Many writers and students are taking to the internet to help them with their grammar. Gone are the days where no such tools existed. Remembering the grammar rules was the norm, but not anymore. Companies have developed specialized artificial intelligence software to check a manuscript for errors. Some software is free, up to a certain word count or limited features, and others cost. Some writers have their favorite, and others use a combination for an overall effect. Either way, these top five grammar programs will make a great tool in your writer’s toolkit.

5. Ginger

Ginger is a line by line and manuscript grammar check software. It searches for subject-verb agreements, singular/plural/consecutive nouns, misused words, and spelling corrections. You can add it to Chrome, Safari, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android. The free option allows you to check a limited amount of words a week. The paid version opens premium items like unlimited grammar checks, sentence rephrasing, and text reader.

I use Ginger for the line by line it does on my Word documents. You do not have to take its suggestions. You can hit the skip button. You can select which part of the sentence you want to keep and which one to correct before hitting the “approve button.”

4. AutoCrit

AutoCrit calls itself the “Fiction Writer’s Secret Weapon.” They design the cloud-based grammar program for fiction writers. It compares your writing to other authors in your genre. The software uses data from published books to help refine your manuscript. The program helps with adverbs, filler words, repeats, and clichés. The drawback is it is not integrable, and you do everything online. It is best to do your work on a word processor first, and when you get online, you copy and paste it. The more words the better detailed the report.

The basic plan is limited to a thousand words at a time. The next two plans you can test drive for a dollar for fourteen days. They offer a lifetime professional plan which you must email them for the price.

AutoCrit helps me reduce my overused words and fine-tune my stories. It is fun to compare my manuscript to other authors like Sarah Maas and Stephen King. You don’t have to take their suggestions, though.

3. Grammarly

Grammarly is one of the most well-known artificial intelligence, grammar check programs on the market. The service browser and desktop application use color codes. Red is the basic issues like spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Blue deals with clarity, conciseness, and sentence structure. Purple offers advice to strengthen the tone of your article or story. Green gives the user suggestions on vocabulary, variety, and engagement. Helps with word choice to make the piece pop for the reader. Plus, it keeps your work where you can look at past articles. The downside to the program, no lifetime version.

The free version has its limits. It does not have an advance grammar check, plagiarism detector, or most of the vocabulary enhancements.

The premium version has readability, vocabulary enhancements, genre-specific style, and the all-important plagiarism detector.

Grammarly is the go-to for most people. I like it because it helps me with my commas; again it can put commas in the wrong place.

2. ProWritingAid

Professional authors created ProWritingAid. You can integrate the program on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, and for word processors like Google Docs, Microsoft Office, and the desktop Scrivener. The free version you can use online, limited features, and you can edit up to five hundred words at a time. The paid versions and the lifetime version opens all the features. You get a summary report of everything. The program helps with style, grammar, overused words, pacing, readability, consistency, and the list goes on.

I like ProWritingAid because it helps me with overuse words, sentence lengths, pronouns usage, and it can suggest alternatives for passive voice. Again, its suggestions can be wrong.

1. Hemingway

The Hemingway application is one of the coolest and free online editors you can find. The software scans an article for five things, adverbs, passive voice simpler alternative, and two versions of dense sentences. It highlights everything for you and provides suggestions and reduction are alternative words. It is simple and easy to use.

The online version is free to use. If you want the offline software, you must pay for it. You can save pieces of writing via PDF. You can export to text, PDF, or Word. You can use Hemingway for HTML formatting for the websites.

I like Hemingway for finding the overuse of the passive voice, adverbs, and dense sentences. It forces me to use my creative mind to change passive to active, to use a strong verb over the adverb, and change hard-to-read sentences into easy-to-read ones.

It is my experience not to rely on such software but use them like any other tool in the writer’s toolbox. Like humans, these programs are not perfect and will make errors. I use all these programs along with reading the article, grammar guides, style books, and use the Read Aloud feature in Microsoft Word in editing articles, poems, and stories. Plus, it is great to have a fresh set of editor’s eyes to read your work, because self-editing only takes you so far.