8 Best Grammarly Alternatives in 2026 (Post-Superhuman)
Grammarly the product still works the way it always did — but the company around it changed. In October 2025 the parent company rebranded from Grammarly to Superhuman, folding the writing assistant, Coda, and the acquired Superhuman email client into one “Superhuman” suite most writers never asked for. Then in March 2026 an investigative journalist revealed that Grammarly’s “Expert Review” feature had attached real writers’ names to AI-generated suggestions without consent; Julia Angwin sued the parent company in a nationwide class action, and even CEO Shishir Mehrotra admitted the feature “wasn’t good for experts, it wasn’t good for users.” The feature is gone, but the trust hit lingers. If you’re rethinking your grammar checker, here are eight Grammarly alternatives that actually fit different jobs — grammar, paraphrasing, readability, academic writing, and privacy.
For reference, Grammarly Pro is still $12/month ($144/year), and the bundled Superhuman Business tier runs $33/member/month billed annually.
1. LanguageTool
The strongest free, privacy-respecting Grammarly alternative — open-source at its core and multilingual by design.
What makes it different from Grammarly: LanguageTool checks grammar, spelling, and style across 30+ languages and dialects (Grammarly is English-only), and its core engine is open source, so you can self-host it and keep your text off anyone’s servers. The free tier catches most everyday errors; Premium adds advanced style and rephrasing.
Best for: Multilingual writers and anyone who wants a checker they can self-host for privacy.
Pricing: Free; Premium around $59.90/year
2. ProWritingAid
A craft-level editor built for long-form writers, with reports Grammarly doesn’t offer at all.
What makes it different from Grammarly: ProWritingAid runs 25+ in-depth reports — pacing, sensory detail, dialogue tags, sentence-length variation, echoes — aimed at novelists and long-form authors rather than short business copy. It integrates with Scrivener, Word, and Google Docs. Note the 2026 price hike: the annual Premium plan rose from $79 to $120, with a new Premium Pro tier at $144/year.
Best for: Fiction writers, authors, and anyone editing book-length manuscripts.
Pricing: Free (limited); Premium $30/month or $120/year; lifetime $399
3. QuillBot
Best known for paraphrasing, but its grammar checker is free, unlimited, and genuinely good.
What makes it different from Grammarly: QuillBot leads with rewriting — its paraphraser offers multiple modes (fluency, formal, creative, shorten) that go further than Grammarly’s tone suggestions. The grammar and spell checker is free with no sign-up, and Premium unlocks faster paraphrasing, a summarizer, and a plagiarism checker. See our QuillBot vs Grammarly breakdown for the head-to-head.
Best for: Students and writers who rephrase and summarize as much as they proofread.
Pricing: Free grammar checker; Premium $9.95/month or $99.95/year
4. Hemingway Editor
The opposite philosophy: instead of adding suggestions, it strips your writing down to plain, punchy prose.
What makes it different from Grammarly: Hemingway scores readability and flags run-ons, passive voice, adverbs, and hard-to-read sentences — it’s a concision coach, not a grammar-rule engine. The web app is free and the desktop app is a one-time $19.99. The newer Editor Plus adds AI rewrites on a subscription.
Best for: Bloggers, marketers, and anyone who over-writes and wants tighter sentences.
Pricing: Free web app; desktop one-time $19.99; Editor Plus (AI) from ~$10/month billed annually
5. Wordtune
A rewriting-first assistant for people whose problem is phrasing, not commas.
What makes it different from Grammarly: Wordtune focuses on rewording — give it a clunky sentence and it offers several alternative phrasings plus tone controls (casual, formal, shorter, longer). Grammar and spelling checks come along for the ride, but the draw is expression. The free tier covers a handful of daily rewrites.
Best for: Non-native English writers and anyone who knows what they mean but struggles to say it cleanly.
Pricing: Free tier; Advanced $6.99/month; Unlimited $9.99/month
6. DeepL Write
From the makers of the DeepL translator, a rephrasing tool with a strong privacy and multilingual footing.
What makes it different from Grammarly: DeepL Write improves tone, clarity, and phrasing in English and German, leaning on the same language models that made DeepL’s translation quality a favorite among European and privacy-conscious teams. It’s positioned around style and rewriting rather than a full rulebook of grammar corrections. There’s a free tier, and Write Pro is an add-on to DeepL’s plans.
Best for: European teams and bilingual writers who already trust DeepL for translation.
Pricing: Free; Write Pro add-on from $7.49/user/month
7. Microsoft Editor
The free checker most Office users already have, no extra subscription required.
What makes it different from Grammarly: Microsoft Editor is built into Word, Outlook, and the Edge browser, checking spelling, grammar, and basic style across 20+ languages at no cost. It won’t match Grammarly’s depth, but for people living inside Microsoft 365 it’s a zero-friction baseline, and the advanced refinements are already covered if you pay for 365. (Heads up: Microsoft 365 commercial prices rose 0–43% on July 1, 2026.)
Best for: Microsoft 365 users who want a solid, free checker without installing anything.
Pricing: Free basics; advanced features included with Microsoft 365
8. Trinka AI
A grammar and style checker built specifically for academic and technical writing.
What makes it different from Grammarly: Trinka is trained on scholarly and technical conventions — it corrects for formal tone, subject-specific terminology, and publication style (APA, AMA) in ways a general-purpose tool can’t. It also handles citation checks and manuscript consistency. The free plan covers 5,000 words a month.
Best for: Researchers, grad students, and technical writers preparing papers or reports.
Pricing: Free (5,000 words/month); Premium $20/month or $80/year
Whichever writing assistant you land on, Carly can hook right in — native integrations for Google Docs and Notion, plus bring-your-own API key for anything else.
Grammarly Alternatives Compared
| Tool | Best at | Free tier | Languages | Starting paid price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LanguageTool | Privacy + multilingual grammar | Yes | 30+ | ~$59.90/year |
| ProWritingAid | Long-form craft reports | Limited | English | $120/year |
| QuillBot | Paraphrasing + free grammar | Yes | English + | $9.95/month |
| Hemingway Editor | Readability + concision | Yes (web) | English | $19.99 one-time |
| Wordtune | Rewriting + tone | Yes | English | $6.99/month |
| DeepL Write | Rephrasing + privacy | Yes | English, German | $7.49/user/month |
| Microsoft Editor | Free built-in checks | Yes | 20+ | Free / with 365 |
| Trinka AI | Academic + technical | Yes (5k words) | English | $20/month |
| Grammarly | All-round grammar + tone | Yes | English | $12/month |
FAQ
Did Grammarly change its name to Superhuman? The parent company rebranded to Superhuman in October 2025 and bundled Grammarly, Coda, and the Superhuman email client into one suite. The Grammarly writing product still exists under the same name — here’s the full explainer.
What’s the best free Grammarly alternative? LanguageTool for grammar across many languages (and self-hosting for privacy), QuillBot for a free unlimited grammar checker plus paraphrasing, and Hemingway’s free web app for readability. Microsoft Editor is free too if you’re already in Office.
Which alternative is best for fiction writers? ProWritingAid — its 25+ craft reports on pacing, dialogue, and sentence structure are built for book-length work, which Grammarly doesn’t address. See more picks in our best AI tools for writing roundup.
Is there a Grammarly alternative for academic writing? Trinka AI is purpose-built for research and technical writing, handling formal tone, domain terminology, and publication styles like APA and AMA that general checkers miss.
More: Grammarly vs QuillBot · Superhuman acquired Grammarly, explained · Best AI tools for writing · Best AI personal assistants
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