Compare Grammarly and A Fine Start: Which Extension is the Best?

Grammarly is a comprehensive writing assistant offering real-time grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style suggestions. With over 44 million users, it’s a trusted tool for enhancing your writing.
A Fine Start is a minimalistic new tab page extension for Chrome, offering a clean list of links, customizable themes, and optional syncing for a streamlined browsing experience.
Key Features
  • Grammar Checker: Detects and corrects grammatical errors.
  • Spelling Checker: Identifies and fixes spelling mistakes.
  • Punctuation Checker: Ensures proper punctuation usage.
  • Tone Detector: Analyzes the tone of your writing.
  • Auto-Citations: Generates citations for online sources.
  • Generative AI: Produces instant drafts, ideas, and replies.
  • Minimal Text Links: Presents links in a clean, simple list.
  • Groups: Organize links into customizable groups.
  • Drag-and-Drop Sorting: Easily rearrange links and groups.
  • Group Folding: Collapse groups to save space.
  • Dark Mode: Switch to a darker theme for low-light environments.
  • Multiple Themes: Choose from various themes to suit your style.
  • Restore Points: Save and restore your setup.
  • Optional Syncing Account: Sync bookmarks across devices with a premium account.
Our Rating
8.8
8.7
Total users
54,568,609
1,602
Total ratings
47,132
52
Average rating
4.2 ⭐
4.3 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.5
3.70
42.8K+ ratings
39.0M+Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.9
4.94
19 ratings
1.0K+Users
Edge
Microsoft Edge Store logo
3.9
3.69
1.1K+ ratings
14.9M+Users
Microsoft Edge Store logo
3.4
3.4
5 ratings
368Users
Firefox
Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store logo
4.1
4.15
3.2K+ ratings
663.7K+Users
Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store logo
4.6
4.65
28 ratings
234Users
Safari
-
-
Features
9.5

Grammarly goes beyond basic grammar and spelling checks. It offers advanced features like tone detection, vocabulary enhancement, and generative AI capabilities. Compared to competitors, Grammarly provides a more comprehensive set of tools, making it a valuable asset for any writer.

8.0

A Fine Start offers features for users looking for a minimalist approach to managing their new tab. Organizing links into groups and sorting them via drag-and-drop allows for a tidy and efficient workspace to stay focused. Some functions must first be activated in the settings. For example, groups can be collapsed to hide sections that are not needed at the moment. In addition, all pages from an entire group can be opened simultaneously with one click.

New Tab


The optional sync account, available with the premium subscription, is a valuable addition for users working with multiple devices and ensures that their bookmarks are always up to date. Overall, the feature set is designed for minimalism. However, we still see potential here for a few more minimalist functions, such as a simple note-taking option.

Performance
9.0

Grammarly performs well across different platforms, providing real-time suggestions without significant lag. The tool is reliable and helps improve writing efficiency.

9.7

In terms of performance, we did not notice any problems during the test. No slow loading times or anything similar were detected, even when opening groups with a high number of bookmarks, these were always opened immediately. Overall, A Fine Start offered impressive performance here.

Design
8.5

The design is clean and intuitive, making it easy to navigate. The color-coded underlines for suggestions are helpful, and the interface is user-friendly. However, some users might find the pop-ups slightly intrusive.

8.2

The design of A Fine Start is characterized by a clean and minimalist aesthetic that emphasizes focused work. The design is very intuitive and you can choose from basic themes, including dark mode. From our point of view, even though the design is meant to be minimalistic, it could be a little more customizable for the user. For example, it would be handy if you could move the groups around the website flexibly, as they can currently only be moved to certain predefined positions. A very rarely seen and positive aspect is a function in the settings. The extension offers the option of hiding the button for premium advertising and the footer on the New Tab page.

premium hide
Value for Money
8.5

While Grammarly offers a free version, the Premium plan is relatively expensive. However, the advanced features and comprehensive feedback justify the cost for those who need a robust writing assistant.

Grammarly is the priciest option for a reason—because, in our view, it's the best writing tool available in its category. If you're looking for the best writing assistant, go for the Premium plan, you won't regret it!

8.7

A Fine Start offers all functions in the free version, only the cross-device synchronization is an added value of the premium subscription. For most users, the price-performance ratio of the free version is therefore perfect. However, users for whom synchronization is important may wonder whether just this one function is worth the cost of the premium model. There is still potential here to include other minimalist functions such as those offered by competitors to offer even more added value.

Ease of Use
9.0

Grammarly is straightforward to use, with a minimal learning curve. The browser extension integrates seamlessly with various platforms like Google Docs and Gmail, allowing you to get started right away.

8.3

A Fine Start offers a straightforward setup process. The drag-and-drop functionality for organizing links is intuitive, allowing users to quickly rearrange their bookmarks to suit their needs. Setting up the required bookmarks initially takes a little time, and a function for transferring bookmarks already in the browser could simplify the whole process. The additional functions that are initially somewhat hidden in the settings may also not be found directly by all users.

settings features

Overall, the existing functions and the setup are easy to use, but there is still room for improvement.

Security & Privacy
8.0

Grammarly takes privacy seriously, with stringent security measures in place. While an account is required, the company assures users that their data is not sold or made public. However, some users may still have concerns about data processing.

9.5

A Fine Start attaches great importance to security and data protection. The extension collects only minimal personal data and focuses only on what is necessary for the core functions. The privacy policy is transparent and makes it clear that data is not sold to third parties. The optional premium subscription requires an account, otherwise, not even an account is needed.

Conclusion

In our eyes, Grammarly is the best choice for anyone who wants to write professional articles or other things in English.

Even though Grammarly has an expensice price tag, you can't get anything better on the market. We have been using Grammarly for a long time now. And even in the world of ChatGPT and other AI tools, Grammarly is just super handy and helpful. For us, the Premium plan is worth every penny.

This only applies as long as you are in the English-speaking world. If you need other languages, we would recommend LanguageTool instead.

A Fine Start is a well-designed tool for anyone who just wants to have their bookmarks sorted on their new tab page. Its focus on privacy and user-friendly features makes it a perfect choice in this area. While the free version offers a wealth of features, the premium subscription adds little value. Overall, A Fine Start is a good choice for users who want to stay focused and have a New Tab page without a lot of distractions.

Our Recommendation

In our comparison between Grammarly and A Fine Start, Grammarly came out on top, scoring 8.8.

Grammarly is the most widely used, with over 55 million users and 47k+ reviews—and it also delivered the strongest performance in our tests. User reviews reflect our findings.

Notably, A Fine Start has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.32, which supports its strong performance in our review.

In the end, the differences between these extensions are minimal, so your choice may come down to personal preference or specific features.


  • Looking for the richest feature set? Grammarly stands out with a rating of 9.5. On the other hand, A Fine Start lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.
  • Need top performance? A Fine Start stands out with a rating of 9.7. On the other hand, Grammarly lags behind in this area with a rating of 9.
  • Design lovers, take note: Grammarly stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, A Fine Start lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.2.
  • Want to get the most for your money? A Fine Start stands out with a rating of 8.7. On the other hand, Grammarly lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.5.
  • If you hate complicated tools, Grammarly stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, A Fine Start lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.3.
  • With privacy and security becoming ever more important, A Fine Start stands out with a rating of 9.5. On the other hand, Grammarly lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.

If you want a quick recommendation, Grammarly is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.