# Reply anyone know of a CHEAP spell/grammar/puncuation checking program? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921 "2019-03-11T01:31:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921/1 "2019-03-11T01:31:14Z")
since this is about writing tools i thought id put this here feel free to move if in the wrong spot i have the free version of grammerly but the part i really need to use is paywalled for 29.99 a month … thats too much to pay for the tiny bit of writing id use it for … Anyone know of a cheaper app or full program out there? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921/2 "2019-03-11T13:16:13Z")
What have you tried??? A search for “alternatives to grammarly” (ahem) returns lots of hits. So, for example, is [GrammarLookup.com](http://GrammarLookup.com) good or bad for your purposes? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921/3 "2019-03-11T18:34:26Z")
Microsoft Word is my go-to but I don’t think it would really qualify as cheap – it’s free for me at work. There are suites out there that compete with Office. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921/4 "2019-03-11T18:40:26Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > i have the free version of grammerly but the part i really need to use is paywalled for 29.99 a month So what’s the feature that you need that’s not in the free version? I think knowing that will make it easier for people to recommend a program. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921/5 "2019-03-11T18:43:57Z")
OpenOffice Writer? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921/6 "2019-03-12T02:01:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So what’s the feature that you need that’s not in the free version? I think knowing that will make it easier for people to recommend a program. Please oh please let it be capitalization, punctuation, and spelling… ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921/7 "2019-03-12T07:31:45Z")
well, a lot of the links I checked out gave a free trial or a basic spell check and then led back to Grammarly … ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reply-anyone-know-of-a-cheap-spell-grammar-puncuation-checking-program/830921/8 "2019-03-12T16:02:57Z")
I would suggest LibreOffice. Its basically OpenOffice but it is updated still and is very current. I’m not sure what you are needing specifically, but it will automatically spell check things for you and give you the grammar errors underlined in blue squiggly lines that others can do. Its also attractively priced at _free_. Its basically a Microsoft Office suite that is free. You get all of the goodies. [https://www.libreoffice.org/](https://www.libreoffice.org/)