Free Grammar Checkers and Proofreaders You Must Know About.
Grammarly and Hemingway are two of the easiest and Free grammar checkers and proofreading apps you’ll ever use.
According to Polisters, more than 80 percent of Americans want to be writers. However, no one is born with writing skills. To be a good writer, you must learn to edit. Fortunately for you and I, editing has never been easier.
In this post, you will learn the differences between Grammarly and Hemingways. You’ll also learn how to use each of them and what makes them the best free online grammar checkers. And why I’ve used the same one for the last five years.
What are Grammarly and Hemingway?
Grammarly, which came into existence in 2009, is an AI-powered software that helps writers edit their work.
Its dashboard panel is easy to navigate with a minimalist look that keeps the tools safely out of your way, but still easily visible so you don’t have to hunt for them to use them.
Hemingway has a Write & Edit mode that separates the writing and editing. If you’re easily distracted when writing, this will change the way you feel about writing by increasing your concentration, which means loads more writing in less time.
Table of Contents
Hemingway has two versions you can choose-
The Online Editor and the downloadable App.
- The Online Editor version is completely free to use.
- Hemingway Downloadable App – is a one-time price of $19.99.
With Hemingway, you only have two chooses here's how they stack up. Free Editor Vs Hemingway Paid App
Hemingway Online Editor | Hemingway App | |
Price | Free | $19.99 (one-time payment) |
Ability to Save & Export | No | Yes |
Hemingway Analysis | Yes | Yes |
You Can Publish Directly | Yes | Yes |
Exporting Formats | N/A | Text, HTML, pdf, Word |
Direct Publishing Offered | N/A | Medium or WordPress |
You can use the app on both Windows and Mac. Additionally, it comes with features not available in the free online version.
These include:
- Free Lifetime updates
- You can save and export your work
- You can integrate it with WordPress and Medium
But how do you sign up for these platforms?
How to Get Started With Grammarly
To sign up for Grammarly:
- Go to the official website.
- Choose your preferred way of joining, by Apple, Facebook, or email.
- Choose how you want Grammarly to help you.
Personalize Grammarly by choosing your preferred language and the writing tone.
After the personalization step, select the version, and you’re done.
How to Use Grammarly
Upload docs, pdf, or copy-paste the text to the Grammarly editor. If it is Grammarly premium or business, it will;
- Suggest vocabularies
- Underline passive voice so that you can rewrite the phrases
- Detects plagiarism
- Give an overall performance score in the categories that are important to you
Below is a screenshot of the Grammarly interface (inaction)
Features and Benefits of Grammarly
Features of Grammarly
1.Language
Grammarly only supports editing in English. However, this comes in various forms. You can choose the English type to use, ranging from British English to American English to Australian English. You can change the language form anytime you need.
2. Plagiarism Detection
Plagiarism detection is only available in the premium and business versions. Here, the software checks over 16 billion sites that might have the same information as your writing.
It detects intentional and unintentional plagiarism and gives sources to cite in the case of accidental plagiarism.
3. Dictionary
With an in-built personal dictionary, you can add preferred word spellings. This way, Grammarly won’t recognize it as a misspelling in your future editing.
4. Uploading Different Files
Grammarly enables you to upload different files onto the editor. You can import and export a Microsoft Word file ( doc, Docx), OpenOffice, text, and RTF.
5. Goal setting
Grammarly allows you to set the goals on what you want to check on your copy. The goals Grammarly editor checks are;
- Writing style
- Domain
- Audience
- Emotion
6. Readability
Grammarly corrects sentences that are difficult to read. It gives suggestions to break down these sentences to make them easy to read.
7. Integration with a Range of Devices
Grammarly browser extension is compatible with Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. You can use this in both Mac and Windows.
Also, you can integrate the Grammarly plugin into Microsoft word and Google docs. Here is a demo to do that.
On mobile devices, you can download the Grammarly app. It integrates with mobile devices’ keyboards. This way, you check everything when, for instance, typing emails or text messages.
Benefits of Grammarly
1.Easy to Use
After signing up, Grammarly guides you on how to edit your text. The explanation makes it easier to use as everything is explained right in front of you.
2. It has a Free version.
If in case you cannot afford the premium version, Grammarly has a free version. The free version helps with basic editing, including checking grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
3. Improves Vocabulary and Writing Styles
By providing suggestions on new words, you add vocabularies to your dictionary. Also, you improve on your writing styles by learning to write easy to read sentences.
4. Provides Options for Everyone
The free and premium plans enable people with different economic capabilities to access Grammarly. You can upgrade from the free to premium plan anytime you are capable.
5. Checks Plagiarism
You not only edit on Grammarly, but also it detects the uniqueness of your copy.
6. Ability to Integrate with Various Devices and Browsers
As in the features, Grammarly is compatible with Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. Besides use in computers, you can also use it with mobile devices.
7. Support Team
Grammarly has a support team email(support@grammarly.com.) where users raise their concerns.
Cons of Grammarly
- The premium and business version is pricey as compared to Hemingway.
- Grammarly only supports English limiting other users who are not English writers.
- The free version limits many editing features, such as rewriting options hard to read sentences and detecting plagiarism.
- Requires an Internet connection to use Grammarly
Price and Version of Grammarly
Grammarly’s premium version is recommended and has advanced features.
These include suggesting vocabularies, adjusting tones, sentence rewrite suggestions, and detecting plagiarism.
The business version has all features in the premium version with additional services. These include admin panel, priority email support, and SAML SSO for accounts with more than 50 users.
Grammarly has three versions you can choose from-
- Grammarly Premium costs $12.00 monthly pay annually.
- The Business version is $12.50 per month paying annually.
- There is also the free version. However, it has limited services. It can only check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Not Half Bad
How to Get Started with Hemingway
Getting started with Hemingway couldn’t be easier. Just go to their official website, hemingwayapp.com.
This is only for the basic plan of course.
How to Use Hemming way
To proofread your text, you have to delete the sample text on the editor page. After this, you paste your copy. On the top right of your screen, click the Edit button to start proofreading.
Here below is the Hemingway interface.
Features and Benefits of Hemingway
Features of Hemingway
1.Compatibility with Medium, WordPress, and other CMS
This way, you can edit and publish your content directly without copy and pasting it into your blogging platform or CMS. Also, you do not need to log in to the CMS.
2. Works Offline
As opposed to Grammarly, which needs an Internet connection, you can edit your copy offline with Hemingway. However, this only happens after pasting work onto the Hemingway editor space.
3. Readability
Similar to Grammarly, Hemingway also suggests how to make sentences easier to read. A lower grade indicates that the content is easy to read. The opposite is true.
4. Writing Mode with No Distractions
When using Hemming way as a word processor, you don’t have to check typing mistakes every time. When you do this, you reduce your writing pace. The Write Mode does not highlight errors and helps you to focus.
After all these, what benefits do they have to you as their users?
Benefits of Hemingway
1. Improves language and writing style
It detects hard-to-read sentences and suggests how to improve. The yellow color shows a phrase that is hard to understand. You also learn to write concise and clear sentences which flow.
2. Easy editing
By coloring texts, you know where you need to edit.
3. Can Integrate with Medium and WordPress
It is compatible with Medium and WordPress. This way, you can publish directly without having to copy and paste or login into the CMS.
4. Customer Support
If you have any issues or queries, Hemingway provides an email address(38longllc@gmail.com) where you can send them.
Cons of Hemingway
- Unlike Grammarly, with the online version of Hemmingway, you cannot save work online.
- Hemingway has no browser extensions or word processor plugins.
- When using Hemingway, it isn’t easy to express a situation with adverbs. Hemingway marks adverbs as errors.
- It does not detect plagiarism as in Grammarly premium.
- Hemingway does not check your writing tone, emotion, and style.
- It also moves the cursor back to the top of your paper after each correction is made, forcing you to locate your last position each time; I found this very annoying.
Personal Insight and Verdict
Hemingway has most of the features Grammarly has. For the one-off paper or student who seldom writes, Hemingway would be adequate. And the writing mode with no distraction would be invaluable to a person with ADHD, ADD, or Dyslexia.
However, the benefits of Grammarly outweigh its drawbacks.
Grammar checkers are a must-have tool for most writers. They’ll fix your sentences, and paragraphs of course, but more impressively, they’ll teach you how to write. Grammarly Pro is my tool of choice for a simple reason; it just works, it integrates with every browser I’ve tried, and on all my devices.
Grammarly pops up on my phone when casually texting on games. It’s there in emails and order forms. It’s there when I am commenting on Youtube videos quietly, making suggestions that improve my public image.
Writing articles or letters are critical jobs I do daily. But Grammarly goes far beyond just writing letters. It’s like having my publicist on duty 24/7 guarding my speech and making me look good.
When you’ve struggled with writing all your life as I have, it’s liberating to express myself without being afraid others will judge my spelling and grammar mistakes.
Grammarly may cost a little more at $12.00 a month or .40 cents a day paid annually, but I’ve never felt the need to try anything else in five years of use.
Supposing you are anything like me, having struggled to express yourself. Grammarly will put a smile on your face and give you a new sense of confidence.
Wow, this article describes what I’ve had going through, writing feels like pushing a mountain sometimes. Glad to know there are services like this that can make it easier. I think Grammarly has almost everything to turn one into an efficient writer. My question is can I develop an article in Grammarly?
Hi Pristo, great question! Yes, you can use Grammarly to write anything from your first word to last. And everything you write is visible on a really handy dashboard. This has the advantage of showing you the first few sentences of your article which helps me remember what the article was about.
Thanks for your question
Rick