Grammarly is still the best-known writing assistant for many Mac users. It works across desktop apps and browsers, checks grammar and tone, adds generative AI features, and has enough brand recognition that many people install it without looking around.

But Grammarly is not the only sensible option on macOS. LanguageTool is a strong multilingual grammar and style checker with Mac, browser, email, and office integrations. ProWritingAid is built more for long-form writers who want detailed reports, style analysis, and manuscript feedback. Apple's Writing Tools are built into supported Macs with Apple Intelligence and can proofread, rewrite, summarize, and change tone without installing another writing app.

This guide compares Grammarly alternatives for Mac across writing coverage, app integration, AI rewriting, long-document editing, privacy tradeoffs, language support, and pricing.

Quick Verdict

Choose Grammarly if you want the mainstream all-in-one writing assistant that works broadly across Mac apps, browsers, email, Word, Pages, and everyday online writing.

Choose LanguageTool if multilingual checking matters, or if you want a grammar and style checker that supports more than English and integrates with macOS apps, browsers, Apple Mail, Word, Pages, LibreOffice, and other writing surfaces.

Choose ProWritingAid if you write long drafts, fiction, essays, books, scripts, or content that benefits from deeper reports rather than only inline grammar corrections.

Use Apple Writing Tools if you have a supported Apple silicon Mac and want built-in proofreading, rewriting, tone changes, summaries, lists, and tables without another subscription or extension.

Feature Comparison

Grammarly

Grammarly for Mac is the easiest default if you want writing help everywhere. The official Mac page says it works in desktop apps, word processors, email clients, web browsers, Word, Pages, Apple Mail, Outlook, Gmail, and most other email clients. It also lists macOS 10.15 or newer as the requirement for the Mac app.

The app's main advantage is convenience. Grammarly checks spelling, grammar, punctuation, tone, clarity, fluency, and sentence rewrites without asking you to move text into a separate editor. Its pricing page lists Free, Pro, and Enterprise plans. The Free plan includes basic writing help and a limited number of AI prompts, while Pro adds sentence rewrites, tone adjustment, fluency help, personalized suggestions, plagiarism detection, AI-generated-text detection, and more AI prompts.

The tradeoff is that Grammarly is a hosted writing assistant with an account, extensions, app permissions, and plan limits. It is also primarily oriented around English. If you want multilingual grammar checking, LanguageTool is more natural. If you are editing a manuscript or a long draft, ProWritingAid has deeper reports. If you only need quick proofreading and rewriting on a supported Apple silicon Mac, Apple Writing Tools may be enough.

Grammarly's public pricing page did not expose a clear dollar price for Pro in the version checked for this article, though it did show a free trial and plan feature differences. Treat checkout pricing as something to verify before subscribing.

Choose Grammarly when you want broad, polished, low-friction writing help across the Mac, browser, email, and everyday work apps.

LanguageTool

LanguageTool is the best Grammarly alternative here for multilingual users. Its Mac page says it checks spelling and grammar in more than thirty languages, enhances writing with style suggestions, and integrates with favorite macOS apps. The listed examples include Apple Pages, Apple Mail, Slack, Microsoft Word, Notes, Messages, and Microsoft Teams.

LanguageTool is also available beyond the Mac app. The official pages list browser add-ons for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Opera; email add-ons for Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook beta, and Thunderbird; and office plugins for Google Docs, Word, Apple Pages, and LibreOffice. That makes it useful if your writing moves between local Mac apps, web apps, and documents.

The Premium plan adds enhanced grammar, punctuation, and style checking, up to 150,000 characters per text field, unlimited AI sentence paraphrasing, and a style guide. Its comparison table also lists personal dictionary, text statistics, picky mode, and many app integrations. During this check, LanguageTool's pricing page showed payment intervals and a limited-time Premium discount, but the exact prices failed to display, so verify the live checkout before paying.

The main limitation is editorial depth. LanguageTool is very good at grammar, punctuation, style, and multilingual correction, but it is not trying to be a manuscript coach with fiction reports, author comparisons, chapter critiques, or broad long-form diagnostics. It also will not feel as mainstream or brand-polished as Grammarly for users who just want the familiar default.

Choose LanguageTool if you write in multiple languages, care about broad app integrations, or want a Grammarly alternative that focuses on grammar and style without becoming a full authoring suite.

ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is the strongest Grammarly alternative for long-form writers. Its Desktop Everywhere app for Mac works with MS Word, Scrivener, Apple Pages, and other installed writing apps, and the official page says it provides real-time suggestions and advanced analysis across the desktop.

The difference is depth. ProWritingAid is not only correcting commas and typos. Its pricing page lists 25+ writing analysis reports, advanced style improvements, custom style guides, snippets, terminology management, author comparison, citations, collaboration, unlimited document storage, chapter critique, and AI-assisted writing features called Sparks. The Desktop Everywhere page also highlights readability, complex sentences, repeated words and phrases, sensory language, focus mode, and story-focused feedback.

That makes ProWritingAid the better fit for fiction writers, nonfiction authors, students, editors, and anyone who wants to revise a large document rather than clean up a few emails. It also supports Scrivener, which matters because many Grammarly-style tools are weaker in dedicated long-form writing apps.

The tradeoff is complexity and focus. ProWritingAid is English-only, and its richest features are more relevant to serious writers than to someone who mostly sends Slack messages and emails. It can feel like a writing analysis environment, while Grammarly and LanguageTool are more like universal assistants.

ProWritingAid's public pricing page currently lists a Free plan, Premium at $30 per month when billed monthly, $120 per year when billed yearly, and $399 for a lifetime Premium license. Premium Pro is priced higher and adds more AI and workshop/community features. The page also lists a three-day money-back guarantee for yearly and lifetime paid plans.

Choose ProWritingAid when you want serious revision help, manuscript analysis, and long-document reports more than the lightest possible grammar overlay.

Apple Writing Tools

Apple Writing Tools are not a full Grammarly replacement, but they are now good enough to change the buying decision for many Mac users. Apple says Writing Tools can proofread, rewrite, change tone, summarize, generate key points, create lists, and organize selected text into a table. They are available in most places you write, including third-party apps and websites.

The biggest advantage is that there is nothing else to install or subscribe to if your Mac supports Apple Intelligence. You can select text, open Writing Tools, proofread it, switch between original and revised versions, view changes, rewrite in Friendly, Professional, or Concise tones, or describe a custom change. Apple also supports summary, key points, list, and table outputs for selected text.

The tradeoff is scope. Writing Tools work on selected text and system-level workflows, not as a specialized editorial platform. They do not provide Grammarly's cross-platform account ecosystem, LanguageTool's multilingual grammar engine, or ProWritingAid's long-form reports. Apple Intelligence availability also depends on Mac model, macOS version, language, and region, and some features may vary.

For many users, though, Apple Writing Tools should be the first thing to try. If you mostly need occasional proofreading, a more concise rewrite, or a quick summary, paying for another writing assistant may be unnecessary.

Use Apple Writing Tools when built-in proofreading and rewriting are enough, especially if privacy, simplicity, and avoiding another subscription are priorities.

Which Grammarly Alternative Should You Use?

Use LanguageTool if you need multilingual checking, Safari support, Apple Mail integration, or a focused grammar and style assistant that works across many Mac and web writing surfaces.

Use ProWritingAid if you write long drafts and want reports that help you revise structure, clarity, readability, repetition, style, and manuscript-level issues.

Use Apple Writing Tools if you have a supported Mac and only need built-in proofreading, rewriting, tone changes, summaries, lists, and tables.

Stick with Grammarly if you want the most recognizable all-purpose writing assistant with strong everyday coverage, broad integrations, a polished product experience, and paid features such as rewrites, tone adjustment, plagiarism detection, and AI-generated-text detection.

These tools can also complement one another. A novelist might draft in Scrivener with ProWritingAid, use LanguageTool for multilingual correspondence, and rely on Apple Writing Tools for quick system-level rewrites. A business user may be better served by Grammarly or LanguageTool alone.

Final Verdict

Grammarly is still the best mainstream writing assistant for Mac. It is the easiest recommendation when you want broad coverage across apps, browsers, documents, and email with a familiar interface.

LanguageTool is the best multilingual Grammarly alternative. It is especially useful if your writing crosses languages, browsers, Apple Mail, Word, Pages, LibreOffice, and other Mac apps.

ProWritingAid is the best Grammarly alternative for long-form writers. Its reports, author-focused tools, Scrivener support, and lifetime purchase option make it more compelling for books, essays, scripts, and serious revision work.

Apple Writing Tools are the best built-in option. They are not as specialized as the paid tools, but they are convenient, included with supported Macs, and good enough for many quick edits.

My practical recommendation: start with Apple Writing Tools if your Mac supports them, use LanguageTool if multilingual checking matters, choose ProWritingAid for long-form writing, and stay with Grammarly if you want the broadest everyday writing assistant.

Note: Features and prices are current as of June 2026. Plan names, checkout prices, trials, AI limits, language support, Apple Intelligence availability, macOS requirements, and app integrations can change. Verify current details on each developer's official product, pricing, support, or download page before subscribing.