This entry is compiled from primary sources: Grammarly's official product documentation, release notes, and published pricing structures.
It has not been hands-on tested by us. Where a limit, a price or a requirement is stated below, it is the published figure at the time of writing rather than a measured result.
Anything we have not verified is left out instead of guessed at.
Grammarly Review (2026) — What You Get for Free vs What Triggers Paid Upsells
Free TierBrowser ExtensionGrammarly Inc.
Grammarly is the dominant automated writing assistant on the web. It operates wherever you write — inside browser extensions (Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox), desktop apps for macOS and Windows, web editors, and mobile keyboards. The core value proposal is immediate feedback on grammar, spelling, and style without forcing you to switch tabs or copy-paste text.
Understanding Grammarly's free tier requires separating essential proofreading tools from premium AI features. The free plan provides permanent, non-expiring access to basic spelling and grammar checking, but aggressively promotes Premium upgrades whenever you encounter complex sentence structures or tone suggestions.
What you actually get on the Free Plan
Creating a free Grammarly account requires an email address, Google, or Apple login with no credit card required. Once installed, the free tier grants:
- Real-time spelling & basic grammar checks: Highlights typos, misspelled words, comma splices, and subject-verb agreement errors across web apps (Google Docs, Gmail, Outlook, Word Web, Slack, and social media).
- Punctuation and basic mechanics: Identifies missing apostrophes, unnecessary hyphens, and standard formatting glitches.
- 100 AI prompts per month: Free accounts receive 100 monthly credits to generate text, rewrite paragraphs, adjust tone, or generate email responses using Grammarly's embedded generative AI assistant.
- Personal dictionary: Add custom vocabulary, brand names, or jargon so Grammarly stops flagging them as spelling mistakes across your devices.
Where the limits sit and what triggers Premium popups
While basic spellchecking is un-capped, Grammarly marks advanced writing improvements with blue, yellow, or purple underlines that reveal upgrade prompts when clicked. The main boundaries on the free tier include:
- Full-sentence rewrites: Suggesting how to reword wordy, awkward, or unclear sentences is gated entirely behind Premium.
- Tone and formality controls: Free users receive basic tone detection (e.g., "confident" or "formal"), but tailoring tone or adjusting formality levels requires a paid plan.
- Vocabulary enhancements & variety: Flagging overused words or suggesting precise synonyms is reserved for Premium subscribers.
- Plagiarism detection: Scanning text against 16 billion web pages to detect uncited content is absent from the free plan.
- Pricing for upgrades: Grammarly Premium costs approximately $12 per month when billed annually ($144 total), or $30 per month when billed monthly.
Pros
- Ubiquitous integration across every desktop OS, browser, and mobile platform.
- Zero-cost entry with permanent, unlimited basic spell checking and 100 free monthly AI generation prompts.
- Catches obvious typos and punctuation mistakes without breaking your writing flow.
- No credit card required to register and use indefinitely.
Cons
- Persistent in-app popups and banners urging upgrades to Premium for sentence rewrites.
- Full-sentence clarity rewrites and vocabulary expansions are locked behind a steep $12–$30/mo paywall.
- No plagiarism checking on the free tier.
- Cloud-based processing means all text scanned by the extension is transmitted to Grammarly's servers (subject to their privacy policy).
Best alternatives
- QuillBot — Top choice for free sentence paraphrasing, multi-mode rewrites, and uncapped grammar checking (writing).
- Hemingway Editor — Completely free web app that visually highlights sentence complexity and passive voice without requiring an account (writing).
- DeepL Write — High-precision AI sentence polishing and tone refinement with exceptional multi-language support (writing).
FAQ
What does Grammarly's free tier actually include? Grammarly's free tier includes unlimited real-time spelling, basic grammar, and punctuation checks across browser extensions, desktop apps, and mobile keyboards, plus 100 AI prompt credits per month for text generation.
What features require a Grammarly Premium subscription? Grammarly Premium unlocks full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustments, vocabulary enhancements, formatting checks, and plagiarism detection, costing around $12 per month billed annually or $30 monthly.
Does Grammarly require a credit card for the free plan? No. You can create a free Grammarly account using an email address, Google, or Apple account without entering any credit card or payment information.