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The Short Version
Three tools, three different jobs:
- Grammarly — the Swiss-army knife. Grammar, spelling, tone, plagiarism, generative AI. Best for people who want one tool that handles everything.
- Wordtune — the rewrite specialist. It doesn’t check your grammar as much as it helps you say things differently. Best for people who write a lot of first drafts and want help tightening them.
- LanguageTool — the open-source workhorse. Solid grammar and spelling across 30+ languages, with a genuinely useful free tier. Best for multilingual writers and budget-conscious operators.
The right pick depends on what you actually do all day — not which marketing page has the best hero section.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Grammarly | Wordtune | LanguageTool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Basic grammar & spelling | Limited rewrites (10/day) | Full grammar & spelling, no word limit |
| Paid price | $12–$30/mo (annual–monthly) | $9.99–$24.99/mo | ~€4.92–€6.90/mo |
| Languages | English (primary), limited others | English only | 30+ languages |
| Grammar checking | Excellent | Basic | Very good |
| Rewrite/paraphrase | Yes (AI-powered) | Core feature, best-in-class | Yes (Premium) |
| Tone detection | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| Plagiarism detection | Yes (Premium+) | No | No |
| Browser extension | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge | Chrome, Edge | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge |
| Desktop apps | Windows, Mac | No | Windows (LibreOffice/OpenOffice plugin) |
| Mobile | iOS, Android (keyboard) | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
| API/self-host | No | No | Yes — open-source, self-hostable |
| Integrations | Google Docs, MS Office, Slack, Notion, etc. | Google Docs, limited others | Google Docs, MS Office, LibreOffice |
| AI generation | Yes (GrammarlyGO) | Yes (Wordtune Write) | Limited (Premium paraphrasing) |
| Data privacy | Processes text on servers | Processes text on servers | Can self-host for full privacy |
Pricing Breakdown
Grammarly
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Basic grammar, spelling, punctuation |
| Pro | $12/mo (billed annually) or $30/mo (monthly) | Full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustments, fluency, formality level, plagiarism detection |
| Business | $15/member/mo (annual) | Everything in Pro + style guides, brand tones, analytics dashboard, SAML SSO |
Grammarly has been around since 2009 and it shows in the integration depth. The free tier is functional but deliberately limited — you’ll get spelling and basic grammar but no style suggestions, tone adjustments, or rewrites. The jump to Pro is where the tool becomes genuinely useful for professional writing.
The monthly pricing at $30 is steep. If you’re going to pay, commit to annual.
Wordtune
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 rewrites/day, basic grammar |
| Plus | $9.99/mo (annual) or $24.99/mo (monthly) | Unlimited rewrites, Wordtune Write (AI generation), summarization |
| Business | Custom pricing | Team features, admin controls |
Wordtune’s pricing is straightforward. The free tier is intentionally restrictive — 10 rewrites per day is enough to test the product but not enough to rely on it. The Plus plan unlocks the real value: unlimited rewrites plus the AI writing and summarization features.
Wordtune is English-only. If you write in multiple languages, this is a hard disqualifier.
LanguageTool
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 / €0 | Grammar, spelling, punctuation for 30+ languages, no word limit |
| Premium | €4.92/mo (3-year plan) to €6.90/mo (annual) | Style suggestions, paraphrasing, advanced punctuation, typo-free guarantee |
| Enterprise | Custom | Self-hosted option, API access, team management |
LanguageTool is the value play. The free tier has no word limit and covers basic grammar and spelling across 30+ languages. Premium adds style suggestions and paraphrasing for less than half the price of Grammarly Pro.
The self-hosting option is unique among these three tools. If data privacy is non-negotiable — legal, medical, finance — LanguageTool is the only one you can run entirely on your own infrastructure.
What Each Tool Actually Does Well
Grammarly: The All-Rounder
Grammarly’s strength is breadth. It checks grammar, suggests style improvements, detects tone, catches plagiarism, generates text, and integrates with essentially every platform you write on. The browser extension alone works in Gmail, Google Docs, Notion, Slack, LinkedIn, Twitter — anywhere there’s a text field.
The AI features (GrammarlyGO) added in recent years give you generative capabilities directly in your writing surface. You can draft, reply, and rewrite without switching tools.
Where Grammarly falls short:
- Price. $12/mo annual is reasonable. $30/mo monthly is hard to justify.
- Privacy. Everything you type passes through their servers. There’s no self-host option.
- Language support. It’s fundamentally an English-first tool with limited support for other languages.
- The suggestions can be overzealous. If you write with intentional stylistic choices — fragments, casual tone, industry jargon — Grammarly will flag them. You’ll spend time dismissing suggestions you didn’t need.
Wordtune: The Rewrite Engine
Wordtune does one thing exceptionally well: showing you different ways to say the same thing. Highlight a sentence and it gives you 5-10 alternatives ranging from casual to formal, concise to expanded. That’s the core product.
The “Wordtune Read” summarization feature is a bonus — paste a document or article and it extracts key points. Useful for research-heavy workflows.
Where Wordtune falls short:
- English only. Hard stop for multilingual writers.
- Thin grammar checking. It’s not competing with Grammarly on catching errors. It’s competing on rewriting. If you need both, you’ll end up running two tools.
- Limited integrations. The Chrome extension works in most web text fields, but there’s no desktop app and the Google Docs integration is less polished than Grammarly’s.
- Smaller company, slower update cadence. Grammarly ships features constantly. Wordtune evolves more slowly.
LanguageTool: The Open-Source Alternative
LanguageTool’s core differentiator is that it’s open-source. You can inspect the code, contribute to it, and run it on your own server. For organizations with data governance requirements, this matters.
The free tier is genuinely generous. No word limits, no trial periods, no credit card required. It catches most of the same errors Grammarly’s free tier catches, and it does it across 30+ languages.
Where LanguageTool falls short:
- The suggestion quality gap. Grammarly’s AI-powered suggestions for style, tone, and clarity are more sophisticated. LanguageTool Premium closes the gap somewhat, but Grammarly still has the edge for English.
- Integration depth. LanguageTool works in browsers and office suites, but the experience is less seamless than Grammarly’s native integrations.
- No plagiarism detection. If that’s a requirement, you need a separate tool.
- The UI and UX feel utilitarian compared to Grammarly’s polished interface.
Head-to-Head on Specific Use Cases
Writing professional emails and proposals
Winner: Grammarly. Tone detection and formality adjustment matter here. Grammarly catches when your email sounds too casual for the audience and suggests alternatives. The browser extension working directly in Gmail and Outlook is seamless.
Rewriting first drafts into polished content
Winner: Wordtune. This is its entire reason to exist. If you write messy first drafts and need help tightening them, Wordtune’s sentence-level rewrite suggestions are better than Grammarly’s. It gives you more alternatives per sentence and the quality of those alternatives is consistently high.
Writing in multiple languages
Winner: LanguageTool. Not close. Grammarly and Wordtune are English-first (or English-only). LanguageTool supports German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, and about 20 more. If you regularly write in two or more languages, LanguageTool is the only real option.
Data privacy and self-hosting
Winner: LanguageTool. The only tool you can self-host. Grammarly and Wordtune process your text on their servers, period. LanguageTool lets you run the full engine locally or on your own infrastructure. For legal, medical, or regulated industries, this is the deciding factor.
Budget-conscious solo operator
Winner: LanguageTool. The free tier covers most grammar and spelling needs. Premium is under €7/mo. You get 80-90% of Grammarly’s functionality for a fraction of the price. The trade-off is slightly less polished suggestions and fewer integrations.
Full-featured professional writing
Winner: Grammarly. If you want one tool that handles grammar, style, tone, plagiarism, AI generation, and works everywhere — and you’re willing to pay for it — Grammarly Pro is the complete package.
The Decision Rule
Here’s the simple version:
- If you write in multiple languages → LanguageTool. No contest.
- If data privacy requires self-hosting → LanguageTool. The only option.
- If you primarily need help rewriting and rephrasing → Wordtune. Best-in-class at that specific job.
- If you want one tool that does everything and you’ll pay for it → Grammarly Pro.
- If you want solid grammar checking for free → LanguageTool free tier.
You can also combine them. Plenty of people run LanguageTool free for multilingual grammar checking plus Wordtune for English rewriting. Total cost: $0 to $10/mo. That combo covers more ground than Grammarly Pro for less money — if you’re willing to manage two tools instead of one.
Pros and Cons Summary
Grammarly
Pros:
- Most comprehensive feature set
- Best integration ecosystem
- Tone detection and adjustment
- Plagiarism detection (Pro)
- AI generation built in
- Polished UX
Cons:
- Expensive, especially monthly
- English-centric
- No self-host option
- Suggestions can be aggressive for stylized writing
- Everything goes through their servers
Wordtune
Pros:
- Best-in-class sentence rewriting
- Simple, focused product
- Affordable Plus tier
- Summarization feature included
- Fast and lightweight
Cons:
- English only
- Basic grammar checking
- Limited integrations
- No desktop app
- No plagiarism detection
LanguageTool
Pros:
- 30+ languages
- Generous free tier with no word limit
- Self-hostable and open-source
- Cheapest premium option
- Strong multilingual support
Cons:
- Less polished suggestions than Grammarly
- Fewer integrations
- No plagiarism detection
- UI feels utilitarian
- AI features lag behind competitors
Bottom Line
Grammarly, Wordtune, and LanguageTool aren’t really competing for the same user. They overlap on grammar checking but diverge on everything else.
Grammarly is the safe default — it works everywhere, catches the most errors, and has the deepest feature set. Pay for it if you write professionally in English and want one subscription.
Wordtune is the specialist — it does one thing better than anyone else. Use it if your bottleneck is expressing ideas clearly, not catching typos.
LanguageTool is the pragmatist’s choice — it’s free, multilingual, open-source, and good enough for most people. Start here if you’re budget-conscious, write in multiple languages, or need self-hosting.
Test the free tiers of all three. You’ll know within a day which one fits your workflow.
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