Acrolinx is an authoring and content optimization tool that combines terminology management, grammar checking, and style checking. The key benefits of using an authoring system such as Acrolinx for your company are:
- Better customer experience of your content
- Fewer customer support calls
- Greater customer satisfaction
- Lower costs for copyediting and translation
- Fewer embarrassing errors in your documentation
- Faster time to market for your content
Acrolinx is intended to be enterprise software. As such, it can be very expensive and time-consuming to implement Acrolinx as your authoring tool. For many small businesses, this is impractical. If you are looking for a more flexible and easier-to-adopt tool, here are some alternatives for you to consider.
LogiTerm
LogiTerm is a solution for translators and terminologists to improve their productivity. Their main focus is the reduction of translation costs and their tools are specialized for those users. Compared to Acrolinx, it does not offer the broader capabilities of content improvement. Nevertheless, if you have another tool for your content optimization then this terminology software may be worth considering.
Unlike other translators, LogiTerm allows you to set some specific guidelines for your writing to ensure everything fits your company's style. It also builds a database, so you don't have to check multiple documents on your own. LogiTerm works inside of MS Office programs, which is convenient for many companies. It's still expensive, however. One year costs $875 CAN.
Finalyser Term Check
Finalyser is a workflow optimization tool. It checks scripts in your documents, and it is meant to enhance the uses of Adobe FrameMaker and InDesign. It also has a clipboard listener for other editors. Finalyser does include TermCheck to check your terminology use. The term-checking functionality works very well, but it doesn’t provide the grammar and style suggestions that are a part of Acrolinx. It also doesn't work with every program your company might be using. If you don't use Adobe products, it's not going to be helpful.
The full version runs €999 a year, with additional pricey add-ons.
HyperSTE
The closest program to Acrolinx is HyperSTE. It checks your document against technical rules for clarity and consistency with your company's voice. It gives you a report with an overview of errors.
HyperSTE claims to provide clarity and cost efficiency in technical documentation. It does this by allowing you to apply standard technical English (STE) to your content. It is available as an on-premises and as a SaaS (software as a service) offering. It helps ensure that your content complies with approved terminology and your corporate style guide.
The Basic plan works only with MS Word, and it costs $32.50 a month for one user. If you want to run HyperSTE on other or platforms or you have more users, you can get the Professional License for $82.50 per user per month. There is also enterprise pricing available on request.
AuthorDesk
This system claims to help you to minimize misunderstandings and translation costs for your technical documentation. It automatically suggests standard sentences and specified terms during editing. We have not been able to see a demonstration of this product, nor is any pricing available. AuthorDesk is a German program, and their site may not be navigable for English speakers.
ProWritingAid
While the other alternatives to Acrolinx may offer similar functionality to Acrolinx, none of them offer the full range of grammar checking, style improvement, and terminology management. Our own software, ProWritingAid, provides all this functionality. It's easy to use and offering a fair and flexible pricing policy that scales with your company’s needs. ProWritingAid allows you to create your own rules in a Style Guide to ensure consistency across documents and team members.
ProWritingAid can easily be integrated into most CMSs or web-pages and can be used online, or as a plugin to most standard writing software. ProWritingAid also offers an API so that you can tailor it to meet your specific requirements. You can purchase licenses in bulk at a discount or reach out to talk about ProWritingAid for your business.
If you’re looking for an affordable alternative to Acrolinx for your content improvement, then ProWritingAid is a great option. To discuss how ProWritingAid can help your business improve its content, get in touch to book a demo.