ProWritingAid

Despite the change to digital media, writers continue to see their career opportunities grow.

With all the text media needed to flesh out business web pages and other online sources, writers more than ever want tools that help them improve their writing and its clarity.

That’s where software like ProWritingAid comes in.

So, let’s see if ProWritingAid deserves its place as one of the most praised and well-known writing assistant tools.

What is ProWritingAid?

ProWritingAid is a writing assistant software meant to help anyone craft better-written pieces.

This tool works both as a web application, browser extension, or standalone program on your device.

What is ProWritingAid Used For?

ProWritingAid is a tool that helps writers of all kinds improve their writing.

In addition to some basic functions found in things like spell check tools, ProWritingAid can make suggestions to improve your writing from a technical standpoint.

Some of the ways ProWritingAid does this is via:

• Points out grammar and spelling errors
• Suggests changes to your sentence structure or word choice to improve clarity
• Educates about the differences in common mistakes like verb tense, vague wording, and duplicate words and phrases

How ProWritingAid Works

ProWritingAid reads through the writing you upload to the software for the mistakes and suggests improvements to the writing similar to a spell checker.

However, the software can also suggest changes to sentence structure and other technical sides of writing.

There are two versions of ProWritingAid: free and premium.

The free version of the software allows you to upload up to 500 words of writing for technical feedback through the web application or browser extension.

Outside of that, the browser extension can check for basic spelling and grammar issues.

The premium version gives you unlimited access to all of ProWritingAid’s tools and writing suggestions.

You can also download a standalone desktop app to use with programs not natively supported by the default program options.

This standalone program works on both Windows and macOS, too.

Notable Features

While ProWritingAid has plenty of features to help with your writing, there are a few that stand out compared to other competitors:

1. Grammar and Syntax Suggestions

One of the main features of ProWritingAid is its ability to find and make suggestions for grammar and syntax errors.

Because ProWritingAid bases its program on the common writing mistakes people make, the suggestions tend to fit with both the wording of the sentence and the rest of the written piece’s tone.

This feature is the main draw for those that pick up the free version of the software.

It works from any of the applications or extensions ProWriting offers to its free and premium users.

2. Powerful Editing Tools

Once you get into the premium versions of ProWritingAid, you unlock other editing tools to improve your writing.

These features rival even the best grammar checker tools.

Outside of spell checking, the software looks into your writing style and helps with suggestions to improve the writing.

One of these tools is ProWritingAid’s repetitive phrase detection.

After scanning through the writing, ProWritingAid lists the common phrases you use.

This gives a writer the chance to change up their wording so the piece doesn’t sound repetitive.

You can also review style suggestions based on the context of your writing.

Sentence structure or ordering suggestions will come up based on the tone you take during the piece to help match the tone you’re going for better.

3. Built-In Thesaurus

ProWritingAid has some tools to help writers break out of their writer’s block.

One of these tools is the built-in thesaurus, which provides synonyms for a word you select out of the piece.

This tool helps give you another direction to go with your writing as well as offer inspiration for new ways to phrase things.

There is also the Word Explorer feature that lets you explore words based on category or emotion within the program.

Browsing through these options can also give you something to get inspired by or assistance when you get stuck.

4. Support for Most Platforms

ProWritingAid integrates with many other tools.

Microsoft Word, Google Drive, Scrivener, and Google Chrome-based web browsers can integrate with ProWritingAid through the web application or browser extension.

For other platforms, you can download the standalone program and copy your writing into its text field.

This allows you to make edits and receive suggestions for your writing regardless of where you do your work.

When you finish, exporting the revised writing can be done with another copy and paste, or you can export the writing as a file to send off elsewhere.

5. Extensive Writing Reports

ProWritingAid has more than 20 different types of reports it can give of your writing from within the premium version of the program.

These reports all offer ways for you to improve your writing, such as visualizing average sentence length or variation in sentence structure.

The point of these reports is to give feedback on your writing and how it sounds to a reader.

Things like run-on sentences, cliches, and repetition can make your writing sound less professional than it is, hurting your message.

So, ProWritingAid’s writing reports point these out for you, offering a chance to revise.

Are There Any Minimum Requirements to Use ProWritingAid?

ProWritingAid won’t require a powerful computer to run.

The web application and browser extension work with almost any web browser and device.

For the standalone program, most modern computers and laptops will run ProWritingAid.

Beyond that, if your device can run Windows 7 or macOS X 10.8, you should be able to handle this software.

Something to keep in mind: ProWritingAid requires a constant online connection to do live editing for your documents.

So, without an Internet connection, you won’t be able to access most of what ProWritingAid has to offer.  

How Much Does ProWritingAid Cost?

ProWritingAid’s cost depends on how much you want to pay for a subscription, or if you want to buy the software outright.

The monthly cost of a ProWritingAid subscription can be between $6.67 and $20 per month, depending on if you get the yearly or monthly subscription respectively.

Otherwise, you can spend $399 upfront to get access to the software for life.

Does ProWritingAid Have an Enterprise Version Available?

ProWritingAid has business and enterprise versions available.

These versions let you create style guides, review other team members’ works, and opt into hosting options for data storage.

ProWritingAid Promotions and Services

ProWritingAid does have some promotions and deals you can check out if you decide to get this software:

Does ProWritingAid Have a Free Trial?

ProWritingAid has a 14-day free trial for its premium version.

Users can choose one of the program integrations they offer for popular writing software that allows you to use all of the premium features to review your writing.

Does ProWritingAid Offer Coupon Codes?

Some coupon codes exist out there for ProWritingAid.

These codes go under review sometimes, so check to see if an offer is still valid before relying on it during checkout.

Does ProWritingAid Have a Lifetime Deal?

ProWritingAid lets users buy their software for a lifetime by paying a one-time fee of $399.

This gives users access to the software as it is now and access to updates that roll out in the future.

Who Are ProWritingAid’s Main Alternatives?

ProWritingAid isn’t the only writing assistant out there.

Here are some of its competitors and how ProWritingAid stacks up against them:

1. Ginger Software

Ginger Software is a writing assistant that comes with the ability to translate text across 40 different languages.

This makes Ginger Software great for translation work or writing projects that need translating.

However, Ginger Software doesn’t have as many revision tools as ProWritingAid, such as the style reviews and other similar writing reports.

2. Grammarly

Grammarly is another well-known writing assistant for the general market.

While Grammarly has some pros over ProWritingAid, such as a mobile app and a faster response time, Grammarly is more expensive, and does not have a lifetime access option for its premium features.

3. White Smoke

White Smoke, another general-use writing assistant, integrates with more web browsers, including the lesser-used Opera browser.

It can catch many of the spelling and grammar mistakes ProWritingAid does.

The problem is that White Smoke is more expensive and doesn’t offer a lifetime access option.

Also, the responsiveness of the web application can feel slow at times.

The UI also doesn’t hold up to its more modern counterparts.

How Does ProWritingAid Differentiate Themselves From Competitors?

ProWritingAid offers a wide range of analysis and reporting tools to help writers improve their writing.

It doesn’t focus on any subset of writing, allowing writers to determine what value they get from ProWritingAid’s reports and how important its suggestions are to their field or project.

Who is ProWritingAid For?

ProWritingAid is for anyone looking to improve their writing.

With the various ways that ProWritingAid can make suggestions and provide feedback, having this tool is like having a general editor available.

Why is ProWritingAid Good for Business?

ProWritingAid is particularly great for business writing.

Between the options available in the enterprise version of the software and the reports, business writers can be sure they are getting their message across in a way that is professional and on-brand.

What Features Do Some Users Love?

These are the two features most folks love about ProWritingAid:

Updated Editing Tools

ProWritingAid often has the most up-to-date editing tools and English vocabulary recognition of the general-use writing assistants.

This fact means that ProWritingAid can recognize new slang or business names before others, giving writers a way to edit around these new terms without having to add them themselves.

Availability

ProWritingAid works on most platforms thanks to its web application and support for Windows and macOS computers.

They also have integrations or plugins for dozens of text editors, online tools like Google Docs, and even help desk and marketing software in the enterprise versions.

What Features Do Some Users Find Frustrating?

ProWritingAid isn’t perfect, though.

Some of the weak points to using this tool include:

Lag With Large Files

Uploading large files into ProWritingAid causes the whole thing to slow down.

While it works well with pieces using up to a few thousand words, documents with dozens of pages of text will cause the program to slow down.

You can get around this by going one section at a time.

However, doing so means you won’t get reports for the entire piece together.

Plagiarism Checker

While ProWritingAid has a plagiarism checker option, users have to pay a fee for this feature, with these prices:

• $10 for 10 checks
• $40 for 100 checks
• $120 for 500 checks
• $200 for 1000 checks

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to some of the frequently asked questions out there about ProWritingAid and its services:

Wrapping Up

ProWritingAid is a great tool to help writers improve their work.

The reporting system and its over 20 reporting tools gives writers ways to see how they can tailor their writing to get their message out.

We recommend checking out ProWritingAid and seeing if the program can help you.

Also, if you have used ProWritingAid before, leave a review in the review section!

Feedback from other users helps us and your fellow writers understand how products change and improve over time.

By Brett Helling

Brett has been starting, growing, and monetizing websites since 2014. While in college, he began to learn about digital marketing. After graduating, he continued to build a diverse portfolio of websites while working a full time job. After years of building the portfolio on the side, he made the jump to run his websites full time.