The Ultimate Grammarly Alternatives: Unleash Flawless Grammar and Readability!

Why is Grammarly So Popular?

Grammarly is the most popular grammar checker available that not only identifies grammatical errors, but also checks spelling and enhances readability. It effectively reduces wordiness, eliminates passive voice, and avoids repetitive use of words. Additionally, Grammarly provides suggestions to align your writing with your intended audience and overall purpose. Moreover, Grammarly now incorporates AI capabilities for text generation and passage rewriting.

To utilize Grammarly, you can download it as an application for your Windows or Mac computer, enabling it to check your text anywhere you type. However, it is worth noting that this extensive checking may not be desired for platforms like Discord chats, instant messages, or informal emails to friends. Fortunately, Grammarly can also be accessed as a web app or a browser extension.

Though Grammarly is not flawless, it might occasionally offer inaccurate suggestions, especially when dealing with unfamiliar terms. It is possible to disagree with Grammarly's suggestions and dismiss them. While reviewing Grammarly Premium, we observed that some suggestions seem to exceed the boundaries by trying to mold your writing voice into its own "ideal" style. Furthermore, if you choose to accept all suggestions, it can become overwhelming.

7 / 10See at Grammary

Linguix

Grammarly offers a free option that provides a good blend of correctness and readability improvements. To access all its features, you'll need to subscribe to Grammarly at a cost of $30 per month (or $12 per month when paying annually). However, if you want to try it out before making a purchase, you can sign up for a free account. Keep in mind that the full Grammarly experience is only available to Premium subscribers.

A multi-lingual Grammarly alternative with a decent free plan

Linguix functions similarly to Grammarly, offering a freemium tool with a free option to enhance your written content. With Linguix, you have no word limitations and it supports six languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and Polish). However, as a free application, its main function is to highlight issues rather than suggest fixes.

You have the flexibility to use Linguix directly in your browser without signing in, or you can utilize the Pro Editor for a more refined writing experience. Additionally, you have the option to download Linguix as a browser extension or add-on. Linguix is compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Word, Google Workspace, Outlook, and also offers an API, among other platforms. Mobile apps are also available for Android and iPhone users.

This service closely resembles Grammarly in terms of features and style. The paid plans are more affordable than Grammarly's current prices (as of October 2023) at just $15/month or $5/month with an annual subscription.

By upgrading to Premium, you gain access to extra AI corrections, paraphrasing for rewriting, time-saving shortcuts for typing automation, and even text generation if required.

Slick Write

A free, all-in-one writing toolkit

Slick Write is an online writing tool that operates directly in your web browser. It is specifically developed to assist you in enhancing your writing skills, providing features such as writing, editing, critiquing, and gaining insights into your work. The tool is organized into four primary sections: Features, Structure, Quotes, and Vocabulary. These sections can be easily navigated, allowing you to switch between them as needed.

The Features tab highlights wordy phrases, adverbs, excessive prepositional phrases, and instances of passive voice, among other factors. Structure examines complex sentences, compound sentences, sentence fragments that lack clarity, and combinations thereof. Quotes simply identifies any quotes included in the writing, while Vocabulary showcases word choice variety.

Various charts provide an analytical perspective on your writing. They allow you to assess the flow, frequency of passive voice usage, complexity of sentences, and more. While these charts may be appealing to certain individuals, they can sometimes feel disconnected from the overall purpose of the writing.

Slick Write did not detect some obvious irrelevant words that we intentionally included in the text (unless they created incomplete sentence fragments). Therefore, you may still need to rely on your browser's spellchecker. However, one advantage is that the app did not criticize us for using unfamiliar terms, which Grammarly often highlights in How-To Geek articles.

Although the Slick Write interface may appear outdated and outdated, it is functional, especially for those transitioning from a word processor. Chrome and Firefox users have the option to enhance their experience with available browser extensions.

Writefull

A cheaper Grammarly alternative for academic writing

Writefull is an academic writing tool that utilizes AI technology to provide advanced proofreading features. While not available for free, it is a more economical choice compared to Grammarly, with a monthly subscription costing approximately $15 (or just over $5 per month with an annual plan). If this tool can assist you in achieving your degree, the investment may be worthwhile.

Writefull offers a DOCX uploader and an add-on for Microsoft Word and Overleaf to access its services. It utilizes different widgets to suggest changes and enhance your writing.

These widgets include a feature to transform informal sentences into academic ones, a paraphrasing tool for rewriting sections, a title generator, an abstract generator, and a GPT detector for identifying AI-generated text. While a limited version of Writefull is available for free, it provides fewer suggestions and does not grant access to the complete range of widgets.

Druide Antidote

If you find it difficult to adapt to an academic writing style, it may be worth giving it a shot. Additionally, there are group and institution licenses available in case you wish to persuade your employer or school to cover the expenses.

A premium Grammarly alternative that doesn’t require a subscription

Antidote, developed by Druide, is an advanced writing tool that checks text in both English and French. It meticulously scans your writing for spelling errors and offers suggestions to enhance the overall style, providing Grammarly-style recommendations that you can accept or ignore.

This comprehensive service includes dictionaries to help you find alternative words and even a rhyming dictionary. Moreover, when Antidote provides a suggestion to improve your writing, it also provides a clear explanation, enabling you to learn from your errors.

So far, Grammarly has been the go-to choice. However, Antidote offers something that Grammarly doesn't: a buy-it-outright option. For $129.95, you can own Antidote 11 as an offline writing tool. It's a customizable standalone text editor compatible with both Windows and macOS. Additionally, it seamlessly integrates with numerous email clients, ensuring that your outgoing correspondence is error-free.

If you prefer a different payment option, Antidote+ is available for $59.95/year, which is less than half of what Grammarly charges. This subscription includes a web app, mobile apps, ongoing updates (as long as you remain subscribed), and the ability to download the offline version. If you're enticed by this offer, be sure to take advantage of the Antidote+ 30-day trial before making a purchase, to avoid any costly disappointments.

Typely

A completely free proofreader and essay editor

Typely is a writing environment that intentionally does not identify grammar errors. According to the developers, they believe that grammar detection is a skill that comes naturally to most native speakers and is currently difficult to improve upon with existing technology. As a result, they have chosen not to focus on providing grammar corrections.

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Typely's main focus is on providing suggestions to improve your text by addressing issues such as redundancy, jargon, illogic, clichés, sexism, misspelling, inconsistency, misuse of symbols, malapropisms, oxymorons, security gaffes, hedging, apologizing, pretension, and more. This web-based tool is completely free and can be accessed directly from your browser. It provides suggestions in a sidebar, offers a separate tab for statistics (including your Typely score), and includes additional options such as native support for Markdown (which is disabled by default), a dark mode, background sounds for concentration, and even a built-in Pomodoro timer.

The tool (in its current state) will always remain free, as the developers have made a commitment to this. However, they have not dismissed the possibility of introducing an improved version with a premium price plan. If you feel that Grammarly is a bit overwhelming but still want assistance beyond your own capabilities, we recommend trying Typely.

Hemingway

A free browser editor for improving readability

Unlike Typely, Hemingway does not serve as a grammar checker. Instead, this writing tool solely focuses on enhancing readability. As a result, it offers a limited set of additional features compared to Grammarly, while remaining completely free of charge.

Rather than functioning as a grammar checker, Hemingway should be regarded as a tool that assesses readability. It identifies sentences that are deemed "hard to read" or "very hard to read," leaving it up to the user to make the necessary improvements. The application provides suggestions for simplifying complex words, highlights adverbs, and points out instances of passive voice. Hemingway then assigns a readability grade to your writing based on a scale.

Hemingway offers a less hands-on approach compared to Grammarly, which may not suit everyone's preferences. If you find Grammarly overwhelming, you might find this alternative more appealing. It can enhance your writing skills by compelling you to comprehend and actively avoid repeating the same errors. However, it might also cause you to overlook instances of poor grammar and obvious typos or spelling mistakes.

Hemingway is accessible as a free web app or as a downloadable standalone writing environment for Windows and macOS, priced at $19.99. Currently, Hemingway is in the process of testing an AI-powered version that will provide suggested improvements (as of October 2023).

Or Use Grammarly’s Free Plan

Upon evaluating Grammarly's premium plan, I was inundated with the multitude of suggested "enhancements" the tool offered. The editing process became twice as time-consuming, yet the outcome did not seem twice as satisfactory. In certain instances, it stripped away the unique voice from my writing in its attempt to polish every imperfection.

Grammarly's free plan is surprisingly affordable, offering helpful suggestions despite occasional inaccuracies in its web-based editor. It effectively identifies errors that may go unnoticed when reviewing your own work, without the need for a monthly subscription. Looking for more advanced writing tools? Discover how ChatGPT can replicate your unique writing style and perform additional tasks such as crafting your resumé or engaging in text-based RPGs.