Grammarly is the writing assistant most people meet first: it lives in your browser, your docs and your email, quietly fixing grammar and spelling as you type. In 2026 it is a bigger product than the grammar checker you remember — with generative AI prompts, tone rewrites, a plagiarism checker and an AI-text detector — but its pricing has also changed, and the old “Premium” name is gone. This review covers what Grammarly actually does now, what it costs, and who should pay for it.
What is Grammarly?
Grammarly is an AI writing assistant that checks grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity and tone wherever you write: browser extension, desktop apps, mobile keyboard, Google Docs and Microsoft Word integrations. You write as normal; Grammarly underlines issues and suggests fixes, from a missing comma to a full-sentence rewrite. Unlike drafting tools such as Jasper, Grammarly’s core job is editing what you already wrote — it follows you into every editor rather than asking you to write inside its own app. It is now part of Superhuman (the parent company rebranded in October 2025 after acquiring Superhuman Mail and Coda), but the Grammarly product and pricing stand on their own.
Key features
- Grammar and spelling correction — real-time checks for grammar, punctuation, spelling and conciseness across browsers, docs and email.
- Tone suggestions and full-sentence rewrites — adjust formality and clarity, and rewrite sentences that are wordy or confusing (Pro).
- Generative AI prompts — draft, brainstorm, summarise and reply with AI assistance: 100 prompts a month on Free, 2,000 per member a month on Pro.
- Plagiarism checker and AI-text detector — check originality against web sources and detect AI-generated text (Pro).
- Style guide and brand tone — teams on Pro can set one shared style guide and brand tone so every writer sounds consistent.
- Works everywhere — the single biggest advantage over rivals: one subscription covers your browser, docs, email and desktop apps.
Pricing
Grammarly now sells three tiers: Free, Pro and Enterprise. Pro costs $12 per member a month billed annually ($144 a year), $20 a month billed quarterly, or $30 a month billed monthly. Enterprise is custom-priced for larger organisations. The gap between monthly and annual billing is unusually large — a full year at the monthly rate costs $360 versus $144 annually — so if you plan to keep Pro for five months or more, annual billing is clearly cheaper. Note also that annual billing charges the full $144 upfront, and a free trial that rolls into annual billing has caught out inattentive buyers: check the billing cycle at checkout. Prices change often — verify on Grammarly’s official plans page before subscribing.
Pros and cons
Pros: works everywhere you write, with no need to change apps; corrections are fast and usually accurate for everyday English; the free plan is genuinely useful for basic grammar and spelling; Pro’s plagiarism and AI detection add real value for students and professionals; team style controls are simple and practical.
Cons: monthly billing is expensive ($30 a month) relative to the annual rate; it edits rather than drafts, so bloggers who need long-form generation will still need another tool; AI suggestions sometimes flatten your voice and need human review; the plagiarism checker is Pro-only; and there is no lifetime purchase option — it is subscription-only.
Who is Grammarly best for?
Best for: professionals, students and non-native English writers who write daily across email, docs and the web and want a safety net everywhere. Less suited to: writers who need long-form AI drafting (look at Jasper or Writesonic — see Jasper vs Writesonic), or anyone who only needs paraphrasing — Grammarly vs QuillBot compares the two specialists head to head, and our Writesonic vs Copy.ai comparison covers the drafting side of the writing category.
FAQ
Is Grammarly free plan enough? For basic grammar, spelling and tone detection, yes — plus 100 AI prompts a month. You need Pro for full-sentence rewrites, plagiarism checks, AI detection and the full 2,000-prompt allowance.
What happened to Grammarly Premium and Business? Premium was rebranded to Pro, and the old Business plan was folded into Pro (which now serves individuals and teams up to 149 seats). Larger organisations go to Enterprise.
Does Grammarly replace a human editor? No. It catches mechanical errors and awkward phrasing reliably, but it cannot judge argument, structure or factual accuracy. Treat it as a first-pass editor, not a final one.
Verdict
Grammarly remains the easiest writing subscription to justify for everyday writers: it is everywhere you write, its free plan is useful, and Pro at $12 a month billed annually is reasonable for what it covers. Its weaknesses are the steep monthly rate, the editing-only scope, and AI suggestions that need a human eye. Rating: 4.5/5. If you write your own drafts and want them clean and professional, start with Free and upgrade to Pro only when you hit the prompt limit or need plagiarism checks.
Check Grammarly’s current plans on the official site
Affiliate disclosure: this article contains no affiliate links. The Grammarly affiliate program exists (reported terms: a small payment per free signup plus a payment per Pro upgrade, 90-day cookie) but we are not currently enrolled; links above go to Grammarly’s official plans page and to our own comparisons. Prices were researched from Grammarly’s pricing page via reputable October 2026 roundups — verify at checkout.