When we speak, those around us understand what we say easily. Do you know why? Because we take a pause or alter the tone where necessary.
In the same fashion, for readers to understand your content, you need to know how to change the writing tone. And how do you do that? By using the correct punctuation marks.
Proper punctuation helps you to convey the correct meaning to your audience. And when people understand your writing, they can keep reading and take any action you ask them to.
As a student, teacher, writer, or business professional, punctuation is vital in any writing. Detecting punctuation issues manually can take longer, especially for lengthy documents. That’s where punctuation checking apps come in.
To ensure your grammar is spot on, I have compiled useful punctuation checkers you can use.
The best part? They are all free.
Free Punctuation Checking Apps
1. Grammarly
Grammarly is a popular app for checking grammar in any writing type. The application highlights any erroneously placed commas, periods, semicolons, and apostrophes to let you place them in the right place within a sentence.
The application may underline an entire paragraph as a running sentence. When you see this, don’t rush to delete or rewrite all the words underlined. Instead, try to read the sentence and look for the right places to add punctuation.
It might surprise you to notice that adding only two commas and a period makes the sentence correct. What I like about Grammarly is its ability to analyze grammatical errors and not disturb the writing style.
But that’s not all. Grammarly also gives you a score as you keep correcting the highlighted errors. In addition to checking for punctuation and other grammar-related errors, you can also enable the plagiarism checker in this app to determine the content’s originality.
Fixing grammar, spellings, style, tone is no more a task. Grammarly does it all at the click of a button. For smooth writing and brilliant communication, trust Grammarly!
Grammarly’s free version lets you check for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You can paste the content on their platform or install the Grammarly for Chrome extension that allows you to fix errors in Google Docs, email, WordPress, Facebook, and other platforms.
Install it today to start checking your content for over 250 punctuation and grammar errors.
2. QuillBot
QuillBot is an effective punctuation checker that anyone can use to correct punctuation errors in record time. What excites me about this tool is that once you paste your text into it, it analyzes the errors quickly and highlights them in red. When you click on the highlighted part, the correct version appears.
In the bottom left section, you will see the number of errors to correct alongside the total number of words of the content pasted. At the middle center, there’s a green button you can click to fix all the errors automatically. The other alternative is to go through the text and fix one error at a time. I prefer the latter.
Quillbot's accurately designed AI helps to paraphrase your text in a matter of seconds. Used by millions of writers, students and professionals worldwide, Quillbot is the tool to consider for your paraphrasing needs.
To the far right of the bottom section, there are three buttons for copying, exporting, and paraphrasing text. The upper section’s middle features the undo and redo symbols, content format (paragraph, headings, blocks, inline, and align). Next, we have the bold, italics, underline, and alignment options.
Besides, if you want to delete the text from the app, simply click the delete icon located in the upper right-hand corner.
When this app flags punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors, it visually brings these mistakes to your attention. Ultimately, you learn to avoid the errors, growing into a more refined, compelling writer.
QuillBot’s grammar checker is completely free; you won’t be asked to sign up or make any payment.
Explore the best alternatives to Quillbot.
3. Writer
Writer’s free online punctuation checking tool lets you correct issues in punctuation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and more. The platform’s advanced writing assistant is AI-powered to thoroughly scan your text to ensure the content is error-free, well written, and with correct punctuation.
Teachers, students, writers, professionals, and companies will find this tool valuable.
As soon as you paste your text into this tool, it quickly scans and underlines the errors in pink. On the right-hand side, the application displays the total number of issues in the text. Below that, you’ll see specific errors and their correct version.
In some way, Writer works like Grammarly, so if you have used Grammarly before, you will find this app’s interface familiar to work with.
Pasting content in Writer’s punctuation checker each time might be tedious for those of us who prefer working and collaborating via Google Docs. That’s why there’s the Writer extension for Google Docs to make editing directly through Google Docs a breeze.
The free version lets you check and correct punctuation, grammar, spelling, and autocorrect errors. You enjoy data privacy and security as well.
4. Sentence Checkup
The application is easy to use; you don’t need to sign up or install a Chrome extension. Simply head over to the platform, paste the text, click checkup, and all the possible grammar issues will be highlighted.
Other than its simplicity, you’ll love this punctuation checker for its ability to check for sentence fragments and sentence structure. You simply need to hover over each highlighted section to see many suggestions to fix the error.
My most preferred feature in this tool is the run-on sentence checker. The most common run-on sentence issue that Sentence Checkup detects is the use of the comma splice. For example, if one comma connects two sentences, the meaning can be confusing.
That’s where Sentence Checkup comes in to fix the error by providing suggestions, such as a semicolon, period, or comma with subordinating conjunction or coordinating conjunction.
Also Read: Can Turnitin Detect Quillbot?
5. AutoCrit
AutoCrit is another free but powerful punctuation checker. It’s designed mostly for fiction writers. So, if you are writing a novel and would like to proofread it, this tool might do the trick.
You start by choosing your genre and follow steps alongside interactive suggestions to improve the manuscript based on what appeals to real readers. In addition to fixing punctuation errors, the tool lets you eliminate filler, fine-tune the writing tone, and perfect your pacing by simply clicking a button.
The Free Forever plan has everything you need to polish your text. It comes with a free grammar and spelling checker and lets you edit the content of any word count, whether 1000 or 50,000 words. You can upload a text file or type it from scratch before you start editing it.
Once your text is ready, AutoCrit’s user interface is pretty intuitive. There are various editing tools at the top of the page to go with, including grammar, repetition, strong writing, dialogue, pacing and momentum, word choice, readability, and combination. You can click on each of these options to check your text.
On the left-hand side, there are several useful tools, such as Jump to Chapter, Thesaurus, Export, Email, or Print, Save or Save As, Text Reader, Bold, Italic, Clear Text, and Share on Facebook or Twitter. Signing up is free and easy; you need a Google or Facebook account to join.
6. ProWritingAid
This app is popularly used for punctuation checking. You can also check for passive voice, emotion tells, consecutive sentences starting with the same word, hidden verbs, subordinate clauses, adverbs, and more.
The platform’s interface is easy to navigate. To check text for punctuation, paste it on the website and click on the Grammar tool at the top. This action prompts ProWritingAid to underline all grammatical errors in the document.
For example, I pasted a couple of random sentences, and it quickly underlined some words and phrases. When I hovered over the underlined sections, the app showed me the mistakes along with recommendations of what to do to fix them.
Now take your writing to the next level. ProWritingAid offers a robust grammar tool together with an easy to use style-editor, reports, articles, videos, quizzes and more!
The left pane displays a summary of the issues found in the document, including the number of grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes in the text.
The app’s free version allows you to use most of the tools, including the grammar and style tools. In other words, you can still check for punctuation without going premium. Remember, you need to sign up and click on the confirmation link in the email to start using the free version. Further, the free version lets you check up to 500 words of your text.
The other tools available in this tool include Thesaurus, Overused words, Repeats, Readability, Cliches, Diction, Transition, Echoes, and more. You can also use the settings to switch between General English, U.S. English, Australian English, and Canadian English.
7. Readable
So far, this is the punctuation checker that I noticed shows punctuation and other grammatical errors automatically. After pasting the text, you don’t have to wait at all to see the underlined issues.
Other than checking grammar issues, this tool also checks for readability. It displays different readability scores based on diverse methods. For example, it provides the Gunning Fox Index score that’s relevant for business and professional content.
It also shows the Flesch Reading Ease score that’s useful among government agencies and other organizations. The closer this score is to 100, the more readable the text. I also saw the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, which is up to 10.
More importantly, this tool displays the readability issues, such as the number of long sentences that need shortening.
8. Ginger
Ginger is one of the most widely used punctuation checking software. Besides checking and correcting punctuation errors, this tool can also correct spelling, typos, misused words, and phonetic mistakes based on your sentence’s context.
Ginger automatically detects punctuation mistakes, allowing you to produce flawless content. Its patented technology enables the correction of any kind of mistake, including those errors that were overlooked by spell checkers.
Its free plan features terminology management, smart spell, and grammar checks, sentence rephrasing, proofreading while typing, style check, personalized practice sessions, and more.
Punctuation correction with Ginger is just a click away. This tool can find both standard and complex punctuation mistakes and correct them instantly.
If you aren’t an English speaker, Ginger will personally teach you grammar, active and passive patterns, punctuation rules, and more. Even if you’re a native English speaker, you can still learn a lot with this tool.
It also acts as a translator that supports more than 40 different languages. It will help you translate your content into a language of your choice with 100% satisfactory results.
You can use this software as a Windows app, browser add-on, iOS/Android app, or use it directly by pasting your work on their site. It’s also easy to integrate on MS Word or Outlook.
Ginger is free, but if you need additional features, you can subscribe to its paid plans.
9. PaperRater
PaperRater punctuation checker helps you perfect your writing by checking content for possible punctuation mistakes. It detects and corrects punctuation, spelling, grammar, and style errors automatically. Besides punctuation, the tool will also check your writing thoroughly for duplicated content.
PaperRater is pretty simple to use. All you have to do is copy-paste your work in the editor provided and click “Get Report”. You also have the option to upload your document to the editor.
PaperRater allows you to view detailed stats about punctuation, spelling, word choice, grammar, and more. Your work will be analyzed in real-time.
Once your work’s analysis is done, this app grades your writing ability based on your wording, punctuation, grammatical, and spelling mistakes. This way, you’ll get to identify areas of improvement, and in the future, you can write error-free content. In PaperRater, you get to select the document type in order to get an accurate grade score.
Paper Tater has a free tool but also has a premium plan.
10. Grammar Lookup
Grammar Lookup is a very simple and straightforward punctuation checker app. It offers quick punctuation, semicolon, and colon checks. When you paste your content on the editor, the punctuation and spelling errors will be underlined in blue.
This free online punctuation tool also checks for phrasing errors and sentence improvements. If found, they’ll be underlined in red. You can use Grammar Lookup for punctuation checks, spell checks, and comma checks. It utilizes artificial intelligence to detect punctuation, style, spelling, and grammar mistakes in your content.
To use Grammar Lookup, copy-paste your work in the editor and click the Lookup button. It will highlight the errors and offer suggestions for each. All you need is to hover the mouse over each word and click on the correct option.
Grammar Lookup doesn’t just detect grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes; it also suggests corrections for sentences that are grammatically incorrect, helping you to deliver easy-to-read content.
Whether it’s a business proposal, academic assignment, content with technical jargon, this software will check them all. It also has a Deep Lookup button that offers a thorough check of your article for grammatical errors using Grammarly.
11. LanguageTool
LanguageTool is an effective open source punctuation checker that supports English and 20 other different languages. It’s available as an add-on for Firefox and Chrome browsers, LibreOffice and Google Docs. It also has a web version and desktop application.
LanguageTool also performs spell checks, grammar checks, redundancy checks, and multilingual proofreading too. You can download LanguageTool from GitHub or its official site and modify the source code to your liking.
Otherwise, this punctuation software requires no installation. You can carry out your punctuation checks online without a glitch. Since it’s multilingual, you can use this writing assistant to edit content in different languages, including Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, and French.
The free plan features basic punctuation, style and grammar checking, distraction-free writing experience, quality grading of your work, and a personal dictionary. You also get to access more suggestions. With LanguageTool, you can proofread, correct the document style and tone, customize the dictionary, and save documents in your personal cloud.
It comes with a free plan and paid plan.
12. Spell Check24
Spell Check 24 is a free online punctuation checking software with an intuitive interface and excellent checking speeds. This tool supports multilingual proofreading in six English dialects and Russian, Italiano, and Spanish languages.
In order to correct punctuation errors in your document, Spell Check 24 uses contextual spell checking to understand your document type and niche.
The software provides readability, word density, filler word, and text analyses reports, including the scores. These metrics are essential, especially if you’re optimizing your content for search engines.
You can also print your content directly from the Spell Check24 site or create PDFs from your articles. Spell Check24 also allows you to save and load your work from the cloud.
It offers a free plan and a premium plan.
13. Scribens
Scribens is another free punctuation checker to use when checking text for punctuation mistakes. It also checks for spelling, style, and grammar errors. This tool is supported by sophisticated syntaxical recognition algorithms to help you check for spelling, punctuation, style, grammar errors, and other 250+ spelling mistakes in your article.
If need be, you can change your editor settings to US English or British English vocabulary. You also have the option to autocorrect text or check and fix the unknown proper nouns manually.
Just copy-paste your work into the editor and click “Check” to start punctuating your work. The tool will highlight the errors and show suggestions needed to refine your content. Scribens also allows you to select the correct font size to use instead of changing it over and over during editing.
Its interface is simple to navigate and use. You’ll easily spot the features and button functions. Some of the notable features in its free plan include punctuation, spelling and grammar corrections, optimized proofreading, subjectivity and rephrasing, vocabulary enhancement, no word limit, access to dictionaries, and more.
Scribens comes with a free and paid plan.
14. Virtual Writing Tutor
Virtual Writing Tutor is an online platform used mainly by teachers and students. This punctuation checking tool offers easy access to a range of templates you can use for various write-ups.
To use it, paste your text in the available space and click “Check Punctuation”. The app will quickly and provide you with insightful feedback below the page. The feedback shows the word count, paragraph count, error count, and error density.
On top of that, it displays the actual errors made, error type, and suggestions.
While it checks essay punctuations, the tool will also look for grammar, plagiarism, vocabulary, and spelling errors. It has an ‘Essay Outliner’ feature that provides an outline to the essay according to its voice. Whether it’s an argument or opinion essay piece, Virtual Writing Tutor has an outline for it.
This software also has a paraphrasing checker that reviews paraphrased areas in your work to see if you did it right or not. You can use Virtual Writing Tutor to create cover letters, check your essays, and practice tests for IELTS.
Although its design looks basic, this software offers lots of editing options and some of the most advanced features.
Other resourceful functions performed by Virtual Writing Tour include academic and conversational vocabulary checking, Cliches and power tools checking, error correction game, grammar checking API service, and more.
15. Zoho Writer
Zoho Writer is an excellent online punctuation checker packed with rich features. This software is backed by machine learning and provides smart suggestions such as subject-verb agreement, context-aware suggestions like effect/affect, punctuation, and redundancy.
The smart, AI-powered writing assistant can track how you use clichés, adverbs, and passive sentences in your document. Zoho Writer has a powerful word processor that helps you create well-punctuated, professional documents for any purpose.
When you paste your content on Zoho Writer, it will check for wordy phrases, improper word choice, spelling, punctuation, writing quality, polysyllabic words, run-on sentences, document style, and more.
It will then conduct a readability analysis and help you improve your writing quality. The Flesch-Kincaid index will determine your writing’s ease of readability and make suggestions on how to minimize its complexity and make it much more appealing.
You can use Zoho Writer to check your document or as a document writer tool like Google Docs for free.
Conclusion
Proper punctuation makes your content meaningful. These punctuation checker apps can be your companion when you need to polish your work and make it error-free.
You don’t want your audience to skim through your content hurriedly because of your punctuation mistakes.
While they are free, these tools are simple to use, with features that can make your articles stand out. Be sure to choose what suits you best and craft your content to the best of your ability.
Just make sure it grabs your audience’s attention or earns you the grades you are looking for.
Scott L. Macarthur is a marketing consultant and an online author. He is mostly engaged in providing his expertise to startups and SMBs. He is also an author on TheNextWeb.