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After the draft exists

Grammarly

EditingFreemiumNonfiction

The default checker for email, essays, and clean nonfiction. It catches a lot of real mistakes and will also sand distinctive prose toward a polite average. Fiction writers often turn it off for dialogue and leave it on for query letters.

Best for

Nonfiction, student writing, and business prose where clarity matters more than voice.

Pricing

Freemium. Free spelling and grammar, with 100 AI prompts a month on the public plans table. The paid individual plan is now Pro (tone, full-sentence rewrites, plagiarism checks, 2,000 prompts). The plans page showed $12 without a clear monthly or yearly label. Enterprise is contact sales.

Listing checked 14 October 2026. Plans move. The vendor's page wins an argument with this one.

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In-depth review

Grammarly review

Last checked 14 October 2026 against the vendor's public pages. Prices and features change; check the vendor before you buy.

Writer's Toolbelt review

Grammarly

The ubiquitous writing assistant. Correctness and clarity everywhere you type, now with AI agents.

people use it (vendor figure)
Pro per month (as displayed)
day free trial of Pro

What it is

Grammarly is a writing assistant that checks spelling, grammar, clarity and tone wherever you write: browser, desktop apps, mobile keyboards and many workplace tools. Its home page now positions it as "an AI partner", with paragraph rewrites, tone suggestions, proofreading, a Humanizer agent to "give your writing personality" and an AI Detector agent. It says it is "trusted by 50,000 organizations and 40 million people".

Screenshot of Grammarly's public home page
Grammarly's public home page, captured 14 October 2026.

Who it's for

  • Every writer, as a safety net for typos and grammar in emails, pitches, newsletters and manuscripts.
  • Nonfiction and business writers who want clarity and tone help.
  • Teams that need style guides and brand tone.

Novelists can use it, but its suggestions lean toward clear, professional prose. Check dialogue and stylistic choices carefully.

Key features in practice

  • Proofreading: grammar, structure and clarity.
  • Paragraph rewrites in one click, plus full-sentence rewrites on Pro.
  • Tone suggestions for the context, such as a pitch, a reader email or a press note.
  • AI prompts. Generate text with prompts: 100 a month on Free and 2,000 per member a month on Pro.
  • Plagiarism check ("catch accidental plagiarism") on paid plans.
  • Agents. The Humanizer and AI Detector agents.
  • Business security. Data loss prevention and admin features on team plans.
Screenshot of Grammarly's public home page, scrolled further down
Grammarly's public home page, scrolled further down, captured 14 October 2026.

Pricing (checked 14 October 2026)

Plan Price displayed Highlights
Free $0 Spelling and grammar; 100 AI prompts per month
Pro $12/month (confirm billing period) Full-sentence rewrites, 2,000 prompts per member per month, 7-day free trial
Enterprise Contact sales Unlimited prompts, security and admin

The trial page notes an email reminder two days before the trial ends.

Pricing at a glance

  • FreeSpelling and grammar; 100 AI prompts/mo
    Free
  • ProFull-sentence rewrites, 2,000 prompts/member/mo
    $12/mo
  • Enterprise

    Contact sales

US$ per month as displayed on grammarly.com/plans on 14 October 2026; the billing period behind the displayed Pro price was not shown in our capture, so confirm on the vendor site. Enterprise is via sales.
Screenshot of Grammarly's public pricing page
Grammarly's public pricing page, captured 14 October 2026.

Using it as a writer

  1. Install it where you write, such as the browser, Word or Google Docs, so it catches errors as you go.
  2. Create a personal dictionary of character names and invented words so they stop being flagged.
  3. Treat dialogue as an exception. Fragments and "incorrect" grammar in speech are often deliberate.
  4. Don't let tone suggestions flatten your voice. Accept them for business writing, and be choosy in fiction.
  5. Use the plagiarism check before submitting articles or nonfiction chapters.

Strengths

  • Works almost everywhere.
  • Excellent at catching errors.
  • Generous free tier.
  • Fast, low-friction suggestions.

Writer's Toolbelt editorial scores

Grammarly scorecard

7.4/10

  • Correctness9/10
  • Works everywhere10/10
  • Fiction-specific feedback4/10
  • Voice preservation6/10
  • Value for money8/10
Editorial judgment by Writer's Toolbelt, not vendor data or user ratings. Scores are relative to other tools in this directory.

Weaknesses

  • Not built for fiction craft: no pacing, structure or character analysis.
  • Can push toward a generic "professional" voice.
  • AI prompt limits apply on Free and Pro.

How it compares

  • Grammarly vs ProWritingAid. ProWritingAid offers deeper style reports aimed at fiction and long-form writing. See Grammarly vs ProWritingAid.
  • Grammarly vs LanguageTool. LanguageTool supports many more languages.
  • Grammarly vs DeepL Write. DeepL Write excels at natural rephrasing, especially for second-language writers.

Feature comparison

Grammar and rewriting tools compared

FeatureGrammarlyProWritingAidLanguageToolQuillBotWordtune
Free planYesYesYesYesYes
Lowest listed paid priceYes$12Yes$10Yes$4.99Yes$8.33Yes$6.99
All paid tiers have published pricesPartlySome tiers: contact sales or check vendor siteYesYesPartlySome tiers: contact sales or check vendor siteYes
Competes with ProseEngine (we disclose)NoYesNoNoNo
Derived from each review's pricing table (vendor pricing pages, checked 14 October 2026). Lowest price is per month (or per unit where stated) on the cheapest listed billing option. "Not listed" means the vendor page does not publish it; check the vendor site.

Verdict

Grammarly is the best "always on" proofreader for everyday writing. For novel revision, pair it with a fiction-aware tool such as ProWritingAid or AutoCrit.

FAQ

Is Grammarly free? Yes. Free covers spelling and grammar and includes 100 AI prompts a month.

How much is Grammarly Pro? $12 a month was displayed on 14 October 2026. Confirm whether that is the monthly or annual rate.

Will Grammarly change my style? Only if you accept its suggestions. Be selective, especially in fiction.

Sources

Nearby on the shelf

  • Editing

    AutoCrit

    Fiction editing reports for dialogue, pacing, repetition, and overused phrasing, plus a story analyzer and an AI reader you can steer with instructions. The reports compare your draft with genre tendencies, which is a clue, not a verdict. It will not write the book for you.

    Best for Novelists who want genre-aware notes on a complete draft, not a chatbot that continues the scene.

    SubscriptionFiction

  • Drafting

    Claude

    A general assistant that writers often prefer for long passages, tone, and a calmer revision pass. Projects can hold notes and chapters you upload. It is still a chat, not a novel app: continuity across a whole book is only as good as the pages you put in front of it.

    Best for Drafting and revision when you want a careful reader more than a plot machine.

    FreemiumFiction and nonfiction

  • Editing

    DeepL Write

    Rewrite suggestions from the company behind DeepL translation. It is aimed at clearer phrasing, not plot. Particularly useful if you draft between languages or want a second wording that is conservative rather than clever. It will happily smooth a sentence that was supposed to be sharp.

    Best for Nonfiction clarity, and writers moving between languages who want phrasing help rather than a story engine.

    FreemiumNonfiction