also plays a vital role in how the entire article reads. This feature will scan your entire text for sticky sentences, clichés, and misused pronouns.
Consistency in writing can make a great piece not to look as good. ProWriting Aid fixes this and will check for consistency with hyphens, the use of ellipses and capitalization.
Just like many of the tools in this review, it has a plagiarism tool. The only downside to it is that it’s separately priced.
The pacing checker is especially useful for novelists. They will be able to avoid Novelists can use ProWritingAid to avoid writing draggy and poorly-paced paragraphs. Some use cases include writing backstories, incorporating subplots, and explaining complex concepts in detail.
Pricing
The good news is that there is a free version. The not so good news is that the free version is very limiting and would be detrimental for professional use.
So what do the free options cost?
1 year = $70
2 years = $100
3 Years = $140
Lifetime = $240
NOTE: Get a 20% discount on any pricing plan by clicking HERE.
Keep in Mind:
At the time of writing this post, it has no search function even though it comes with an elaborate navigation menu.
The plagiarism checker is not part of the bundle and is paid for separately.
Some users have complained about lags.
TRY ProWritingAid FOR FREE or CHECK OUT DISCOUNTED OPTIONS
Grammarly
It’s impossible to skip this highly-rated tool in my review. It is the complete package as far as proofreading and grammar tools are concerned.
Grammarly is loved for a number of reasons, one being its ability to generate real-time grammar alerts. Like many of the other tools reviewed here, it will highlight grammar errors in your text.
It has the unique feature of determining the mood of your text and displaying emojis to match.
Reliability
It has a free option that isn’t as reliable and not suited for professional grammar checking.
The paid version, on the other hand, will have you totally covered. It will check for the overuse of a passive voice, confused prepositions, and wordy sentences.
It gets better, as it will also check for repetitive words. This generally will make your writing easier to read and more professional. Of course, it will catch common grammar and writing mistakes such as misplaced apostrophes and spelling errors.
Usability
It is quite straightforward to use. It will permit you to edit based on the audience you are writing for. You could choose between a general, a knowledgeable and an expert audience.
At the beginning of every new edit, you can also decide the style standard you want to fit your writing. You will be able to choose between an informal, neutral of formal style.
Fixing issues is easy with Grammarly, you just have to click and select from the options it gives.
Features
I have been using Grammarly as an extension in my Chrome browser and it has been invaluable. Grammarly will automatically make suggestions for grammar on every text typed or pasted as soon as you install the extension.
The Grammarly keyboard for Android and iOS ensures that you could benefit from spellchecking and basic proofreading wherever you are. This feature comes in handy if you create emails or write a lot on your mobile device.
It has an inclusive plagiarism checker that enables you to write unique articles. This feature checks your articles against a database of over 16 billion webpages worldwide.
It offers vocabulary improvements for your text. Even if you feel the text is as good as can be, Grammarly offers improvements and suggestions that could make it better.
It has a rich set of editing and formatting tools and will make a comfortable day to day word editing tool for you.
Pricing
It offers a free plan. I will not really on this for any meaningful professional work. its paid options have enough features to get you editing and proofreading like a pro.
Here are the different pricing options:
- Monthly Plan — $29.95/month
- Quarterly — $19.98/month
- Annual — $11.66/month
TRY Grammarly FOR FREE or CHECK OUT PAID OPTIONS
Hemingway App
Of all the reviewed grammar checkers for content writers, this service is one that proves that getting high functionality does not have to come at serious financial costs.
Its free web-based grammar checker is able to turn your writing into a more professionally refined, easy-flowing masterpiece.
Reliability
Of all the reviewed proofreading services and apps discussed, I would pick Hemingway if I must use free plans. Of course, this doesn’t mean it will deliver topnotch professional standard editing, but it comes close.
The paid version, of course, does much more. It will pick out grammar and spelling errors, and check for mixed up prepositions and repetitive words.
Usability
The web-based grammar checker is about the most direct to use. It has no registrations and all you will need is head to the site and start off polishing your writing. It’s really as easy as it sounds.
Features
You could choose to write or edit on this service. As you write or immediately you paste your text, they become color-coded and on the right pane, it evaluates the readability and outlines errors and suggestions for your text.
Heminway allows the use of one-click corrections for words and phrases that have simpler alternatives. It also has an omit button that is great for adverbs that may make sentences seem wordy. It is almost magical if you are trying to keep sentences simple and short.
For WordPress and Medium, Hemmingway comes with a perfectly integrated solution. This time-saving integration allows you to work on the desktop app and directly send them to your WordPress or Medium.
Other than this it also features a number of export options. These include the capability to export drafts in HTML, plain text, and markdown formats.
Pricing
It cost a onetime payment option of $19.99.
TRY Hemingway FOR FREE or CHECK OUT THE PAID OPTION
Conclusion
If you have gotten this far in the post, congratulations are in place. You are definitely ready to start building your writing toolbox with some of the top grammar checkers for content writers.
These proofreading and editing tools discussed do not represent an exhaustive list, they are merely a list of my preferred and recommendations and I hope you have been able to pick one that matches your writing style.
As a last note, I most say proofreading doesn’t make a badly written article an instant masterpiece. Crafting great content comes with skill, experience and a lot of learning. I have two posts that will be great for you if you are having a hard time with writing appealing articles for your audience:
Please in the comments let me know some tools you have tried and will want me to review as well.
