Ginger Software vs. Grammarly: What I Found
In my comparison of Ginger Software vs Grammarly, I determined which was the best grammar tool for writers, bloggers, and content creators on a budget.
My goal in this comparison is to determine what’s best for editing a piece of writing: Ginger Software versus Grammarly.
This comparison review compares both the free version of Grammarly and the premium version of Ginger. For my work, I use Grammarly daily. I haven’t used Ginger for a while, and I’m interested to see how the application has changed since I tried it several years ago.
For Mac OS, I tested the Grammarly desktop application as well as the Chrome browser extension. For Mac OS, I tested the Ginger app as well. I checked a few pieces of non-fiction writing with both apps.
Many writers and creatives, however, cannot afford two grammar checkers. Do you even need these tools if all you want to do is improve your English?
Let’s take a look.
Using Ginger Software
As with Grammarly, Ginger works similarly. In general, one registers for a free account, installs the plug-in or add-on for Microsoft Word and Chrome, and downloads the mobile app for Android or iOS.
Grammarly is an on-the-fly grammar checker that highlights grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in red and proposes fixes. Unlike a typical grammar checker powered by Microsoft Word or Google Docs, it should identify and fix more errors.
There is no need to use Grammarly or Ginger if passive voice is present, readability problems are present, and clumsy sentence structures are present.
Nonetheless, as the writer, you must decide if these suggestions make sense and either accept them or reject them. Create your own dictionary by adding words.
The Premium version will find and correct additional grammatical errors when you upgrade.
Pricing
You can test out Grammarly’s free version by installing the plugin, going online, or downloading the desktop app. Ginger is more expensive than Premium, which starts at $29.99 per month.
A monthly fee of $29.99 per user is charged by Grammarly Business.
In a nutshell, Business pricing depends on the number of people on your team.
You can pay $12.50 per month for three team members if you pay for the entire year or $25 per team member per month if you pay per month. If your team is larger than 10, you will get a sliding discount.
With Ginger, you can download a free version. Ginger Software’s Premium Plans start at $3.99 annually, making them more affordable than Grammarly.
If you subscribe for an annual or two-year period, you can save more money. There is also a business plan available. The software is backed by a 7-day money-back guarantee.
Winner: Ginger
Availability
Google Play and the App Store both offer keyboards from Grammarly and Ginger software. You can install browser extensions for Google Chrome, Safari and Microsoft Office.
The desktop clients for Windows and Mac allow you to access Grammarly and Ginger. Unfortunately, Ginger Desktop is also severely restricted.
Ginger’s web app is not easily findable, and it does not support Google Docs yet. It does not work with Firefox either.
Winner: Grammarly
Plagiarism Checker
One of my favorite features of Grammarly is its plagiarism checker.
My company runs several niche websites for which I work a lot with freelance writers. To determine if a new writer has written something original or repurposed their previous work, I test them before hiring them for additional work.
Using Grammarly, I can quickly see if the document has already been published elsewhere. Using this plagiarism checker, I can also scan my own articles to see if they have been plagiarized and also to find instances of accidental plagiarism.
Winner: Grammarly
Usability
I tested Grammarly and Ginger by comparing a chapter of a non-fiction book with over a thousand words.
In Grammarly, I pasted the book chapter as follows:
There were 36 potential grammatical mistakes (many of them were not issues)
The AI-driven writing assistant offered suggestions for clarifying eight sentences
I encountered several internal server errors when pasting the same chapter into Ginger Software’s desktop application for Mac.
Therefore, I decided to complete my test using the Chrome browser extension and Google Docs. But, Ginger is still not able to access Google Docs directly.
In investigating the internal server issues, I went back to the Desktop app where I discovered the 3,000 characters limit refers to characters, not words.
In the free version, 600 characters are checked for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, while in the premium version 3,000 characters are checked.
Winner: Grammarly
The accuracy and style of writing
My goal was still to test Ginger’s accuracy, so I persevered. Grammarly found issues in blocks of text that I pasted into Ginger Software line-by-line.
An example of how Grammarly fixes Ginger can be seen here:
Grammarly highlighted some basic grammar and spelling errors
Amends to the grammar errors
Everything seems to be going well so far.
The problem is that:
Because it does not have the same type of AI-powered writing assistant, it does not offer copyedits for clarity
Grammarly caught some mistakes I missed
Winner: Grammarly
Additions to the product
Ginger and Grammarly both support custom dictionaries. The Grammarly dictionary is only available on its business version.
The program supports the following languages: US, British, Canadian, and Australian English. Ginger does not support any other languages.
Winner: Grammarly
Why Use Ginger for Grammar Checking?
Ginger may be useful to you if…
You aren’t a professional writer…
Need to check social media posts, emails, and other text on the fly?
Working on a Windows computer and…
Grammarly is too expensive for you but you want a premium grammar checker
I would otherwise use Grammarly or ProWriting Aid.
Keeping information secure
The company has strengthened its security over the past few years and is compliant with enterprise-grade industry standards such as SOC 2 (Type 1) PCI I DSS and the Cloud Security Alliance. Ginger’s website didn’t contain any security information.
Winner: Grammarly
Please note: If you are concerned about uploading your work to an online server, check out Antidote. This program runs directly on your computer.
Comparison of Ginger Software and Grammarly
As a non-fiction English writer, I prefer Grammarly for proofreading and grammar checking. Anyone writing fiction or editing long-form content should check out ProWritingAid.
When you have a tight budget or don’t have any money, use Grammarly’s free version. Word and Google Docs aren’t as accurate as Grammarly.
Until you upgrade, you might want to try a free tool like Hemingway Editor with Grammarly Basic. For writers of non-fiction English articles, emails, etc., Grammarly Premium is a great tool to use. In addition to finding grammar errors, other errors can be found more quickly.
You should use Grammarly Business if you work with other writers or collaborate with a team. The service is secure and built specifically for businesses.
Although Ginger is an accurate grammar checker, it does not offer many of the features that Grammarly does, including its powerful AI-driven assistant. Also, not all features of Grammarly are available in Ginger. Additionally, this grammar app didn’t fit into my writing workflow.