9 writing assistants compared on the things that decide a switch from Grammarly: whether the free plan is usable, what annual billing really costs, whether the tool corrects or rewrites, and what each vendor's own pricing page said on 14 September 2026.
9 tools compared · Last reviewed
Grammarly is the default writing assistant, and our listing records Free with 100 generative AI prompts a month and Pro at $12 a month per member with 2,000 prompts, plagiarism and AI-text detection, checked on 19 August 2026; its plans page rendered no prices to our checker on 14 September 2026. People look elsewhere for four reasons: Pro is $12 a month for a tool they use for one thing, the free plan nags toward upgrading, authors want editing reports rather than inline corrections, and teams want per-seat prices in the open.
The alternatives split by job. QuillBot bundles paraphrasing and grammar for less. ProWritingAid and Hemingway are for editing long work. Wordtune rewrites tone. LanguageTool is the multilingual checker. Sapling is for support teams. Linguix and Outwrite are budget checkers. Wordvice AI is for academic writing.
Every price here was read from the vendor's page on 14 September 2026 where the page could be read. Three could not be read directly: QuillBot and ProWritingAid serve regional prices, so their dollar figures come from the vendor's own FAQ and from Google's snippet of the vendor's page; LanguageTool's page failed to display prices, so its entry quotes our listing and says so.
Most people use Grammarly for grammar and a rewrite now and then. QuillBot Premium is $8.33 a month billed annually, Wordtune Unlimited $6.99 billed annually, Linguix Pro $11.67 billed annually, and each covers that use.
Corrections are not editing
A manuscript needs pacing, dialogue and repetition reports, not a red underline. ProWritingAid runs twenty-plus of them and sells a lifetime licence; Hemingway grades readability for free.
Teams want a price list
Grammarly Enterprise is custom-priced. Sapling publishes $15 per seat from ten seats, Wordvice AI publishes a Team rate from $8.45 per member, and Outwrite shows Teams at US$7.95 per user.
English only
LanguageTool checks German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese with an open-source core you can self-host. Grammarly checks English.
How we chose
We added ProWritingAid, Wordtune, Sapling, Linguix, Outwrite and Wordvice AI to our directory, and ranked them with QuillBot, Hemingway and LanguageTool, which were already listed. We then read every vendor's pricing page on 14 September 2026. Vendors we checked and could not price honestly are left out: Trinka's page carried its plan names but not its prices, Paperpal showed euro prices under a back-to-school promotion, Ginger's pricing URLs returned 404, EditGPT's pricing page returned an application error, and Writer publishes no prices for its enterprise plans. The Google results for "grammarly alternatives" are mostly affiliate blogs; Wordtune is the only vendor in the top ten with its own page.
Best for: Paraphrasing, summarising and grammar in one cheap subscription
The all-rounder. Paraphraser, grammar checker, summariser, humanizer, AI detector and plagiarism prevention on one plan. QuillBot's own pricing FAQ, read on 14 September 2026, put Premium at $8.33 a month billed annually ($99.95 a year), $13.31 a month quarterly or $19.95 month to month.
Free tier: Yes — paraphrase up to 125 words, basic grammar, no card.
Watch out: Its premium page shows regional prices, so the dollar ladder came from its FAQ. Grammar depth is a step behind Grammarly; paraphrasing is the reason to buy.
Best for: Authors editing a manuscript, and anyone who wants a lifetime licence
The author's tool. Twenty-plus editing reports, chapter critiques and manuscript analysis that Grammarly does not attempt. Google's snippet of its pricing page on 14 September 2026 read Premium at $30 a month billed monthly, and the page's own toggle marks yearly billing as 67% cheaper, about $10 a month; lifetime plans are offered.
Free tier: Yes — each line-editing report runs twice a day.
Watch out: The pricing page served our checker rupee prices, so confirm the dollar figures. Monthly billing at $30 is the expensive way in.
Best for: Rewriting sentences in a different tone rather than correcting them
The rewriter. Casual to formal, shorter to longer, summaries and grammar across browser, Word and Docs. Its plans page on 14 September 2026 listed Advanced at $6.99 a month or $4.89 billed annually and Unlimited at $9.99 or $6.99 billed annually, with a 3-day trial. It ranks for "grammarly alternatives" with its own comparison page.
Free tier: Yes — 10 rewrites a day and 3 AI generations a month.
Watch out: The monthly toggle carried a -50% badge, so monthly rates may be promotional. Correction depth trails Grammarly.
Best for: Readability: cutting adverbs, passive voice and long sentences
The readability coach. Our listing separates its three products: the free web editor, the $19.99 one-time Hemingway Editor 3 desktop app without AI, and Hemingway Editor Plus with AI rewrites at $8.33 a month billed $100 a year for 5,000 rewrites or $12.50 billed $150 a year for 10,000, with a two-week trial.
Free tier: Yes — the web editor is free and unlimited with no account.
Watch out: It does not check grammar the way Grammarly does; it grades readability. Buying the desktop app expecting AI is the common mistake.
Best for: Multilingual grammar checking with an open-source core
The multilingual checker. Grammar and style in English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and more, with a free tier that has no usage cap and an open-source engine you can self-host. Our listing carries Premium at $12 a month with advanced style rules.
Free tier: Yes — unlimited basic proofreading.
Watch out: languagetool.org/premium told our checker on 14 September 2026 that it had "an issue displaying the prices", so the Premium figure is from our listing rather than a fresh read; the page also advertised a 20% discount that day. Confirm before buying.
Best for: Support and sales teams, with an AI detector and a metered API
The team alternative. Snippets, autocomplete and suggestions inside CRMs and helpdesks, an AI-content detector and an API. Its pricing page on 14 September 2026 listed Pro at $25 a month or $12 on annual billing, Enterprise from 10 seats at $15 per seat, and API usage with a $5 minimum.
Free tier: Yes — checks up to 2,000 characters, plus a one-month Pro trial without a card.
Watch out: Consumer polish trails Grammarly, and Enterprise starts at ten seats.
Best for: Grammarly basics in a browser for under $12 a month on annual billing
The budget checker. Grammar, rewriting and typing shortcuts in an extension and web app. Its pricing page on 14 September 2026 listed Pro at $11.67 a month billed $140 annually, cancel anytime.
Free tier: Yes — grammar, basic AI suggestions and limited paraphrasing, free forever.
Watch out: The monthly-billing rate was not readable; the page only says annual saves 61%. Fewer integrations than Grammarly.
Best for: Students and Google Docs users who want paraphrasing first
The paraphrasing-first pick. Free spelling and grammar, with rewrites, readability and plagiarism tools on Pro. Its pricing page on 14 September 2026 displayed Pro at US$9.95 a month and Teams at US$7.95 per user.
Free tier: Yes — Essential covers spelling and grammar.
Watch out: The page offers monthly and yearly billing but its HTML did not say which term those figures belong to; treat them as the yearly rates until confirmed.
Best for: Academic writing: papers, theses and applications
The academic proofreader. Revision modes tuned for research writing, a paraphraser, translator and AI detector, and a million words a month on Premium. Its plans page on 14 September 2026 listed Premium at $9.95 a month billed annually against a struck $19.95, Premium PRO at $26.95 billed annually, and Team from $8.45 per member.
Free tier: Yes — 5,000 words a month.
Watch out: Monthly-billing rates appear only as struck prices beside save badges, so confirm before paying month to month. Not built for everyday business email.
Yes, and most are usable. LanguageTool and the Hemingway web editor are free without caps; QuillBot, Wordtune, Sapling, Linguix, Outwrite and Wordvice AI have free plans with daily or monthly limits; ProWritingAid runs each report twice a day free. Grammarly Free itself covers grammar and 100 AI prompts a month.
What is the cheapest paid Grammarly alternative?
On 14 September 2026, Wordtune Advanced at $4.89 a month billed annually and Unlimited at $6.99 were the lowest readable rates, followed by QuillBot Premium at $8.33 billed annually and Hemingway Plus at $8.33 billed $100 a year. Grammarly Pro is $12 a month per our listing.
Which alternative is best for authors?
ProWritingAid for report-driven editing and a lifetime licence; Hemingway for readability. Neither replaces a human editor, and both go deeper on long-form than Grammarly.
Which alternative is best for teams?
Sapling, which publishes $15 per seat from ten seats, works inside helpdesks and CRMs and includes an AI detector and an API. Grammarly Business remains the better-known choice with custom pricing.
What does Grammarly cost?
Free with 100 generative AI prompts a month; Pro $12 a month per member; Enterprise custom, per our listing checked on 19 August 2026. Grammarly's plans page rendered no prices to our checker on the day this page was written, so confirm the current figure on grammarly.com.
Will my Grammarly data move?
There is nothing to move. Writing assistants do not store your documents in a portable way; install the new extension, switch off Grammarly's, and rebuild any personal dictionary or snippets by hand.
