Grammarly is one of the most well-known writing tools on the market. However, just because it’s popular doesn’t mean that it’s the right choice for everyone. Even so, choosing this service can seem easier than sorting through all the Grammarly alternatives to find your perfect fit.
Fortunately, there’s no need to vet every spell-checker tool on the market personally — we’ve done that research for you. By familiarizing yourself with what the top Grammarly alternatives have to offer, you can pick the tool that best fits your needs and your budget.
In this article, we’ll go over seven impressive Grammarly alternatives. We’ll talk about how they differ from the popular tool and which traits they share. We’ll also discuss which kinds of users may want to consider each program. With that in mind, let’s get started!
Top Grammarly alternatives compared for 2024
Before learning more about the Grammarly alternatives that we picked for this post, here’s a quick summary of what tools we’ll be comparing:
Free Grammarly alternatives (with optional paid upgrades)
1. ProWritingAid
One of the reasons that Grammarly is so popular is its universal application. It catches common mistakes across every website you visit, meaning you can typically rely on it in any situation. Fortunately, you can find that same benefit with ProWritingAid, too.
That’s because ProWritingAid is also a well-rounded tool: it’ll provide you with corrections on spelling, grammar, and readability across the web. It’s one of the best free grammarly alternatives, but if you do want to unlock its premium features, the paid plans are also a full $10 less than Grammarly’s.
Here are a few other features that you can use with ProWritingAid:
- Customize your spell-checking to fit your genre, such as fiction or copywriting
- Learn how to improve your grammar skills from built-in quizzes, videos, and articles
- Choose from 20 different reporting options to tailor your feedback to your specific needs
Similar to the Grammarly app, ProWritingAid offers all of these features from the comfort of your web browser. As such, you’re getting the same convenience of real-time suggestions.
In addition to integrations with popular options such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs, ProWritingAid also supports other tools such as Scrivener and Open Office. In this respect, one could argue that it’s actually even better than Grammarly, because it extends beyond the online world in ways that Grammarly does not.
Of all the options on this list, we think that ProWritingAid is the most similar to Grammarly. Therefore, you may want to try it out if you like Grammarly’s wide-reaching approach. Thanks to the reports, you’ll get the same type of feedback, but with more ways to understand it.
You may also want to try ProWritingAid if you’re focused on building your grammar skills. The in-engine educational materials can be vital resources for accurate information.
Finally, let’s cover ProWritingAid’s pricing. As we mentioned, the basic version is available for free. However, you’ll need the $10 per month plan to unlock all features. You can also pay $120 for a yearly subscription or $399 for lifetime access. If you landed on this page looking for apps like Grammarly but with a friendlier price tag, then ProWritingAid is your solution.
2. Hemingway
The Hemingway editor strives to help your writing sound like it comes from its famed writer namesake: concise, clear, and effective. The app does this by showing you where you can improve your basic grammar mechanics throughout the piece.
In addition to this rule-based focus, Hemingway also has several other impressive features:
- Color-coded highlighting and underlining to identify problematic patterns more easily
- An option to upload your finished work directly to WordPress
- No need for an internet connection while writing
Like many other free Grammarly alternatives, Hemingway’s greatest strength is how it builds upon a feature that was already working. Both tools have a similar color-coded feedback system. However, because Hemingway provides an easy-to-read legend, you can get a better overall overview of your work.
Moreover, this visual component is a pretty significant departure from Grammarly’s integrated approach. Hemingway can’t follow you across every in-browser text field as Grammarly can. You’ll have to type directly into the engine to get feedback.
If you’re looking for a visual tool to guide your work, Hemingway might be the choice for you. The highlighting system is simple to understand without being distracting. Hemingway also prominently displays your work’s readability level and word count. Therefore, this feature might be a bonus if you prefer a big picture view.
Hemingway may also fit your needs if you want to focus on the mechanics of grammar. Admittedly, this tool almost exclusively checks for correct writing structure and simplification opportunities. Thus, it’s a bit lacking when it comes to more advanced insights on tone and style.
Let’s wrap up with a look at Hemingway’s pricing structure. The basic in-browser version is a free Grammarly alternative that you can use at no cost. However, if you’re looking for a desktop version and premium features, there’s a one-time payment of $19.99.
3. Sapling
For our next free alternative to Grammarly, we’ll switch gears a bit and look at an AI-driven solution: Sapling. It can help you write faster and better by providing personalized suggestions based on context and previous experience.
This app is generally most useful in business settings. However, that doesn’t mean individuals can’t reap the benefits. This is especially true if any of the following features catch your eye:
- A collaborative analytics engine that can incorporate individual mistakes into team-wide feedback
- One-click response options for nearly instantaneous messaging
- Enterprise-grade infrastructure designed to handle large amounts of data with strong security
Sapling and Grammarly don’t share many common features outside of the basic checks for grammar and spelling. However, there are a few points that you may want to note. For example, both are browser extensions. Additionally, both Sapling and Grammarly provide quality scores and error reports.
In contrast, their differences are pretty significant. For example, Sapling is optimized to work seamlessly in service chats and help desks. Given Grammarly’s more universal applications, Sapling has the advantage if you’re looking to boost customer service with better communication.
Their difference in accuracy is significant to note, too. Based on findings from a third party, Sapling finds 60% more errors than Grammarly. Thus, if you’re trying to avoid mistakes at all costs, Sapling might be a better free alternative to Grammarly for your needs.
All of these features make Sapling particularly helpful in professional settings, especially if you’re looking to prioritize speed. We highly recommend checking it out if you deal with a lot of short-form customer communications.
Despite its business-oriented nature, you’ll probably find Sapling’s pricing to be reasonably accessible. As we already mentioned, the basic version of this Grammarly alternative is free. If you want the premium edition, those plans start at $25 per month. You can also request a custom quote for enterprises.
4. Ginger
Basic grammar mechanics are undeniably essential to high-quality writing. However, they might not be the only thing you want to improve. If you’re also trying to make your writing sound more natural, Ginger could be one of the top Grammarly alternatives for you.
On top of basic spelling and grammar checks, Ginger also offers:
- A ‘correct all’ tool to instantly apply all recommended fixes
- In-engine synonym suggestions to help vary your writing
- An AI-based sentence rephrasing tool to cut down on wordiness
Just like the Grammarly app, Ginger provides spelling and grammar tips based on the context. The two interfaces are also pretty similar: you’ll see an underlined error, followed by an in-browser suggestion for how to correct it. The mobile app is also a plus.
Nevertheless, Ginger has a few traits that make it stand apart. For example, it offers a text reader to help you hear how naturally your writing flows.
Despite these benefits, Ginger also has drawbacks. Grammar and spelling are still essential in this tool, but they’re not prioritized as much as style. You can see this in Ginger’s lack of an accuracy score, which is not better than Grammarly, and can make it challenging to gauge your overall writing quality.
If you’re heavily focused on communication, Ginger is definitely worth your consideration. It’s hard to beat the combination of high-quality AI suggestions and instant access to relevant synonyms.
Furthermore, Ginger may be the right fit for you if English isn’t your first language. The AI information is gathered from other users. Therefore, you know you’re working on real-world data to improve basic mechanics and language-specific connotations.
Unlike the other options on this list, Ginger is not available as a free alternative to Grammarly, but the free version is limited in its features. Prices for the premium option start at $13.99 per month if paying month-to-month, or only $4.99 per month if you pay $120 up front for two years.
5. PaperRater
Don’t let the scholarly name fool you — PaperRater is one of the better multi-purpose Grammarly alternatives on the market. Whether you’re looking to check over a term paper or improve a blog post, this service is here to help.
There are plenty of PaperRater features that support academics and casual writers alike, such as:
- In-engine performance graphs to see your scores change in real time
- Detection of opportunities to elaborate and add complexity
- The freedom to customize your goals, which can help you curate your content to a specific audience
You can use both Grammarly and PaperRater to check for plagiarism. However, given PaperRater’s more academic focus, it offers a much more robust engine for this. For example, you’ll get an overall originality score and links to the sources of copied material, making it better than Grammarly in this regard.
On the other hand, PaperRater isn’t as convenient as Grammarly. You have to copy and paste your work into the engine to get your results. Thus, it’s not well-suited to short-form work like comments or emails.
However, PaperRater does provide well-rounded advice. It accomplishes this with a little bit of help from another website like Grammarly that you already saw on this list: Ginger. Thus, if you appreciated the features from the last section but wanted a more formal focus, PaperRater could be a perfect fit for you.
As you might have guessed already, PaperRater is also a formidable tool for anyone in a scholarly environment. It lends itself more toward long-form work with in-depth responses. Therefore, you’ll probably find that it’s the only program you need to check over your writing.
As for PaperRater’s pricing, you can access the tool’s basic features for free. If you want the premium elements, you can pay $11.21 per month or $71.55 for an entire year.
6. Writer.com
You might not always be writing alone. Plenty of projects depend on several different writers using a single voice. If you want to help your team stick to the same style, consider choosing Writer.com from the list of Grammarly alternatives.
The collaborative features of Writer.com can help you work more in sync automatically. It does this with a wide variety of features, including:
- Templated style guide building to facilitate quick and organized approaches
- Reusable response snippets so you can spend less time on standardization
- Different permission levels to help set various roles for your project management team
Moreover, Writer.com and Grammarly both share a personal dictionary. Both applications will help you create a customized list of words that they’ll recognize. However, Writer.com lacks nuance between dialects, so you’ll probably use its dictionary features more frequently.
Despite this downside, Writer.com is impressively advanced when it comes to broad communication. For example, you can select an inclusive language option. This setting will flag any potentially insensitive words or phrases. Therefore, you can make your writing resonate with as many people as possible and avoid offending anyone.
Additionally, you can curate your writing standards alongside your personal dictionary. As such, Writer.com can enable you to develop and maintain a specific writing style.
We highly recommend Writer.com if you’re an agency. It’s easy to get everyone on the same page with a Google Drive-like collaboration interface and the universal style guide. In fact, any project with multiple writers could probably benefit from this tool.
Finally, let’s look at Writer.com’s pricing. You can use the basic program for free. Individuals can get premium features starting at $13,50 per month. Team rates start at $18 per member.
7. LanguageTool
The internet has made it possible to reach more audiences than ever before. As such, you might be interested in the Grammarly alternatives that have a more global outlook. If you’re looking to appeal to an international readership, consider using LanguageTool to help you.
LanguageTool offers basic grammar and spell-checking functions. However, it can also apply them to over 20 different languages. A few other impressive features include:
- Automatically checking that the name of email recipients and the gender used in the message match up
- Checking up to 100,000 characters at a time
- Scanning for errors in complex numbers, such as ISBNs
This tool’s interface is something of a mix between Grammarly and Hemingway. It provides corrections when you scroll over text like the former program. Additionally, it has color-coded highlights like Hemingway. The result is an overall summary of errors that can still provide detailed feedback.
Another difference between LanguageTool and Grammarly is how much you can customize your experience. LanguageTool offers both a dark mode and a ‘distraction free’ module to help tailor your interface. If you’re looking to go further in-depth with your feedback, you can also activate ‘picky mode’ for advanced results.
We recommend using LanguageTool if you’re trying to reach a broader audience. The different language settings and dialect databases can help you tailor your approach to various users.
However, LanguageTool might also be a wise choice if you want the freedom to personalize your experience. On top of those interface settings, you’ll also get a customizable personal dictionary. Finally, because LanguageTool is available as a browser extension, you can apply these changes across the web.
Let’s wrap up with LanguageTool’s pricing. You can use the basic features for free. Paid plans start at $24.90 per month for individuals paying month-to-month, but go way down to only $5.83 per month if paying up front for the year.
For organizations with team members, the cost is $11.07 per month for two users, but there’s no month-to-month option. You have to pay up front for the year to lock that in. For each additional user, the price increases accordingly.
Try one of these Grammarly alternatives today! 🚀
With all the Grammarly alternatives on the market, finding the editing program that best suits your needs can be challenging. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be a guessing game. By understanding the differences between your options and what your own needs are, you can make a more informed decision about which writing tool to use.
As you saw in this article, some of the options were better than Grammarly when it came to certain features, while others had potential drawbacks, depending on what you’re looking for in a Grammarly alternative. If you’re still unsure which is right for you, we’re personally big fans of PaperRater. It combines the spell-check power of Ginger with its in-depth insights, making it an impressively powerful program for academic and informal purposes alike.