Before I started using Grammarly I had often heard about it. Many writers recommended and swore by it. My curiosity was piqued and so I decided to try it out.
First I started with the free version – which is pretty complete – and in January I upgraded to the Premium version. So far, I’ve loved the Premium membership and Grammarly is working out great for me.
Whether you decide to use the free or the Premium version, both are pretty good at meeting your requirements, depending on what you need it for. It’s like having your personal editor.
The one thing I appreciate a lot about Grammarly is that it explains your mistakes and while the app proposes improvements and corrections you also learn about punctuation, sentence structure, etc. I feel that by using Grammarly I got to refresh my knowledge of punctuation rules.
How Does Grammarly Work?
When you download Grammarly you can not only use it online but also in Microsoft Word. So, it can help you with emails, social media posts, blogging, commenting, and any other writing activity you do online. I love using it in Word when I write an essay or when I’m working on a story. You just need to sign in and the app will list and indicate all the errors in your text.
The free version is quite complete and I would recommend it for bloggers and anyone who is active on social media. I have been using the free version for a long time and I find it very helpful.
The AI-powered app can be added on Google Chrome or the internet browser you’re using. It shows grammar, spelling, sentence structure, vocabulary, tone, and it provides writing feedback so you can see how each change can help your readers understand your text better.
Install it on your desktop and use it as you type in social media, Word documents, Google Docs, emails, messages, etc.
In my opinion, the Premium version is fantastic. In addition to the previously listed issues it also shows you syntax, use of prepositions in sentences, conciseness, formality, overly wordy sentences and better suggestions, and the app makes the text more captivating and easy to read.
In a nutshell, the free version includes:
- An automated spell-checker
- An AI-powered grammar checker
- A punctuation checker
- A tone detection report
It works with:
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Word
- Web browser like Chrome, Safari and Microsoft Edge
- Microsoft Office
- iOS and Android via the Grammarly keyboard
Moreover, you can switch between British, American, Australian and Canadian English.
The Premium version includes all the tools of the free version + the following:
- An additional 400+ grammar checks
- Readability reports
- A writing style report
- A plagiarism check tool
- An AI-powered writing assistant
- Citation suggestions
Recently, the company also released Grammarly Business, which – on top of the previously mentioned points – also offers the following:
- Advanced collaboration features
- Enterprise-level encryption
- Support for writing style guides
- Support for multi-user accounts
What do Others Think about it?
Many authors and bloggers swear by it. So far, I’ve heard many positive comments about Grammarly. I think that it’s well set up and – as I mentioned before – I love that every error comes with an explanation so that you can learn from your mistakes. With 30 million happy users you can’t go wrong.
Grammarly ranks 3rd among tutor sites and it has a consumer rating of 4.32 stars from 1686 customer reviews on Sitejabber. Most customers that are satisfied with Grammarly often mention the free version, school work, and grammatical errors.
On Trustpilot Grammarly has a star rating of 4.6 from 5223 reviews.
Some people use Grammarly as they write, giving them the possibility to make corrections while they work on their essay, blog, or other writing project. Others prefer to finish writing the complete piece first and then tackle any issues with grammar, spelling, structure, etc with Grammarly after. You should choose the method that works best for you.
If the text is short I use Grammarly as I write, but if it is a long text, I just focus on the writing and make corrections after I finish.
Final Thoughts
I recommend both the free and premium version. Although I’m using the Premium version, if you want to save some money, the free version is very complete and works perfectly for a blogger. Premium would work better for an author or for essay writing. I’ve never used the Business version but that one is best for a company where several team members can make use of it.
Do you have any questions? Please let me know in the comments.
We have paid for the premium and we get good features and it shows you how to write properly if you do not know how to. The Grammarly free vs premium are both good but who wouldn’t want to be a professional writer and improve their potential? We are glad that you made an article pertaining to Grammarly.
Cheers,
MnD
Hi Christine,
I am also a Grammarly user since I am not a native speaker. It helps me correct any errors in my writing no matter what type of content I am drafting, which is helpful and saves me tons of time. It’s new to me for the business plan, and I would love to recommend purchasing this for all company employees.
Have you tried to use the Grammarly keyboard on your mobile phone? I wonder how efficient it is to help me write short messages?
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Matt
Hi Matt,
I haven’t used the Grammarly keyboard on my mobile phone. I’d like to try it out.
Hi Christine, I have had Grammarly for well over a year now and honestly I don’t know what anyone does without it. The free version is an absolute must-have tool in my opinion but actually, I would definitely consider the premium version for its plagiarism detection feature.
Currently, I use a website called smallseotools to scan any text I might feel is plagarized but honestly I do suspect that a lot of people might end up with plagarized text without even realising it. That someone might end up writing the same sentence as someone else without realising it I think may happen a lot more than people think.
However, Grammarly Premium is still £100+ a year and is just out of my budget at the moment if I can earn more in future I will definitely consider I think.
Thanks for sharing
regards;
Alex
Hi Alex,
Grammarly Premium does offer seasonal discounts. I’ve seen discounts of 40 and even 50% last December. They might come back, so let’s keep an eye out for that 😉
In the meantime, the free version works very well. For me, the free version is great.
I’ve heard about grammarly and it sounds like a great tool for those who want to begin writing or those who already write but need extra guidance. I write many articles on my blog and have found that my writing has improved since I started it a year ago. A lot of that is due to the fact that I used to teach language arts and a lot of the rules are coming back to me and that my husband is a great writer and has taught me a thing or two. I will probably try this once I begin writing more. Thanks for this honest review.
Nina
Hi Christine, I’ve heard so much about Grammarly but as yet never used it. I never realised it has so many features, and Premium looks good as well. The main feature I like about premium is the plagiarism checker. This could be really useful as a blogger.
Hi Kathy,
Yes, the plagiarism checker is indeed very useful for a blogger. Wealthy Affiliate also has a plagiarism checker in their Site Content tool but Grammarly is more complete with grammar, spelling, structure, and everything else.
Thanks for your comment!
Vey interesting post. I have heard about Grammarly a lot but never thought of using it.
It seems that it can be helpful for my blogging as you said since I usually have some errors here and there.
So tell do you use it for your blogging?
Hi Thabo,
I use Grammarly mainly for my books and for emails. For blogging I use Wealthy Affiliate’s Site Content which has a good spelling and grammar checker as well, but you could also use Grammarly for blogging.
Thanks for your comment!