Anyways is a colloquial variant of the adverb anyway. It has a casual tone and may be considered out place in formal or serious writing. In such contexts, anyway is safer.
Anyways is sometimes useful. In the following examples, the writers use anyways to strike an informal note:
Anyways, it’s time to move on. [NY Times]
Whatever. Home Improvement sucked anyways. [Bleacher Report]
But in writing that is not intended to have a colloquial tone, anyway is usually better—for example:
Why is Google building a Google phone, anyway? [The Atlantic]
It can be nearly impossible to see from publicly available data which banks are extending or restructuring loans they believe will one day fail anyway. [Wall Street Journal]
Anyway, I think it’s pretty hard to make a bad Hurley episode. [Chicago Tribune]
This may change as the English language evolves. For now, though, whether we like it or not, anyway is the safer choice.
