6 Best Free Alternatives to Grammarly (2026)

Last checked October 2026 · 8 alternatives to Grammarly in our catalog

Grammarly paid plans start at $12/mo, which is why people look for a free alternative. Below are 6 options with a free plan or no price at all - 2 are completely free, 3 are open source, 1 runs on Linux and 5 work in the browser.

Quick picks

No paid tier at all

Cognee

Runs on Linux

yazi

Picked from listing data (price model, license, platforms, community votes), not hands-on testing.

Grammarly alternatives compared

Alternative	Price	Open source	Platforms	What it is
Cognee	Free	Yes (Apache-2.0)	Web	Open‑source memory engine that lets LLM agents remember across sessions
yazi	Free	Yes (MIT)	Windows, Mac, Linux	Fast async terminal file manager written in Rust
Hemingway Editor	Freemium	No	Web, Windows, Mac	Highlights hard-to-read sentences, passive voice, and adverbs to make your writing clearer.
planka	Freemium	Yes (Other)	Web	Open-source Kanban board with real‑time sync and markdown cards
QuillBot	Freemium	No	Web, Windows, Mac, iOS	AI paraphrasing, grammar, and writing tools to help you rewrite text clearly.
Wordtune	Freemium	No	Web	AI writing companion that rewrites and rephrases your text as you type.

Cognee

FreeOpen source · Apache-2.0Web

Open‑source memory engine that lets LLM agents remember across sessions

Open‑source and free to use
Flexible deployment (self‑hosted or cloud)
Multi‑modal retrieval (graph, vector, relational)

Limited official commercial support
Requires technical knowledge to self‑host

Full details Grammarly vs Cognee

yazi

FreeOpen source · MITWindowsMacLinux

Fast async terminal file manager written in Rust

Lightning‑fast async performance
Rich image and code previews
Highly extensible via Lua plugins

Steep learning curve for new terminal users
Limited graphical UI for non‑CLI users

Full details Grammarly vs yazi

Hemingway Editor

FreemiumWebWindowsMac

Highlights hard-to-read sentences, passive voice, and adverbs to make your writing clearer.

Free plan includes: Readability grading · Passive voice and adverb highlighting · Sentence complexity coloring

Free web version is genuinely useful with no signup required for basic edits
Visual color-coding makes readability problems easy to spot at a glance
One-time $19.99 Classic desktop option avoids a recurring subscription

Not a full grammar or spell checker on its own, so it is usually paired with another tool
AI rewrite features require the paid Editor Plus subscription

Full details Grammarly vs Hemingway Editor

planka

FreemiumOpen source · OtherWeb

Open-source Kanban board with real‑time sync and markdown cards

Free plan includes: Unlimited boards & cards · Real‑time synchronization · All core features · Self‑hosted for free

Open-source and free to self‑host
Real‑time synchronization across users
Rich Markdown support for detailed cards

Self‑hosting requires Docker knowledge
Limited native reporting features

Full details

QuillBot

FreemiumWebWindowsMaciOS

AI paraphrasing, grammar, and writing tools to help you rewrite text clearly.

Free plan includes: Paraphrase up to 125 words · 2 paraphrasing modes · Basic grammar fixes · Humanize up to 125 words (6 uses/day)

Wide range of paraphrasing modes beyond simple synonym swapping
Generous free tier for basic paraphrasing and grammar checks
Deep integration into Word, Docs, and browsers via extensions

Free plan caps paraphrasing at 125 words per submission
AI detector accuracy is inherently imperfect like all AI-text detectors

Full details

Wordtune

FreemiumWeb

AI writing companion that rewrites and rephrases your text as you type.

Free plan includes: 10 rewrites & AI suggestions per day · 3 AI summarizations per month · Unlimited spelling and grammar checks

Rewrite suggestions feel more natural than basic synonym-replacement tools
Works inline inside Gmail and Google Docs rather than requiring a separate app
Low-cost annual plans compared to broader AI writing suites

Free plan limits are quite low for daily heavy users (10 rewrites/day)
Summarization is capped even on the mid-tier Advanced plan

Full details

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Grammarly?

Cognee is the first free alternative we list for Grammarly and has no paid tier. Others worth a look: yazi, Hemingway Editor and planka. Which one fits depends on what you use Grammarly for, so check the platform and free-plan details for each.

Is there a completely free alternative to Grammarly?

Yes. Cognee and yazi have no paid tier. The rest of the list are freemium: a free plan with paid upgrades.

Is there an open-source alternative to Grammarly?

Yes: Cognee, yazi and planka. Open-source options can usually be inspected, modified and self-hosted.

Does Grammarly have a free plan?

Yes. The free plan includes Grammar & spelling checks, Tone detection and Browser extension. Paid plans start at $12/mo.

How this list is built: alternatives come from our catalog's curated alternative relationships; price model, license and platforms come from each product's listing; order is fully-free first, then community votes.