Best AI Grammar Checkers: Beyond Grammarly (2026)

Grammarly has been the default grammar checker for years. Most people install it, use the free version, and never look at alternatives. That is understandable. Grammarly works well, runs everywhere, and catches most errors.

But “most people use it” does not mean it is the best fit for everyone. ProWritingAid offers deeper manuscript analysis for fiction writers. LanguageTool supports 30+ languages where Grammarly only handles English. Hemingway Editor focuses specifically on readability in a way no other tool matches. And several tools now offer lifetime pricing that makes Grammarly’s $144/year subscription look expensive over time.

We tested 8 AI grammar checkers across the same set of documents: a business email with common errors, an academic essay with style issues, a blog post with readability problems, and a fiction excerpt with dialogue and pacing challenges. Here is how each tool performed.

TL;DR: Top 3 Picks

Grammarly Pro – Best overall for professional and business writing

ProWritingAid – Best for authors, long-form writers, and anyone who wants a lifetime license

LanguageTool – Best for multilingual writers and the most affordable premium option

How We Tested

We evaluated each grammar checker on:

• Error detection accuracy – Does it catch real errors without excessive false positives?
• Style and clarity suggestions – Does it make writing genuinely better, not just correct?
• Specialized features – What does it offer beyond basic grammar checking?
• Integration breadth – Where can you use it? Browser, desktop, mobile, Google Docs, Word?
• Price to value ratio – What do you actually get for what you pay?

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1. Grammarly

Overview

Grammarly remains the most polished and widely integrated grammar checker available. The 2026 version, now branded as Grammarly Pro (replacing the old Premium tier), combines traditional grammar checking with generative AI features. You get 2,000 AI prompts per month on the Pro plan, covering everything from rewriting sentences to generating outlines.

The tool’s real strength is its integration ecosystem. It works in your browser, desktop apps, Google Docs, Microsoft Office, Gmail, Slack, and dozens of other platforms. You write naturally in whatever tool you prefer, and Grammarly checks everything in real time.

Tone detection is another standout. Grammarly identifies how your writing sounds (confident, friendly, formal, concerned) and lets you adjust before hitting send. For business communication, this feature alone justifies the cost.

Key Features

• Real-time grammar, spelling, and punctuation checking
• Tone detection and adjustment
• 2,000 AI generative prompts per month (Pro)
• Plagiarism detection (Pro)
• Style, clarity, and conciseness suggestions
• Full-sentence and paragraph rewriting
• Browser extension, desktop app, Google Docs, Microsoft Office, mobile keyboard
• Team accounts for up to 149 people on Pro

Pricing

• Free: Core grammar and tone checks, 100 AI prompts/month
• Pro (Annual): $12/month ($144/year) – full features, 2,000 AI prompts
• Pro (Quarterly): $20/month ($60/quarter)
• Pro (Monthly): $30/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing – unlimited AI, SSO, admin tools
• 30% student discount available ($100.80/year)
• Regional pricing available (varies by country)

Pros

• Widest integration ecosystem of any grammar checker
• Tone detection is genuinely useful for professional communication
• 2,000 monthly AI prompts add significant value beyond grammar
• Polished, intuitive interface with minimal learning curve
• Free version is genuinely useful for basic needs

Cons

• $144/year adds up over time with no lifetime option
• No refund policy on Pro plans
• Sometimes flags correct grammar in creative or informal writing
• AI suggestions can be overly conservative
• Enterprise pricing requires a sales call

Best For

Professionals, business writers, and teams who need a reliable, well-integrated grammar checker that works everywhere they write.

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2. ProWritingAid

Overview

ProWritingAid is the grammar checker that writers who care about craft tend to gravitate toward. While Grammarly focuses on correctness and clarity, ProWritingAid goes deeper with 25+ writing reports that analyze grammar, readability, structure, dialogue pacing, cliche usage, sentence variety, and consistency.

For fiction writers specifically, ProWritingAid is unmatched. The Pacing report identifies sections where your writing drags. The Overused Words report catches the repetitive language that editors flag. The Consistency Check ensures you spell character names and places the same way throughout a manuscript. Chapter Critique and Manuscript Analysis features provide the kind of feedback you would normally get from a beta reader or developmental editor.

The other big differentiator: ProWritingAid offers lifetime licenses. At $399 for Premium or $699 for Premium Pro, you pay once and use it indefinitely. For anyone planning to write for years, the math favors ProWritingAid heavily over Grammarly’s recurring subscription.

Key Features

• 25+ writing reports (grammar, readability, pacing, style, consistency, overused words)
• Chapter Critique and Manuscript Analysis for long-form work
• Virtual Beta Reader feature
• Contextual thesaurus with suggestions that fit your text
• Plagiarism detection (credits required)
• AI Sparks for quick writing assistance
• Integrations: Chrome, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Scrivener, desktop app
• Custom style guide creation
• Guided writing sprints and workshop library (Premium Pro)

Pricing

• Free: 500-word limit, 10 rephrases/day, 3 AI Sparks/day
• Premium: $30/month or ~$10/month annually ($120/year)
• Premium Pro: $36/month or ~$12/month annually ($144/year)
• Premium Lifetime: $399 one-time
• Premium Pro Lifetime: $699 one-time
• 3-day refund window
• Plagiarism checks: starting at 10 credits for $10

Pros

• 25+ writing reports provide analysis no other tool matches
• Lifetime license saves money over any subscription in the long run
• Fiction-specific features (pacing, dialogue, consistency) are genuinely useful
• Scrivener integration matters for serious authors
• Annual pricing is competitive with Grammarly

Cons

• Free version is too limited to be practical (500-word cap)
• Interface is functional but not as clean as Grammarly
• Plagiarism checking costs extra credits
• English only (five dialects, but no other languages)
• Lifetime license is a significant upfront investment
• Fewer integrations than Grammarly overall

Best For

Fiction writers, novelists, screenwriters, and any long-form writer who wants deep manuscript analysis plus the option to pay once with a lifetime license.

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3. LanguageTool

Overview

LanguageTool is the grammar checker for the multilingual world. It supports over 30 languages with six English dialects, automatic language detection, and quality checking that rivals Grammarly in most of those languages. For anyone who writes in more than one language, it is the obvious choice.

The Premium plan at $4.99/month annually makes it the most affordable serious grammar checker on this list. You get unlimited AI sentence paraphrasing, Picky Mode for deeper style analysis, a personal dictionary, and a custom style guide. The 14-day money-back guarantee with no questions asked shows confidence in the product.

LanguageTool also has an open-source foundation, which appeals to privacy-conscious users and organizations that want to audit the tool’s code.

Key Features

• Grammar, spelling, and punctuation checking in 30+ languages
• Six English dialects (US, UK, Australian, Canadian, South African, New Zealand)
• Picky Mode for advanced style and grammar analysis
• Unlimited AI sentence paraphrasing (Premium)
• Personal dictionary and custom style guide
• Automatic language detection
• Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Gmail, and browser integrations
• Open-source core
• Up to 100,000 characters per text field (Premium)

Pricing

• Free: Basic checking, 20,000 characters per text field
• Premium (Annual): $4.99/month ($59.90/year)
• Premium (Quarterly): $13/month
• Premium (Monthly): $19.90/month
• Teams: Starting at $9.48/month for 2 users
• 14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked
• Student and educator discounts (up to 20%)

Pros

• Best multilingual support by far (30+ languages)
• Most affordable premium grammar checker ($4.99/month annually)
• 14-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee
• Open-source foundation builds transparency and trust
• Picky Mode catches style issues that Free mode misses

Cons

• Error detection in English is slightly less accurate than Grammarly
• No plagiarism detection
• Fewer AI generative features than Grammarly
• Style suggestions are less detailed than ProWritingAid
• Smaller integration ecosystem

Best For

Multilingual writers, international teams, and budget-conscious users who need solid grammar checking across multiple languages.

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4. Hemingway Editor

Overview

Hemingway Editor is not a traditional grammar checker. It is a readability tool that highlights problems other tools ignore: overly complex sentences, passive voice, excessive adverbs, and dense paragraphs. The color-coded highlighting system makes readability issues immediately visible.

The free web version provides full readability analysis with grade-level scoring. The desktop app ($19.99 one-time) adds offline access. Hemingway Editor Plus adds AI-powered rewrites, grammar fixing, tone adjustment, and a context-relevant thesaurus for $8.33/month annually or $25-30/month.

Where Hemingway shines is focus. While other tools try to do everything, Hemingway does one thing exceptionally well: it makes your writing clearer and more readable. If your content targets a general audience and readability matters (blogs, marketing copy, documentation), Hemingway catches problems that Grammarly and ProWritingAid often miss.

Key Features

• Color-coded readability analysis (adverbs, passive voice, complex sentences, hard-to-read)
• Grade-level readability scoring
• AI-powered sentence rewrites (Editor Plus)
• Tone adjustment: confident, friendly, casual, professional, persuasive (Plus)
• Context-relevant thesaurus suggestions (Plus)
• WordPress and Medium publishing integration
• Desktop app with offline access ($19.99 one-time)

Pricing

• Free Web Version: Full readability analysis
• Desktop App: $19.99 one-time purchase (no AI features)
• Editor Plus (Individual 5K): $25/month – 5,000 AI sentence rewrites
• Editor Plus (Individual 10K): $30/month – 10,000 AI sentence rewrites
• Editor Plus (Annual): ~$8.33/month ($100/year)

Pros

• Best readability analysis of any tool tested
• Free web version provides genuine value
• Desktop app is a one-time purchase (no subscription)
• Color-coded interface is instantly understandable
• Focuses on clarity rather than trying to do everything
• Strong privacy stance (no data selling or AI training)

Cons

• Not a full grammar checker (limited error detection)
• No plagiarism checking
• No multilingual support
• Editor Plus monthly pricing is high for AI rewrites
• No Google Docs or Microsoft Word integration
• Not suitable for fiction or highly creative writing

Best For

Bloggers, content writers, and anyone who struggles with overly complex writing and wants a focused tool that improves readability above all else.

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5. Ginger

Overview

Ginger has been around since 2007, making it one of the oldest AI grammar checkers. It offers grammar and spelling correction, sentence rephrasing, a personal dictionary, and translation capabilities. The tool works across browsers, Microsoft Office, and mobile devices.

Ginger’s distinguishing feature is its sentence rephrasing tool, which provides alternative ways to express the same idea. The translation feature supports dozens of languages, though it is not as robust as dedicated translation tools. For ESL (English as a Second Language) writers, Ginger’s combination of grammar checking and translation can be particularly useful.

However, Ginger has not kept pace with competitors in AI features. There are no writing reports, no tone detection, and limited style suggestions. The free version checks only 600 characters at a time, which is quite restrictive.

Key Features

• Grammar and spelling correction
• Sentence rephraser for alternative expressions
• Translation capabilities (multiple languages)
• Personal dictionary
• Text-to-speech for proofreading by ear
• Browser extension, Microsoft Office integration, mobile apps

Pricing

• Free: Basic grammar checking, 600-character limit
• Premium: Starting at $9.90-$13.99/month
• Educational discounts available
• Business/Team plans with centralized billing (up to 100,000 members)

Pros

• Sentence rephraser provides useful alternative phrasings
• Translation feature helps ESL writers
• Text-to-speech is unique among grammar checkers
• Educational discounts make it accessible for students
• Business plans scale to very large teams

Cons

• Free version is very limited (600 characters)
• Has not kept up with AI-powered competitors
• No writing reports or deep analysis
• No tone detection or style guidance
• Interface feels dated compared to Grammarly or ProWritingAid
• Premium pricing is not competitive for the feature set

Best For

ESL writers who benefit from the combination of grammar checking, rephrasing, and translation in one tool.

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6. QuillBot Grammar Checker

Overview

QuillBot is best known for paraphrasing, but its grammar checker is a capable standalone tool. It catches grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors with reasonable accuracy and integrates with the broader QuillBot ecosystem (paraphraser, summarizer, citation generator, AI detector).

The grammar checker is available for free with no word limit, which is more generous than most competitors. Premium users get faster processing and access to the full suite of writing tools. For users who already subscribe to QuillBot Premium for paraphrasing, the grammar checker is a solid included bonus.

Key Features

• Grammar, spelling, and punctuation checking
• No word limit on free grammar checking
• Integration with QuillBot paraphraser, summarizer, and other tools
• Chrome extension and Google Docs add-on
• AI detector for checking if text appears machine-generated
• Citation generator for academic work
• 25+ language support

Pricing

• Free: Grammar checking with no word limit
• Premium: $19.95/month or $99.95/year ($8.33/month)
• Student: $74.95/year ($6.25/month)
• Teams: From $7.50/user/month

Pros

• Free grammar checking with no word limit is generous
• Part of a broader writing toolkit (paraphraser, summarizer, citations)
• Reasonable pricing for the full suite
• 25+ language support
• Student pricing is well-designed

Cons

• Grammar checking alone is less accurate than Grammarly
• No writing reports or manuscript analysis
• No tone detection
• The grammar checker is not the primary focus of the platform
• Style suggestions are basic compared to dedicated tools

Best For

Users who want a free grammar checker bundled with paraphrasing, summarization, and citation tools in one affordable package.

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7. Wordtune

Overview

Wordtune approaches grammar differently. Instead of underlining errors and suggesting corrections, it offers full sentence rewrites that fix grammar issues while also improving clarity and style. You get multiple alternatives for each sentence and pick the version that sounds best.

This approach works well for writers who want their text improved, not just corrected. The tone controls (Formal, Casual, Shorten, Expand) add a layer of style adjustment that traditional grammar checkers do not provide. The limitation is that Wordtune is sentence-focused. It does not analyze document-level issues like consistency, pacing, or overall structure.

Key Features

• Sentence-level grammar fixing through rewrites
• Multiple alternative suggestions per sentence
• Tone controls (Formal, Casual, Shorten, Expand, Clear, Engaging)
• Spelling and grammar corrections
• Text summarization (articles, PDFs, YouTube videos)
• Microsoft Word and browser integrations

Pricing

• Basic (Free): 10 rewrites/day, basic grammar and spelling
• Advanced: $13.99/month ($6.99/month annual)
• Unlimited: $19.99/month ($9.99/month annual)
• Teams: $7.99/seat/month (annual)
• 30% discount for students and educators

Pros

• Rewrites fix grammar while improving overall sentence quality
• Multiple alternatives give you useful choices
• Tone controls add style adjustment other tools lack
• Clean, intuitive interface
• Student and educator discounts

Cons

• Not a traditional grammar checker (no underlining of individual errors)
• Free plan limits you to 10 rewrites per day
• No plagiarism checking or document analysis
• Sentence-focused only (no document-level insights)
• No refund policy

Best For

Writers who want grammar correction bundled with style improvement and sentence-level tone control.

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8. Sapling

Overview

Sapling targets a different use case than personal grammar checkers. It is built for customer-facing teams: support agents, sales reps, and anyone who writes high volumes of short messages throughout the day. The tool integrates with CRMs, helpdesks, and messaging platforms to catch errors in real time as agents type responses.

For individual writers, Sapling is less relevant. But for businesses where communication quality directly affects customer satisfaction, having a grammar checker built into your support tools reduces errors without slowing agents down.

Key Features

• Real-time grammar and spelling checking in messaging platforms
• CRM and helpdesk integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc.)
• Autocomplete suggestions for faster typing
• Response snippets and templates
• Team analytics on writing quality
• API access for custom integrations

Pricing

• Free: Basic features
• Pro: $25/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing
• API pricing available for high-volume usage

Pros

• Purpose-built for customer communication tools
• CRM and helpdesk integrations are unique
• Autocomplete speeds up repetitive messages
• Team analytics help managers track quality
• API allows custom integration

Cons

• Not designed for long-form writing
• Limited value for individual writers or bloggers
• No style analysis, plagiarism checking, or advanced features
• Smaller company with less brand recognition
• Pro pricing is steep for basic grammar checking

Best For

Customer support and sales teams that need grammar checking integrated directly into their CRM and messaging platforms.

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Comparison Table

Tool	Starting Price	Free Tier	Languages	Lifetime Option	Best For
Grammarly	$12/mo (annual)	Yes	English	No	Professional writing
ProWritingAid	$10/mo (annual)	Yes (500 words)	English	$399-$699	Authors & long-form
LanguageTool	$4.99/mo (annual)	Yes	30+	No	Multilingual
Hemingway	$8.33/mo (annual)	Yes (web)	English	$19.99 (desktop)	Readability
Ginger	$9.90/mo	Yes (600 chars)	English + translate	No	ESL writers
QuillBot	$8.33/mo (annual)	Yes (no word limit)	25+	No	Writing suite
Wordtune	$6.99/mo (annual)	Yes (10/day)	English	No	Sentence rewrites
Sapling	$25/mo	Yes	English	No	Support teams

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FAQ

Is Grammarly still the best grammar checker in 2026?

For most professional and business writers, yes. Grammarly offers the widest integrations, strong accuracy, and useful AI features. However, ProWritingAid is better for fiction writers, LanguageTool is better for multilingual users, and Hemingway is better for readability analysis. The best grammar checker depends on what kind of writing you do most.

Is ProWritingAid’s lifetime license worth the upfront cost?

If you plan to write regularly for more than three years, absolutely. ProWritingAid Premium Lifetime costs $399. Grammarly Pro costs $144/year. After 2.8 years, ProWritingAid has paid for itself. After 5 years, you have saved over $320 compared to Grammarly. The only risk is if ProWritingAid significantly changes its product or goes out of business, but the company has been operating since 2013.

Which free grammar checker is the best?

LanguageTool Free offers the most generous free experience with 20,000 characters per text field and 30+ language support. Grammarly Free is more accurate for English but has fewer characters per check. QuillBot offers free grammar checking with no word limit, though accuracy is slightly lower. Hemingway Editor’s free web version is the best for readability specifically.

Can AI grammar checkers replace a human editor?

Not entirely. AI grammar checkers catch mechanical errors (grammar, spelling, punctuation) very reliably. They also provide useful style suggestions. However, they miss context-dependent issues, fail to understand authorial intent in creative writing, and cannot evaluate arguments or logic. For professional publishing, use an AI checker first to clean up the basics, then have a human editor review for higher-level issues.

Do grammar checkers slow down my computer or browser?

Modern grammar checkers are designed to run efficiently, but they do use some resources. Grammarly’s browser extension is the most widely reported for occasionally causing sluggishness in Google Docs or other web apps. LanguageTool tends to be lighter. If you experience slowdowns, try disabling the checker in applications where you do not need it and only activating it during the editing phase of your work.

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Conclusion

Grammarly is still the default recommendation for most writers, and that is fine. It is accurate, well-integrated, and the free version handles basic needs without costing anything.

But the defaults are not always the best fit. If you write fiction or long-form content, ProWritingAid’s 25+ reports and lifetime licensing make it the smarter investment. If you write in multiple languages, LanguageTool at $4.99/month annually is the clear winner. If readability is your primary concern, Hemingway Editor offers a free web tool and a $19.99 desktop app that no other tool replicates.

The best approach for most writers: start with a free tier (Grammarly, LanguageTool, or Hemingway) and see which catches the errors you actually make. Then upgrade to the premium version of whichever tool proves most useful in your daily writing. There is no need to guess when every major grammar checker lets you try before you pay.

For more insights, check out our guide on Grammarly alternatives.

For more insights, check out our guide on AI paraphrasing tools.

For more insights, check out our guide on AI writing tools for SEO.