The best Grammarly alternatives

Anyone looking past Grammarly is usually after one of two things: a cheaper way to get grammar and phrasing help, or a specific feature Grammarly doesn't do well, like heavy paraphrasing or multi-language checking. QuillBot is the closest one-for-one swap, Wordtune is the cheapest genuinely useful option, and a few tools further down this list solve narrower problems Grammarly wasn't built for.

Key takeaways

• QuillBot bundles paraphrasing, grammar checking, plagiarism and AI-content detection in one subscription, which is more than Grammarly covers on its own.
• Wordtune's free plan caps at 10 rewrites a day, which is enough for occasional use but not a full workday of editing.
• LanguageTool is the strongest option here for anyone who writes in more than one language.
• ProWritingAid goes deeper on long-form style analysis than any tool built for quick emails.
• Hemingway Editor barely checks grammar at all - it is a readability tool, not a grammar checker, and worth knowing that before buying it expecting a Grammarly replacement.

Grammarly, for comparison

Grammarly's own Free plan checks spelling, grammar and tone, plus a limited monthly allowance of AI-generated text. Pro runs $12 a month billed annually, or $30 a month billed monthly, or $20 a month billed quarterly, as of September 2026. Every alternative below is measured against that baseline, since most people switching away from Grammarly are comparing a specific gap - price, a missing feature, or a language it doesn't cover well - rather than looking for a tool that does everything Grammarly does and nothing else.

None of the tools below is a Toolio listing for Grammarly itself, since Toolio doesn't list Grammarly. They are compared here because readers searching for a Grammarly alternative are usually deciding between the tools below, whether or not each one happens to be in Toolio's own directory yet.

The closest replacements

QuillBot

QuillBot combines a paraphraser, grammar checker, plagiarism checker and AI-content detector in one browser extension, web app and set of desktop and mobile apps.

It suits students and professionals who want one subscription to polish everyday writing rather than separate tools for grammar and rewriting.

The Free plan covers basic grammar checking and limited paraphrasing. Premium runs $19.95 a month billed monthly, or about $8.33 a month billed annually ($99.95 a year), as of September 2026.

Its drawback is that the more useful rewriting modes, including its "Humanize" mode, sit behind Premium, and the free plan's daily word and mode limits are tight for regular use.

Wordtune

Wordtune focuses on sentence-level rewriting suggestions and grammar and spelling correction, rather than a full style-and-tone report.

It suits casual writers and editors who mainly want better phrasing suggestions, not a complete writing-analytics dashboard.

The Basic plan is free and includes 10 rewrites a day plus 3 AI summaries a month. Advanced runs about $4.89 a month billed annually ($6.99 billed monthly); Unlimited runs about $6.99 a month billed annually ($9.99 billed monthly), as of September 2026.

Its drawback is that it skips the plagiarism and AI-detection features QuillBot bundles in, so covering those means paying for a second tool.

AI Blaze

AI Blaze is a browser extension that brings AI writing prompts - drafting, summarizing, changing tone - to any site you are typing on, rather than running a dedicated grammar-checking pass.

It suits professionals who want fast AI help while writing emails or documents anywhere online, without switching to a separate app.

The extension is free to install. The vendor does not publish a detailed public breakdown of paid-tier pricing, so confirm current plan costs on its own site before relying on a number here, as of September 2026.

Its drawback is that it needs an internet connection to do anything, and it is built as a prompt tool rather than a dedicated grammar checker, so it will miss the kind of subtle grammar issues Grammarly and QuillBot are built specifically to catch.

Two real alternatives Toolio doesn't list yet

ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid goes deeper on style and readability analysis than Grammarly - repeated words, sentence-length variation, pacing across a whole manuscript - built for long-form writers rather than quick messages.

It suits novelists, bloggers and anyone editing long documents rather than short, everyday writing.

The Free plan gives two line-editing report runs a day plus a small daily allowance of rephrases. Premium runs $30 a month billed monthly, or $10 a month billed annually; Premium Pro, which adds plagiarism checking, runs $36 a month billed monthly or $12 a month billed annually. One-time lifetime licenses cost $399 and $699, as of September 2026.

Its drawback is that the reports can be a lot for someone who just wants a quick grammar pass, and real-time paraphrasing needs a paid plan.

LanguageTool

LanguageTool is an open, multi-language grammar and style checker covering more than 30 languages, built by a Europe-based team.

It suits multilingual writers and anyone who wants a grammar checker that is not built English-first.

The Free plan checks up to 2,000 characters per text field. Premium runs about $19.90 a month billed monthly, dropping to roughly $7 a month billed annually or about $4.17 a month on a two-year plan, as of September 2026.

Its drawback is that 2,000-character cap on the free plan, which makes checking a long document in one pass impractical without upgrading.

Hemingway Editor

Hemingway Editor flags overly complex sentences, passive voice and hard-to-read paragraphs. It is a readability tool rather than a grammar checker in the Grammarly sense.

It suits writers who want to simplify dense prose more than catch typos or grammar mistakes.

The web editor is free with no account required. Hemingway Editor Classic, a one-time $19.99 desktop app, adds offline use and direct publishing to WordPress and Medium. A separate subscription, Hemingway Editor Plus, runs $8.33 a month billed annually for 5,000 AI-assisted sentences a month, or $12.50 a month billed annually for 10,000, as of September 2026.

Its drawback, plainly stated: it barely checks grammar, so pair it with something else if catching mistakes matters as much as readability to you.

How to choose

Want a direct Grammarly swap that also paraphrases and checks for plagiarism: QuillBot.

Mostly want better phrasing on a tight budget: Wordtune's free plan, upgrading only if 10 rewrites a day isn't enough.

Want AI help everywhere you type rather than a dedicated app, and don't mind confirming pricing yourself: AI Blaze.

Editing a novel, thesis or other long manuscript: ProWritingAid.

Writing in more than one language: LanguageTool.

Your prose is dense and hard to follow and readability matters more than catching every typo: Hemingway Editor, paired with a grammar checker if you need both.

FAQ

Is QuillBot as good as Grammarly for basic grammar checking?

It covers the same basics and adds paraphrasing, plagiarism and AI-detection tools Grammarly's own plans don't bundle in, though its free plan is more limited day to day.

Which Grammarly alternative works well in languages other than English?

LanguageTool, which checks more than 30 languages and was not built English-first the way most competitors were.

Are any of these tools actually free, not just a trial?

QuillBot, Wordtune, AI Blaze, ProWritingAid and LanguageTool all have ongoing free plans with real daily or character limits, rather than a time-limited trial.

Does Hemingway Editor check grammar the way Grammarly does?

No. It focuses on readability - sentence complexity, passive voice, paragraph length - rather than grammar and spelling rules.

Is there a single tool that replaces everything Grammarly does?

Not exactly. QuillBot comes closest by bundling grammar checking with paraphrasing and detection tools, but no alternative here matches Grammarly's tone detector feature for feature, since that scoring system is proprietary to Grammarly.