I've used a lot of proofreading software over the years, partly because I write for a living and partly because I'm dyslexic. Catching mistakes before something goes out into the world isn't exactly optional for me.
For shorter everyday writing, I've always liked Grammarly. It's easy to leave running in the background, and the free version catches enough that a lot of people probably don't need to pay for anything more.
Books are different. That's where I tend to prefer ProWritingAid, especially now that it has grown well beyond grammar checking and into planning, drafting, and story-level feedback. I've also used tools like AutoCrit and Hemingway alongside it when I wanted a different kind of feedback.
I've been publishing books for more than a decade, so I've watched a lot of these programs come and go. I've used the tools myself, surveyed Kindlepreneur readers about what they use, and talked with authors I've worked with over the years about what helps and what ends up being more trouble than it's worth.
That doesn't mean my favorite will automatically be yours. Someone writing a novel has very different needs from someone who mostly wants to clean up emails before hitting Send.
For me, though, ProWritingAid is still the one I'd choose if I could only keep one for book-length writing. The lifetime purchase option helps too. If you buy through my link, you can currently get 20% off an annual plan or 10% off lifetime if you use the code KINDLEPRENEUR20 during checkout. Click here to grab the deal.
Best Proofreading Software to Use for Writing
For novels, I don't think there's one tool that catches everything. I use ProWritingAid most often, but Hemingway can be useful because it's looking for different problems. For emails, blog posts, social media, and other shorter writing, Grammarly is usually easier.
Any of these will catch things that Word's built-in spell checker misses, but I still wouldn't treat proofreading software as a replacement for a good human editor. If you're hiring one, I have a free editorial test you can use to see how well an editor handles your manuscript.
Even if you have a good proofreading tool, a human editor is best. But how can you know what editors are worth the price? Use my free editorial test to make sure you get the best of the best.
1. ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid looks for grammatical and punctuation mistakes. What I find particularly impressive is its ability to also check for structural issues like repetition, cliches, and a lack of variety in sentence length.
It is also my #1 recommended tool for proofreading long-form work like novels. And it's pretty good with short-form too.
Its browser extensions are free. You can use ProWritingAid’s limited online editor for free and edit up to 500 words at a time. If you buy an annual or lifetime Premium plan, ProWritingAid currently offers a 3-day money-back guarantee.
How much does ProWritingAid Premium cost? If you use my Kindlepreneur link to buy ProWritingAid Premium or Premium Pro, you get a 20% discount on annual plans and a 10% discount on the lifetime plan.
- $8/month ($96 paid annually), or
- $359.10 one-time payment
There is another premium version: ProWritingAid Premium Pro, which includes additional features and credits.
How much does ProWritingAid Premium Pro cost?
- $9.60/month ($115.20 paid annually), or
- $629.10 one-time payment
For businesses and groups, ProWritingAid offers bulk discounts.
ProWritingAid looks quite a bit different from the program I originally started using. The new menu is split into Plan, Write, and Edit, and that tells you a lot about where they've taken it. You can now use ProWritingAid while you're figuring out the story and writing the draft instead of waiting until you're ready to edit.
I still use the editing side most. That's where the 25+ reports live, covering things like readability, repetition, pacing, dialogue, sentence length, and style. But fiction writers can now go much further and have ProWritingAid look at the plot, characters, or even the manuscript as a whole.
ProWritingAid offers browser extensions for:
Premium users can install ProWritingAid Desktop Everywhere on Mac or Windows, which puts ProWritingAid directly inside compatible desktop writing apps such as Scrivener and Microsoft Word.
ProWritingAid is best suited for writers seeking detailed feedback on longer pieces, like mystery novels, lengthy blog posts, memoirs, and academic essays. Using ProWritingAid’s browser extension for Facebook posts or casual emails may help but may feel like overkill.
Is there anything better than Grammarly? For books, I think ProWritingAid is. Grammarly is easier for everyday writing, especially if you're using the free version, but ProWritingAid gives me considerably more to work with once I'm editing something long.
The free plans aren't really apples-to-apples either. ProWritingAid lets you use its reports but limits you to 500 words at a time. Grammarly's free version makes more sense if you mainly want something running in the background while you write.
If you want to see a head-to-head showdown of the two tools, check out Kevin J. Duncan's ProWritingAid vs. Grammarly guide. Or, you can read my full review of ProWritingAid.
Pros of ProWritingAid
- Offers 25+ detailed writing reports
- Has a contextual thesaurus and style suggestions to strengthen your writing
- Available in different forms of English (American, Australian, British, etc.)
- Encourages you to vary sentence lengths to maintain reader interest
- Lets you know how dynamic your vocabulary is compared to other PWA users
- Shows you phrases you use multiple times, so you can decide if they are overused
- Compatible with most browsers, Google Docs, Scrivener, and Microsoft Office
- Works with Mac and Windows
- Manuscript Analysis tool can dissect your entire book (not just individual chapters)
- Plagiarism checks are available separately if you need them
Cons of ProWritingAid
- Catered to writers, not ordinary people just writing social media posts and emails
- No mobile app
- Premium version can get expensive
- Plagiarism checks aren't included with Premium or Premium Pro and require separate credits
- Steeper learning curve than other proofreading tools
2. Autocrit
Autocrit is built specifically for fiction writers. One of the things I like about it is that its reports are based around fiction rather than trying to judge a novel the same way it would judge an email or business document.
I use it alongside ProWritingAid when I'm editing my own books. I still think AutoCrit is a little expensive for what you get, but some of its fiction-specific reports are very good, which is why it lands this high on my list.
How much does Autocrit cost?
- Basic plan: Free
- Pro plan: $30/month or $15/month when billed annually
Is there a free version of Autocrit?
Yes. AutoCrit has a free plan with some useful reports, although you'll need the paid version to get most of what makes the program interesting.
Pros of Autocrit
- Excellent for fiction authors
- Focuses on fiction-specific editing that you can't get anywhere else
- Really great community and additional courses
Cons of Autocrit
- Not as good at grammar when compared to ProWritingAid
- A little pricey considering what it does
3. Grammarly
Grammarly is one of the most widely used writing assistants around, with the company now saying it's used by more than 40 million people.
It was also the tool I used the most before ProWritingAid came along. I still use it for some short-form content.
Grammarly works in enough places that I rarely have to think about where I'm writing. I use it most for shorter things like articles and emails, but it'll follow you into browsers, desktop apps, and mobile too.
Grammarly offers free browser extensions for:
- Firefox
- Google Chrome
- Safari
- Edge
You can also install the Grammarly desktop app for Windows and Mac. There’s even a mobile app to improve your writing on the go!
How much does Grammarly cost?
- The free version offers a massive number of features
- The Pro plan is $12/month, but you can try it for free
If you encounter a program or website Grammarly is not compatible with, you can simply paste your writing into Grammarly’s online editor, correct it there, and paste it back.
Grammarly Pro adds unlimited personalized suggestions, full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustments, plagiarism and AI detection, and up to 2,000 generative AI prompts per month.
Read my full review of Grammarly for more info, as well as my list of Grammarly alternatives.
Pros of Grammarly
- Free version has a robust suite of features
- Conforms to your writing style (academic, casual, creative, etc.)
- Adjustable formality levels: formal, neutral, and informal
- Grammarly works great for everyone, not just professional writers
- Premium version has a plagiarism checker
- Easy to use with a variety of browsers and websites
- Integrates with MS Word (and MS Outlook on Windows only)
- App available on iOS and Android
Cons of Grammarly
- Its most complete writing support is still in English, although Grammarly now offers multilingual suggestions in more than 20 additional languages
- Doesn’t offer much feedback on big picture writing
- Premium version charges a monthly fee (no one-time purchase option)
- Their marketing pushes you to buy the premium version (you can unsubscribe from their emails)
4. Ginger
Ginger has been around for a long time, and the main reason I'd still consider it is if English isn't your first language. Its translation tools are much more central to the product than they are with something like Grammarly or ProWritingAid.
The paid version also has a text reader, which I like more than I expected. Hearing a sentence aloud can make awkward wording much easier to notice than staring at the same sentence on a screen for the tenth time.
Ginger can also translate into more than 60 languages. That's useful for everyday communication and potentially for fiction writers who occasionally need another language in a manuscript, although I wouldn't rely on any automated translator for dialogue where accuracy really matters.
For ordinary English grammar and spell checking, I'd still choose Grammarly over Ginger.
In the example below, you’ll notice Grammarly suggesting I change “more good” to better. That’s a smart catch that Ginger seems to be missing.
Pros of Ginger
- Great for catching spelling and grammar errors
- Easy to use with multiple browsers (but not Firefox)
- Offers a lot of value in its free version
- Available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android
- Premium version can translate into more than 60 languages
Cons of Ginger
- Free version is not as robust and user-friendly as Grammarly
- Doesn’t offer much big-picture feedback on writing
- Premium version charges a monthly fee
5. Hemingway
Hemingway was the free tool I used most before I started paying for editing software. If you don't have much of a budget, the free editor still gives you a useful second opinion on readability without asking for anything in return.
The classic version mostly highlights places where your prose may be getting harder to read: too many adverbs, passive voice, complicated sentences, or wording Hemingway thinks could be simpler. Editor Plus can now go further and suggest AI-powered rewrites and fixes.
I wouldn't follow every recommendation. Even Ernest Hemingway's writing doesn't always score well in the Hemingway Editor, which is a pretty good reminder that writing isn't a checklist. I use it more as a way to notice things I may want to revisit.
How much does Hemingway cost?
- Hemingway's basic online editor is free
- Hemingway Editor Classic is available as a one-time-purchase desktop app for $19.99 on Windows or macOS
- Hemingway Editor Plus starts at $10/month or $100/year and includes its newer AI-powered editing features
Hemingway will strengthen your writing by helping you avoid too many adverbs, slipping into passive voice, being overly wordy, or writing complicated sentences that are hard to read.
The free/classic Hemingway experience is still mostly about highlighting problems and letting you decide how to fix them. Hemingway Editor Plus goes further, with AI-powered rewrites, grammar fixes, and tools that can adjust things like tone, length, and style.
To be clear, I don't think Hemingway will magically turn terrible writing into the work of Ernest Hemingway. And it’s worth noting that good writing is more than a set of rules.
In fact, The New Yorker has a great piece where it shows that even Hemingway himself doesn’t always pass the Hemingway test (sometimes the best writing comes from breaking the rules).
However, while this software won’t make your writing perfect, it can make your writing more effective. It’s a smart tool to have in your arsenal.
Hemingway does not come with any browser extensions. You simply copy and paste into the online editor, which is free, easy to use, and requires no signup or installation.
Admittedly, I feel this is a hassle for longer pieces. If you’re writing a book or plan to use this tool frequently, you might want to purchase the desktop app, available for Mac and Windows.
The app allows you to import your writing, perform edits, then export to text, PDF, or DOC. If you’re a blogger, the app can also export as HTML or Markdown — it even lets you publish directly to WordPress or Medium.
Pros of Hemingway
- Big-picture feedback, including style and formatting
- Easily identifiable color-coded errors
- Online editor is free
- Desktop app is a one-time fee: an affordable $19.99
- Can export from desktop app to TXT, PDF, DOC, HTML, or Markdown
- Makes more indirect suggestions, allowing you to maintain a feeling of control over your writing
Cons of Hemingway
- Does not catch spelling errors
- The free/classic version mostly highlights issues rather than fixing them for you
- No browser extension
- Not meant for Gmail or Facebook, like other proofreading apps on this list
- Even Hemingway doesn’t always pass the Hemingway test, showing that following the many rules of writing shouldn’t ever be a hard-and-fast rule
6. QuillBot
QuillBot is a little different from the other tools here because rewriting has always been a big part of what it does. Its Paraphraser can give you different ways to phrase something, and it also includes a grammar checker, summarizer, citation generator, and plagiarism checker.
These days, AI isn't unusual in writing software, so I don't think that alone makes QuillBot special anymore. What separates it for me is still that collection of paraphrasing and academic-oriented tools. I can see why students would get more out of it than most fiction authors.
You will find the following with QuillBot:
- Paraphraser
- Grammar Checker
- Plagiarism Checker
- Summarizer
- Citation Generator
How much does QuillBot cost?
- $8.33/month, billed annually
Is there a free version of QuillBot?
Yes, there is a free version of QuillBot, and it comes with the following:
- Up to 125 words at a time in the Paraphraser
- 2 free Paraphraser modes: Standard and Fluency
- 3 synonym settings
- Up to 1,200 words at a time in the Summarizer
Note that the premium version offers much more for each of these, and also includes faster processing speed, advanced grammar rewrites, and the plagiarism checker.
QuillBot has an excellent grammar checker, and while I think the program caters better to students and academic papers, it still has some nifty AI tools that come in handy.
Pros of QuillBot
- A paraphraser
- A summarizer
- A plagiarism checker
- A citation generator
- Affordable pricing
- There is a free version
Cons of QuillBot
- Limited options in the free version
- No lifetime purchase option
- Better at short documents and academic papers than long-form writing
Others You May Have Heard Of
There are a few other proofreading tools that come up often enough that they're worth mentioning. I've reviewed most of these separately, but none would make my top list above right now.
- WhiteSmoke: WhiteSmoke is a highly-rated Natural Language Processing proofreader with one-click correction, translation, and plagiarism detection, but has a 10,000 character limit, inaccurate suggestions, no free trial, slow support, and high yearly cost with no monthly billing. See our review.
- LanguageTool: LanguageTool is a multilingual grammar and style checker that supports more than 30 languages and works across major browsers, including Safari. Its free version handles basic spelling, punctuation, and style issues, while Premium adds more advanced checks and raises the text limit substantially. See our review.
- PaperRater: PaperRater is a proofreading software emphasizing its free plagiarism checker, and also offers spelling, grammar, style, and readability checks, along with premium document upload options, but it's not the best because of its English-only limitation, outdated website, slow online editor, ad-filled free version, and restrictive word count checks (1,500 for free users, 6,000 for premium). See our review.
- Slick Write: Slick Write is a free but limited proofreading tool with useful features but subpar usability compared to premium alternatives like Hemingway Editor and ProWritingAid. See our review.
- PerfectIt: PerfectIt is aimed primarily at professional editors and anyone who needs consistency across a document. It works inside Microsoft Word and checks things like capitalization, hyphenation, acronym definitions, regional spelling, and adherence to a style guide. It's more specialized than a general grammar checker, so it isn't a direct replacement for Grammarly or ProWritingAid. See our review.
- Wordtune: Wordtune is an AI-powered sentence rewriting tool with a free version and useful suggestions to improve clarity and concision, but an unintuitive interface, nonsensical recommendations, and expensive premium version limit its value. See our review.
BONUS: Fictionary
Fictionary is another platform that I highly recommend, but for different reasons than other options on this list. Fictionary is a web-based editing software designed to simplify the developmental editing process for writers and editors.
The important distinction is that Fictionary is for developmental editing, not proofreading grammar and spelling. That's why I have it down here as a bonus rather than ranking it against ProWritingAid, Grammarly, or Hemingway.
How much does Fictionary cost?
- Storyteller: $19/month or $14/month with annual billing
- Storyteller Premium: $39/month or $29/month with annual billing
- Fictionary StoryCoach (for editors): $49/month or $33/month with annual billing
Is there a free version of Fictionary?
There isn't a free version of Fictionary, but its paid plans currently come with a 7-day free trial with no credit card required.
Pros of Fictionary
- Unique take on editing
- Ease of use and design
- Good documentation
- Great visual tools
Cons of Fictionary
- A lot of legwork required of the author
- Not subplot tracking
- Limited sentence-level editing
Which online proofreading software is best for you?
I don't think there's one answer for everybody.
If you mostly want something catching mistakes while you write emails, blog posts, or other shorter pieces, Grammarly is probably the easiest place to start. Hemingway is useful if readability is your bigger concern, and AutoCrit is worth looking at if you write fiction and want another set of fiction-specific reports.
I still end up back at ProWritingAid for my own books. It covers the grammar and style problems I'd expect from proofreading software, but I can also dig much deeper when I need to. And now that ProWritingAid includes planning, drafting, and story-level tools, I'm getting more out of it than I did when it was primarily an editor.
That doesn't mean I accept everything it tells me. I don't do that with any of these programs. They're useful because they help me notice things, not because I want software making every writing decision for me.
If I could only pay for one of the tools on this list, I'd still choose ProWritingAid. The lifetime option is part of the appeal too, especially if you know you'll be writing for years. Kindlepreneur readers can currently get 20% off annual plans or 10% off lifetime by using my link and the code KINDLEPRENEUR20 at checkout.
