Grammarly vs QuillBot in 2026: Which Writing Tool Deserves Your Money
Grammarly is the better editor and QuillBot is the better rewriter, so the right buy depends on which job fills your day. Prices, free limits and honest trade offs inside.
If you write original work and want it clean, buy Grammarly. If you rewrite existing text often, buy QuillBot. Most people need only one of these tools, and buying both wastes money unless you do both jobs every day.
Grammarly watches what you type and fixes it as you go, catching grammar slips, unclear sentences, and tone problems before anyone else reads them. QuillBot takes text you already have and says it another way, shortens it, or turns it into a summary. Keep your own job in mind: are you fixing your own writing, reworking the words of another writer, or doing both? Prices below are reported United States prices checked in October 2026, and they vary by region, promotion, and student status, so confirm the checkout price before you pay. Neither tool checks your facts, so check every claim that matters.
The verdict and how we compared
Grammarly wins for most people because it works everywhere you write and fixes your own words at the moment you type them. QuillBot wins for students and researchers who rewrite and summarize constantly, because its paraphrasing modes and citation tools match that workflow. If you do both jobs daily, owning both costs about 20 dollars a month on annual billing, which is the only case where two subscriptions make sense.
We compared published feature lists, published limits, and reported prices, and we weighed each tool on the job it was built for rather than on a score we invented: Grammarly as an editor, QuillBot as a rewriter, with plagiarism checking, detection, coverage, and privacy as supporting jobs. Reported G2 ratings point the same way: Grammarly at 4.7 out of 5 from more than 13,000 reviews and QuillBot at 4.4 out of 5 from a much smaller review base. Pick by your daily job, not by feature count.
Grammarly vs QuillBot at a glance
Grammarly leads on grammar checking, tone, and coverage across apps. QuillBot leads on paraphrasing, summarizing, and citations. Prices shown are reported annual billing figures in United States dollars, and both free plans are usable enough that many buyers never need to pay at all. Annual billing hides an upfront charge of 144 dollars for Grammarly Pro and 99.95 dollars for QuillBot Premium. The table alone cannot capture limits like the 125 word free paraphrasing cap or the 25,000 word plagiarism cap.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grammarly | Fixing your own writing everywhere you type | Free; Pro $12 per month billed annually (144 dollars a year) | Yes |
| QuillBot | Rewriting, summarizing and citing existing text | Free; Premium about $8.33 per month billed annually (99.95 dollars a year) | Yes |
Grammarly
Visit grammarly.com Pros
- Strongest grammar, tone and clarity checking here
- Works across browser, desktop, mobile, Word, Docs and Gmail
- Free plan already catches everyday typos
Watch out for
- No summarizer and no paraphrasing modes like QuillBot
- Monthly billing costs far more than annual over a year
Pick it if: You write original work and want it clean as you type.
Skip it if: Your main job is rewriting existing text.
Grammarly is the editor in this pair. It checks what you type across apps, explains each fix in plain language, and goes beyond spelling into clarity, tone, and word choice on the paid plan, which makes it the pick if your main problem is mistakes in your own writing.
QuillBot
Visit quillbot.com Pros
- 9 paraphrasing modes with synonym control
- Summarizer plus citation generator for APA, MLA and Chicago
- Cheaper than Grammarly Pro on every billing term
Watch out for
- Grammar checking is a side tool, weaker on style and tone
- Free paraphrasing cap of 125 words breaks long work
Pick it if: You rewrite, summarize or cite existing text all day.
Skip it if: Your main job is fixing your own original writing.
QuillBot is the rewriter in this pair. It takes text you already have and says it another way, shortens it, or turns it into a summary, with nine paraphrasing modes and a citation generator, which makes it the pick for reworking existing text.
Grammar and clarity checking
Grammarly is the stronger grammar and clarity checker, by a clear margin. It checks as you type across apps, explains each fix in plain language, and goes beyond spelling into clarity, tone, and word choice on the paid plan. QuillBot covers spelling, punctuation, and basic grammar well enough for everyday use, but it does not match Grammarly depth on style, and that gap shows up fast in professional writing.
Grammarly free covers basic spelling and grammar checks, tone detection, and 100 AI prompts a month, which is enough for many casual writers, but not full sentence rewrites, tone adjustment, or plagiarism checking. Grammarly Pro adds those rewrites and tone controls, word choice and fluency suggestions, and 2,000 AI prompts per member per month, plus plagiarism checking and AI text detection. QuillBot grammar checking is a side tool inside a rewriting product, while Grammarly grammar checking is the whole product, so do not buy QuillBot for grammar alone.
Paraphrasing and rewriting
QuillBot is the better paraphrasing tool, and it is not close. Nine modes, a synonym slider, and unlimited paraphrasing on Premium give you control that Grammarly does not offer at any price. Grammarly rewrites sentences, but its rewrites are conservative and aimed at clarity, not at restating an idea in a new voice or a new register.
The QuillBot modes cover most rewriting jobs: Standard, Fluency, Formal, Academic, Simple, Creative, Expand, Shorten, and a Humanizer mode in newer listings. Free users get Standard and Fluency only, capped at 125 words at a time, and that cap is the real reason to pay. QuillBot Premium opens all modes, custom modes, and unlimited paraphrasing. Always review the output before you use it, because a paraphrase can change meaning, especially with numbers, names, and technical terms.
Plagiarism checking
Both paid plans include a plagiarism checker, and QuillBot has the edge on academic sources. QuillBot Premium scans up to 25,000 words a month against web pages and academic databases, which fits student work that draws on journals and papers. Grammarly Pro scans against billions of web pages and published papers, which fits professional and general writing well. Either one catches copied passages, and neither one proves originality.
Neither free plan includes a plagiarism checker. If a plagiarism scan is the reason you are paying, QuillBot Premium is cheaper, and its academic database coverage fits student work better than a general web scan. A clean scan is not proof of originality, because paraphrased ideas still need citations, and a checker can miss translated or heavily rewritten copying.
AI detection and academic use
Both tools offer AI detection, and neither detector should decide anything important. Grammarly Pro flags passages that look AI generated, and QuillBot sells an AI Detector and a Humanizer side by side. Detectors guess from patterns in the text, they do not know who wrote it, and they flag human writing too, so a score is an opinion, not a verdict.
Schools set their own rules on AI assisted writing, and those rules change often. A detector score will not save a student who broke a policy, and a clean score will not prove compliance. QuillBot Humanizer rewrites AI generated text so it reads more naturally, and using it to hide AI authorship is a policy problem, not a clever workaround. Use detection as a second opinion on your own draft only.
Integrations and apps
Grammarly works in far more places than QuillBot, and that gap is the biggest practical difference after paraphrasing. It runs as a browser extension, a desktop app, and a mobile keyboard, and it checks inside Word, Google Docs, Gmail, Slack, LinkedIn, and most text boxes on the web. Wherever you type, Grammarly is already there.
QuillBot works through its website and through extensions for Chrome, Edge, and Safari, plus a Word add in and Google Docs through the browser extension. That covers the student workflow well, but it does not follow you into email, chat, and every other app the way Grammarly does, so it helps only when you remember to open it. If you write in one or two apps, QuillBot coverage is enough. If you write everywhere, Grammarly is the only one of the two that keeps up.
Pricing: free plans, monthly plans and annual plans
QuillBot Premium costs less than Grammarly Pro on every billing term, and both free plans are genuinely usable. Grammarly Pro costs 30 dollars a month billed monthly, 20 dollars a month billed quarterly at 60 dollars every three months, or 12 dollars a month billed annually at 144 dollars a year. QuillBot Premium costs 19.95 dollars a month billed monthly, 39.95 dollars every three months, or 99.95 dollars a year, which works out to about 8.33 dollars a month.
The annual totals tell the real story: 144 dollars against 99.95 dollars, a gap of about 44 dollars a year. Buying both tools on annual billing costs about 20 dollars a month combined. Monthly billing is the expensive way to buy either tool, because Grammarly monthly costs 360 dollars over a year against 144 dollars annual, and QuillBot monthly costs about 239 dollars over a year against 99.95 dollars annual. Treat monthly billing as a trial, then switch to annual or cancel.
Grammarly free gives basic grammar checks, tone detection, and 100 AI prompts a month, the better everyday free tool for fixing your own writing. QuillBot free gives paraphrasing up to 125 words at a time in two modes, plus limited grammar, summarizer, and translator use, the better free tool for occasional short rewrites. Reported QuillBot team pricing runs about 7.50 dollars per seat a month with a reported student rate about 6.25 dollars a month, and a reported 3 day money back guarantee applies to Premium. Grammarly offers a reported 7 day Pro trial. Prices vary by region and promotion, so check the checkout page, watch renewal dates, and remember that annual billing charges the full year up front.
Privacy and data handling
Both tools hold your text on their servers while they process it, so do not paste anything confidential into either one without reading its data terms first. That rule covers client files, unpublished research, medical details, and anything covered by a nondisclosure agreement. A writing checker is a processing service, not a vault, and your text passes through systems you do not control.
Grammarly sells admin controls, single sign on, and analytics on its Enterprise plan, the right tier for a team handling client work. QuillBot sits inside Learneo, an education company, so student users should read the Learneo privacy terms and their school policy together before uploading coursework. Neither free tier is the right place for sensitive work. Keep client names and confidential facts out of free accounts, prefer paid business terms for team work, and delete drafts you no longer need.
The final pick: who should buy which
Pick Grammarly if you write original work across many apps and your main problem is mistakes, clarity, or tone. Pick QuillBot if you rewrite, summarize, and cite constantly. Pick neither if the free plans already cover you, which is true for many casual writers.
Students should start with QuillBot, because paraphrasing, summarizing, and citations match student work, and it costs less than Grammarly Pro. Add Grammarly free alongside it for grammar, and you cover both jobs for 99.95 dollars a year. A student whose main problem is grammar in original essays should flip that order: Grammarly Pro first, QuillBot free for the odd rewrite. Professionals should match the tool to the job that pays: Grammarly Pro when you write client email, reports, and posts all day in many apps, QuillBot Premium when you refresh old content or rewrite source material daily, and both at about 20 dollars a month on annual billing only if you do both jobs daily. Try before you pay on real work, then buy only the one that changed your output, and cancel anything that did not earn its fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Grammarly or QuillBot?
It depends on your job. Grammarly is better for fixing your own writing, with stronger grammar, clarity, and tone checking across many apps. QuillBot is better for rewriting, summarizing, and citing existing text, with nine paraphrasing modes and a citation generator. Most people only need one of them.
Is the QuillBot free plan enough?
For occasional short rewrites, yes. The free plan paraphrases up to 125 words at a time in Standard and Fluency modes, with limited grammar, summarizer, and translator use. It has no plagiarism checker, and long documents need Premium, which gives unlimited paraphrasing and all nine modes.
Is the Grammarly free plan enough?
For basic writing, yes. The free plan covers basic spelling and grammar checks, tone detection, and 100 AI prompts a month. Pro adds full sentence rewrites, tone adjustment, 2,000 AI prompts a month, plagiarism checking, and AI text detection, which matter most for heavy daily writers.
How much do Grammarly Pro and QuillBot Premium cost in 2026?
Grammarly Pro costs 30 dollars a month billed monthly, 20 dollars a month billed quarterly, or 12 dollars a month billed annually at 144 dollars a year. QuillBot Premium costs 19.95 dollars a month billed monthly, 39.95 dollars every three months, or 99.95 dollars a year. Prices vary by region and promotion, so confirm the checkout price.
Can I use Grammarly and QuillBot together?
Yes, and writers who do both jobs daily often do. Grammarly free plus QuillBot free covers light use of both jobs at no cost. Both paid plans together cost about 20 dollars a month on annual billing, which makes sense only if you edit original work and rewrite existing text every day.
Does the QuillBot plagiarism checker beat Grammarly?
QuillBot has an edge for student work because Premium scans up to 25,000 words a month against web pages and academic databases. Grammarly Pro scans billions of web pages and published papers. Either one catches copied passages, and neither one proves originality, since paraphrased ideas still need citations.
Is using Grammarly or QuillBot cheating at school?
It depends on your school policy, which you should read before you submit anything either tool touched. Editing help is allowed in many courses, while submitting AI generated drafts or hiding AI authorship can break academic rules. Write your own argument, cite your sources, and use these tools to edit, not to replace your own work.
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