The best Grammarly alternative depends on the job you need done. LanguageTool is the best free option for most people, ProWritingAid suits long documents, QuillBot suits rewriting, and Hemingway Editor suits plainer prose. If you only write in Word or Google Docs, the built-in checkers may be all you need.
Grammarly gets expensive on monthly billing. Grammarly Pro costs $30 a month, or $144 a year if you pay annually. The free plan covers spelling, grammar and tone, with 100 AI prompts a month. People look elsewhere because of the price, the free-plan limits, over-correction and privacy worries.
This guide compares nine tools on price, free limits, privacy and who each one suits. We checked official pricing and policy pages on 8 November 2026. We haven’t run our own accuracy tests, so you won’t find invented “catch rate” scores here.
Short answer: which one should you try first?
- Free, multilingual checking: LanguageTool
- Long documents and books: ProWritingAid
- Rewriting sentences: QuillBot or Wordtune
- Clearer, shorter prose: Hemingway Editor
- Already in Word or Google Docs: Microsoft Editor or the Docs checker
- Flexible, on-demand help: ChatGPT
- British or American English rewrites: DeepL Write
Last checked 8 November 2026. Prices change, so confirm at checkout.
In this guide
- The alternatives at a glance
- What Grammarly offers and costs, and whether Pro is worth it
- Why people switch and how we chose these tools
- The nine tools, one by one
- Free options and what “free” really means
- Grammarly vs the main alternatives
- Privacy and AI training, generative AI and AI detection
- Discounts, student offers and Black Friday 2026
- Which one should you choose?, how to switch and the FAQ
Best Grammarly alternatives at a glance
Not every tool here does the same job. Four are grammar and style checkers, three rewrite text, one scores readability and one is a general AI assistant. Compare like with like.
| Tool | Best for | Free option | Main limitation | Paid price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grammarly (for reference) | All-round checking in most apps | Spelling, grammar, tone, 100 AI prompts a month | Full rewrites and plagiarism checks need Pro | $30 a month or $144 a year |
| LanguageTool | Multilingual, low-cost checking | Free tier (2,000 characters per field) | Free text cap; some reviewers rate its English style advice lower | About €59.89 a year† |
| ProWritingAid | Long-form editing and reports | 500-word reports, 10 rephrases a day | Report-heavy; slower for quick emails | $10 a month billed yearly ($120); $399 lifetime |
| QuillBot | Rewriting and paraphrasing | 125-word paraphrases, two modes | Not a full grammar and style suite | $8.33 a month billed yearly ($99.95) |
| Hemingway Editor | Readability | Free web editor† | Little real grammar checking | $19.99 once (desktop); Plus about $10 a month† |
| Wordtune | Tone and sentence rewriting | 10 rewrites a day† | Daily rewrite caps, even on paid plans† | From about $6.99 a month billed yearly† |
| Microsoft Editor | Word and Edge users | Spelling and basic grammar | Advanced refinements need Microsoft 365 | Included with Microsoft 365 |
| Google Docs checker | Basic checks inside Docs | Built in, free | Basic suggestions only | Free with a Google account |
| ChatGPT | On-demand editing and rewriting | Free plan with usage limits | Manual prompts; no always-on checking | Paid plans vary (check OpenAI) |
| DeepL Write | British or American English rewrites | Basic corrections and rewrites | Narrower toolset than Grammarly | Write Pro add-on about $7.49 a user a month† |
What Grammarly offers and what it costs
Grammarly has three plans. Free covers spelling and grammar fixes with tone visibility. Pro adds full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustment, plagiarism and AI-text detection, and team features such as snippets and a style guide. Enterprise is sold through Grammarly’s sales team. Pro replaced the older Premium name, so reviews that mention Premium are describing the same tier.
| Plan | Price (per member) | AI prompts a month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 100 | Spelling and grammar fixes, tone visibility |
| Pro | $30 monthly, $60 quarterly or $144 yearly | 2,000 | Full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustment, plagiarism and AI-text detection, team features |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Unlimited | Everything in Pro, plus single sign-on, custom roles and data-loss prevention |
UK readers: Grammarly says it offers regional prices in pounds, euros and rupees, but its help page doesn’t publish the amounts. You see your price at checkout. Some third-party trackers put the annual plan at around £10 a month, but we couldn’t confirm that on Grammarly’s own pages.
Is Grammarly Pro worth it?
For some people, yes. The annual plan works out at $12 a month, while 12 months of monthly billing costs $360, so yearly billing saves $216 (60%). A team of five on the annual plan would pay 5 × $144 = $720 a year. The real question is whether you’ll use what Pro adds.
Pro is worth it if you:
- write most days in several places, such as email, browser and documents
- write in English as a second language and want rewrites and tone help
- work in a team that needs a shared style guide (Pro covers up to 149 seats)
Skip Pro if you:
- write occasionally or only need spelling and grammar fixes, which free tiers cover
- mainly want paraphrasing or readability scores, which cheaper specialist tools handle
- have strict rules about where your text can be sent (see the privacy section below)
Test before you pay. The free plan shows what Grammarly catches, and the plans page mentions a Pro trial with an email reminder two days before it ends.
Why people look for a Grammarly alternative
- Price: monthly billing costs 2.5 times the yearly rate ($30 against $12 a month).
- Free-plan limits: Free allows 100 AI prompts a month; full-sentence rewrites and plagiarism checks sit behind Pro.
- Over-correction: some reviewers find suggestions too rigid for creative or technical writing.
- Privacy: some people want more control over where their text goes.
- One specific job: multilingual checking, book-length editing or paraphrasing.
How we chose these tools
We kept tools that are available now, publish their pricing and overlap with something Grammarly does: grammar, clarity, tone, rewriting or multilingual checking. We left out tools sold mainly to hide AI-written text from detectors, because schools and employers set their own AI rules. We also left out Ginger, because we couldn’t confirm its current official pricing and plans.
For each tool we compared price and free limits, what sits behind the paywall, what the vendor says about your text, and who it suits. These are research-based summaries, not lab tests. To test fairly yourself, paste the same text into each tool, include one clean paragraph to spot false alarms, try one long document, and note the plan and date. A tool that flags correct sentences wastes your time.
The best Grammarly alternatives, tool by tool
1. LanguageTool: best free option for multilingual checking
LanguageTool is a grammar and style checker with an open-source core, and it supports more than 30 languages. It is the closest thing to a free all-rounder if you write in more than one language.
- Free: fixes spelling, simple punctuation and some style issues. The features table on its Premium page lists 2,000 characters per text field on the free plan and 150,000 on Premium. Older reviews quote higher free limits, so check before relying on it for long documents.
- Paid: Premium shows all errors and adds extras. Help-centre figures put the annual plan at about €59.89 a year (roughly €4.90 a month, VAT included)†, and team plans at €56.90 per user a year for up to 20 users†. The Premium page also shows a limited-time 20% offer.
- Watch out for: some reviewers rate Grammarly’s English style suggestions as stronger. Premium is a hosted service, and a single-user local Premium set-up isn’t offered.
2. ProWritingAid: best for long documents and editing reports
ProWritingAid is built for longer writing. Premium adds 25+ analysis reports, a custom style guide and a custom dictionary, which suits authors, bloggers and editors.
- Free: grammar, spelling and punctuation checks, line-editing reports twice a day on up to 500 words, and 10 rephrases a day.
- Paid: Premium is $10 a month billed yearly ($120), $30 monthly, or $399 for lifetime access. Premium Pro is $12 a month billed yearly.
- Watch out for: yearly and lifetime plans carry a three-day money-back guarantee, but monthly plans aren’t refundable. It can also feel heavier than Grammarly for quick emails.
3. QuillBot: best for rewriting and paraphrasing
QuillBot, a Learneo, Inc. business, is mainly a paraphraser, with a grammar checker and summariser alongside. It rewrites a passage several ways, but it doesn’t replace Grammarly’s checking across every app.
- Free: paraphrase up to 125 words at a time in two modes (Standard and Fluency), plus basic grammar checking.
- Paid: Premium is $8.33 a month billed yearly ($99.95). The monthly price is $19.95†. Premium removes the 125-word cap and adds more modes.
- Watch out for: check the refund window before you buy a yearly plan, and treat it as a rewriter rather than a full proofreader.
4. Hemingway Editor: best for clearer, simpler writing
Hemingway Editor highlights long sentences, passive voice and wordy phrasing, and gives a reading-grade score. It isn’t a full grammar checker, so treat it as a second pair of eyes.
- Free: the web editor is free and, according to reviewers, needs no account†.
- Paid: a one-off desktop app costs $19.99, and Hemingway Editor Plus adds AI rewrites from about $10 a month†. Reported Plus prices vary, so check the live page.
- Watch out for: little grammar and punctuation coverage, and no team features.
5. Wordtune: best for rewriting with tone control
Wordtune rewrites a sentence in different tones, such as more formal or shorter. It suits people who know what they want to say and want better wording.
- Free: 10 rewrites a day and 3 summaries a month, with spelling and grammar checks†.
- Paid: Advanced allows 30 rewrites a day; Unlimited removes the cap. Reported prices start from about $6.99 a month billed yearly†, but sources disagree, so check before paying.
- Watch out for: daily caps, even on Advanced, can run out in a long editing session.
6. Microsoft Editor: best if you live in Word
Microsoft Editor is built into Word and also works as an Edge and Chrome extension. Advanced refinements, such as clarity, conciseness, formality and vocabulary suggestions, need a Microsoft 365 subscription.
- Free: a free Microsoft account gives basic spelling and grammar checks.
- Paid: included with Microsoft 365. Check Microsoft’s UK store for current prices.
- Watch out for: reviewers call it more bare-bones than Grammarly, and its best features sit behind a bigger subscription you may not otherwise need.
7. Google Docs checker: best free option inside Docs
Google Docs has spelling and grammar suggestions built in. It is the simplest way to avoid another subscription if you draft in Docs.
- Free: spelling and grammar suggestions inside Docs, free with a Google account.
- Paid: none needed for the checker.
- Watch out for: basic suggestions only, with no dedicated tone, plagiarism or style-guide tools.
8. ChatGPT: best for flexible, on-demand editing
ChatGPT isn’t a grammar checker, but pasting in text and asking it to fix grammar, shorten it or change the tone works well for one-off jobs. We set Grammarly and ChatGPT side by side in a separate article if you want a direct comparison.
- Free: a free plan exists, with usage limits that OpenAI can change.
- Paid: paid plans vary, so check OpenAI’s pricing page.
- Watch out for: you have to prompt it each time, it doesn’t underline mistakes as you type, and it can change your meaning, so read every edit. Check your data-control settings before pasting anything private.
9. DeepL Write: best for British or American English rewrites
DeepL Write comes from the translation company DeepL and rewrites text for clarity and tone. DeepL’s support page lists English (UK) and English (US) among its available languages, alongside German, French, Spanish, Italian and others.
- Free: basic corrections and rewrites.
- Paid: Write Pro is a paid add-on, listed at about $7.49 per user a month by third-party reviewers†. DeepL also sells bundles with its translator.
- Watch out for: a narrower toolset than Grammarly, with no plagiarism or team style-guide tools that we could confirm. Fuller tone controls sit in Write Pro.
Best free Grammarly alternatives (and what “free” really means)
A free tool has no paid plan for its main job, such as Hemingway’s web editor. A free tier is a permanent plan with limits, such as LanguageTool, ProWritingAid and QuillBot. A free trial is time-limited access to paid features. Many “free” claims blur these, so check the limit.
| Tool | Type | What you get | Where the limit bites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grammarly Free | Free tier | Spelling and grammar fixes, tone visibility | 100 AI prompts a month |
| LanguageTool | Free tier | Spelling, simple punctuation, some style | 2,000 characters per field on the free plan; full error detection is Premium |
| ProWritingAid | Free tier | Grammar, spelling and punctuation checks | Line-editing reports on up to 500 words, twice a day; 10 rephrases a day |
| QuillBot | Free tier | Paraphraser and basic grammar | 125 words per paraphrase, two modes |
| Wordtune | Free tier | Spelling and grammar checks, rewrites | 10 rewrites a day, 3 summaries a month† |
| Hemingway web editor | Free tool | Readability highlights and grade | No AI fixes |
| Microsoft Editor | Free tier | Spelling and basic grammar | Advanced refinements need Microsoft 365 |
| Google Docs checker | Free tool | Built-in spelling and grammar | Basic suggestions only |
| DeepL Write | Free tier | Basic corrections and rewrites | Fuller tone controls need Write Pro |
Can a free stack replace Grammarly?
Mostly, for everyday writing. A common free stack is LanguageTool for checking, Hemingway’s web editor for readability and your word processor’s built-in checker as a backstop. You lose one unified set of suggestions, shared tone control, a team dictionary and document history. If you write mainly for work and every minute counts, those gaps add up. If you write the odd email, they don’t.
Monthly or yearly: what you pay over a year
Where tools charge by the month, yearly billing is the biggest saving. On the three tools in the chart below, it cuts a year’s cost by 58% to 67%. Only commit after trying the free tier, and check the refund window first: ProWritingAid gives three days on yearly plans and none on monthly ones.
Grammarly vs the main alternatives
Grammarly vs LanguageTool
LanguageTool covers 30+ languages, while Grammarly focuses on English. LanguageTool’s annual plan is also cheaper, at roughly €4.90 a month† against Grammarly’s $12. Grammarly adds 2,000 AI prompts a month and plagiarism checks on Pro. Choose LanguageTool if you write in several languages or want to spend less.
Grammarly vs ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is cheaper per year ($120 against $144) and offers a $399 lifetime option, while Grammarly has no lifetime plan. ProWritingAid goes deeper on reports for long-form editing. Grammarly is quicker for everyday emails and messages.
QuillBot vs Grammarly
They do different jobs. QuillBot rewrites passages, while Grammarly checks your writing as you type across apps. If you mainly want to rephrase, QuillBot is cheaper at $8.33 a month on yearly billing. If you want constant error-checking, it isn’t a replacement.
Grammarly vs Hemingway
Hemingway scores readability, while Grammarly checks grammar and tone. They pair well, and Hemingway’s web editor is free, so you can use both.
Grammarly vs ChatGPT
Grammarly underlines issues automatically in the apps you already use, while ChatGPT waits for you to ask. ChatGPT is more flexible for big rewrites, but it is less consistent as a proofreader, so use it for drafts and a checker for final passes. For prices, privacy and workflow in more detail, our Grammarly vs ChatGPT comparison goes further.
Grammarly vs Microsoft Editor and Google Docs
The built-in checkers cost nothing extra and cover the basics. Grammarly adds tone, rewrites and plagiarism checks across browsers and apps. If you only need to catch typos, you probably don’t need another subscription.
Is Grammarly safe? Privacy and AI training compared
Grammarly says it never sells user content to third parties for advertising or any other purpose, and doesn’t let third parties use it to train their models. Its privacy page also says that using Grammarly gives it permission to use your writing to improve its products, and it points to a Product Improvement and Training control where you can opt out. Grammarly adds that data for its generative AI features may be shared with vetted providers only to deliver the service.
| Tool | Is your text kept? | Used for training? | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grammarly | Processed to give suggestions; some features store data against your account | Not shared with third parties for model training; you can opt out of its own product-improvement use | Product Improvement and Training control in account settings |
| LanguageTool | Says text checked with its browser add-on isn’t stored; texts you save in an account are† | Check the current privacy policy | Self-hosting is possible for organisations |
| ProWritingAid | Analysed text isn’t kept, apart from documents you save in its web editor (stored encrypted) | Terms say user texts aren’t used to improve its services; it trains on professionally corrected texts | Review saved documents in your account |
| QuillBot, Hemingway, Wordtune, DeepL Write, ChatGPT | Not verified here | Not verified here | Read each privacy policy before pasting sensitive text |
For work documents, contracts or assessed coursework, use a tool your employer or school has approved. If you want to limit how your writing is used, find the training or product-improvement setting in your account, then check retention and deletion options.
Does Grammarly use generative AI, and can it detect AI writing?
Yes, it uses generative AI. Grammarly’s rewrites and prompts rely on large language models, which is why Free and Pro have monthly prompt allowances (100 and 2,000). Older rule-based checkers flag errors against fixed rules. Generative tools write new text from your prompt, so read the output closely.
Pro includes AI-text detection and plagiarism checks. Treat any detector score as an estimate, not proof, because detectors give probabilities and can be wrong. Grammarly Authorship is different. It is opt-in and records how a document was written, such as typed, pasted or AI-generated, so you can show your process. Schools and employers set their own AI rules, so check yours before using AI rewrites on assessed or regulated work.
If you publish online, it is also worth knowing how AI search engines surface your pages. Our roundup of AI search visibility tools is a good next read.
Grammarly discounts, student offers and Black Friday 2026
Black Friday: Black Friday falls on 27 November 2026 and Cyber Monday on 30 November. As of 8 November 2026 we couldn’t find an official Grammarly announcement of a 2026 sale. Third-party sites report past discounts from about 25% to 60%, which shows how much those claims differ, so don’t plan around a figure.
Coupon codes: Grammarly’s Pro pricing help page mentions no coupon codes, so be wary of “working codes” on coupon sites. The same caution applies to other software deals, such as the offers in our Semrush promo code guide.
Students: we couldn’t confirm a standing Grammarly student plan, though limited-time verified offers have appeared in the past, so check the checkout page. Elsewhere, ProWritingAid says it aims to offer its tool free to more than 5,000 schools by the end of 2026, and LanguageTool says eligible users may get up to 20% off Premium. Ask your school or check eligibility.
Before you pay any discounted price:
- use the vendor’s own pricing page, not a coupon site
- confirm the region, plan and billing period
- check the final amount at checkout
- find out whether the discount also applies on renewal
Which Grammarly alternative should you choose?
| If you are… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A student on a budget | LanguageTool or the built-in checker | Free tiers cover the basics; ask your school about ProWritingAid access |
| A blogger or content writer | ProWritingAid, plus Hemingway | Reports for long posts and a readability check; Hemingway’s web editor is free |
| A non-native English writer | Grammarly Pro or DeepL Write | Rewrites and tone help; DeepL Write offers UK and US English |
| Running a business or team | Grammarly Pro or LanguageTool Teams | Shared style guides on Pro (up to 149 seats); LanguageTool Teams is €56.90 per user a year† |
| Privacy-conscious | LanguageTool or ProWritingAid | Both describe limited text retention; read the current policies first |
| A Word or Google Docs user | Microsoft Editor or the Docs checker | Already built in, so there’s nothing extra to pay for |
Buying for a content or marketing team? Compare the wider tool budget in our Semrush alternatives guide, and see our marketing statistics for the bigger picture.
How to switch from Grammarly (and cancel)
- Run your replacement alongside Grammarly for a week on real writing: email, browser, Word or Docs, and mobile.
- Note your renewal date and refund rules in your Grammarly account before cancelling.
- Recreate your personal dictionary and tone preferences in the new tool.
- Remove the old browser extension once the new one works.
- Cancel from your account settings. Grammarly’s help centre explains how, and refund rules depend on how you were billed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Grammarly alternative?
It depends on the job. LanguageTool is best for free multilingual checking, ProWritingAid for long documents, QuillBot for rewriting and Hemingway Editor for readability.
Is there a completely free Grammarly alternative?
For the basics, yes. Hemingway’s web editor and the built-in checkers in Word and Google Docs cost nothing. LanguageTool’s free plan has character limits, so it is a free tier rather than unlimited.
Is Grammarly Pro worth it?
If you write daily across several apps, often yes. Yearly billing is $144 (about $12 a month), 60% less than monthly billing. Casual writers can use the free plan.
Is Grammarly safe, and does it sell your writing?
Grammarly says it never sells user content or lets third parties train their models on it. You can opt out of its own Product Improvement and Training use in your account settings.
Does Grammarly use generative AI, and can it detect AI writing?
Yes, its rewrites and prompts use large language models. Pro includes AI-text detection, but detectors give estimates, not proof. Authorship is a separate opt-in feature that records how a document was written.
Is there a Grammarly student discount or Black Friday sale?
We couldn’t confirm a standing student plan or an official 2026 Black Friday offer as of 8 November 2026. Check Grammarly’s own pricing page and the final checkout amount.
Can I use two writing tools together?
Yes. A checker, a readability tool and a rewriter do different jobs, so LanguageTool plus Hemingway works well. Avoid running two live checkers in the same text box, as their pop-ups can clash.
Final verdict
There is no single winner. Start with LanguageTool for free, multilingual checking, ProWritingAid for long documents, QuillBot or Wordtune for rewriting and Hemingway for readability. Use the built-in checkers if you already work in Word or Docs. If you write daily and want one tool across apps, Grammarly Pro on yearly billing is still the simplest choice. Try a free tier first, then compare plans on the official pages: Grammarly plans page, LanguageTool Premium page, ProWritingAid pricing and QuillBot Premium page.
Sources: Grammarly plans page; Grammarly’s Pro pricing help page; Grammarly privacy page; LanguageTool Premium page; ProWritingAid pricing; QuillBot Premium page; DeepL Write support; Microsoft Editor support. Prices marked † come from third-party reviews and weren’t confirmed on the vendor’s own page. Prices and features were checked on 8 November 2026, so always confirm them at checkout. Percentages and totals in the charts are our own calculations.
Last checked: 8 November 2026