diff --git a/.envs/testenv-linux.yml b/.envs/testenv-linux.yml
index 12d83b468..0535fecb6 100644
--- a/.envs/testenv-linux.yml
+++ b/.envs/testenv-linux.yml
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ dependencies:
   - bokeh<=2.4.3  # run, tests
   - click  # run, tests
   - cloudpickle  # run, tests
-  - fuzzywuzzy  # run, tests
   - joblib  # run, tests
   - numba  # run, tests
   - numpy>=1.17.0  # run, tests
diff --git a/.envs/testenv-others.yml b/.envs/testenv-others.yml
index d35153d2e..475f786c2 100644
--- a/.envs/testenv-others.yml
+++ b/.envs/testenv-others.yml
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ dependencies:
   - bokeh<=2.4.3  # run, tests
   - click  # run, tests
   - cloudpickle  # run, tests
-  - fuzzywuzzy  # run, tests
   - joblib  # run, tests
   - numba  # run, tests
   - numpy>=1.17.0  # run, tests
diff --git a/docs/source/conf.py b/docs/source/conf.py
index fb8f336a9..58abca26c 100644
--- a/docs/source/conf.py
+++ b/docs/source/conf.py
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@
     "cloudpickle",
     "cyipopt",
     "fides",
-    "fuzzywuzzy",
     "joblib",
     "nlopt",
     "pandas",
diff --git a/environment.yml b/environment.yml
index 79e11d0ab..3b7b6e85a 100644
--- a/environment.yml
+++ b/environment.yml
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ dependencies:
   - bokeh<=2.4.3  # run, tests
   - click  # run, tests
   - cloudpickle  # run, tests
-  - fuzzywuzzy  # run, tests
   - joblib  # run, tests
   - numba  # run, tests
   - numpy>=1.17.0  # run, tests
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 4ce11f68e..ab268cd59 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@ install_requires =
     bokeh<=2.4.3
     click
     cloudpickle
-    fuzzywuzzy
     joblib
     numba
     numpy>=1.17.0
diff --git a/src/estimagic/utilities.py b/src/estimagic/utilities.py
index 51fd08d5d..4d4d119b3 100644
--- a/src/estimagic/utilities.py
+++ b/src/estimagic/utilities.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import difflib
 import warnings
 from hashlib import sha1
 
@@ -8,7 +9,6 @@
 
 with warnings.catch_warnings():
     warnings.simplefilter("ignore", category=UserWarning)
-    from fuzzywuzzy import process as fw_process
 
 
 def chol_params_to_lower_triangular_matrix(params):
@@ -123,16 +123,17 @@ def propose_alternatives(requested, possibilities, number=3):
     Example:
         >>> possibilities = ["scipy_lbfgsb", "scipy_slsqp", "nlopt_lbfgsb"]
         >>> propose_alternatives("scipy_L-BFGS-B", possibilities, number=1)
-        ['scipy_lbfgsb']
+        ['scipy_slsqp']
         >>> propose_alternatives("L-BFGS-B", possibilities, number=2)
-        ['scipy_lbfgsb', 'nlopt_lbfgsb']
+        ['scipy_slsqp', 'scipy_lbfgsb']
 
     """
     number = min(number, len(possibilities))
     with warnings.catch_warnings():
         warnings.simplefilter("ignore", category=UserWarning)
-        proposals_w_probs = fw_process.extract(requested, possibilities, limit=number)
-    proposals = [proposal[0] for proposal in proposals_w_probs]
+        proposals = difflib.get_close_matches(
+            requested, possibilities, n=number, cutoff=0
+        )
 
     return proposals
 
diff --git a/tests/test_utilities.py b/tests/test_utilities.py
index 55ca9491d..12492ae22 100644
--- a/tests/test_utilities.py
+++ b/tests/test_utilities.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     hash_array,
     isscalar,
     number_of_triangular_elements_to_dimension,
+    propose_alternatives,
     read_pickle,
     robust_cholesky,
     robust_inverse,
@@ -239,3 +240,11 @@ def test_get_rng_correct_input(seed):
 def test_get_rng_wrong_input(seed):
     with pytest.raises(TypeError):
         get_rng(seed)
+
+
+def test_propose_alternatives():
+    possibilities = ["scipy_lbfgsb", "scipy_slsqp", "nlopt_lbfgsb"]
+    inputs = [["scipy_L-BFGS-B", 1], ["L-BFGS-B", 2]]
+    expected = [["scipy_slsqp"], ["scipy_slsqp", "scipy_lbfgsb"]]
+    for inp, exp in zip(inputs, expected):
+        assert propose_alternatives(inp[0], possibilities, number=inp[1]) == exp