What is Grammarly?
Grammarly is a grammar and writing assistant with a free tier designed for solo users and small teams. It sits in the ai writing category on this directory and is one of the more established options for a writer, student, or content marketer. On the product surface, Grammarly handles grammar checking with a straightforward UX and the kind of defaults that get most users to a first useful output inside an hour. On the free tier specifically, Grammarly gives you Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and tone detection in the browser, desktop, and mobile apps. That is the number that matters — not the marketing copy on the paid page — because the free quota is what determines whether you can ship a real project without paying. Pro at $12/mo billed annually for full-sentence rewrites, clarity, and generative AI prompts; Business at $15/user/mo. Check the vendor's pricing page for the most current numbers before committing; these plans change more often than vendors advertise. We like Grammarly for free tier catches the majority of real-world errors in emails and documents, and recommend it over alternatives when that trait is the deciding factor for your workflow. Where Grammarly falls short: best rewrite features are paywalled; free tier is mostly a spell-checker. Read the FAQ below for the most common questions we see about this tool, check the pros and cons for a quick side-by-side with competitors in the same category, and then open Grammarly and try it against one real task — the best signal for whether any tool fits your workflow is always your own first hour with it.
Key features
- Grammar and spelling checks
- Tone detection
- Browser extensions for Chrome, Edge, Safari
- Desktop and mobile apps
- Generative AI prompts (paid)
- Plagiarism checker (paid)
Pros and cons
- Free tier catches the majority of real-world errors in emails and documents
- Works everywhere you type — browser, desktop, mobile, Office, Google Docs
- Familiar UX that's easy to recommend to non-technical users
- Best rewrite features are paywalled; free tier is mostly a spell-checker
- Generative AI prompts are metered on paid plans
- Corporate data sometimes flags false positives in technical writing
Pricing
- Grammar, spelling, punctuation
- Tone detection
- Browser + mobile
- Full-sentence rewrites
- Clarity suggestions
- Generative AI prompts
- Style guide
- Brand tones
- Admin console
Reviews
FAQ
Is Grammarly really free?
Grammarly has a real free tier: Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and tone detection in the browser, desktop, and mobile apps. It's not a disguised trial — the free plan works indefinitely within those limits. If you outgrow it, the paid tier is Pro at $12/mo billed annually for full-sentence rewrites, clarity, and generative AI prompts.
Do I need a credit card to sign up for Grammarly?
No — the free tier does not require a credit card. Just create an account with email (or the vendor's SSO of choice) and you're in. Check the vendor's signup page for the current flow since some tools occasionally change this.
What's the difference between Grammarly free and paid?
The free plan covers: Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and tone detection in the browser, desktop, and mobile apps. The paid plans add: Pro at $12/mo billed annually for full-sentence rewrites, clarity, and generative AI prompts; Business at $15/user/mo. The biggest jump is usually usage limits — free is enough to evaluate the tool, paid is where production-grade usage lives.
Does Grammarly train on my data?
Most major vendors default free-tier data to be used for product improvement unless you opt out. Paid plans typically offer stronger data controls. Check Grammarly's privacy policy and account settings before uploading anything sensitive.
Can I use Grammarly commercially on the free tier?
Commercial-use rights depend on the plan and the tool — some (like Ideogram, Recraft) allow commercial use on free; others (like Suno) restrict the free tier to personal/non-commercial use. Verify the current terms on Grammarly's pricing or terms page.
How does Grammarly compare to grammar alternatives?
The main trade-offs are free-tier generosity, model quality, and integration depth. See this directory's AI Writing category page for side-by-side comparisons. In short: Free tier catches the majority of real-world errors in emails and documents.
Is there a mobile app for Grammarly?
Most modern AI tools in this category ship a web app plus mobile apps (iOS, Android). Check https://www.grammarly.com for current platform availability and any desktop apps.
What's the catch with Grammarly's free tier?
Typically two things: usage limits (the most useful feature gets rate-limited) and paid-only extras (team features, API access, advanced models). For Grammarly specifically, the main limitation is: best rewrite features are paywalled; free tier is mostly a spell-checker.