Revise Blog - Building a post-AI word processor
The best Grammarly alternatives in 2026
Eight grammar checkers and AI editors compared on price, free-plan limits, and how they check your writing
Artur Sapek, Founder of Revise9 min read
Grammarly’s free plan catches spelling and grammar mistakes and shows your tone, but full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustments, and unlimited suggestions sit behind Pro, which costs $12 a month billed annually or $30 month to month. Grammarly also offers Grammarly Docs, a document editor with AI chat and agents. People still look for a cheaper checker, a checker that handles more languages, or an AI editor that proposes whole-document edits as tracked changes they can accept or reject.
I have spent the past year building Revise, the word processor with an AI editing agent that appears second on this list, and we run a public benchmark of AI models on proofreading. The prices and plans below come from each vendor’s own pages, which are linked in the sources at the end.
Grammarly alternatives at a glance
The “AI capabilities” column is the most useful place to start, because it shows whether a tool is a grammar checker with AI rewrites added or an AI editor that also fixes grammar.
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | AI capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LanguageTool | A cheaper, multilingual checker that works as you type | Yes (2,000 characters per text field, 3 AI rephrasings a day) | $5.83/mo (Premium) | Grammar, punctuation, and style checks in 30+ languages, AI sentence rephrasing |
| Revise | Proofreading a whole document as tracked changes | Yes (daily AI limit) | $8/mo (Plus) | Agent proposes text and formatting edits as suggestions. Header, footer, and page-layout changes apply directly |
| ProWritingAid | Style reports for fiction and long-form | Yes (suggestions for 500 words at a time, 10 Rephrases a day) | $10/mo (Premium) | Grammar, style, and line-editing reports, Rephrase, Chapter Critique, paid manuscript analysis |
| Microsoft Editor | Checks built into Word and Outlook | Yes (basic spelling and grammar) | $9.99/mo (Microsoft 365 Personal) | Spelling and grammar, clarity, conciseness, formality, and vocabulary refinements with Microsoft 365 |
| QuillBot | Paraphrasing alongside grammar checks | Yes (paraphrases up to 100 words, summaries up to 1,200 words) | $8.33/mo (Premium) | Paraphrasing in multiple modes, grammar checks, summaries, humanizer, AI detection, AI chat |
| ChatGPT | Proofreading on request with a general AI | Yes (3 file uploads a day, 27K-token Instant context) | $8/mo (ChatGPT Go) | Writing blocks for revising a draft or selection, reads uploaded DOCX and PDF |
| Wordtune | Sentence rewrites and tone changes | Yes (Unlimited spelling and grammar checks, 10 rewrites a day, 3 summaries a month) | $6.99/mo (Advanced) | Rewrite suggestions, tone changes, grammar and spelling fixes, summaries |
| Hemingway Editor | Readability and plain language | Yes (readability highlights only, grammar and AI need Plus) | $8.33/mo (Hemingway Editor Plus) | AI fixes for highlighted issues, advanced grammar checks, tone and style rewrites |
Grammarly works as you type across many apps and sites, so it also helps to know when and where each alternative runs. Table 2 shows when each one checks, how its fixes appear, and whether it works inside Microsoft Word.
| Tool | When it checks | How fixes appear | Inside Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| LanguageTool | As you type, in browsers, apps, and its editor | Inline suggestions | Yes, add-in |
| Revise | When you ask, across the whole document | Tracked changes you accept or reject | No, separate editor that opens .docx |
| ProWritingAid | As you type, plus on-demand reports | Inline suggestions and reports | Yes, Word for Windows, and Word on the web via its browser extension |
| Microsoft Editor | As you type, in Word and Outlook | Inline suggestions | Yes |
| QuillBot | In its web tools, apps, and extensions | Suggestions and rewritten text in its tools | Yes, add-in |
| ChatGPT | When you ask, in chat, Canvas, or its Word add-in | A corrected reply, inline suggestions in Canvas, or edits in Word through the add-in | Yes, ChatGPT for Word add-in |
| Wordtune | In its web editor and browser extensions | Rewrite suggestions | - |
| Hemingway Editor | On text in its own editor | Highlights, with AI fixes on Plus | - |
To try the #2 pick on your own writing, paste a draft or import a .docx below and ask the agent to proofread it. It opens in Revise in your browser. You can make one agent request without an account, and you need a free account to accept its suggestions.
How we evaluated them
We compared each alternative against Grammarly, which underlines mistakes as you type in more than a million apps and sites (by Grammarly’s count) and adds AI rewrites and AI-text detection on Pro. We looked at the six points below.
- We did not run a controlled test of these apps. The only accuracy numbers we cite come from ErrataBench, which measures specific AI models, not apps.
- Does it check a sentence, a text field, or the whole document at once?
- Can you see and reject each change before it is applied?
- What can you do without paying, and where are the limits?
- Does it work in browsers, Word, and Google Docs, or only in its own editor?
- What does one person pay, compared with Grammarly Pro?
Accuracy numbers come from ErrataBench, our proofreading benchmark of AI models. It tests models, not apps.
The 8 best Grammarly alternatives
1. LanguageTool: Best like-for-like replacement
- Free plan: Yes, 2,000 characters
- Paid from: $5.83/mo
- Built-in AI: LanguageTool
LanguageTool works the way Grammarly does. It checks as you type in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Opera, in Word and Google Docs, and in desktop apps for Mac and Windows. It covers grammar, punctuation, and style in more than 30 languages, and its core engine is open source under the LGPL.
The free plan checks up to 2,000 characters per text field and includes three AI rephrasings a day. Premium is $5.83 a month billed annually ($69.90). It raises the limit to 150,000 characters and adds unlimited AI rephrasing and a personal style guide.
Pick it if you want Grammarly’s workflow for less money, or you write in more than one language. Skip it if you specifically want whole-document AI edits as tracked changes.
2. Revise: Best for proofreading a whole document
- Free plan: Yes, daily AI limit
- Paid from: $8/mo
- Built-in AI: Revise Agent
Revise is a browser word processor with a built-in AI agent. Instead of underlining as you type, it proofreads the whole document when you ask and proposes its text and formatting fixes as tracked changes you accept or reject. You can choose GPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok models.
The Free plan runs GPT-6 Luna under a daily AI limit, and GPT-6 Sol and Claude Opus 5.5 need Pro ($20 a month). Revise opens and exports .docx, and fixes you have not resolved export to Word as tracked changes.
Pick it if you want a full proofreading pass on a finished document and want to review each fix as a tracked change. Skip it if you want corrections as you type in email, chat, Word, and other apps, because Revise is a separate browser editor.
3. ProWritingAid: Best for fiction and long-form
- Free plan: Yes, 500 words at a time
- Paid from: $10/mo
- Built-in AI: ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid pairs a grammar checker with more than 25 style reports and is aimed at novelists. It integrates with Word, Google Docs, Scrivener, and the major browsers, and it checks English only (US, UK, Australian, and Canadian variants).
The free plan gives suggestions for 500 words at a time. Premium is $10 a month billed yearly ($120) or $30 month to month, with a $399 lifetime option. Premium adds unlimited Rephrases and one Chapter Critique a day. Deeper manuscript, plot, and character analysis is sold separately as Story Credits.
Pick it if you write fiction or long manuscripts and want style and line-editing reports. Skip it if you write in a language other than English.
4. Microsoft Editor: Best if you live in Word
- Free plan: Yes, basic checks
- Paid from: $9.99/mo
- Built-in AI: Microsoft Editor
Microsoft Editor is the checker built into Word and Outlook. Basic spelling and grammar are free, and a Microsoft 365 subscription adds clarity, conciseness, formality, and vocabulary refinements. Microsoft 365 Personal ($9.99 a month or $99.99 a year) also includes Copilot in Word.
It works in fewer places than it used to. The Edge and Chrome extensions were retired on October 31, 2025, and their features moved into Edge’s built-in proofing.
Pick it if you already pay for Microsoft 365 and write mostly in Word and Outlook. Skip it if you need checks outside Word, Outlook, and Edge.
5. QuillBot: Best for paraphrasing
- Free plan: Yes, 100-word paraphrases
- Paid from: $8.33/mo
- Built-in AI: QuillBot
QuillBot is mainly a paraphraser, and it also includes a grammar checker (6 languages), summarizer, humanizer, plagiarism checker, and AI detector. It has a Word add-in, Chrome and Edge extensions, a Mac app, and mobile apps and keyboards.
The free paraphraser takes 100 words at a time in two modes. Premium is $8.33 a month billed annually ($99.95) or $19.95 month to month, with unlimited paraphrasing in nine modes plus custom modes and 25,000 words of plagiarism checks a month.
Pick it if rewording is most of what you used Grammarly for. Skip it if you need grammar checks beyond its six listed languages.
6. ChatGPT: Best for ad hoc proofreading
- Free plan: Yes, 3 uploads/day
- Paid from: $8/mo
- Built-in AI: ChatGPT
ChatGPT proofreads whatever you paste or upload, and its Canvas workspace can mark up text with inline suggestions. The ChatGPT for Word add-in is available on every plan, including Free (subject to its usage limits). On ErrataBench, GPT-5.6 Sol with medium reasoning had the highest fix rate of any model tested (96.5%), but that benchmark runs models in a fixed harness, not in the ChatGPT app.
It does not check as you type, and without the add-in, changes stay in chat or Canvas or arrive in a newly generated file rather than in your original document. The Free plan allows three file uploads a day. Go costs $8 a month and Plus costs $20. Claude is not ranked separately because its chat workflow overlaps with ChatGPT’s. Its Claude for Word add-in (Pro and up) is worth knowing about, though, because it applies edits as native Word tracked changes when Track Changes is on.
Pick it if you already use ChatGPT and want a second pass on important text. Skip it if you want corrections to appear while you write.
7. Wordtune: Best for rewrites
- Free plan: Yes, 10 rewrites/day
- Paid from: $6.99/mo
- Built-in AI: Wordtune
Wordtune, from AI21 Labs, suggests alternative phrasings and tone changes in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, on the web, and on iPhone. Spelling and grammar checks are unlimited on the free plan, which also includes 10 rewrites a day.
Advanced is $6.99 a month billed annually or $13.99 month to month for 30 rewrites a day.
Pick it if you mostly want better-sounding sentences. Skip it if you need a Safari extension or an Android app.
8. Hemingway Editor: Best for readability
- Free plan: Yes, no AI
- Paid from: $8.33/mo
- Built-in AI: Hemingway Editor Plus
Hemingway Editor highlights hard-to-read sentences, adverbs, passive voice, and simpler word choices, and it is free on the web. Grammar checks and AI fixes need Plus, which costs $100 a year or $10 month to month for 5,000 AI sentences a month. Grammar fixes on Plus do not use credits.
Pick it if your problem is dense prose rather than typos. Skip it if you want Word or Google Docs integration, because its pages document only its own web and desktop editors.
Which alternative fits your writing?
The best alternative depends on why you are leaving Grammarly. If price or languages are the reason, LanguageTool fits. Revise fits finished documents, ProWritingAid fits manuscripts, and Microsoft Editor fits people who write in Word, Outlook, and Edge.
| Why you are leaving | Best fit | When Grammarly still wins |
|---|---|---|
| Pro costs too much | LanguageTool | You rely on tone rewrites and AI-text detection in one app. |
| You want a whole document proofread with fixes as reviewable tracked changes | Revise | You want corrections as you type across many apps and sites. |
| You write fiction | ProWritingAid | You also write in languages other than English. |
| You only write in Word and Outlook | Microsoft Editor | You also write in the browser, on mobile, or in Google Docs. |
| You mostly reword sentences | QuillBot or Wordtune | You want grammar and rewrites in one set of underlines. |
| Your prose is hard to read | Hemingway Editor | Your problem is typos and grammar, not sentence length. |
What Grammarly still does best
- It runs in many places. Desktop apps for Windows and Mac, extensions for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, and apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android (Grammarly for desktop).
- Free spelling checks in 23 languages. Red-underline corrections are free in every supported language, and advanced suggestions cover English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and Italian (Grammarly languages).
- Detection in the same plan. Pro includes plagiarism and AI-text detection alongside 2,000 AI prompts a month.
- Style controls. Pro includes one style guide and one brand tone, and Enterprise adds SSO and data loss prevention.
What each alternative costs
| Tool | Cheapest paid plan | Monthly | Per year | AI on that plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grammarly | Pro (billed annually, $30 month to month) | $12/mo | $144 | 2,000 AI prompts a month |
| LanguageTool | Premium (billed annually ($69.90), $24.90 month to month, $4.99/mo on a 2-year plan) | $5.83/mo | $69.90 | Unlimited AI rephrasing, 150,000 characters per text field, personal style guide |
| Revise | Plus (or $72/yr billed annually) | $8/mo | $72 | Monthly AI limit, no daily limit. GPT-6 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Opus 5.5 need Pro |
| ProWritingAid | Premium (billed yearly ($120), $30 month to month) | $10/mo | $120 | Unlimited Rephrases, 1 Chapter Critique and 5 Sparks a day |
| Microsoft Editor | Microsoft 365 Personal (or $99.99 a year) | $9.99/mo | $99.99 | Advanced grammar and style refinements, Copilot in Word is also included |
| QuillBot | Premium (billed annually ($99.95), $19.95 month to month) | $8.33/mo | $99.95 | Unlimited paraphrasing, 6,000-word summaries, higher AI chat usage |
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Go (monthly billing, may include ads) | $8/mo | $96 | More messages, uploads, and memory than Free |
| Wordtune | Advanced (billed annually, $13.99 month to month) | $6.99/mo | $83.88 | 30 rewrites a day, 15 summaries a month |
| Hemingway Editor | Hemingway Editor Plus (billed annually ($100), $10 month to month) | $8.33/mo | $100 | 5,000 AI sentences a month, grammar fixes do not use credits |
How to switch from Grammarly
For another as-you-type checker (LanguageTool, ProWritingAid, Wordtune), turn off the Grammarly extension or desktop app first, then install the new one, so two checkers are not marking up the same text.
For a tool that checks on request (Revise, ChatGPT), paste or upload one finished draft, ask for a proofread, and review each change before you accept it.
The bottom line
For the same as-you-type workflow at a lower price, choose LanguageTool. For a requested pass over a finished document, with fixes you accept or reject as tracked changes, choose Revise. For fiction, choose ProWritingAid.
Sources
Prices and plan details were checked against each vendor’s own pages on October 4, 2026. Prices are in US dollars as each vendor lists them, and some include local tax. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on the linked page before you buy.
- Grammarly: Usage and document limits, Languages, Desktop app, Browser extension, Grammarly Docs, Plans, Grammarly for Word
- LanguageTool: Premium, LanguageTool for Word, Core source code (LGPL)
- Revise: Pricing, Supported models, Agent capabilities, Word compatibility, Import and export, MCP server, Suggesting mode, AI usage limits
- ProWritingAid: Pricing, System requirements, Word for the web, Home page
- Microsoft Editor: Microsoft Editor overview, Browser extension retirement, Compare Microsoft 365 plans
- QuillBot: Premium plans, How much is QuillBot Premium?
- ChatGPT: Pricing, Free tier FAQ, File uploads FAQ, Writing blocks, ChatGPT for Word, Capabilities overview, ChatGPT for Word, Creating documents with ChatGPT Work, Google Drive app, Google app data controls, Supported file types, ChatGPT for Google Sheets
- Wordtune: Plans, Supported platforms, Home page
- Hemingway Editor: Hemingway Editor Plus, Billing FAQs, Desktop app, Web editor
