Revise Blog - Building a post-AI word processor
The best Copilot for Word alternatives in 2026
Six ways to get AI help on Word documents, compared on price, how edits appear, and whether they work inside Word
Artur Sapek, Founder of Revise8 min read
Copilot now comes with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family, so most Word users already have it. People look elsewhere for three reasons: the consumer plans cap usage, the business add-on costs extra per seat, and Copilot’s AI agent is just not as capable as other AI products. Its edits are not tracked changes: it rewrites the text directly and marks it with a blue highlight and an undo button, and it handles formatting changes less reliably than wording. Writers who want every AI edit as a reviewable tracked change, or a different model, end up comparing alternatives.
I have spent the past year building a word processor around an AI agent, which means studying closely how each of these tools edits a document. Prices and plans come from each vendor’s own pages, linked in the sources at the end.
Copilot for Word alternatives at a glance
“AI capabilities” is the column to read first. Some tools revise a whole document, some work on a selection at a time, and only a few show every edit as a tracked change you can accept or reject.
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | AI capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revise | Whole-document AI revision you review as tracked changes | Yes (daily AI limit) | $8/mo | Agent revises the whole document, wording and formatting, as tracked changes |
| Claude for Word | Claude working inside Word | No (Pro plan or higher) | $20/mo | Cites sections, edits selections, works comment threads; tracked changes when on |
| ChatGPT for Word | A free AI add-in inside Word | Yes (available on every plan) | $20/mo | Drafts, summarizes, revises selections, and adjusts formatting |
| Grammarly | Grammar and tone checks as you type | Yes (100 AI prompts a month) | $12/mo | Grammar, tone, and sentence rewrites as inline suggestions; AI detection |
| Spellbook | Contract review and redlines | No (7-day trial) | Custom | Contract review, drafting, and redlines as tracked changes |
| Google Docs | Leaving Microsoft Office entirely | Yes (with a Google account) | $7/mo | Gemini drafts, rewrites, and summarizes; refinements you accept or reject |
Four of the six run inside Word as add-ins. Revise is a separate editor that opens and saves .docx and runs on any device with a browser; it is also the only one here that offers a choice of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI models.
| Tool | Works inside Word | AI models |
|---|---|---|
| Revise | No (separate editor; imports and exports .docx) | Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok |
| Claude for Word | Yes (add-in) | Claude |
| ChatGPT for Word | Yes (add-in) | GPT |
| Grammarly | Yes (via the Grammarly desktop app) | Not disclosed |
| Spellbook | Yes (add-in) | Not disclosed |
| Google Docs | No (separate editor) | Gemini |
The quickest way to test the top pick: import a .docx below and ask the agent for a revision. It opens in Revise in your browser, no account required.
How we evaluated them
Copilot in Word sets the baseline: it lives in the ribbon, drafts and rewrites on request, and needs no extra account for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Each alternative was judged on six checks:
- Review: can you see and reject each change the AI made, as tracked changes?
- Scope: can it revise a whole document, or only a selection?
- Word files: does the document keep its layout, numbering, comments, and tracked changes?
- Models: can you choose which AI model does the work?
- Price: what one person pays, compared with Copilot’s plans.
- Fit: whether it works inside Word or asks you to move the document.
The 6 best Copilot for Word alternatives
1. Revise: Best for whole-document revision
- Free plan: Yes, daily AI limit
- Paid from: $8/mo
- Built-in AI: Revise Agent (GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok)
Revise is a word processor built around an AI agent. Import a .docx, ask for a revision, and the agent works through the whole document, proposing every edit as a tracked change you accept or reject one at a time. You pick the model: GPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok (supported models).
The agent handles formatting as well as wording: restyling headings, fixing numbering, or reworking a table arrive as the same reviewable suggestions. In our AI document review comparison, Revise produced tracked changes where Copilot changed the text directly.
The document keeps its Word layout: per-section page setup, section breaks, first-page and odd/even headers and footers, footnotes, and legal numbering like “Section 1.01”. Existing Word tracked changes and comments come in with their authors and dates. When you export, any suggestions you have not resolved go back to Word as tracked changes, so colleagues can review the AI’s edits in Word itself (Word compatibility).
Pick it if you want the AI to do a full editing pass and you want to review every change. Skip it if you need the AI inside the Word window itself.
2. Claude for Word: Best for Claude inside Word
- Free plan: No
- Paid from: $20/mo
- Built-in AI: Claude
Claude for Word is Anthropic’s official add-in for Word on Windows, Mac, and the web. It answers questions about the document with citations to its sections, edits selections while keeping their formatting, works through comment threads, and summarizes a counterparty’s redlines.
With Track Changes on, its edits arrive as native Word revisions you accept or reject. It needs a Claude Pro plan or higher and does not run in Word 2016 or 2019 perpetual licenses.
Pick it if you already pay for Claude and live in Word. Skip it if you want a free option.
3. ChatGPT for Word: Best free add-in
- Free plan: Yes, every plan
- Paid from: $20/mo
- Built-in AI: ChatGPT
ChatGPT for Word is OpenAI’s sidebar add-in, shared with Excel and PowerPoint, and it is available on every ChatGPT plan including Free. It drafts, summarizes, revises selected text, and adjusts headings, numbering, and formatting.
Usage draws on your ChatGPT plan’s allowance. OpenAI notes that it can change content you meant to keep, so review its edits before sending the document on.
Pick it if you want AI in Word without a new subscription. Skip it if your organization blocks third-party add-ins.
4. Grammarly: Best for proofreading
- Free plan: Yes, 100 AI prompts/mo
- Paid from: $12/mo
- Built-in AI: Grammarly AI
Grammarly works in Word through its desktop app on Windows and Mac. It underlines grammar, clarity, and tone issues and offers suggestions you accept one by one, with sentence rewrites and text generation from a prompt.
The free plan includes 100 AI prompts a month and Pro raises that to 2,000, with plagiarism and AI-text detection. Its strength is sentence-level polish rather than restructuring a document.
Pick it if you mostly want cleaner sentences as you type. Skip it if you want drafting or a document-wide revision.
5. Spellbook: Best for contracts
- Free plan: No
- Paid from: Custom
- Built-in AI: Spellbook
Spellbook is a Word add-in built for lawyers: contract review, drafting, playbooks, and benchmarks against market terms, with redlines as tracked changes.
Pricing is custom and depends on team size, with a 7-day trial.
Pick it if you review contracts for a living. Skip it if your documents are not contracts.
6. Google Docs with Gemini: Best for leaving Office
- Free plan: Yes, with a Google account
- Paid from: $7/mo
- Built-in AI: Gemini
If the real goal is to leave Microsoft 365, Google Docs with Gemini is the direct counterpart to Word with Copilot. Gemini drafts, rewrites, and summarizes, and it shows refinements for you to accept or reject.
Gemini in Docs is not on Workspace Business Starter. It starts with Business Standard ($14 per user per month) or, for individuals, Google AI Pro ($19.99 per month).
Pick it if your team is moving to Google Workspace. Skip it if your documents need to stay in Word format.
Which alternative fits your job?
Choose by the job you want the AI to do. A full editing pass calls for Revise; Claude or ChatGPT inside Word for quick requests; Grammarly for proofreading; Spellbook for contracts; and Google Docs only if you are leaving Office.
| The job | Best fit | When Copilot still wins |
|---|---|---|
| Revise a whole document and review every change | Revise | You need the AI inside the Word window and already pay for Microsoft 365. |
| Use Claude on documents in Word | Claude for Word | You do not want another subscription on top of Microsoft 365. |
| Add AI to Word at no extra cost | ChatGPT for Word | Your organization allows only Microsoft's own AI. |
| Catch grammar and tone issues as you type | Grammarly | You want drafting and summaries, not proofreading. |
| Review contracts and produce redlines | Spellbook | Your documents are not contracts. |
| Leave Microsoft Office entirely | Google Docs | Your files and team live in Microsoft 365. |
What Copilot still does best
- It is already there. Microsoft 365 Personal and Family include Copilot in Word, so there is nothing to install.
- One assistant across Office. The same Copilot works in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
- Model choice is arriving. Microsoft now offers a model selector with providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
- One admin boundary. For businesses, Copilot is managed alongside the rest of Microsoft 365.
If your documents never leave Word and highlighted rewrites with an undo button are enough review for you, it is the simplest option.
What each alternative costs
For comparison, Copilot in Word comes with Microsoft 365 Personal ($9.99 per month or $99.99 per year) with usage limits. The business add-on is $21 per user per month on a yearly plan, discounted to $18 through December 31, 2026, and requires a Microsoft 365 business license.
| Tool | Cheapest paid plan | Monthly | Per year | AI on that plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revise | Plus | $8/mo | $96 | Included, no daily limit |
| Claude for Word | Claude Pro (or $17/mo billed annually) | $20/mo | $200 | Included in Pro |
| ChatGPT for Word | ChatGPT Plus (monthly billing only) | $20/mo | $240 | Included; usage draws on the plan's allowance |
| Grammarly | Pro | $12/mo | - | 2,000 AI prompts a month |
| Spellbook | Custom, priced per team | Custom | - | Contract review, drafting, and redlines |
| Google Docs | Workspace Business Starter (per user, annual plan) | $7/mo | $84 | Not on Starter; Gemini in Docs starts with Business Standard ($14/user/mo) or Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo) |
How to switch from Copilot
For an add-in (Claude, ChatGPT, Grammarly, Spellbook), open Add-ins in Word, search for the tool, and sign in with its account. Your documents stay where they are.
For Revise:
- Import the
.docxinto the editor above. - Ask the agent for the revision you want.
- Accept or reject its suggestions, or leave them pending for a colleague.
- Export to
.docx. Pending suggestions arrive in Word as tracked changes, with comments intact.
The bottom line
If you want AI inside Word, Claude for Word and ChatGPT for Word are the main alternatives to Copilot, and Grammarly covers proofreading. Lawyers should look at Spellbook. If you are leaving Office, Google Docs with Gemini is the counterpart.
If you want an AI that revises the whole document, keeps its Word layout, and hands every edit back as a tracked change, try Revise. It’s free to start. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to edit Word files with ChatGPT.
Sources
Prices and plan details were checked against each vendor’s own pages on September 29, 2026. Prices are in US dollars before tax; vendors change plans often, so confirm on the linked page before you buy.
- Revise: Pricing, Supported models
- Claude for Word: Claude for Word, Pricing
- ChatGPT for Word: ChatGPT for Word, ChatGPT Plus
- Grammarly: Plans, Grammarly for Word
- Spellbook: Pricing, Spellbook
- Google Docs: Workspace pricing, Google AI plans, Gemini in Docs
