7 Best Free Online Punctuation Checker And Corrector Tools: Picked By A Freelance Writer

As a freelance writer, I know the importance of eliminating punctuation errors and other grammar issues from your writing. In fact, I even wrote a post on how poor grammar can affect your credibility.

A big part of eliminating those mistakes is proofreading your own work. But there are now a bunch of great online punctuation checker tools that you can also use to catch most of the mistakes before you give your content its final human proofread.

In this post, I’ve collected some of the best online punctuation corrector tools. These tools will catch comma errors and all the other common stylistic issues you’re likely to accidentally include in your writing.

I’ll start with my favorite – and the one that I use every day – then, I’ll get into some great alternatives. For each tool, I’ll share a screenshot of the tool checking this post so that you know what it looks like!

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is probably one of the most well-known free grammar and punctuation checker tools. And it’s also the one that I use for my own writing (including this very post), so that’s why it gets the first spot on this list.

Grammarly has both a free and a paid version. But for most basic punctuation issues, the free version is great. If you want more advanced stylistic issues, the pro version can catch a lot of additional stuff. though.

In total, Grammarly can help you catch 250 different writing errors. I bet you didn’t even know that you could make that many mistakes!

One of the really great things about Grammarly is that it offers browser extensions for all the popular web browsers. With these extensions, you can have Grammarly automatically check the content that you type into most text boxes on the web. That includes the WordPress editor, Facebook posts, emails…you name it!

If you’re using Microsoft Office, you can even download a free extension that gives you Grammarly inside Microsoft Word. I exclusively use Google Docs, so I haven’t tried this specific add-on personally. But I imagine it works pretty great given my experience with Grammarly’s browser extension.

Go To Grammarly

2. Ginger

Ginger is another popular punctuation checker that you’ll encounter on the Internet. After comparing Grammarly vs Ginger, I opted to stick with Grammarly as my main tool. But I know that Ginger has tons of happy users, so the difference definitely isn’t huge.

Ginger is an online comma checker, sentence rephraser, and writing trainer all built into one tool.

Like Grammarly, you can add to your browser via an extension. And you can also download actual programs for Windows or Mac. Ginger even has an Android keyboard that you can use on your phone, which makes it very convenient to use no matter what device you’re on.

*the online version of Ginger limits the amount of text you can add. You’ll need to download the free program if you want to check unlimited text for errors.

Go To Ginger

3. After The Deadline / Polish My Writing

After The Deadline had to make this list because it’s from Automattic, who is the same company behind WordPress.com. Because I’m a full-time WordPress writer, I can’t resist the opportunity to promote products that are connected to the WordPress universe.

While part of the reason that Automattic developed After The Deadline is to use it for WordPress.com sites and in the Jetpack plugin, it’s also a standalone service that you can take advantage of for your own writing at the Polish My Writing site.

One of the especially nice things about this specific punctuation corrector is that it doesn’t require you to register an account in order to use the service. You can just go straight to Polish My Writing, paste in your text, and quickly see all the errors.

If desired, you can also get it as an extension for Chrome and Firefox, as well as a few other methods.

Go To After The Deadline

4. WhiteSmoke

WhiteSmoke is a powerful tool that checks for grammar, punctuation, style issues, and plagiarism.

Unfortunately, to get access to all of those features, it’s a paid service. But don’t you worry!

I said this post was about free punctuation checker tools and I meant it.

WhiteSmoke offers a free trial that lets you use the tool for a time without paying. Yes, it won’t be forever. But if you have a deadline looming and just need a free grammar check right now, WhiteSmoke’s free trial can get you access to a whole bunch of powerful writing checks without you needing to crack open your wallet.

Go To WhiteSmoke

5. Virtual Writing Tutor

Virtual Writing Tutor isn’t as high-powered as something like Grammarly or Ginger. But if you’re just looking for a functional online comma checker tool or something that can look for other basic issues, it’s a good option. It’s also a good comma splice checker if you find yourself frequently making that stylistic error.

Also, it’s nice because, like After The Deadline, you can use Virtual Writing Tutor without needing to sign up for an account.

You just paste in your text and get it analyzed right there.

With that being said, you can check up to 500 words at a time as an anonymous visitor. If you need to check more words, you can register and they’ll up your allowance to 3,000 words at a time, which should be enough for all but the longest papers!

Go To Virtual Writing Tutor

6. Gregory’s Writing Site Punctuation Checker

Ok, this one is pretty basic. But if all you want to do is analyze your writing for punctuation use, it’s a neat tool. It doesn’t really find errors – but it analyzes your text for stylistic punctuation usage.

To overcome its basic punctuation checks, this tool has one big thing going for it:

You can paste in up to 10,000 words for free without registering an account.

So if you just want to do a quick check and don’t want the hassle of signing up for a service, this one can be a solid option.

Go To Gregory’s Writing Site Punctuation Checker

7. Hemingway Editor

I hesitated to put Hemingway Editor on this list because it’s not really a true punctuation corrector – it’s more of a style tool. But, like Grammarly, it’s one of the go-to tools in my toolbelt as a freelance writer, so I thought that I would throw it on at the end.

If you’ve already used one of these other tools to check for basic issues like misplaced commas, then you can use Hemingway as a secondary check to help make your writing better, not just error-free.

Hemingway is 100% free and doesn’t require an account – just paste in your text and enjoy the analysis!

Go To Hemingway

Make Your Writing Better With These Tools

None of these tools can 100% replace human proofreading. But they can catch most basic punctuation issues.

Again, my overall recommendation, and the tool that I use every day, is Grammarly. It’s free, does a great job catching errors, and you can easily add it to your web browser or Microsoft Word.

All the other tools are good in their own right, though. And if you want to be really thorough, you can even use multiple tools to make sure you catch every single issue!

Have any questions about these tools? Or have you found another great online punctuation checker tool? Leave a comment and share it with everyone else!

Colin Newcomer

Colin Newcomer is a freelance writer for hire with a background in SEO and affiliate marketing. He helps clients grow their web visibility by writing primarily about digital marketing, WordPress, and B2B topics.