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Grammarly Review

A Grammarly Review

Writing is hard. Whether you’re in school, at work, or doing something for fun, writing well is tougher than you imagine. You’re your worst editor. If you’re like me, editing your own work leads to you missing things that make you seem dumb. There are a variety of editing tools available on the web to help make your writing smarter. Grammarly is one of the most well-known and versatile tools out there.

Let’s see if Grammarly is right for you, so the next time you need an editor in a pinch, you don’t look like you forgot everything you learned in school.

What is Grammarly?

Grammarly is a web app that helps improve your writing. It’s a grammar assistant focused on weeding out proofreading issues with grammar, spelling, mechanics, and plagiarism.

It can be used as a standalone web app or be integrated into web browsers, Microsoft Office, and even your phone. It checks in real-time issues with your writing, makes suggestions, and allows you to make those corrections as you go.

Grammarly comes in free and paid versions. Grammarly Premium is $29.95 a month or $139.95 annually. Here is a breakdown on cost:

  • $11.66 a month if paid annually
  • $19.98 a month if paid quarterly
  • $29.95 a month if paid monthly

Grammarly also has a business and education program that you can learn more about on their website.

Grammarly Free vs Premium

What is the Difference Between Grammarly Free and Premium? Grammarly Free only checks for spelling and grammar mistakes.

Grammarly Premium checks the above, along with the following:

  • Punctuation grammar, context, and sentence structure
  • Enhances vocabulary
  • Genre-specific style
  • Plagiarism detector

Grammarly Free will help you improve your writing, especially if you don’t have someone to proofread or copy edit your work. If you want to up the game or nail your next essay, investing in Premium is the way to get the most out of Grammarly.

Don't get caught plagiarizing
Grammarly Writing Support

My Thoughts on Grammarly Through the Years

I’ve been using Grammarly Premium for about five or six years now. I dabbled with the free version for a few months before jumping into an annual subscription. The cost may seem like a lot. It’s worth it.

One grammar, spelling, or otherwise easy to miss mechanical issue with your writing will cause you to look bad in the eyes of those reading your writing online or elsewhere.

Grammarly Pros

Real-Time Checks – One of the biggest perks of Grammarly is real-time grammar recommendations. Grammarly calls you out as soon as you begin typing in the app or upload a document. It wastes no time scanning and pointing out issues with spelling, grammar, and style.

These real-time notes help you correct your writing on the go, re-enforcing those changes in future writing. Grammarly also saves as you go in the web app, so you don’t have to worry about losing changes.

Accuracy is Important – Grammarly’s grammar, mechanics, and spelling checks are highly accurate. The company also is constantly updating its algorithm to ensure they are on top of the latest changes to the style. You can rest assured when using Grammarly that you’re working with top-notch editors giving input to making the service better.

Easy to Use – Grammarly is easy to get used to and learn from. Its user interface is clean and intuitive. Once you begin typing or start working from your own document, it’s integration into your copy isn’t going to distract you. It’ll empower you. Using Grammarly has never taken away from me being able to write.

Educates You – One of the other big pros of using Grammarly is that the app doesn’t talk down to you. As it makes recommendations and suggestions, it uses clear language to explain why you should make the change so you can make the final decision.

Adaptable to Your Style – Grammarly lets you customize how it works by adding new words to its dictionary, setting a preferred language, and turning it off on certain websites.

Grammarly Cons

App Integration – Although Grammarly can be installed in your browser or Microsoft Office, I’ve found in my experience that it slows down both. Chrome is known as a resource-intensive program, so adding more extensions slows it down more. The same can be said for Office. Depending on your setup and computer specs, you may get better mileage by integrating Grammarly directly into your programs vs. using the web app. For me, it’s web app all the time.

Grammarly doesn’t integrate well into Google Docs, although a beta program is in place to change this. For now, it’s wonky as heck to use Grammarly this way, and you’re better off using the web app. It also doesn’t integrate into Microsoft Office for Mac, yet.

Free Won’t Get You Far – If you’re trying to improve your writing or avoid paying someone to edit your work, the free version won’t cut it. You need Grammarly Premium. The price tag might turn you off. Getting an annual subscription vs. paying monthly will save you more in the long-run if you can afford it upfront.

Is Grammarly Premium Worth it?

Grammarly will make you a better writer. It will help catch the things you’re used to not catching. If you are looking for a way to avoid hiring a copy editor or proofreader, for now, this is your solution, and a great one at that! The price tag may seem expensive, but the peace of mind Grammarly will give your writing is worth it.

While there are other options out there to help edit your writing, Grammarly is the real deal and full package – it’s easy to use, intuitive and will integrate into how you write without changing your workflow. Grammarly won’t replace a human editor, but it’s much better than nothing at all.

The #1 Writing Tool

Disclaimer: I’m not a perfect writer. Grammarly’s not a perfect tool. This post was proofread by Grammarly and also proofread by a friend before going live.