Written communication forms an integral part of the life of a student or a working individual. From communicating important information in your office to writing an essay for your term project, good writing skills have become an indispensable requirement nowadays.
Words are extremely powerful tools to convey a message or make your thoughts be heard. A single newspaper article can convey the news to millions of people compared to only spoken communication.
The elements of good writing are proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization. Having a strong vocabulary also adds extra embellishment to a piece of an article.
For those who make a living out of writing, these aspects come more naturally than others. For organizations that are unable to hire a trained writer, or where daily communication is mainly carried out via written memos, there must be proper proofreading tools to make sure the message is clear and error-free. Where a single comma or a misused word can change the entire meaning of a sentence, one needs to make sure they use proper proofreading tools for clearly conveying the message.
Two of the most used proofreading tools currently available on the internet are Grammarly and Ginger. Both the tools offer a free and a paid version. Though they perform the same task of proofreading your articles, a closer inspection of the various features of the two would lead one to find the various differences they have in their provided services.
Before going into the comparison of the two, let us review their features in detail to have a better understanding of each.
What is Ginger Grammar Checker?
One of the top grammar-checking software, Ginger is easy to install and run on both a desktop and a mobile device. This feature adds to its easy usage on the go, which is a time-saver for busy individuals.
For Windows users, an add-on is available on their website, which can be freely installed. Their online extension can be added on Chrome or Firefox and used in the online writing tasks, such as on Gmail and Facebook.
One of Ginger’s noteworthy features is its ability to spot contextual errors and provide alternatives to them. It is designed to keep running in the background of your phone or desktop. The software helps users strategically use words to avoid excessive use of a word. This feature is particularly useful for students, who have to crunch in a lot of information within a specified number of given words.
Another of Ginger’s features that stand out from the rest of its contemporaries is its ability to translate to up to 60 different languages. Considering that the maximum of the global population comes from a non-English speaking background, this feature is particularly useful for a more global reach.
Review of Ginger Software Features
Next, we will analyze each Ginger feature and tool.
Grammar Checker
Ginger’s Grammar Checker works with some pretty high-end algorithms to correct the grammar and punctuations based on the context of a sentence. A few of the grammatical errors that it corrects are subject-verb agreement, singular/plural nouns, consecutive nouns, misused words, and even phonetic mistakes. The list sure is pretty impressive, no doubt!
Sentence Rephraser
This feature helps to convey the exact message with the use of an optimum number of words. It is especially useful to bring a variation to your writing with alternate and better ways to write the same sentence.
Often, we try to put too many thoughts in one particular sentence, jumbling it up, or making it difficult to understand. The Sentence Rephraser is essential to simplify such sentences for enjoyable reading.
Personal Trainer
Ginger not only lets you correct your grammar but has an inbuilt where personalized mistakes are used to provide practice tests for betterment in the subject. This feature is especially useful for non-English speakers, who benefit from them to improve their English majorly, because it focuses on your own mistakes, and works on them. Therefore, it is your personal tailor-made English course!
Text Reader
Ginger Text Reader is a text-to-speech tool that comes in handy for improving pronunciations for learners with a non-English background. Students preparing for IELTS benefit from this and have a better grasp at the listening section of the test. Read in a clear voice; it also familiarizes them with the pronunciations to follow their class lectures better in case of going abroad for studies.
Translation
One of the most exciting features available, this lets users translate a text from any of the 60 languages available in the paid version (or 40 in the unpaid version) to English, keeping in mind the grammar of both the languages. It creates a greater global reach for the tool.
Dictionary
The built-in dictionary not only gives you definitions but also provides you with synonyms for proper expression of your thoughts.
Spell Checker
Ginger Spell Checker helps correct even difficult to spot spelling mistakes in your writing with a great amount of accuracy, based on the context of the sentence. A well-written article with proper spelling can go a long way in creating a good impression of the writer.
Ginger Cost
Now, let’s look at the price and cost of having a Ginger subscription.
Ginger Software is being sold in three distinctive models– a month to month plan for $29.96, a quarterly arrangement for $41.97 and yearly arrangement for $89.88/year. The vendor likewise offers an exceptional rebate for students, which is helpful, considering that they form a majority of its primary users.
What is Grammarly Checker?
Another well-known tool used for grammar checking, which has gained huge popularity in recent years, Grammarly provides its user with an easy-to-paste blank document interface for checking their work.
Let’s have a look at Grammarly highlights.
Friendly with multiple interfaces
In terms of usability, Grammarly is quite flexible, being easy to use in various interfaces like Mac, Microsoft and iOS, or as an extension in almost all text editors on browsers such as Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. It also provides as an add-on for Microsoft Office and Outlook, which enhances MS Office’s basic grammar-checking ability.
Contextual corrections
Grammarly has an easy-to-use interface which is essential for enhancing the efficiency of any software. Its mistake corrections correct, even the tiniest of the mistakes which are undetectable to most other software. They not only check for wrong spellings, but also for the ones that are spelt correctly but are contextually wrong. It also provides stronger suggestions for weak adjectives to enhance your writing further.
Audience focused
One of its unique features is being able to tailor the editing experience based on your audience, formality, domain, and tone. Based on this, you can get suggestions for a formal or an informal article based on if your audience is general, knowledgeable, or an expert in the subject. For instance, some tons may be unsuitable for the official memos. These can be rectified by setting the tone to a ‘formal’. Some domains may have specificities which are not applicable in other domains; these can be selected in the various available domains such as academic, business, general, technical, casual, etc. Lastly, the writer can also decide the tone he wants to convey through his article, such as neutral, confident, joyful, etc., and suggestions can be made accordingly.
Just follow the link to read our in-dept Grammarly Premium Review.
Plagiarism Checker
Another coveted feature that it contains is its Plagiarism Checker, which is an essential tool for students and academicians, alike. While for students, it may lead to deduction of their marks, it has more widespread effects in the business industry where it may lead to a very expensive lawsuit. The Grammarly plagiarism checker checks your writing against various web pages, to minimize the plagiarism.
Since its primary use is as a grammar checker, the plagiarism checker adds a huge advantage over other available software.
Personal dictionary
Grammarly also lets one create a personal dictionary which is particularly useful for fiction writers who create their own words to be used in their stories.
How to guide
Grammarly not only has instructional material on how to use the platform but also on how to improve your grammar and way of writing. The Grammarly Handbook is an internet manual for English grammar, while the official blog site offers regular suggestions, information and enjoyable comments on composing and grammar to users.
It is the recipient of the “Great User Experience” Award by Finances Online in 2018.
Grammarly Cost
Now, let’s look at the price and cost of having a Grammarly subscription.
Grammarly includes a single membership of $29.95 per month or $9.98 per month for annual installments and $11.66 per month for yearly transfers.
Its package of Grammarly Business needs $10/member per month and enables up to three customers.
Finally, Grammarly for Educational Institutions can be bought for ten customers for $700 per year, for 20 customers for $100 per year and 50 customers for $1,700 per year. Above 50 customer plans can be discussed with the vendors.
Grammarly vs. Ginger – Similarities and Differences
When two different software provides similar primary usage, comparisons are inevitable as to their various features. Here, we have tried comparing their different features, to help you choose better.
- Based on integration, Grammarly connects with other applications such as Facebook, Gmail, Github, etc. whereas, in the case of Ginger, the integrations are not available yet, or seem to be less known. This makes Grammarly better in terms of usability.
- Ginger provides some unique features such as the translation feature, which helps it have a more global reach than Grammarly. Considering that grammar checkers are used by native and non-native English speakers alike, this feature of Ginger helps rank it above other similar variants.
- Another commendable feature of Ginger is its Trainer feature, which helps users learn based on their mistakes, thereby reducing the number of mistakes in the future. It also enables them to be better at the language. Therefore, it doubles as an English course that lets users learn as they correct their mistakes.
- One feature where Grammarly excels, whereas it is unavailable in Ginger, is the plagiarism checker software. Other paid plagiarism detection software is available in the market, but what makes Grammarly better is the fact that it provides this service within the application itself, which is time effective.
- Another feature that is better on Grammarly is its way of reporting the errors. Grammarly underlines the mistakes in red, while difficult to read sentences in blue. The errors and suggestions are listed in a column on the right-hand side. This makes it easy for users to see their options and correct accordingly. In Ginger, however, though the mistakes are underlined, one needs to hover on individual words to get the suggestion. Not immediately visible as a list, it is slightly inconvenient as compared to Grammarly.
- Another comparing feature is the customer support that the two provide. While Grammarly has been universally accepted to provide prompt support to its users who seek it using email, live chats, and tickets, Ginger does not have the same reputation, providing contact through phone or mail. It is one of the major determining factors for many users as to the quality and promptness of the customer service of any product they use. On this regard, Grammarly is slightly ahead of Ginger, again.
- One of the drawbacks of Grammarly is its unavailability of MS Office add-on for the Mac users, whereas Ginger provides the Safari add-on for the iOS users. This may be a slight hindrance as there is quite a considerable number of Apple users worldwide. You should worry about this feature if you are a Mac user only.
- As far as their prices are concerned, Grammarly is slightly more expensive than Ginger. However, a large number of its premium users suggest that it is worth the money, being able to detect errors based on 400+ factors, and having an in-built Plagiarism Checker. However, some may lean towards using Ginger due to the various interesting features it provides, including the Translate Feature.
Our Verdict of Ginger Online Grammar Checker Review
You must review all the features of both the software, before you decide on one, based on your needs. While Grammarly is suitable for students, writers, and business organizations due to its higher accuracy, personal dictionary feature and Plagiarism Checker, if you are a non-native English speaker with a tight budget, you might end up preferring Ginger due to its language translation and personal trainer feature.
So, choose wisely and reap the benefits of possessing the power of a lucid and intelligible written communication skill.
Is Ginger Online Grammar Checker Better Than Grammarly?
It depends.
You must review all the features of both the software, before you decide on one, based on your needs. While Grammarly is suitable for students, writers, and business organizations due to its higher accuracy, personal dictionary feature and Plagiarism Checker, if you are a non-native English speaker with a tight budget, you might end up preferring Ginger due to its language translation and personal trainer feature.
Ginger Online Grammar Checker
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Pros
- A good choice for non-native English speaking students
- Useful language translation feature
- Cheaper than Grammarly Premium
Cons
- Low accuracy and user-friendliness compared with Grammarly
- No Plagiarism Checker
- Low reputation for customer support
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