QuillBot and Grammarly solve two different problems that happen to overlap in the same toolbar. QuillBot's job is rewriting a sentence you already wrote. Grammarly's job is catching what's wrong with a sentence and, at the Pro tier, rewriting it for tone and clarity. If you need a paraphraser, QuillBot is built around that task. If you need a grammar and style checker with broad reach across apps, Grammarly is built around that task. Most of the confusion in this comparison comes from the fact that both products have added features that step into the other's territory, without either one actually replacing what the other does best.
This article compares both tools on price, on what they're actually good at, and on where each one falls short, so you can pick based on what you write and how much you want to pay, not based on either company's marketing copy.
Disclosure: how Belreos is (and isn't) compensated here
Belreos has submitted an affiliate application to QuillBot's partner program. As of publication, that application had not resulted in a live affiliate link on this site. Belreos has not applied to Grammarly's affiliate program. Neither tool's outbound link on this page is currently a tracked affiliate link: both route through Belreos's own click-tracking redirect to the vendor's plain homepage, with no referral parameters attached. If either affiliate relationship goes live after this page is published, we'll update this disclosure to reflect it. The comparison and recommendations below come from independent testing and cross-referenced user review data for both tools, not from affiliate status.
Quick verdict
- Rewriting drafts for originality or wording, especially as a student: pick QuillBot, but read the AI-detector caveat below first.
- Grammar, clarity, and correctness across everywhere you write (email, docs, browser): pick Grammarly.
- Cheapest committed price: QuillBot's annual plan.
- Broadest single-tool feature set: Grammarly Pro.
- Want to keep your own voice intact: be cautious with both, but especially with Grammarly's default rewrite suggestions.
Pricing, with every billing period spelled out
Both companies publish list prices without always showing the per-month equivalent for longer commitments. Here's the full breakdown, verified directly against each vendor's live pricing pages on July 10, 2026.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Quarterly billing | Annual billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuillBot Premium | $9.95/month, billed monthly | $19.95 billed once per quarter ($6.65/month effective) | $49.95 billed once per year ($4.17/month effective) |
| Grammarly Pro | $30.00/month, billed monthly | $60.00 billed once per quarter ($20.00/month effective) | $144.00 billed once per year ($12.00/month effective) |
Both tools also offer a free tier with no payment required.
A few things worth knowing before you commit to either:
Grammarly's public pricing page shows only a "$12" headline number with no visible toggle for monthly or quarterly billing. That figure is the annual-plan rate, but the page doesn't say so. You only see the full breakdown once you click through to the actual checkout flow, where the $12/$20/$30 split appears. Treat the bare "$12" you see advertised as the price of a full year up front, not a month-to-month rate.
QuillBot's cheapest committed price ($4.17/month effective, on the annual plan) is meaningfully below Grammarly Pro's cheapest committed price ($12/month effective, also annual). That gap partly reflects a real difference in scope: Grammarly Pro's feature set (AI prompts, tone rewriting, plagiarism detection, citation help, proactive suggestions) is broader than what QuillBot's grammar checker alone covers. You're not comparing two identical products at different prices. You're comparing a focused paraphrasing tool against a broader writing suite, and the price gap tracks that difference.
Billing friction shows up in complaints about both tools. QuillBot's Trustpilot reviews include a recurring pattern of surprise annual renewal charges and difficulty getting a refund within the cancellation window, a real risk given that QuillBot's price advantage depends on committing to the annual plan specifically. Grammarly has its own cluster of billing complaints around unexpected renewal charges, though this pattern is less independently verified than QuillBot's. If you go with either tool's annual plan, put a calendar reminder before the renewal date.
What each tool is actually built to do
QuillBot's core strength is paraphrasing. Across G2, Capterra, and Reddit threads about the product, rewriting a sentence or paragraph while preserving its meaning is the reason people cite most often for using it. That's the product's center of gravity, and it's also the reason people keep it in the toolbar even after trying alternatives.
Grammarly's core strength is grammar and correctness detection. In a hands-on test of Grammarly's free tier, it flagged all 12 deliberately planted grammar, spelling, and homophone errors in a single test paragraph. That's a first-party result from one controlled test, not a broad benchmark or an aggregated review score, and it lines up with Grammarly's positioning as a correctness-first tool rather than a rewriting tool. Two of those 12 suggestions were gated behind Pro even though the underlying errors were caught on the free tier, which matters if you're deciding between free and paid.
Where the two products genuinely overlap: both now offer AI-assisted rewriting for tone and style. QuillBot added grammar checking to sit alongside its paraphraser. Grammarly added GrammarlyGO for tone-based rewrites on top of its correctness engine. Neither addition replaces the other product's specialty; they're bolt-ons that make the comparison murkier than it needs to be.
Where QuillBot wins
- Paraphrase quality is real and it's the actual reason to buy this tool. This shows up consistently across independent review sources, not just QuillBot's own marketing.
- The cheapest committed annual price of the two, at $4.17/month effective versus Grammarly's $12/month effective annual rate.
- As of July 2026, a connected creative workspace exists behind the paraphraser (a design canvas and background remover), and hands-on testing confirmed it's functional, not vaporware. That said, this is a secondary bonus, not a reason to buy QuillBot if what you need is a writing tool, and the handoff between the paraphraser and the design canvas still involves a manual download-and-reupload step rather than a smooth transfer.
Where QuillBot falls short
- Paraphrased output can read as stiff or pick word substitutions that don't fit context. This is a repeated complaint across Reddit, G2, and Trustpilot, not a one-off.
- Annual billing friction. Surprise renewal charges and refund-window complaints show up often enough in Trustpilot reviews to be a real consideration, especially since the annual plan is the one carrying QuillBot's biggest price advantage.
- AI-detector anxiety is a genuine risk for QuillBot's most common user base. Students report Turnitin and similar tools flagging paraphrased text as AI-generated even on the Premium plan. If your paraphrased work is graded or checked for originality, this is not a hypothetical concern; it's a documented complaint from the exact people who use QuillBot most.
- Grammar-checking depth is narrower than Grammarly's. QuillBot's own public positioning concedes this: it frames itself as the paraphrasing specialist and points to Grammarly for broader writing assistance.
Where Grammarly wins
- Correctness detection held up in hands-on testing. In a single free-tier test paragraph with 12 deliberately planted grammar, spelling, and homophone errors, Grammarly's free tier flagged all 12. That's one test, not a large-scale benchmark, but it backs up the correctness claim directly rather than relying on Grammarly's own marketing.
- The widest reach across where you actually write. Grammarly's browser extension and app integrations work across a very large number of sites and applications, which matters if you write across email, docs, social, and a browser at once rather than in one dedicated app.
- A strong independent rating on a large sample. G2 lists Grammarly at 4.7 out of 5 as of July 2026. We don't have a comparable independent rating for QuillBot to weigh this against, so this is a standalone data point on Grammarly, not a head-to-head ranking.
Where Grammarly falls short
- The rewrite suggestions can flatten a distinctive voice. Hands-on testing reproduced this directly: a deliberately voice-y, grammatically clean paragraph was rewritten by GrammarlyGO into a neutral, corporate-safe version that had nothing left to correct. This wasn't secondhand Reddit sentiment; it happened in our own test. Grammarly does offer an opt-in "voice profile" feature meant to address this, but it is not switched on by default.
- The free tier is narrower than "free grammar checker" marketing suggests. In testing, most fixes beyond basic grammar (clarity rewrites, wordiness suggestions, most Goals and Domain presets) were gated behind Pro. If you're expecting a fully-featured free tool, expect to hit a paywall fast.
- No visible monthly-versus-annual pricing split on the public marketing page. You have to click into the actual checkout flow to see that the advertised "$12" is an annual-only rate. That's a real transparency gap worth knowing about before you start the signup flow.
- A long-running, still-resurfacing privacy and trust discussion about the browser extension has circulated on Hacker News since 2018 and periodically resurfaces. It's dated, but worth one honest mention rather than ignoring it.
Important boundary on our testing
Our hands-on testing of Grammarly was done entirely on the free plan. Grammarly Pro's feature set was assessed through the vendor's own pricing and comparison pages, not through firsthand use of the paid product. Where this article describes a Pro-only feature, treat it as researched, not independently tested by us.
Who should pick which tool
Students rewriting drafts for originality, on a budget: QuillBot, with eyes open about the AI-detector risk. If your work goes through Turnitin or a similar checker, verify your institution's policy on paraphrasing tools before you rely on QuillBot for graded work.
Professionals and editors who want a correctness pass, not a rewrite: Grammarly. It's the better fit if what you want is someone checking your grammar and clarity across every app you write in, not a tool that rewrites your sentences for you.
Writers who want to keep their own voice: be careful with both, but especially with Grammarly's default AI rewrite suggestions, which have a documented tendency to smooth writing into something generic. Turn on Grammarly's voice profile setting if you go this route, and treat any AI-suggested rewrite from either tool as a draft to edit, not a final answer.
Cost-sensitive buyers who want the cheapest committed plan: QuillBot's annual plan is the lower price of the two, at $4.17/month effective. Set a renewal reminder given the billing complaints noted above.
Someone who wants both rewriting and correctness: you don't have to pick one forever. A workflow that shows up repeatedly in independent comparisons of these two tools: draft and rewrite in QuillBot first, then run the result through Grammarly for a final grammar and clarity pass. Neither tool does both jobs equally well, so using them in sequence for their respective strengths is a legitimate answer, not a cop-out.
If you don't need either paid tier: both free tiers cover basic grammar and spelling. If your writing rarely needs heavy rewriting and you're not chasing every clarity suggestion, the free versions of either tool may be all you need. Try both free tiers before paying for either.
Frequently asked questions
Is QuillBot cheaper than Grammarly?
Yes, on committed annual plans. QuillBot's annual plan works out to $4.17 per month ($49.95 billed once a year). Grammarly Pro's annual plan works out to $12 per month ($144 billed once a year). Grammarly's feature set at the Pro tier is broader, which accounts for part of the price difference.
Can QuillBot get you flagged for AI-generated content?
It's a documented risk for some users. Students have reported Turnitin and similar detectors flagging paraphrased text as AI-generated, even on QuillBot's paid Premium plan. If your work is checked for originality, confirm your institution's policy before relying on a paraphrasing tool.
Does Grammarly work on the free plan, or do I need Pro?
The free plan covers basic grammar and spelling correction. In testing, most fixes beyond that (clarity rewrites, wordiness suggestions, most Goals and Domain presets) required the Pro plan.
Which tool is better for keeping my own writing voice?
Neither tool is designed around voice preservation by default. Grammarly's AI rewrite suggestions have a documented tendency to smooth distinctive writing into a more generic version, confirmed in our own hands-on testing. Grammarly offers an opt-in voice profile feature to address this, but it isn't on by default. If voice matters to you, treat AI suggestions from either tool as optional edits, not required changes.
Do I have to choose only one of these tools?
No. A workflow used by some writers is rewriting a draft in QuillBot first, then running it through Grammarly for a final grammar and clarity check. The two tools solve different problems, so using both isn't redundant.
Read the full write-ups on each tool: our QuillBot review and our Grammarly review. For more options in this space, see our roundup of the best AI writing tools.