Grammarly Review 2023: Is Grammarly Premium Worth it?
This is our review of Grammarly.
I have been familiar with Grammarly for over 6 years now. Like many of you, my first introduction to Grammarly came from a YouTube ad. I was in the middle of writing a paper and thought that it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, so I did, and it has been with me ever since.
After 5 years of using the free version, I got the premium plan and was surprised to see that my “perfect” articles were far from being perfect. Since then, I can say without a doubt that Grammarly, especially Grammarly Premium, is an extremely valuable tool to have. Particularly for those who make a living from the written word.
The purpose of this Grammarly review is to share information about our first-hand use of Grammarly, so that those interested in trying it out can make an informed decision.
Grammarly Review: What is it About?
Grammarly is a writing assistant that uses sophisticated AI technology to provide an assortment of writing-related services, the primary one being that it helps fix errors related to punctuation, grammar, and spelling. It also performs plagiarism checks.
The software’s AI system reviews each sentence to look for any mistakes and then suggests appropriate corrections for them.
What stands out about Grammarly is the convenient ways it allows you to work. It does more than just provide a text editor for you to paste your content into. It goes many steps further and allows users to access its services through multiple methods.
Get Started With GrammarlyHere are all the different methods and mediums through which you can use Grammarly:
1. Grammarly Web Tool
Using it is pretty straightforward, you can create a blank document in Grammarly’s editor and paste your content into it. The software will then scan your work, identifying all the errors found, and then recommend necessary corrections.
Using this web tool is as simple as using Google Docs, so you can use it with relative ease. It can even be used as a primary text editor.
2. Desktop App
As an alternative, you can download the desktop app to your computer. It has an intuitive interface and can be used as easily as Microsoft Word, it just does a better job at correcting writing errors.
The app is now available on both Microsoft and Mac operating systems and is free and safe to download.
Get Grammarly on Desktop3. Microsoft Word
Another method to use Grammarly involve integrating it with Microsoft Office. To do so, you can download Grammarly’s add-on from the homepage for free and add it to MS Word. By activating the add-on, you are now able to correct writing mistakes within the Microsoft Word platform more efficiently, improving the quality of your work.
Get Grammarly For Microsoft Office4. Browser Extension
By installing Grammarly’s browser extension, you have access to all its features on every major web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari). You can now use Grammarly while writing an email or social media post with no trouble.
It can also be used on Google Docs thanks to recent beta testing.
All errors identified will be underlined with a red line. To correct it, users can hover the mouse over the line to view the error made along with a suggested solution.
5. On Mobile Phone
Like any good digital service/software product, Grammarly has gone mobile. Users are now able to access the writing assistant on their android and IOS devices with the Grammarly – Keyboard and Editor mobile app.
As the name suggests, this app gives access to a Grammarly-powered keyboard to automatically identify grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors when users type. The app also provides a text editor so that you can ‘edit’ long-form content from your phone.
Who is Grammarly for?
Grammarly is the software that anyone, no matter what kind of writing they do, should have. This versatile software can be used to help write or edit anything imaginable, from a Ph.D. thesis to a casual article about AI software.
Because of this single fact, Grammarly is an ideal tool for:
- Bloggers
- Freelance writers
- Editors
- Copywriters
- Online Marketers
- Students
- Professors and academic professionals
- Professionals who want to write an accurate presentation, emails, and reports
Grammarly Pros and Cons
Pros
- It has an excellent user interface, you’ll be able to use it with little difficulty.
- Grammarly has a built-in plagiarism checker that enables it to run your content against millions of web pages.
- The suggestions given to fix errors allow users to improve their writing skills over time, it’s like having your own AI English tutor.
- It’s versatile, Grammarly can work on multiple platforms and in different mediums. You can use Grammarly to its full potential as a browser extension or even on a cell phone.
- Grammarly provides spelling for American, Australian, British, and Canadian English.
Cons
- It does not offer offline editing, you can only use Grammarly when there’s an internet connection.
- It’s not 100% accurate. There are times when mistakes are not identified, while error-free texts are identified as errors. This is arguably a result of the beta testing of Grammarly and Google Docs integration. It has only happened to me while on Google Docs.
- Does not offer a free trial of the premium version.
- It’s a lot more expensive than similar software currently available on the market.
Grammarly Features
Grammar and Punctuation Checker
By now, we all must know that Grammarly serves as one of the best grammar/punctuation checkers currently available. The writing suggestions generated by the checker helps to identify and replace complex sentences with more efficient ones, refresh repetitive language, and maintain correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
This feature also doubles as a practical English class. All the suggestions given are done in such a way that you’ll walk away learning more about the language, making the software perfect for new English learners.
Tone Detector
Having good grammar is just the start, you also have to set the right tone.
Grammarly’s tone detector analyzes your word choice, punctuation, and capitalization to identify the tone of your text. Specific emojis are then displayed reflecting your tone.
This is a great feature for ensuring that your work conveys the right message.
Plagiarism Checker
When using Grammarly’s plagiarism checker, your work is scanned against databases of academic papers along with over 16 billion web pages. If any matches are found, you will receive a plagiarism alert.
Using the free plagiarism checker will give you an instant report saying whether plagiarism was found in your work and how many grammar and writing errors were found.
The premium plagiarism checker, on the other hand, takes things a bit further. It flags specific sentences that have plagiarism and provides reference information to the source. You will also see an originality score, along with advanced suggestions on how to improve your writing.
For students, academics, and professional writers, this plagiarism checker is the shield that protects them from academic/professional ruin.
Grammarly Pricing Plans
Grammarly is a freemium software, meaning that you can get access to the limited features offered in the free version and then upgrade to the full premium version to unlock everything that it has to offer.
As limited as the free version is, It covers all the basics you will need to write a decent email or even a well-written blog post. Not only that, you can have access to it for as long as you like (indefinite trial period). Once you’ve seen all the goodies the free version has to offer (however long it takes), you can now take full advantage of the paid or premium versions that include:
Grammarly Premium:
- An annual subscription costs $144 (One-time payment).
- A monthly subscription of $30.
- A quarterly subscription of $60.
Grammarly Business:
Grammarly business gives you advanced writing feedback for your entire team. It’s perfect for agencies who want to speed up their writing process and maintain consistent, professional, and clear communication with customers and colleagues.
The payment structure allows you to select your team size and plan, you can have between 3-149 members signed up with a single business plan. They are currently offering discounts for teams larger than 10 members.
An annual payment plan has the following cost breakdown:
- Less than 10 members will cost $12.50 per member.
- 10-50 members will cost $12.08 per member.
- 50-150 members will cost $11.67 per member.
A monthly payment plan will cost $25 per member, regardless of the number of members registered.
Is Grammarly Premium worth it?
Based on my experience, the premium is worth it. It makes the writing and editing process I undergo daily much easier.
Included in this premium package are additional features related to improving grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and overall context. It can also detect and fix common, yet difficult to identify mistakes like:
- Overuse of words
- Insensitive language
- Unclear structure
- Writing inconsistencies
- Inappropriate tone
- Wordiness
What’s also great is that it allows you to manage the settings of your content. Therefore, you can adjust the following document settings.
- Audience
- Intent
- Emotion
- Style
- Domain
By customizing these settings, you can help Grammarly to know what your purpose for writing is. It will also provide performance insights based on your writing goals
So you can improve your writing skills over time.
Alternatives
LanguageTool
LanguageTool is a scalable spelling and grammar checker that can be integrated into just about any text editor or platform. It’s the result of the collaborative effort of a group of linguists and machine learning experts.
Features offered:
- Grammar, spelling, and style checks.
- Supports 5 languages (English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish).
- Support different language variations (e.g. American and British English).
- Offers extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Opera.
- Integration for Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Open Office, and LibreOffice.
Pricing:
- Free
- Premium (Individual): Annual subscription for $59.90 ($29.95 with current discount); Quarterly subscription for $39 ($19.50 with current discount); Monthly subscription for $19.90.
- Premium (Team): $2.25 per user
ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is the ultimate grammar and spelling toolbox for professional writers and editors. Much like Grammarly, it eliminates common writing errors.
Features offered:
- Dictionary/Thesaurus
- Grammar and Plagiarism Checker
- Punctuation Checker
- Spell check
- In-app lessons on how to improve writing
- Style formatting
Pricing:
- A monthly subscription costs $20 per month
- A yearly subscription costs $79
- A lifetime subscription costs $399
Our Verdict
All in all, Grammarly is a great tool to have.
It is a comprehensive software that provides all the necessary features to ensure that every form of written content has the highest quality possible. It is for sure one of the most valuable grammar and plagiarism checkers currently available, the free version alone will add tremendous value to your life.
Based on what I’ve experienced with Grammarly, I would recommend it. Its ability to integrate with multiple platforms makes it an asset to anyone who cares about how they communicate. In addition to that, the team at Grammarly has consistently improved upon the services they provide.
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