You may have heard of Microsoft Word but you may not have heard about Grammarly. In this article, we will discuss Grammarly vs Microsoft Word by sharing with you information regarding each product so you can understand the different options that each offers. This will help you make an educated choice to best fit your needs in everyday situations.
They both have some similar functions however not the same. Grammarly supports Microsoft Word while Microsoft Word does not support Grammarly.
What is Microsoft Word?
Microsoft Word is a desktop word-processing application. It is
designed by Microsoft as a component of the Microsoft Office Suite.
However, you can purchase it by itself as a stand-alone product. Word
has been used widely by users since 1983. It offers features to assist users in writing and editing reports. Here are a few features:
- WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Display: What
you see on the screen is what will be printed on paper or exported to
other programs. - Spell & Grammar Check: Microsoft Word contains a built-in
dictionary for spell checking. Similarly, to Grammarly, it catches
basic misspelled words/phrases, out of places grammar, or incorrect verb
tenses. Those errors are marked with a red squiggly underline. - Text-level Features: Bold, underline, italic, and strike-through with a large selection of built-in fonts. You can also add your own fonts.
- Page-Level Features: Indention, paragraph, and justification.
In the past, Microsoft Word was software installed from disk or CD into your computer. Now we have the option to install the software from disk or download from online. You can pay a one time fee for the software or a monthly/yearly subscription.
As you may already know, Microsoft Word is a word processing tool that not focus only on spell and grammar checking alone. Because of its wide range feature, their spell/grammar are less intuitive than Grammarly.
What is Grammarly?
Grammarly is a subscription-based product. It was founded by Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, and Dmytro Lider in 2009. Initially, it was to assist students’ grammar and spelling. Over the last decade, Grammarly grew with the aid of an Artificial Intelligent (AI) powered writing assistant. It now offers more than just grammar and spelling. Here are some of Grammarly features in addition to grammar and spelling: conciseness, readability, vocabulary enhancement suggestions, writing style checks, and plagiarism detector.
In addition to the writing features, Grammarly is accessible as an intuitive interface throughout many platforms such as web-based editor, multiple browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, MS Edge), Microsoft Office add-in (Windows only), desktop interface, and mobile keyboards.
The good and the bad in terms of spelling and grammar
Microsoft Word provides a feature for the overall format of the document. The document can be easily customized to how you want the presentation of your report to look like for the readers such as the size of the fonts, the type of fonts, the high lights of the document, and the format/style of the paragraphs. You can also check your spelling and grammar.
Even though Microsoft Word examines the spelling and grammar, there are still errors that Word sometimes overlooks such as homonyms and homophones when the words pronounced the same but have different meanings or spell differently, punctuation, verb tense conjugation, or grammatically prepositional phrase mistakes.
As for Grammarly, it is primarily focused on the content of your writing such as spelling, grammar, and the flow readability of the message you are communicating to your readers. It picks up punctuation errors, verb tense conjugation, problematic prepositional phrases, errors in compound sentences, and much more. However, there are still errors that can fall through the cracks with Grammarly such as homonyms and homophones. Always re-read your document with care.
Here are some common complaints about Grammarly. You can also find it in details by clicking on Grammarly Reviews:
- Expensive and with automatic renewal. Most people do not pay attention until they cancel. The charge is non-refundable.
- No phone support, only online by submitting a ticket request, and poor customer service
- Spam Advertising – Complaints of too much advertising and including solicited emails
- Hard to cancel the subscription – Once your credit card is charged for the year, the premium subscription is non-refundable and the fees are not prorated. Make sure to read Grammarly’s Term of Service, Billing, and Refund Policy before you purchase.
Who would use it?
A spelling and grammar checker is a great tool for everyone who wants a polished report, email, letters, blogs, articles, etc. It is great to have a second pair of eyes to review your writing. However, when you don’t have a second pair of eyes available, good software can bring to the attention mistakes that you have overlooked.
How Much Does Each Cost?
Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Word stand-alone – $129.99 for 1 PC or Mac
- Microsoft Office 365 Home for up to 6 people – $99.99/yearly subscription or $9.99/monthly which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher (PC Only), and Access (PC Only)
- Microsoft Office 365 Personal for only one person – $69.99/yearly subscription or $6.99/monthly which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher (PC Only), and Access (PC Only)
- Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 for one person – $149.99 one time purchase which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Click here for pricing ==> Microsoft Office for Business
Grammarly
- Basic Free version ==> Free Grammarly Version
- Monthly Premium upgrade — $29.95 / month
- Quarterly Premium upgrade — $19.98 / month (billed as one payment of $59.95 USD)
- Annually Premium upgrade — $11.66 / month (billed as one payment of $139.95 USD)
- Click Here to learn more for business ==> Get Grammarly Business
Conclusion
Overall Grammarly is focused primarily on assisting clear and readable content in getting your message to the readers while Microsoft word focused on delivering the overall format and the overall look of the content. They both can co-exist to support your writing.
Grammarly is a subset of Microsoft Word so I am comparing only against Microsoft Word spelling and grammar tools. In general, I found Grammarly more intuitive than Microsoft Word spelling and grammar tools. I have a tendency of using incorrect words for my prepositional phrases. The basic free Grammarly catches many of my errors more often the Microsoft Words.
I also notice that the setup of the Grammarly is very convenient. You can insert free Grammarly add-on to many writing applications such as WordPress, Google Docs, different browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Explorer) and even Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word spelling and grammar checker does not offer the same convenience. You can only access the spelling and grammar tool in Microsoft Word.
The free Grammarly version is great to check out with no strings attached. Click on Add to Chrome, Firefox, or anyone of other browsers for free.
As far as the upgrade, it is totally up to you on what you need as a writer. If you are writing now and then just for fun then the free version is all you need. If you are a professional writer, then having a second pair of eyes do not hurt. Try the free version and see how it works for you. You may never need to upgrade. Who knows…
However, if you do upgrade, read the fine print carefully regarding the Grammarly refund policy. Be aware that they do not refund or prorate if you decide to cancel your subscription before the end of its term. Also, remember that Grammarly has automatic renewal. Make sure to cancel before your renewal date or it will charge you for another month, quarterly, or year.
Last but not least, even though you are using a software tool to assist you in finding errors, always re-check your work again. Not all software is bulletproof.
I hope this article has been useful in your journey as a writer. I love to hear your successes and struggles with Microsoft Word or Grammarly. Please leave your thoughts or questions below.
