Chances are, you’ve probably heard of Grammarly before. From its witty ads to its enormous user base, there’s a reason everyone has some version of Grammarly in their phones and browsers.
And it makes sense because everyone writes something or the other on their devices, be it emails or text messages, and it is imperative that your grammar is on point!
In this Grammarly review, we’ll tell you everything you need to know. Find out why people love Grammarly and how it can be the most powerful tool in your arsenal in our review below!
What is Grammarly Anyway?
It’s no secret that Grammarly is one of the best grammar tools in the market. It even received $110 million in funding to improve its AI and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities!
But what is Grammarly? Simple: Grammarly is a writing assistant service. It’s not like the squiggly lines you see in Microsoft Word. It’s is more comprehensive than that.
Grammarly combs through your writing to check for errors. These errors can include misspellings, grammar and punctuation misuse, style inconsistencies and plagiarism.
The free web browser extension works on Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. Once you install it, Grammarly checks everything from your e-mails to your tweets and YouTube comments.
Why Would You Need a Grammar Checker?
Before we dive deep into our Grammarly review, you might be wondering: do you even need a grammar checker? If you’re a native English speaker, you might not find any use for an app like Grammarly.
You might think that only students, academics, and “serious writers” need a grammar checker. After all, if you’re a regular employee, grammar isn’t too important.
But everyone’s on the Internet these days. And whether you’re using your computer to send emails or blog about video games, chances are, someone’s going to be better than you.
And if you’ve been on the Internet for a while, you’d know that grammar nazis are in just about every corner you could find.
With Grammarly, your writing isn’t a red flag for flame wars with trolls, so you can finally start discussing with Internet communities about the actual stuff that matters.
Prevent Being Misunderstood
How do you get people to visit your website when it’s full of grammatical errors? People on the Internet are smarter than they’ve ever been before.
Keyword stuffing just won’t do it anymore. It can lead to disastrous consequences. If you want your business page to rank on Google, you want to post relevant content with proper spelling and grammar.
With Grammarly, you won’t get the wrong idea across. Users will know you mean business when you present yourself properly.
Think of spelling and grammar as your Internet clothes. Proper grammar and word choice are a lot like you wearing a crisp suit.
And keyword-stuffed nonsense? That’s the equivalent of wearing frumpy clothes without a shower for days. No one wants to see that.
Express Yourself
English is a complicated language. Let’s face it: the grammar rules are pretty hard to remember, and it’s easy to get lost in translation – even if you are a native English speaker.
With Grammarly, you can express yourself effectively in English. Your readers know what you’re actually trying to say.
When you muddle your content in spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, your users can’t find out if your content is actually valuable.
By cleaning up your writing with Grammarly, your target audience won’t get distracted by your glaring mistakes and focus on what you actually have to say instead.
Can Grammarly Replace A Human Editor?
Grammarly is handy for any writer for plenty of applications. With it, you get to save up on hiring a human editor for the most basic writing jobs.
Don’t get us wrong: a human editor is invaluable for professional work. If you’re writing copy for a business website, we suggest getting a copy editor. If you’re self-publishing your novel, hire an editor.
But if you’re a student, a blogger, a work-at-home business professional, or an academic by profession, Grammarly can help you save hundreds of dollars.
What Grammarly Can’t Do for You?
This won’t be a fair review if we didn’t tell you about what you can’t do with Grammarly.
We saw plenty of undeserved one-star reviews on the Chrome store from students who didn’t understand the tool’s features.
So just to clear the air, here’s what Grammarly can’t do:
- It can’t write your sentences for you. It’s not a writing bot. Grammarly is not the app for you if you want an easy A on your paper without putting in the actual writing work.
- It can’t polish your paper for professional publication. Grammarly’s AI is very smart, but a seasoned human editor has better judgment for published work.
What Grammarly Can Do for You?
- It can spot your errors. Grammarly’s core feature is to check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes, so it can definitely give you more than your word processor’s spell check.
- It can help you learn. Using Grammarly while writing can help you improve your punctuation, grammar, and spelling.
Our Favorite Grammarly Features, Ranked!
Grammarly lists a host of features on its website, but we thought we’d rank what we love best about Grammarly so you can see what sets it apart from the competition.
In this portion of our Grammarly review, we’ll tell you all about our favorite features, ranked from the absolute favorites that we can’t live without, to the features which are great to have.
Tone Detector
Grammarly’s Tone Detector sets it apart from the competition. It detects a variety of distinct tones from disheartening and accusatory to happy and encouraging.
We found the tone detector useful in getting our thoughts across. Writing isn’t just about using proper punctuation and grammar, and Grammarly makes sure your writing isn’t just cookie-cutter content.
More than spelling and grammar, writing is about how your word choice affects the way you sound to your readers.
If you’re writing a legal pleading, for example, you want your pleadings to sound formal and accusatory. If you’re writing a fitness blog, you want to sound informal and encouraging.
The bottom line is, writing is more than just using the right punctuation. It’s not just about using the proper verb tense.
Writing is also about the emotions you convey through your choice of words. And Grammarly helps you use your words wisely to get yourself across to your reader.
Clarity-Focused Rewrites
If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ve probably heard this piece of advice: never use passive voice. That’s because passive voice can be harder to read than active voice.
And if you use too much of it… Well, your reading can get lengthy and boring.
Luckily, Grammarly’s clarity-focused rewrites and suggestions take care of passive voice and fluff that gets in the way of readability.
Readability makes your writing more effective. Not everyone on the Internet is a rocket scientist. If your reader is an average Joe, you want to make sure that he actually knows what you’re talking about.
Grammarly suggests words and phrases to make your writing clearer and more concise. That takes the burden out of thinking of the words you actually need to use!
Plagiarism Checker
Whether you’re a student or a blogger, you wouldn’t want to be accused of plagiarism. Plagiarism is unethical, but it’s easy to commit.
We absorb the content we read, and it’s hard to keep track of your own original idea or someone else’s. Even seasoned writers, like novelists and Ivy League graduates, could plagiarize, too!
As a business writer or blogger, you wouldn’t want your customers or audience to tell you that your content isn’t original.
That’s why we love Grammarly’s plagiarism detector. With it, you wouldn’t have to worry about stealing someone else’s ideas – because you’ve already checked if you did!
General Spelling and Grammar Suggestions
Spelling and grammar checkers aren’t new. You probably know about Microsoft Word’s spell check feature.
But Grammarly’s real-time analysis is more comprehensive and catches more mistakes than word processors do.
And our favorite part? It tells you why you’re wrong. The Grammarly Cards feature points out your mistakes and explains how you can improve your writing with easy-to-understand explanations.
Grammarly explains how to improve your grammar and word use, so you don’t commit the same mistakes next time.
Grammarly Review: The Pros and Cons
If it isn’t obvious already, we have a lot of love for Grammarly. But it’s not all sunshine and roses. There are some quirks that we should warn you about.
In this part of our Grammarly review, we’ll tell you all about the pros and cons, so you can make an informed choice.
The Good:
It’s Easy To Use
You don’t need to have a Ph.D. to take advantage of Grammarly’s best features. All you need is a working knowledge of how to use a computer or your smartphone – and chances are, you already do.
It works quietly in the background so you can keep producing content and writing emails and chats without worrying about extra settings and tools.
It Explains Your Mistakes
The best part about Grammarly is that it explains your mistakes to you. It’s almost like having your own personal teacher critique your writing.
Because it explains your mistakes, you can learn to become a better writer. Grammarly’s explanations are simple and easy to understand, so you get a lot more from your writing experience.
If English is a second language for you, you’re in good company: Grammarly’s founders are actually ESL speakers themselves, so they created this app to cater to your specific need.
The Bad
The Best Features Don’t Come For Free
Here’s the bad news, if you’ve read this far: the best stuff comes at a price. Features like the Tone Detector and Clarity Rewrites are only available on Grammarly Premium.
We think it’s well worth the price for the time you save and the lessons you’ll learn about writing in the English language.
So if you want the best features from Grammarly, think really hard about spending money on the premium version. If it isn’t obvious already, Grammarly isn’t an expense; it’s an investment.
It’s Prone To Bugs
Because Grammarly is created by human software developers, there are bound to be some very human mistakes when running the software.
A controversial bug in the Chrome extension scared users from running Grammarly on their own computers in 2019.
Grammarly already fixed the issue, but if you’re a privacy and online security nut, the tool might not be your pick.
But other editing software also has the same security issues that Grammarly does because of the way the software learns natural English from AI and user inputs.
What Users Love About Grammarly
Don’t just take our word for it! In this section of our Grammarly review, we’ll tell you all about what users have to say about this great app.
We rounded up reviews from students, academics, teachers, regular working folk and employees, and entrepreneurs and thought leaders, and here’s what they love about Grammarly.
Convenient
Time is precious, and sometimes, you don’t have enough of it to review and proofread your writing 10 or 20 times.
And if you’ve been staring at your work too long, you might be prone to fatigue. After reading long sentences, you’ll be too tired to spot your errors with accuracy.
Customers love how much time they save with Grammarly. Because it checks grammar, spelling, and punctuation in real-time, you can already edit as you type.
Cross-Platform
Grammarly has a web tool, a desktop app, a Microsoft Word plug-in, and a browser extension. There’s a keyboard app available on Android and iOS, too!
With all these options, there’s no reason to send emails filled with grammatical errors, or tweets full of typos.
It Just Works
Using Grammarly is easier than playing a video game or editing a video. Besides installing it on your device, you don’t need to do anything else other than writing.
It’s so seamlessly integrated with the writing software you use the most that you won’t even notice that it’s there.
All it takes is to install the application and start typing your sentences (or copy and paste, if you’re using the browser extension), and it will check your work for grammar and spelling errors.
How You Can Use Grammarly?
You don’t need to be a genius to get Grammarly to work. In fact, the folks at Grammarly made sure that it’s easy to use, and it’s everywhere you’ll need a grammar checker.
In this part of the Grammarly review, we’ll tell you all about the different ways of using Grammarly. Its connectivity to a variety of writing platforms makes it a must-have application.
The Web Tool
The web tool is a page where you can enter your content into a text box. Just whip up a new browser tag, create a new file, and copy and paste your content.
Grammarly will scan your writing for errors in real-time and flag your spelling and grammar mistakes as you type. That’s it! That’s all you need to do. Easy, right?
The Browser Extension
The browser extension is the easiest and most robust way to use Grammarly. Installing it is simple: just visit the Chrome, Safari, or Firefox web stores, and you can download the extension for free.
Once installed, Grammarly checks your writing, no matter where you make it. Grammarly can check e-mails, Messenger and Slack chats, Medium and WordPress blog posts, and even your tweets!
When we compared grammar-checking browser extensions, we found that Grammarly worked the fastest and didn’t crash at all, even in media-rich social media posts.
The Standalone Desktop App
The Grammarly desktop application is a lot like the web app, except that you can drag and drop the file you want to review into the desktop app.
Simply visit the download page and you can use Grammarly on your computer!
The desktop app is compatible with Mac OS and Windows users. If you use Linux, we suggest sticking to the browser version.
The Microsoft Word Plugin
If you use Microsoft Word, you can install the Grammarly plugin directly. Once installed, it will automatically look for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors as you type.
The Microsoft Word plugin is one of our favorite ways to use Grammarly. The plugin detects more errors than the average Word spell checker. That’s already a big plus.
Add this to the fact that Grammarly actually teaches you why you’re wrong instead of just telling you what you’re wrong about. That’s a great self-teaching tool for any writer!
The Google Docs Plugin
Google Docs is one of the most widely used word processors lately. Google Docs isn’t just a word processor like MS Word.
It’s also a useful educational tool beloved by online academics and activists. Because Google Docs works with the cloud, you can easily share your research and petitions with a wide audience.
Google Docs is free, but its built-in grammar checkers aren’t as comprehensive as even the native Word spelling and punctuation dictionary.
With the Google Docs add-in, you can check for errors in real-time. And if you’re collaborating with other people, Grammarly can check your collaborators’ writing for errors, too!
The Mobile Keyboard
The Grammarly mobile keyboard is one of the newest ways to use Grammarly. Chances are, if you’re using a smartphone, you’re running either Android or iOS. Luckily, Grammarly has apps for both.
Grammarly for mobile works a bit differently than the Grammarly desktop apps. Because it is integrated into your keyboard, it suggests corrections in your keyboard’s autocorrect portion.
Because a phone has such tiny screen real estate and therefore smaller keyboards, you’re actually five times more likely to commit typos on your phone than on a computer.
That’s why Grammarly’s keyboard is so useful. Considering that mobile use exceeds desktop use, most of your readers will access your content through their phones.
We love how Grammarly implemented its grammar tool on mobile. Because Grammarly works as a keyboard, you can use it with any website you’re browsing through your phone.
How Much Does Grammarly Cost?
You don’t need to pay for the Grammarly extension. With the free version, you could already access some of its most useful features, like its spelling, grammar, and punctuation checker.
But you don’t get the useful plagiarism and style checkers that come with Grammarly Premium in the free version. It won’t be fair to give a Grammarly review without warning you about the cost.
In case you want to use Premium services, this is how much Grammarly will cost:
- A monthly subscription will cost you $29.95 per month.
- A quarterly subscription will cost you $19.98 per month, billed as a one-time payment of $59.95 a month.
- An annual subscription will cost you $11.66 per month, billed as a one-time payment of $139.95 per year.
As you can see, you can save more when you purchase an annual subscription than pay for Grammarly once a month.
If you’re not sure about spending for an annual subscription, we suggest taking Grammarly free on a test drive through the web browser extension and see how it can help improve your writing.
How Much Does Grammarly Cost for Companies and Students?
If you’re a student, you might be in luck. Grammarly Premium offers student pricing and educational discounts. The problem is, there’s a roundabout way of taking advantage of it.
You’ll have to ask your school or learning institution if they offer Grammarly Premium so you can avail of the discount or get it for free.
If you’re a company, Grammarly also offers enterprise plans through Grammarly Business. Besides providing Grammarly’s tools for your employees, you also have enhanced customer support.
Is Grammarly Premium Worth It?
Chances are, if you’re already using the free version, you’ve heard of Grammarly Premium. Grammarly gets a bit aggressive with advertising its Premium feature.
But is paying for Grammarly worth it? It depends on what you’ll use it for. In this part of our Grammarly review, we’ll tell you when to buy Grammarly Premium or when to stick to the free version.
Remember, everyone’s use case is different, so we suggest looking through the features list above and deciding which tools you’ll need in your writing arsenal.
Get the Grammarly Premium Version If…
If you’re a student, a writer by profession, or if you’re an ESL (English as a Second Language) speaker or writer, then paying for premium Grammarly is worth it.
The upfront cost you pay per year is worth the time you save on proofreading and the money you’ll probably spend on lunches for your best friend to look over your writing.
With Grammarly Premium, you’ll never have to worry about copying someone else’s writing because the plagiarism checker will do the hard work for you.
And if you’re an ESL writer, Grammarly is even more valuable. Not only do you get a grammar, spelling and punctuation checker, you also get a teacher or a tutor.
Extra Features of Grammarly Premium
If you’re still on the fence about spending on Grammarly Premium, we made a list of the features you can only find on Grammarly Premium:
- Additional grammar and spelling checks
- Vocabulary enhancement suggestions (one of our favorites!)
- Writing style suggestions (another outstanding feature)
- Plagiarism detector
- Connectivity with up to 5 other devices
- Readability scores
As you can see, that’s a lot of extra features. These alone make Grammarly worth the extra cost for the service it provides.
Sure, there are some applications that provide separate plagiarism detection or readability services, but buying all of those apps will cost you more than a year’s subscription for Grammarly alone.
Stick to the Free Version of Grammarly If…
If you’re a native English speaker, employed in a field unrelated to writing, or only need a tool to check your social media posts and emails, the free version of Grammarly is more than enough.
Just remember that you don’t get the extra tools that come with the Grammarly Premium version. But it’s still better to install the free version because it offers all these features:
- Spell check
- Grammar and punctuation checks
- Definitions and synonyms
- Grammarly cards (explanations for your errors)
Grammarly vs. the Competition
Grammarly is the largest grammar checking app out there. But you might want to check out these alternatives just to see if Grammarly really is the best out there.
In this part of our Grammarly review, we’ll compare Grammarly alternatives, so you can decide whether Grammarly is the best fit for you.
Grammarly vs ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is a popular writing software among lots of writers online. If there’s an alternative to Grammarly that we can recommend, then ProWritingAid is definitely our other pick.
ProWritingAid is better than Grammarly with checking for inconsistencies in your writing, avoiding clichés, adding some flavor into your sentences, and improving your writing style overall.
But Grammarly applies grammar rules better, and it spots grammar mistakes faster than ProWritingAid. The Grammarly extension is also less prone to crashing than ProWritingAid.
Grammarly vs Ginger
Ginger’s also been around for a while, and it used to be one of our favorites. It has a built-in translator, so you can write a sentence in your native language and Ginger can translate it to passable English.
But Ginger’s interface is clunky and a little dated. It’s not as seamless as Grammarly, and it doesn’t have the same cross-platform integration that Grammarly does.
Ginger is great as a grammar checker and it was useful once upon a time, but there are better options out there, like Grammarly and ProWritingAid.
Our Verdict: Should You Get Grammarly?
Grammarly is an indispensable tool you can use to improve your writing and connect with your audience more effectively.
Whether you go for the Grammarly free version or the premium version, you’ll surely maximize the features it offers.
It isn’t just your average spell checker. It’s a productivity and learning tool rolled up into one. So if you write as a hobby or for a living, you can get some use out of Grammarly.
Conclusion
Grammarly has millions of users worldwide because it’s so simple but so feature-rich. We hope our Grammarly review gave you some insight on this great application.
