Grammarly vs LanguageTool: Is Grammarly Pro Worth $144 a Year?
Grammarly is polished and built for English. LanguageTool is cheaper and checks many languages. Here's which grammar checker fits you.
Grammarly is the more polished product, especially for English, and its suggestions on tone and clarity are excellent. LanguageTool costs far less on a yearly plan and checks many languages, which makes it the obvious pick if you write in more than one. Both have useful free versions, and most people should start there.
Price check
As of October 2026:
| Free | Paid, billed yearly | Paid, billed monthly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grammarly Pro | Yes | $12/mo ($144/yr) | $30/mo |
| LanguageTool Premium | Yes | Around $5 to $6/mo on longer plans | Much higher per month |
Notice the pattern: both punish monthly billing hard. If you're going to pay, pay yearly, or don't pay at all.
What the free versions catch
Both free versions handle the basics well: spelling, common grammar mistakes, missing commas, repeated words. For emails and social posts, that's often enough.
The paid versions add the "make this better" layer: rewriting clunky sentences, adjusting tone, suggesting stronger words, consistency checks and more AI writing help.
Grammarly: best for English, best polish
Grammarly's browser extension and apps are slick. It works almost everywhere you type: Gmail, Google Docs, LinkedIn, Slack and Word.
Its real strength is going beyond "is this correct" to "is this clear". It flags long, tangled sentences, passive voice, and wording that might come across as rude or unsure.
Downsides: it's built for English. And Pro is expensive if you only write a few emails a week.
LanguageTool: best for multilingual writers and budgets
LanguageTool supports many languages, including German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch. If you write in English for work and another language at home, one tool covers both.
It's also open source at its core, and it has a strong reputation for privacy. Its suggestions are good, if a bit less smooth than Grammarly's in English.
Downsides: the English style suggestions aren't quite as sharp, and the interface is plainer.
A word on AI chatbots
ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini can all proofread. Paste in your text and ask "fix grammar and spelling only, don't change my wording". It works well for long documents.
The difference is convenience. Grammarly and LanguageTool check as you type, in every app, without copying and pasting. For quick daily writing, that matters. For a big essay or report, a chatbot can be just as good. See 7 prompt habits that fix bad AI answers for how to ask well.
Who should pick which
- English only, writing all day for work: Grammarly Pro, billed yearly.
- You write in more than one language: LanguageTool.
- Students on a budget: LanguageTool free, or Premium on a yearly plan.
- Casual writer, a few emails a week: either free version. Don't pay.
- Worried about privacy with sensitive documents: check each tool's data settings, or proofread confidential work offline.
