7 Best Writing Tools 2023 (50 Author Tools for Writers Rated)

by Chris Von Wilpert • Last updated May 28, 2023

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Today there are 157 different writing tools. We spent 87 hours comparing the top 50 to find the seven best you can use to streamline your writing process.

What is the Best Writing Tool?

  1. Jasper — best of the best
  2. ProWritingAid — best for authors and professional writers
  3. Grammarly — best for grammar checks
  4. Scrivener — best for novels
  5. Airstory — best for research-heavy writing
  6. Evernote — best for note-taking
  7. ConvertKit — best for email marketing

Our Verdict — Best Of The Best

Price: Starts at $49/month

Jasper is a fantastic AI-powered writing assistant. We think it’s the best because of its state-of-the-art AI technology, intuitive organization and outlining features, and user-friendly writing interface.

The Best Part:

  • It writes for you. Jasper's AI-powered suggestions generate creative ideas and phrases to help you overcome writer’s block.

The Worst Part:

  • Limited formatting options. Jasper might not have all the bells and whistles when it comes to document formatting.

Get it if you want a reliable AI writing assistant to help you polish your work and overcome writer’s block.

I recommend you start with the 7-day free trial, then get the Creator plan for $49/month.

(7-day free trial)

Best For

Jasper is best for writers who want a user-friendly writing tool to efficiently streamline their work.

Top Features

  • Make it your writing twin. Show Jasper your writing voice and watch it mimic your style like a mirror.

  • Ditch the editor fees. Jasper's AI-powered rewrite feature breathes new life into your sentences, transforming them into clearer and more engaging prose.

  • Write with a clear head. Organize your thoughts and ideas with Jasper's comprehensive outlining features.

  • A tidy writer's paradise. Juggle multiple projects like a boss with Jasper's slick document management features.

  • A picture is worth a thousand words. Add that extra flair to your writing with Jasper Art’s AI-generated images.

Pricing

Jasper offers three pricing plans:

  • Creator: $49/month for writers who want to harness the power of generative AI to automate their writing and editing in their own unique brand voice.
  • Teams: $125/month for writers who want to generate, create, and repurpose content for multiple campaigns or audiences, with up to three unique brand voices.
  • Business: Custom pricing, for businesses and organizations that need a secure, scalable, and customizable AI writing tool to create unlimited custom brand voices and align their team with content goals.

Annual plans provide a 20% discount.

Try Jasper today with a free 7-day trial.

Our Verdict — Best For Authors And Professional Writers

Price: Starts at $30/month

ProWritingAid is a powerful writing assistant with robust editing tools. We think it’s the best for authors and professional writers because of its real-time grammar and style checking, extensive reporting capabilities, and sleek writing interface.

The Best Part:

  • It’s your personal writing coach. ProWritingAid offers 20+ in-depth reports on your writing style, analyzing repetitiveness, vague wording, passive voice, and much more to help you develop as an author.

The Worst Part:

  • Overwhelming number of reports. ProWritingAid's boatload of reports can feel overwhelming for new users, making it tricky to find your way around.

Get it if you want a comprehensive writing assistant that helps you develop as an author with tailored suggestions and in-depth analyses.

I recommend you start with the Free plan to test the waters, then upgrade to the Premium plan for $30/month.

(free plan)

Best For

ProWritingAid is best for authors and professional writers who want to create clean, error-free content.

Top Features

  • Keep your voice consistent. Create personalized style guides and dictionaries for yourself or your team to keep a unified writing style across all your projects.

  • Pick the best words. Use ProWritingAid’s built-in Word Explorer and contextual thesaurus to find just the right words for your message, without even leaving your document.

  • Edit anywhere, anytime. Keep your writing polished on sites like Twitter, Medium, and Wattpad with ProWritingAid's handy browser extensions.

  • Grow as a writer. Sharpen your skills with ProWritingAid's in-app suggestions, quizzes, and videos as you pen your masterpiece.

  • Harness the power of style. Boost your writing style and strength with ProWritingAid's hand-coded rules from expert copy editors.

Pricing

ProWritingAid offers four pricing plans:

  • Free: Free forever, for writers who want to take ProWritingAid for a spin and get basic writing suggestions, for up to 500 words.
  • Monthly Premium: $30/month for authors and professional writers who want unlimited word count, analyses, and advanced style improvements.
  • Yearly Premium: $120/year for authors and professional writers who want all the features of the Monthly Premium plan but prefer a cost-effective, annual billing option.
  • Lifetime Premium: $399 one-time payment, for authors and professional writers who want to unlock the full power of ProWritingAid without worrying about recurring payments.

The annual plan provides a 67% discount.

Try ProWritingAid today with the free plan.

Our Verdict — Best For Grammar Checks

Price: Starts at $30/month

Grammarly is a top-notch writing tool specialized in improving grammar, punctuation, and style. We think it’s the best for grammar checks because of its real-time grammar corrections, top-notch readability features, and tailored writing insights.

The Best Part:

  • It's a grammar lifesaver. Grammarly catches those small grammar errors that often slip past the human eye, making your writing more polished and professional.

The Worst Part:

  • Occasionally misses context. Grammarly sometimes might misunderstand the context of your sentence, leading to incorrect suggestions.

Get it if you want spot-on grammar edits and practical writing suggestions that'll make even the toughest English teachers proud.

I recommend you start with the Free plan to test the waters, then get the Quarterly plan for $60/three months.

(free plan)

Best For

Grammarly is best for students, professionals, and writers who want an extra pair of eyes on their writing and grammar.

Top Features

  • Keep it original. Effortlessly spot plagiarism in your work and make sure your writing stays as unique as you are.

  • Get personalized style tips. Get customized style suggestions based on your target tone and audience, so your writing always hits the mark.

  • Wherever you may roam. Access Grammarly's browser extension, mobile app, and feature-packed desktop app to polish your writing anytime, anywhere.

  • Level up your writing skills. Learn from detailed explanations for suggested edits, such as fixing verb tense, punctuation, and word choice.

  • Keep your tone in check. Gauge the tone of your writing and receive feedback on how to convey the right emotions and attitude.

Pricing

Grammarly offers four pricing plans:

  • Monthly: $30/month for writers who want all premium Grammarly features for a month.
  • Quarterly: $60/quarter for writers who want a short-term commitment while accessing all premium Grammarly features.
  • Annual: $144/year for writers who want Grammarly’s full suite at a discounted yearly rate.
  • Grammarly Business: Starts at $45/month for teams who want centralizing billing, monitoring tools, and premium features for writing and editing their content.

The annual plan provides a 60% discount.

Try Grammarly today with the free plan.

Our Top Three Picks

Here’s a quick summary of our top three picks:

  1. Jasper — best of the best
  2. ProWritingAid — best for authors and professional writers
  3. Grammarly — best for grammar checks

Here’s a quick comparison of our top seven picks:

Tool

Entry Offer

Pricing

Jasper

7-day free trial

Starts at $49/mo

ProWritingAid

Free plan

Starts at $30/mo

Grammarly

Free plan

Starts at $30/mo

Scrivener

30-day free trial

Starts at $23.99

Airstory

7-day free trial

Starts at $25/mo

Evernote

Free plan

Starts at $14.99/mo

ConvertKit

Free plan

Starts at $15/mo

Here are the top 50 writing tools we considered in this review:

  1. Jasper
  2. ProWritingAid
  3. Grammarly
  4. Scrivener
  5. Airstory
  6. Evernote
  7. ConvertKit
  8. Microsoft Word
  9. Google Docs
  10. Hemingway Editor
  11. Final Draft
  12. Ulysses
  13. Write! App
  14. Trello
  15. Dragon Naturally Speaking
  16. FocusWriter
  17. WriteMonkey
  18. LibreOffice Writer
  19. Cold Turkey Writer
  20. Bear
  21. Quip
  22. Pages
  23. Typora
  24. Scapple
  25. Zoho Writer
  26. iA Writer
  27. Byword
  28. Reedsy
  29. Squibler
  30. Novlr
  31. Celtx
  32. WriteRoom
  33. Fade In
  34. Plottr
  35. WriteItNow
  36. WriteCheck
  37. Rough Draft
  38. Draft
  39. ZenPen
  40. MindMeister
  41. Coggle
  42. yWriter
  43. Manuskript
  44. Scrapple
  45. Dabble
  46. Storyist
  47. JotterPad
  48. StoryMill
  49. LivingWriter
  50. Day One

What is the most common writing tool?

The most common writing tool in this digital age is Google Docs. It is a cloud-based writing tool that allows for easy access, collaboration with fellow writers, and a wide range of basic and advanced features. Google Docs is preferred by a wide range of writers from students to seasoned writers because it offers a seamless writing experience. It has a variety of features such as real-time collaboration, autosave, revision history, and more.

For those focused on improving the quality of their writing, Grammarly is another commonly used tool. It is an online grammar checker and writing assistant that helps writers avoid grammar mistakes and enhance their sentence structure. Grammarly's key feature is its ability to provide real-time feedback and suggestions to improve the overall readability score of a piece of writing. It's available as a Chrome extension, making it easy to use during your writing sessions.

What is the best tool for a writer?

Deciding on the best tool for a writer largely depends on their specific needs, writing goals, and writing habits. However, one tool that stands out due to its advanced features and effectiveness is Jasper. Jasper is an AI-powered writing assistant designed to assist with a wide range of writing projects. It's the perfect tool for both fiction and nonfiction book writing.

Jasper offers a number of premium plans, each offering a wide range of features tailored to different types of writers. From providing story ideas to improving sentence structure, Jasper helps improve the writing process for both creative and professional writers. It also has organizational features that help streamline the process of working on multiple writing projects at once.

What tools are helpful when writing?

There are a multitude of tools that are helpful when writing, depending on the type of writing and the writer's individual needs. Google Docs and Google Sheets are often used for drafting and organizing ideas due to their ease of use and collaboration capabilities.

Grammarly is a favorite tool for many writers, as it helps with grammar and sentence structure, and provides a readability score. Hemingway Editor is another useful tool that provides insights into the complexity of sentences, helping writers simplify and clarify their work.

Jasper is a powerful AI tool that can help generate story ideas and improve sentence structure. For more advanced and specialized needs, ProWritingAid is a professional editor and writing coach in one, providing in-depth reports on writing style and potential improvements.

What is the coolest writing system?

The coolest writing system is arguably the AI-powered Jasper. Its advanced features make it a favorite writing tool among many. The system's ability to generate creative writing ideas, provide suggestions for improving sentence structure, and assist in the actual writing process gives it an edge over other writing tools.

Moreover, Jasper offers a distraction-free writing environment, which is essential for productive writing sessions. It also comes with an AI-powered rewrite feature that can transform pieces of writing into clearer and more engaging prose, reducing the need for a professional editor.

What free tools help in writing?

There are several free tools that can assist in the writing process. Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Search are commonly used for drafting, organizing, and researching respectively. They are part of Google's free online tools and are favored due to their collaborative features and accessibility across Windows, Mac, and Chrome browsers.

Grammarly also offers a basic plan that provides grammar and spelling checks. This helps writers to avoid common grammar mistakes and improve the readability of their pieces of content.

ProWritingAid provides a free plan as well, offering basic writing suggestions and reports for up to 500 words. This can be beneficial for writers looking to get feedback on their writing without any extra cost.

Finally, the Hemingway App is a free online editing tool that highlights complex sentences and common errors, making it an excellent tool for improving readability and clarity.

For organizing and note-taking, Evernote offers a basic free plan. This allows writers to keep their story ideas, research, and story elements in one place, thereby improving their writing productivity.

The Bottom Line

To recap, here are the best writing tools to try this year:

  1. Jasper — best of the best
  2. ProWritingAid — best for authors and professional writers
  3. Grammarly — best for grammar checks
  4. Scrivener — best for novels
  5. Airstory — best for research-heavy writing
  6. Evernote — best for note-taking
  7. ConvertKit — best for email marketing

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