7 tools to improve your writing

Writing in English is no child’s play, especially if it’s not your first language. Often a simple task, such as writing an email, CV or a social media post, becomes a real challenge if you want to follow all the rules and norms of the written language.

But don’t worry! There are several editing tools that will help you out. So forget about typos and other mistakes, because your writing will always be flawless if you use them. Just choose the app that suits you best!

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is an application that recognizes and corrects any spelling, grammar, punctuation and style errors, adapting to all types of English text. It is a very versatile tool, offering different levels of service and thus fits any type of user, from the single student who is learning the language to large companies. For the latter, and for those who work in a team in general, Grammarly offers some really interesting solutions: you can create a style guide and turn on the suggestions for maintaining a uniform corporate tone of voice. Snippets are also an interesting feature, because they replace a single word with a longer text, letting you save time when writing frequently used phrases. Obviously, a Business subscription is required to access these resources.

Its most popular version is the browser extension, while the full desktop version (both for Windows and Mac) shows suggestions directly in the text as you type, regardless of the application, document or web page. Free iOS and Android apps and special plug-ins for Google Docs, Microsoft Word and Outlook are also available.

Price

You can choose the free version, which is very basic, or a paid subscription.

• Free plan: it includes basic suggestions (grammar, spelling, punctuation, conciseness), while as for the style, it merely describes "how it sounds" to the reader without providing any real suggestions.
• Premium Plan: $12, $20 or $30 per month. Paid features are more impactful: this plan offers sentence rewriting, more elaborate synonym suggestions, and style suggestions. It also makes Grammarly capable of managing and identify quotes in order to avoid plagiarism.
• Business plan: the cost varies depending on the number of users (3 to 149) and the payment frequency (monthly or annual). The minimum is a fixed $25 to which is added a per-user fee ($12.50 to $15).

Pros

• Easy to install and use
• The browser extension is super convenient: one click is all it takes to apply the suggestions
• Highly customizable according to one’s goals
• Allows you to learn from your mistakes

Cons

• Users complain about its high cost
• The free version has too many ads, that can be removed only with a paid upgrade
• It only works with an Internet connection

Final verdict

Definitely recommended if you want to make your texts look professional, regardless of the type of content. Despite the limited free features, it is still a very useful tool to use on a daily basis to avoid spelling mistakes and get feedback on how the text will sound to the reader.

2. Antidote

Antidote is software designed to correct grammatical and spelling errors in English and French. Compared to Grammarly, it offers dictionaries, language guides and learning tools. It is therefore a tool of a different nature, which lends itself to more in-depth text review.

It consists of three applications:

• Antidote 11, for desktop (Windows and Mac). It is mainly intended for proofreading and style check: in addition to dictionary access, it offers synonym suggestions, explanations of the use of rules and exceptions, usage examples, conjugations, and more.
• Antidote Web, which is accessible from any browser and therefore requires no installation. It allows real-time text correction through an extension.
• Antidote Mobile, compatible with iOS devices, but does not require an internet connection to work. Rather than a proofreading tool, it is a “repository” of linguistic, cultural and grammatical information and resources that can be consulted at any time, in a very interactive and easy way.

To take advantage of the full service, a subscription to Antidote+ is offered, which includes all of the above versions.

Price

Antidote offers two annual subscriptions or a one-time subscription.

• Antidote+ Personal: $59 per year, one-user access to all Antidote applications.
• Antidote+ Family: $99 per year, gives 5 users access to all Antidote applications.
• Antidote 11: $119 one-time, single-user access to desktop software only.

Pros

• Mistakes are grouped by class and can be filtered; all are explained in detail
• For those who need the desktop version only, the one-time payment is very convenient
• It is is highly appreciated for the excellent corrections in terms of syntax and punctuation and language recognition to avoid confusions, and finally for the offline operation.
• Compatible with dozens of programs, including Adobe Creative Suite.

Cons

• Suggestions do not appear automatically as on Grammarly: you have to highlight the text to activate them
• There is no monthly subscription, which might discourage those who usually opt for paying smaller installments.

Final verdict

Recommended for any professional, especially editors and proofreaders, but also for those who deal with documents containing sensitive data and prefer to work offline. Bringing together numerous resources into one platform lets you save time and effort, and the research and documentation process is significantly less stressful. However, do not expect it to be Grammarly: Antidote only works if you type inside the software or web application, or if you highlight the text, because suggestions do not appear automatically. Excellent value for money.

3. Hemingway Editor

Unlike Grammarly and Antidote, Hemingway focuses on detecting syntactic complexity and thus aims to simplify the sentences of your English texts as much as possible, making them clearer, more concise, and definitely more pleasant to read.

It is very straightforward: simply paste or type the text directly on the home page of the official website. If, on the other hand, you prefer to work offline, you can choose to download the application available for free on all iOS devices or install the program on your computer, either Mac or Windows.

Price

It can be used for free online and no subscription is required. Just enter the text directly on the website. While the cost of the license to purchase the software is just $19.

Pros

• Writing and editing modes are separate, and you can switch between them with a single click
• You can export your text directly to WordPress or Medium
• Clean and easy-to-use interface.

Cons

• It does not have grammar or spelling checkers, external tools are needed for that
• It does not consider the context
• It tends to oversimplify syntax.

Final verdict

Unless there is a need to work offline, the free version is more than enough for both students and those who create written content for work. Overall it is good program, but to be perfect, it should be equipped with additional features to correct grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.

4. Ginger Software

Ginger is a viable alternative to Grammarly that, in addition to a grammar and spelling editor, it provides stylistic suggestions, and allows you to convert your text to audio with text-to-speech technology and translate it into more than 40 languages.

It can be used by adding an extension to your browser, by integrating it in Word or Outlook, or by downloading the program for Windows or Mac. There is also a mobile app. To use it in your browser, simply highlight the text and then click on the Ginger extension.

Price

The browser plug-in and mobile app are free, but they give access to basic quality control only. To access more advanced features, including translation, there is also a premium version that has three payment options:

• $19.99 per month
• $33 per quarter
• $84 per year
• $120 for two years

Pros

• It allows you to translate your text
• You can create your own glossary
• Discount for students and teachers

Cons

• It does not detect plagiarism or wordiness
• It takes a little too long to correct errors
• Some users complain of compatibility errors with Microsoft Office and other apps

Final verdict

We recommend one of the paid plans, although more expensive than the other alternatives on the market, because the free version offers minimal functionality and is only available for a limited time. In any case, it is a great tool for those who are not proficient in English.

5. ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is an application very similar to Grammarly, so it is a grammar, spelling and punctuation checker that offers, in addition, style suggestions and feedback for writing in English. Of all the available writing software, it is probably the one that can boast the most integrations as it can be added to virtually all Windows and Mac production applications, as well as Google Docs.

You can use it directly in your browser by signing up for free and copying your text, or by uploading a document directly to the editor. Real-time suggestions cover style, spelling, grammar, and the use of passive tenses. There is also a sidebar on the right side that contains general information about the text, and where you can select the type of text (business, education, creative...) to receive more accurate and specific analysis and suggestions.

Price

The online editor is free, while the desktop app and integrations require one of the following subscriptions.

• Monthly: 20€
• Annual: 79€
• One-time: 399€

Students are entitled to 20% discount.

Pros

• Its features and suggestions are outstanding
• Integrations for many programs and formats, including Scrivener, HTML and OpenDocument
• Style suggestions based on the type of text

Cons

• Not available for smartphones and tablets
• Unintuitive layout

Final verdict

ProWritingAid is highly recommended especially to those who make writing their profession, although slightly more difficult to use due to its less intuitive layout.

6. LanguageTool

LanguageTool is open source software that is used to correct grammatical, spelling, punctuation and style errors in your texts by analyzing the context to offer ad hoc suggestions. What sets it apart is that it offers these suggestions in more than 20 languages, not just in English like the other tools described here.

You will be able to access the service in several ways:

• As an extension for the most commonly used browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera)
• As a plugin for Google Docs, Word, OpenOffice, LibreOffice
• As an add-on to Gmail, Thunderbird and Apple Mail (beta)
• On desktop macOS and Windows

Price

• For beginners: free. It provides basic quality control for grammar, punctuation, and style on texts up to 10,000 characters. It offers only 3 sentence reformulations per day.
• For individual users: about 16€ a month, about 32€ every three months, about 48€ a year or about 80€ for two years. It can be used for text longer than 10,000 characters and includes a Word plugin, Google Docs add-on, the ability to create style guides and unlimited sentence rephrasing.
• For teams: the price varies according to the number of users and starts from 91€ per year for two users. In addition to the features included in the other subscriptions, it gives the ability to create style guides and dictionaries for teams.

Being open-source, LanguageTool can be installed on your server (see the project page on Github), but it requires advanced knowledge and skills.

Pros

• It works in multiple languages
• Provides a customizable dictionary
• It identifies wrong numbers and e-mail addresses.

Cons

• The dictionary does not allow classification of words, so sometimes autocorrect detects these words as errors
• Character limit in the free version

Final verdict

Overall, it offers basic grammar correction compared to the other applications seen so far, but it gives API access for developers, particularly useful for software companies and publishing houses.

7. WhiteSmoke

WhiteSmoke detects grammatical, spelling, punctuation and style errors, also offering a translation service and a dictionary with more than 50 languages.

It is compatible with all browsers, but if you prefer, you can install the desktop version for Windows or Mac. It is compatible with Microsoft Word, Outlook and Google Docs.

Price

• Web version: $60 per year, accessible from all browsers. Includes grammar check, plagiarism check and translator.
• Premium Version: $80 per year, compatible with Windows, Gmail and the MS Office suite. It includes, in addition to its Web features, proofreading and integration with all writing platforms. The license is valid for one computer only.
• Business Version: $138 per year, compared to the other plans it has phone support and a guarantee in addition.

Pros

• It offers 100 templates for letters, CVs and other documents
• Good value

Cons

• Unintuitive
• It does not have a free web extension
• Documents cannot be imported.

Final verdict

Much cheaper than other tools on the market. However, the templates offered, while an excellent additional feature, are not essential for writing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, all of the above tools aim to greatly improve one’s writing skills in English and other languages, but each of them has its specific features: you only need to evaluate them carefully to choose the best tool (or why not, even more than one) to meet your needs.