AI Writing Tools: Prices, Free Plans and Who Should Skip Them
Updated 2026-10-18 · No hands-on testing, no scores
Grammar checkers, paraphrasers, fiction-writing assistants and AI-content detectors. Several of these tools have recently pivoted (for example toward AI search or relationship management), so read what each one does now, not what it was known for.
The pricing page says “Start free. No credit card needed”; free-plan limits are not stated.
Prices are from each tool’s official pricing page on the date shown in its listing. Alphabetical, with products owned by this site’s owner first and labeled. The order isn’t a ranking.
Grammarly checks spelling, grammar, clarity and tone as you type in browsers, desktop apps and mobile keyboards, and adds AI rewriting, an AI assistant and AI agents on paid plans.
For: Anyone who writes a lot of email and documents in English and wants corrections inside the apps they already use. Skip it if: People who don’t want a desktop app with broad system access, and anyone starting the free trial without a reminder to cancel (it converts to a paid plan). Price: Free: $0/month · Free: Free plan for spelling and grammar. Pro has a free trial; the plans page says it emails a reminder 2 days before the trial ends. · checked 2026-10-18
Koala AI writes SEO blog articles (KoalaWriter) and now adds an SEO agent that reads your Search Console data, internal-linking and image tools, and publishing to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow and Ghost.
For: Bloggers and niche-site owners who publish many articles and want drafting and publishing automated. Skip it if: Anyone worried about publishing lightly edited AI articles at scale, and people who want to buy credit packs instead of a subscription. Price: Starter: $25/month (45,000 words) · Free: Free trial: every new account gets 5,000 free words and 25 credits (per the pricing FAQ). · checked 2026-10-18
Originality.ai checks text for AI generation and plagiarism, and adds readability, fact-checking and editorial-guideline checks, bulk scans and a Chrome extension.
For: Publishers, editors and agencies that check freelance content at volume and understand detectors give probabilities, not proof. Skip it if: Students or teachers looking for a definitive verdict on whether someone used AI: several reviewers say it flagged their own human writing as AI. Price: Pro: $12.95/month billed yearly ($155.40), or $14.95 month to month · Free:not stated on the pricing page we read. · checked 2026-10-18
ProWritingAid combines a grammar and style checker with tools for novelists: line-editing reports, plot and story planning, chapter critiques and writing sprints.
For: Fiction and long-form writers who want detailed editing reports on whole manuscripts. Skip it if: People who only need quick email proofreading, and anyone who might want a refund: the money-back window shown is 3 days. Price: Premium: $30/month billed monthly, or $10/month billed yearly ($120) · Free: Free plan available; 3-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. · checked 2026-10-18
QuillBot bundles a paraphrasing tool, grammar checker, AI-content detector, plagiarism checker, “AI humanizer”, summarizer, translator and citation generator, with a Chrome extension.
For: Students and writers who rephrase, summarize and proofread a lot and want many small writing tools in one place. Skip it if: Anyone who needs an AI detector they can rely on to judge someone else’s work (a recent reviewer says it flagged their own writing as 95% AI), and people who dislike auto-renewing subscriptions. Price:not stated: QuillBot’s upgrade page blocked our automated check on 2026-10-18; confirm the current Premium price on quillbot.com/upgrade · Free: Free version with word limits (a recent reviewer says the free paraphraser is capped at 100 words); exact limits not stated on pages we could read. · checked 2026-10-18
Rytr began as a low-cost AI writing assistant and now calls itself an “AI relationship manager and follow-up assistant”: daily briefings, meeting prep and follow-up reminders, alongside writing in your own voice and a browser extension.
For: Individuals who want an inexpensive AI writer and follow-up helper, and can live with a smaller feature set than the big suites. Skip it if: Teams needing long-form SEO workflows or strong collaboration features, and anyone who wants an easy self-serve account deletion (a reviewer says it requires emailing support). Price: Free: $0, 10,000 characters per month · Free: Free forever plan with 10,000 characters per month. · checked 2026-10-18
Simplified offers AI marketing agents that plan, write, design, get approval for and publish social and campaign content, plus a chatbot builder and workflow automation, all built on its design and video tools.
For: Small marketing teams that want copy, design and social scheduling in a single tool, priced per campaign. Skip it if: Writers who only need text. One reviewer also said the free version is very limited and there’s no free trial of paid features. Price: Starter: $79/month (5 campaigns a month, per the pricing page) · Free:not stated on the pricing page we read; one reviewer says the free version is very limited and there is no free trial. · checked 2026-10-18
Sudowrite is an AI writing tool for novelists and screenwriters, with its own fiction model (Muse), story bible, drafting, rewriting and feedback tools, and access to other AI models. It runs on monthly credits.
For: Fiction writers who want help drafting, brainstorming and revising, and are comfortable with credit-based usage. Skip it if: Non-fiction and business writers, and anyone who needs fast, predictable output (reviewers mention slow responses and wasted credits). Price: Hobby & Student: $10/month, 225,000 credits · Free: Free trial, no credit card required. · checked 2026-10-18
Writesonic now presents itself as an “AI search growth engine”: it tracks how often your brand appears in AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini, and helps you fix gaps with AI-written content, citations and technical SEO work.
For: Marketing teams and agencies that want AI-search visibility tracking and SEO content in one subscription. Skip it if: Anyone who just wants a cheap AI writing assistant: the lowest listed plan is $79 a month billed annually, and the product is now built around brand tracking. Price: Starter: $79/month, billed annually · Free: The pricing page says “Start free. No credit card needed”; free-plan limits are not stated. · checked 2026-10-18