A flexible online spelling checker takes your text in whatever form it comes: typed, pasted, a Word or PDF document, a scan, or a file behind a link. The Spell Checker does all of that on one page, so you learn one app instead of looking for a new one each time a text arrives in a different shape.
Why flexibility matters
Most people think they can spell almost everything. In truth, you can only spell the words you know how to spell. If you have misspelled a word your whole life, you will not notice it, and that is why a check helps on every text you send.
Your texts do not all look the same, though. One day it is a short email, the next a college essay in Word, a contract as a PDF, or a printed letter you only have on paper. A spell checker that handles just one of these sends you looking for another app, and learning it from scratch, the next time. It makes more sense to pick one that covers them all.
3 ways to get your text in
Type or paste
The page opens on a text box. Type into it, or paste text from an email, a message, or a web page. This is the quickest way for short texts: an important email, the letter for your holiday cards, or a college essay. Typed or pasted text can be up to 150,000 characters long.
Open a document
For a longer text, open the file itself instead of copying it piece by piece. The Spell Checker reads these formats:
- Word (DOCX and DOC), OpenDocument (ODT), and RTF
- PDF, including scanned PDFs
- TXT, HTML, Markdown, and EPUB
- Photos and scans of pages: JPG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, BMP, and GIF
A page without a text layer, such as a scanned PDF or a photo of a printed letter, is read with text recognition (OCR) and then checked. A document can have up to 100 pages. It is checked page by page: page 1 shows its suggestions before page 2, so you can start correcting while the next pages are still being read.
Use a link or cloud storage
The file does not have to be on your computer. Choose Paste URL to open a document from a link, or pick it from your cloud storage. To check a web page you have already published, copy its text into the text box, or save the page as an HTML file and open that.
Flexible about language
A good spelling checker knows which English you write. Pick the language and its variant: English comes as American, British, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, or South African English. German comes for Germany, Austria, or Switzerland, and Portuguese for Portugal, Brazil, and more. French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and Polish are there too, and more than 30 languages in all.
You can also let the app detect the language. Detected English is checked as American English, though, so if you write colour and organise, choose British English yourself. British or American English? explains how to keep one variant from the first line to the last.
Flexible about how strict the check is
Not every text needs the same check. Leave Picky mode off when you only want the errors. Turn it on for a text that should read well, such as a cover letter, and the Spell Checker adds style suggestions: wordy phrases, words you repeat, and wording that could be simpler. These are suggestions, not mistakes, so take only the ones that fit.
The Spell Checker works with dictionaries and grammar rules. That makes it fast and predictable, and every mark comes with an explanation. Rules find it hard, though, to spot a real word in the wrong place, such as form where you meant from. The AI Spell Checker has an AI model read whole sentences, so it also catches those. It is used the same way, but its free use is limited, so keep it for the texts that matter most. Spell checker or AI spell checker compares the two.
Flexible about what you take away
When the check is done, you can edit the text in the result and press Check again after larger changes. Copy text takes the corrected text back to your email or editor. For a document, choose Download and pick PDF, DOCX, ODT, RTF, TXT, HTML, or Markdown. A Word or OpenDocument file downloaded in its own format keeps its formatting: you get the original file with each fix written into it. How to spell check a Word document online shows this step by step.
How to check any text, step by step
- Open the Spell Checker. It is free to use and needs no account.
- Type or paste your text, or open a document from your computer, a link, or cloud storage.
- Choose the language and its variant, or let the app detect it.
- Turn on Picky mode if you also want style suggestions.
- Press Check spelling. Each issue is underlined in the text and listed beside it as Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, or Style.
- Click an underline or a card, read the explanation, and pick a fix, or ignore a suggestion that is wrong for your text.
- For a name or a term that is correct, choose Add to dictionary. The word is kept in this browser only.
- Copy the text, or download the corrected document.
Whatever shape your next text comes in, the steps stay the same. When you are done, read it once more yourself: a check cannot tell whether a date or a name is the right one.