Grammarly vs Originality.ai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Grammarly: it is second in our ranking of writing tools, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Grammarly grades higher on the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Grammarly
Writing assistant for grammar, tone and rewrites in any app
Originality.ai
AI-content and plagiarism checker with a Chrome extension and API
Which one is for you
Pick Grammarly if
- Fits if you write in lots of places and want the same checks in each
- Works for people writing English as a second language, and students who want citation and plagiarism checks in one place
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if a spell checker is all you need, as your browser has one
- Pricey if you pay month to month: $30, against $12 on yearly billing
- Not for you if you write in a language outside its main six, which only get spelling and basic grammar
- Tight if you lean on AI for free, with 100 prompts a month and no full-sentence rewrites or tone changes
- Watch out: Pro stops at 149 seats, Enterprise has no public price, and reviewers say it flags correct text and nags you to upgrade
Pick Originality.ai if
- Fits if you check many articles and want bulk scans
- Works for content teams that need scan history and extra seats
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, and the page gives two different allowances
- Watch out: Pro credits expire at the end of each month
- Pricey if you want the API, listed on Enterprise at $136.58 a month
- Watch out: extra seats cost extra on both paid plans, and pay-as-you-go credits expire after two years
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAGrammarlyVery good | 2.4GPAOriginality.aiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$12 a member a month on yearly billing is the top of this category's normal range, where the dearer quarter starts at $12.00. Pay month to month and it's $30, nearly four times the $8.33 middle. LanguageTool, on its own list of rivals, asks less. | C$12.95 a month billed annually ($14.95 monthly) for Pro, at the category's dearer-quarter mark. Extra seats cost $8.62 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree lasts as long as you like, and the checking isn't capped: spelling, grammar and tone detection on everything you write. Rewrites are Pro only, AI stops at 100 prompts a month, and reviewers say it nags you to upgrade. | CA free plan with limited use, but the pricing page states two different allowances. |
| Features | BSpelling, grammar and tone everywhere you type, full-sentence rewrites, AI drafting, plagiarism and AI-text checks, Docs with agents that find citations and guess reader reactions, and team style guides. Advanced suggestions only cover six languages, and Docs is English only. | BAI detection, plagiarism, fact checks, bulk scans and file upload. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | B4.66 on the App Store from 225,387 ratings. That's a B, not an A, because an A wants 4.7, and 4.66 is 4.66. There's nothing to learn, mind: install it, type as normal, click what it underlines. | CNo store rating on record. Credits, scan types and team seats to work out. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, four browsers, iPhone, iPad and Android, so every device type, and it works inside Gmail, Google Docs, Word, Outlook, Slack, Salesforce, Zendesk and Jira. No Linux app is listed. | BWeb with Chrome and Firefox extensions and Google Docs, Moodle, Google Classroom, ChatGPT and Claude integrations. API is Enterprise only. |
| Best for | checking your writing in every app | AI and plagiarism checks on lots of text |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Grammarly and Originality.ai. How we grade
Price against what you get
Grammarly starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Originality.ai starts at $12.95 a month and scores 2.7.
Grammarly scores higher and starts $0.95 a month lower. Of the other writing tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Grammarly for less, and 16 score higher than Originality.ai for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Grammarly also covers AI agents, citations and documents.
- Originality.ai also covers reports.
At a glance
| Grammarly | Originality.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per member / month, billed annually | $12.95 per month, billed annually ($14.95 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Spelling and grammar corrections, tone detection and 100 AI prompts a month. Docs is free to use, though some of its agents are limited to Pro. | Free plan for limited use with no subscription; the page gives 10K words as 100 one-time credits in one place and 60 credits (3 scans a day) renewing daily in another. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Pro for eligible individuals and teams, with $0 due at sign-up and an email reminder 2 days before it ends. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Superhuman Platform Inc. | Originality.ai |
| Price read from | grammarly.com | originality.ai |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Grammarly
- The Free plan is capped at 100 AI prompts a month and leaves out full-sentence rewrites and tone adjustments.
- Pro costs $30 per member a month on monthly billing, against $12 a month when billed annually.
- Pro stops at 149 seats; larger organizations need Enterprise, which is priced through sales.
- Advanced grammar, clarity and tone suggestions cover six languages; the other supported languages get spelling and basic grammar only.
Originality.ai
- Credits are metered: 1 credit equals 100 words, and Pro credits expire at the end of each month.
- Pay-as-you-go credits are bought once and expire two years after purchase; their price was not read.
- The Free plan's allowance appears twice on the pricing page with different figures.
- API access is listed only on Enterprise, and extra team seats cost extra on both paid plans.
Key features
Grammarly
- Grammar, spelling and tone checks
- Corrects spelling and grammar and shows the tone of a message on every plan. Full-sentence rewrites and one-click tone adjustments are part of Pro.
- Works inside other apps
- Desktop apps for Windows and Mac, extensions for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge, and iPhone, iPad and Android apps bring suggestions into tools such as Gmail, Google Docs, Word and Slack.
- Docs and AI agents
- Docs is a browser-based document editor with agents including AI Grader, Citation Finder, Reader Reactions, Humanizer and Paraphraser. Some agents are limited to Pro.
- Generative AI prompts
- Drafts and reworks text from a prompt. The allowance is 100 prompts a month on Free, 2,000 per member on Pro and unlimited on Enterprise.
- Plagiarism and AI detection
- Scans a document for text that matches other sources and for passages likely to be AI-generated. The plans page lists both checks under Pro.
- Team style controls
- Pro team accounts get style guides, brand tones, knowledge share, snippets and usage analytics, so a group writes with the same terms and voice.
Originality.ai
- AI detection
- Scans text for AI-generated content and says it is trained on text altered by paraphrasing tools such as Quillbot.
- Plagiarism checker
- Checks text for plagiarism in the same scan as AI detection; scan reports can be shared online and downloaded as PDF on Pro.
- Quality and fact checks
- Adds readability, grammar, content quality, guideline and fact and hallucination checks to scans.
- Chrome and Firefox extensions
- Runs scans in Google Docs and shows a writing replay meant to help prove how a text was written.
- Bulk scans and file upload
- Pro adds bulk scanning and uploads of docx, doc and PDF files, plus scanning from a URL.
- API and integrations
- An API on Enterprise, plus a Moodle plugin, Google Classroom support and connections to ChatGPT and Claude.
Plans
Grammarly
Free$0
Spelling and grammar corrections, tone detection and 100 AI prompts a month, for individuals.
Pro$12
per member / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustments, style guides and brand tones, and 2,000 AI prompts a month. Sold for 1 to 149 seats.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited members and AI prompts, dedicated support, confidential mode, granular roles and data loss prevention. Sold through Superhuman Go.
Originality.ai
Free$0
Limited use of all scan types; 1 credit equals 100 words. The pricing page states two different allowances.
Pro$12.95
per month, billed annually ($14.95 billed monthly)
200K words (2,000 credits) a month, 30-day scan history, bulk scan, team management and extensions; extra seats $8.62 a month.
Enterprise$136.58
per month, billed annually ($179 billed monthly)
1.5M words (15,000 credits) a month, 1-year scan history, API access and priority support; extra seats $19.04 a month.
Ways to pay less
Grammarly
- Annual discount
Save up to 60% with yearly billing
Pro is $12 per member a month when billed annually and $30 when billed monthly. The plan toggle advertises a saving of up to 60% on yearly billing.
- Education
Discounts for educational institutions
The plans page FAQ says Grammarly offers discounts for educational institutions. Grammarly for Education is quoted through its education sales team.
Originality.ai
- Annual discount
Save up to 23% with annual billing
Pro costs $12.95 a month billed yearly against $14.95 monthly, and Enterprise $136.58 against $179.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Grammarly or Originality.ai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Grammarly starts at $12 per member / month, billed annually, and Originality.ai starts at $12.95 per month, billed annually ($14.95 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Grammarly or Originality.ai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Grammarly and Originality.ai have a free plan.
Which platforms do Grammarly and Originality.ai run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Grammarly lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and a browser extension. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.