What is Grammarly?
Developed in 2009, Grammarly is a Grammar Checker that detects grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and style errors when writing on websites, emails, emails, Word documents, social media, and more.
Think of it as a little robotic grammatical angel who is always watching over your shoulder.
What's intuitive is that you don't need to upload your text to an online editor every time you need to check your grammar and spelling (although you can always do that). All you need to do is install the Grammarly browser extension, which works while you're typing in Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Google Docs, and more.
It also integrates directly with Microsoft Word and Outlook. These are the only applications it works with outside of a browser.
It has a free version and a premium version. (We'll see the difference between the two later in this review). Suffice it to say that the free version includes a lot of useful features.
Features
Let's take a look at its 11 key functions and how each of them will improve your writing.
1. Spelling and grammar check
Of course, it checks your spelling and grammar. But it's not just another concealer. It works better than Word's native spell checker. Its free version rivals all other free applications.
Its spell and grammatical checker is very accurate and useful. It even helps with placing commas.
2. Suggestions
When Grammarly detects an error or problem in your writing, you can click on the underlined words to see what the problem is. Grammarly's suggestion will be displayed with a concise but informative explanation.
3. Tips
In addition to reporting issues it finds, Grammarly also provides detailed explanations of grammar rules and tips for avoiding similar mistakes in the future.
4. Report
You can receive a report detailing your accuracy in grammar, spelling, plagiarism, and vocabulary. This helps you improve over time.
5. Language preferences
Easily switch between English dialects by accessing your profile and changing your language preferences.
6. Online editor
It has an online editor that allows you to store all your documents and access them from any computer connected to the Internet.
There is a 15,000 word limit, and it's not as convenient as the other key functions.
7. Browser extension
Available for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge, the Grammarly extension is intuitive, easy to use, and highly accurate.
The browser extension automatically checks your comments, blog posts, blog posts, tweets, Facebook posts, and emails.
8. Microsoft Office
To install the Add-on module Grammarly for Microsoft Office :
- Open Microsoft Word on your computer.
- Click on the “Insert” tab.
- Click on “Add-Ins.”
- Click on “Get Add-Ins.”
- Search for Grammarly and click the “Add” button.
- Click on the tab that now appears in MS Word.
- Sign in.
You should now get real-time suggestions that are much better than Word's native spell checker.
9. Phone
If you want Grammarly to check everything you write on your phone, there's a keyboard for that!
Grammarly Keyboard for iOS or Android will check all of your writing using your keyboard, even when you're away from your computer.
Unfortunately, you can't drag text with the keyboard.
10. Desktop computer
If you are lazy like me and you have A lot of documents to be verified quickly, this service is made for you.
No need to copy and paste your documents into their web editor as before. Instead, you can quickly drag and drop files into the Grammarly icon on your desktop and get your work checked out at a ridiculous speed.
11. Plagiarism checker (Premium only)
Grammarly will scour every nook and cranny of the Internet to cross-check and make sure your copy is free of plagiarism. It checks over 16 billion websites.
This is an extremely powerful feature if you employ ghost writers, if you are an academic author, or if you want to make sure that your content is not stolen.
Here's what it looks like when Grammarly finds plagiarism:
This is what it looks like when you are ready to go:
Differences between Grammarly Desktop and Mobile
When you use Grammarly on your computer, it offers suggestions in real time by marking spelling or grammarly errors with colored underlining. You can use it on your desktop, on grammarly.com, or with Microsoft Office.
To get into the details, you can open the Grammarly sidebar, seen below:
It works on your mobile device works like a keyboard. Your new and improved keyboard will offer you corrections in real time just above the letters and numbers.
It suggests spelling and grammar corrections. When there are no grammatical errors, it offers synonyms for what you type.
How to use Grammarly
Grammarly is very easy to use, but there are a few different ways to use this tool:
1. Browser extension
Download theGrammarly Chrome Extension to use Grammarly for your online writing.
Grammarly offers you spelling and grammatical suggestions in real time.
2. Online editor
Go on app.grammarly.com to use the Grammarly online editor.
Upload a file, or drag and drop. Grammarly can only check 100,000 characters at a time.
Supported file formats include:
- DOC
- DOCX
- ODT
- TXT
- RTF
3. Microsoft Office
Grammarly for Microsoft Office works on Mac and Windows computers.
There is a 150,000 character limit for checking Grammarly simultaneously in MS Word for Mac. There is no character limit on Windows.
3. Desktop application
Download the Grammarly desktop app hither.
Drag and drop files into the app to check your spelling, grammar, etc. Supported file formats include:
- DOC
- DOCX
- ODT
- TXT
- RTF
4. Mobile app
Download the Grammarly mobile app fromApple Store Or the Google Play store.
Open the app and follow the simple setup process:
Now, every time you type with your phone's Grammarly keyboard, you can be confident that what you're writing is free of mistakes.
Grammarly also doesn't spell check what you write in fields marked sensitive, like credit card information.
Pricing
The free version of Grammarly is robust and meets the needs of most users.
Discover the differences and prices to choose the best option for you.
- Grammarly Premium offers additional recommendations, vocabulary improvements, writing style suggestions, and plagiarism checks compared to the free version.
- Grammarly Premium prices vary, with monthly, quarterly, and annual options offering discounts for bulk purchases.
- The Premium version is ideal for writers, bloggers, marketers, marketers, students, academics, professionals, etc.
Alternatives
1. ProWritingAid.
Is ProWritingAid better than Grammarly?
When comparing only the free versions, Grammarly is better than ProWritingAid; it's more user-friendly and more accurate.
Its free version can process over 10,000 words at a time, while ProWritingAid Free can only process 500 words at a time.
It's more affordable than Grammarly Premium.
2. Turnitin.
Turnitin is designed specifically for teachers to correct assignments, detect plagiarism, and provide feedback.
- The main comparison focuses on the plagiarism checker.
- Grammarly Premium only checks online sources.
- Turnitin also includes offline sources like printed books.
- Turnitin is more comprehensive in terms of verified sources but has a slower response time.
- Turnitin is primarily intended for teachers who correct student work.
Final Verdict
For most authors, writers, and bloggers, its free version is sufficient and should be part of your proofreading arsenal.
It should be your first line of defense, but not your only concealer. It should never replace a human editor for your book.
Switching from American English to British English, Canadian English, and Australian English can save you a lot of time and hassle.
