2023

Grammarly for Word Review: Is it Worth it?

Grammarly for Word is a proofreading tool that helps to ensure your articles, blog posts, eBooks, and every other type of writing is free from spelling and grammar errors making your contents professional and understandable.

Spelling and grammar errors in writing can be embarrassing and a huge turnoff to your readers even if the message you are trying to portray is essential. If you are a content writer or professional blogger, you will understand the need to always deliver articles that are thoroughly edited with no errors.

Among the proofreading tools and grammar checkers available, we have Grammarly. It has become quite popular, largely due to the effectiveness of the tool in detecting spelling and grammar errors. Many writers choose to do their work with Microsoft Word – arguably the most popular word processor available. Grammarly can work directly with Word, but is the Grammarly for Word investment worth it?

Different Grammarly Apps

Grammarly comes with various apps and extensions to suit many different needs:

  • Grammarly web chrome
  • Grammarly chrome plugin
  • Grammarly MS office add in
  • Grammarly desktop app for Windows and Mac
  • Grammarly for Android
  • Grammarly for iOS

Grammarly Editor

This is an online editor where you can store all your documents. You have the option of either copying and pasting your draft or typing directly into Grammarly itself. Copying and pasting texts to this editor can be stressful and time-consuming, so you may want to consider a different route.

Browser Extension

You can use the free version of the software on various browsers with the respective extensions. This includes Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox. It’s easier to use than the online editor since it automatically checks your writing wherever it is you are working – such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, emails, and anywhere else. You only need to install the extension and watch Grammarly highlight mistakes while you type.

Grammarly for Word

You can also enjoy the leisure of integrating this software right into Microsoft Word itself. It becomes more comfortable to use Grammarly through this medium as you can check for spelling and grammar errors immediately.  You can finish your writing right there on the Microsoft document. You don’t need to copy and paste to another location before you begin editing.

Grammarly for Desktop

This app is another suitable alternative to the online editor as you don’t need to copy and paste. You can drag the document you need to edit onto the Grammarly icon you’ve installed on your desktop and get feedback immediately.

Grammarly for Mobile Phones

Most people use their phones to browse through their social media accounts, and some install Microsoft Office to write with their mobiles when they cannot access their personal computers. This is where Grammarly keyboard comes in handy, helping you check your social media posts and Word documents right on your cell phone. It’s compatible with Android and IOS although it needs an internet connection to function.

People who use Grammarly

Grammarly is a word checking tool everyone who writes regularly can benefit from. If you post on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms, you should use it to prevent embarrassments that come with grammar errors on public posts.

Luckily, you can also download these apps on your phones and use when your data connection is switched on. Then there is the web version of Grammarly which you can use in editing your Microsoft Word, Excel or Presentation documents on your personal computer.

On average, people who use Grammarly the most are:

  • Content writers
  • Copywriters and content marketers
  • Bloggers
  • Authors
  • Resume writers
  • Students

Even if you are a native English speaker, you sometimes need to check if you are writing your sentence correctly to avoid being misunderstood by your audience.

Using Grammarly for Word Review: Is it worth it?

Grammarly helps to check for different kinds of writing errors:

Grammar and Punctuation

The basic Grammarly helps to correct wrong words placed in sentences. For example, it replaces “has” with “had” if the former does not correspond with the sentence you’ve written.

It also helps in adding punctuations where you’ve missed it and removing those placed in the wrong spot. For example, Grammarly will change this sentence “Please take your pen” to “Please, take your pen.”

This feature helps especially if you have developed a habit of either over or underusing certain punctuation, which most writers do at some point. If you are using Grammarly premium, it will assist in detecting advanced grammar and punctuation errors.

Simple Explanation

For every word replacement suggestion they give, there is always an explanation given as well. They explain grammar rules which are quite easy to understand and give room for improvement in your future writing. You only need to click “see more” to get more insight before deciding if it’s worth replacing or ignoring.

Report

Grammarly also sends you a report which outlines how far you’ve come and what you’ve done since you began using the software. It describes your spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and plagiarism progression.

Spell Checking

If you have problems spelling things correctly, Grammarly is there to take care of it. The best part is that it recognizes current and technical spellings which Microsoft Word might not pick up on. You can rest assured that your spellings will always be accurate when using Grammarly, compared to the relative unreliability of Word’s built-in spellchecker.

Plagiarism

If you are using the Grammarly premium, you also get to check if your contents carry plagiarism by comparing it to other content on the internet. Sometimes the plagiarized material might be few words that bear a resemblance to another article on the web.  Other times, it might be a paragraph or the whole section. Grammarly is an easy way to check for plagiarism in your content.

Word Repetition

Sometimes, you may tend to repeat certain words when you are writing. This can be because you are momentarily lost on alternative, or it has simply become a habit. Regardless, Grammarly provides you with an alternate choice if you have used one word repeatedly. This feature is available with Grammarly premium.

Writing Style

Another thing it checks is your writing style. It indicates when some words look too informal and advises you to change it. It identifies things like slang and sentences written with a passive voice.

For example, if your sentence reads, “I just discussed with my father,” It advises you to remove the word to make it, “I discussed with my father” because according to the software tool, using just in a sentence underscores the importance of the message you are trying to get across.

Customization

You can customize the free version of Grammarly with your preferred features such as choosing your desired language, adding new words to the dictionary, and deciding what websites you prefer using it for. Even when you are not paying for the writing software, you are allowed some privileges.

Deeper Editing

Grammarly does help you identify your spelling and grammar errors, but not in the way that Grammarly premium or business does. After editing the detected errors, you’ll notice a section that outlines some more advanced issues with your piece. This will only be revealed if you purchase the premium plan.

Even if you don’t have the budget for it, you will still have knowledge that your writing contains some “advanced issues.” If you go back and edit more critically, you may be able to identify these yourself. In this way, Grammarly also helps to improve your writing.

Accurate Corrections

If you feel the correction is not valid, check the sentence as a whole to see if the problem comes from how you’ve structured your sentence. The software isn’t perfect 100 percent of the time, so there are instances where it may be wrong. Remember it’s an artificial intelligence tool which does not reason like a human proofreader. There are even times where both their suggestion and your original version are both correct, and you can choose which one you keep.

Grammarly for Word vs. Premium and Business

Grammarly offers three editions of editing: the free version, premium, and business. The free version is simply designed to check spelling and grammar errors with no provision for plagiarism, repetitive words, or other advanced grammar rules.

Grammarly premium costs $139.95 per year if paid all at once. The quarterly cost is $59 while the monthly fee is $29.95.

The Grammarly business has additional features than that of the premium, but they are more services than grammar checking elements. You can use this edition if your team needs a grammar checking tool. It costs 15 dollars per member. Some additional features of Grammarly business include:

  • 24/7 email support
  • Checking trends through monitoring tools
  • More privacy and security for documents
  • Admin and user management controls
  • Centralized billings

Comparing Microsoft Word with Grammarly for Word

Microsoft word is a long-standing writing software with necessary editing tools, but the truth is Microsoft does not pick up errors like Grammarly. It is more of a word processor than an editing tool. Grammarly gets continuously updated with the latest advances in vocabulary. This makes it easy to acknowledge new words like “Instagram” as correct while Microsoft word will give you options like “integral” for replacement.

Grammarly for Word gives detailed explanations for each replacement it suggests, while Microsoft Word has one or two generic responses to all supposed errors.

With Grammarly, you can get more than 150 grammatical checks which Microsoft Word is not likely to catch. Sometimes, even when it’s glaringly obvious that your article contains errors, Microsoft Word tells you everything is fine.

You also get performance stats with Grammarly which Microsoft Word does not offer.

Writers can improve on their writing and editing skills with constant use of Grammarly for word, while Microsoft Word retains the function of creating a document which is still quite useful.

Cons of Grammarly for Word

The free version of Grammarly is quite limited when compared to the premium or business. You can only check your spelling and grammar errors. It does not allow you to go further into difficult issues like passive voice, repetition, plagiarism, vocabulary enhancement, and so on.

If you are a pro in writing, you might not need more than the free version since many of the features are not always necessary for skilled and native English speakers. Also, writers who do not write in bulk or have low budgets can still benefit from the free version.

Using Grammarly for Word when writing with other languages might not be the best experience as it would highlight them all as unknown. It would be extremely time-consuming to click ignore on all of these. If you have a few words of another language that you use frequently, there is the option of adding them to the dictionary to prevent this.

Another downside is the continuous pestering to upgrade to premium with numerous emails and spam ads. Even when you opt out of their email list, they use their extension medium to continue advertising the upgrade option to you.

Since the subscription to premium and business is a bit pricey, you might want to keep using the free version if you are a native English speaker and are familiar with grammar rules. Most times, it is constant spelling and grammar errors that make content unreadable. Passive voice and repeated words, for example, are less than ideal but do not often hinder the reader’s understanding.

As for the plagiarism checker, writers should know when they copy material from the internet word for word – they don’t need any detector to determine it. If you hire a ghostwriter and you are not sure of their integrity, there are lots of free online plagiarism checkers to use. You certainly don’t need to subscribe simply to check for plagiarism.

Conclusion

Grammarly for Word is worth it since you don’t need to strain your pockets to afford the subscription. You only need to concentrate on the best content while using the software for editing. When you don’t have to constantly check for errors while working, it helps you save time and allows you to enjoy your writing.

Josh Fechter
Josh is the founder and CEO of Squibler.