Grammarly has emerged as a widely used resource among writers, students, and professionals. While Grammarly’s features are tempting, most of them are locked behind a premium subscription that carries a hefty price tag. If you are looking for a budget-friendly Grammarly alternative, you have come to the right place.

In this post, I will talk about a trio of impressive tools that give Grammarly a run for its money. I will highlight their unique strengths and show you how they can take your writing to the next level.

3 Microsoft Editor

If you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber and use Microsoft Word and Outlook for your blogs and emails, give Microsoft Editor a try. It uses the power of AI to analyze your writing and offers suggestions to improve your grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, and overall style of your text.

Once you are done with your draft, simply open Editor from the top menu and check your overall score. You can glance over spelling and grammar mistakes and check refinement suggestions to improve your draft’s clarity, formality, conciseness, and vocabulary. You can click on a specific suggestion to review it in detail.

There is an option to change your writing style, and you can open Editor settings to enable or disable specific suggestions for your emails and drafts. You can also run a plagiarism checker from the Similarity menu.

2 Ginger

Do you often work with different languages for your drafts and blog posts? Grammarly isn’t an ideal choice since it primarily focuses on the English language. Ginger supports over 60 languages, which should cover major languages worldwide. Unlike Microsoft Editor, Ginger has nailed the cross-platform availability with native desktop apps on Windows and Mac, Microsoft Word add-ins, mobile apps, and web extensions.

Ginger accurately identifies and corrects a wide range of grammar and spelling mistakes, ensuring your writing is error-free. It also comes with a built-in dictionary to look up definitions and synonyms without leaving the Ginger interface. Other noteworthy add-ons include a text reader to assess the flow of your writing and a personal trainer for exercises and practice sessions to improve your writing skills over time.

Ginger misses out on one important feature: a plagiarism checker, making it unattractive for professors and online educators. The pricing starts at $14 per month, which is also on the higher side. However, you can opt for a yearly plan at $84 to bring down the monthly cost to only $7.

1 ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid has been my most recommended alternative to Grammarly for several reasons - here's why.

Cross-platform availability and integration

ProWritingAid has nailed the cross-platform availability. It has native apps on Windows and Mac, a web-based online editor, iOS and Android mobile apps, and extensions on popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

It also works seamlessly in your writing app of choice. You can access ProWritingAid features in Scrivener, Google Docs, Notion, Discord, and more.

In-depth analysis

ProWritingAid provides comprehensive feedback on your writing, going beyond surface-level errors to analyzing sentence structure, style, and clarity. You can simply click Summary at the top to generate a detailed report. You can glance over spelling score, style score, passive voice, spot average weak adverbs, sentence length check, distribution, readability score, and much more.

You might be astonished by the variety of charts, graphs, and detailed explanations included in your summary report.

Feature-rich

Unlike Ginger, ProWritingAid doesn’t skimp on any important feature. Aside from core editing features like grammar and spelling, punctuation, style suggestions, and contextual thesaurus, ProWritingAid also lets you create customized style guides to meet your specific guidelines, a plagiarism checker, and the ability to analyze how effectively your sentences and paragraphs transition.

When dealing with odd-sounding sentences, just click on them to see suggested rephrases. I often use this feature to refine my unusual sentences. Overall, it’s a comprehensive platform for creative writers who want guidance to help achieve their writing goals.

Flexible pricing

The free plan of ProWritingAid has significant limitations. The Premium version is available for $30 per month or $120 annually. Notably, there is also a lifetime plan offered at $400. It is surely more affordable for long-term use than Grammarly’s subscription model. However, for a plagiarism checker, you must purchase it separately as an add-on that starts from $10 for 10 checks.

Powerful Grammarly alternatives on a budget

Overall, the best Grammarly alternative boils down to your specific needs and budget. Microsoft Editor is bundled without any extra cost, right along with your Microsoft 365 plan. Ginger excels at catching grammatical errors and offers rephrasing suggestions in a wide array of languages. ProWritingAid provides in-depth analysis and detailed reports that are perfect for serious writers looking to improve their drafts.

No matter which tool you choose, you don’t have to break the bank for writing assistance. Check out our dedicated post if you are looking to explore more productivity apps for your PC.