Grammarly Vs ProWritingAid — Which is Best?
Thinking about getting an AI writing assistant? Read this first…
If you’re like a lot of writers these days, then you’ve probably thought about getting an AI writing assistant. Back in the day, all we had was Microsoft Spellcheck. It was revolutionary when they came out with the grammar checker! Now it seems like every month, a brand-new piece of software comes on the market that advertises how amazing it is for helping writers create sparkling content.
It seems odd that Microsoft hasn’t bought out these upstarts, but maybe they don’t feel threatened. Microsoft Word has lost a lot of ground in the content creation area. Microsoft Word has a market share of 5.92% in the productivity market. Microsoft Word competes with 142 competitor tools in the productivity category.
There are several alternatives to Microsoft Word, including Google Docs with 32.69%, Slack with 22.16%, and Microsoft Office 365 with 10.81%. Statista estimates that Google Workplace has a dominant position in the productivity market.
Despite their success at market penetration, these two giants have abandoned the essential area of word processing to smaller companies. Writers who make a living at getting content out daily have found other tools to help them add the finishing touches to their work.
Writing assistants like Grammarly and ProWritingAid fill the void for students, office workers, as well as writers who need to clean up their work for final presentation. They have made the editing process smooth and seamless.
However, if you’re still on the fence about choosing a writing tool for your content creation needs, deciding between these options may seem daunting. Here are my observations about the current leaders in the field.
Most people eventually narrow their choice down between the following two products:
They are both great products. However, after using both writing assistants extensively for the past year, I’ve discovered that one of these products actually holds a surprising advantage over the other. Read on to find out which one…
Overview of Grammarly
This writing assistant does a superb job of spotting grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. That’s largely because of the following three features:
- Spell checking and punctuation prompts. Your English teacher would be proud of you as you now effortlessly cover all the standard issue mistakes rookie authors make on their first draft. As you work on your term paper or long form article, this app works in the background to catch and correct your errors.
- Writing recommendations on the fly. You can just keep typing or let the app offer recommendations as you work. The program can spot your errors and help you clean up the draft as you type. It’s really handy when leaving comments or emails. Since Grammarly has a browser extension, you can use it anytime, anywhere.
- Desktop and MS Word plugin available. Most of the time, I’m using Microsoft Word or my Content Marketing Magic App for work. Grammarly offers a plugin for Word that works inside the application with no issues. Just launch Word and start typing. It’s available for both Mac and PC versions.
- Free and Premium version available. If you’re a college student looking to get through your school work, the app offers a lot of features for free. Get started with style and tone help and keep your pizza budget intact. For those looking for more robust help, the Premium version offers extra help in terms of fluency, format, style, tone and engagement.
The Basic Features of Grammarly Premium:
· Grammar and spelling errors are corrected automatically.
· Several basic features are free.
· Easy to use on any type of website.
· Fixes most spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
· Corrects text on multiple websites and platforms.
· Grammarly offers suggestions on how to frame a sentence well.
· Improves vocabulary of users.
· Detects context errors.
· Aids in improving writing style.
· Ensures your document is readable.
· Provides suggestions based on genre.
· Compatible with all major browsers.
· Grammar learning resources available.
· Document storage in the cloud.
· Provides a quick writing check.
· You can identify common mistakes and avoid them.
Despite these significant advantages, however, there are a few drawbacks with Grammarly. One issue is Mac support. That may not be a big deal to PC users. However, those who do their work on Mac products will have to wait until the company catches up on further development to match their PC counterparts.
Although you can work with a custom dictionary, it’s not a seamless process. You will want to note the price for Premium. The price starts at $12.00 a month.
Overview of ProWritingAid
This is also a helpful writing assistant. In particular, this product shines when you need an in-depth assessment of your content. You can use the standalone app online, or the plugin for Microsoft Word. It works with a plugin for Google Docs as well. I use this for both fiction and nonfiction work. Although it won’t replace a human editor, this one has impressed me.
The price is reasonable at $70 a year. It has a lot of reports and evaluations for your documents based on the language and format you choose.
There is a comprehensive selection of tools here for creating professional content that is extremely thorough and versatile. The app also supports plagiarism detection, but it is an add-on. It has a direct link with Scrivener so you can work on the writing app and edit in ProWritingAid before sending it back to Scrivener.
In a nutshell, these are the salient features of ProWritingAid:
· Everything you find in other premium writing programs is here.
· There are over 20 different reports offering suggestions for improvement based on your writing.
· The program is more affordable than other grammar checkers.
· Integration options are more extensive.
· Enhances your writing style thanks to comprehensive feedback.
· The free version of the program provides the most information of the current apps.
· This program can be used with Google Docs!
· Using this software, you can analyze your writing and check it based on your style.
· This program is available for Windows and Mac computers.
· Works well for long-form articles and even books.
This product is solid and dependable. However, mobile users may be disappointed. That’s because ProWritingAid isn’t available as a mobile app (yet). It also slows down when working on very long papers. I also mentioned that the plagiarism tool is an extra feature.
So, in a head-to-head battle between Grammarly vs. ProWritingAid: Which one wins?
Both are solid products, as outlined at the beginning of this article. However, overall I’d have to award ProWritingAid as the most effective overall writer’s assistant. That’s because ProWritingAid comes packed with a lot of features that a professional writer will find extremely useful, works on several platforms in several iterations and costs less.
No AI or machine learning program will be completely accurate. You still have to put in the work. These two apps come close to being your default proof reader for the first draft.
Bottom line, if you’re looking to work with a better tool than Spellcheck, then you won’t be wrong by choosing either product. Check it out for yourself by navigating to the links supplied above. For more tips and ideas for effective content marketing, subscribe and follow me here.
