Grammarly vs. ChatGPT (2023 Comparison)

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ChatGPT is to Grammarly as Google Sheets is to Excel, Canva is to Photoshop, and Google Docs is to Microsoft Word.

Both these tools are direct rivals in that they offer users the opportunity to write crisp, error-free, and high-quality English. Additionally, the number of people who use each is in the tens of millions.

However, as someone who has used both, I could argue that there are more differences between these tools than there are things that unite them. Put simply, each offers something the other does not.

Read on for the ultimate Grammarly vs. ChatGPT comparison.

Our rating:

• Grammarly: 4.5/5
• ChatGPT: 4.7/5

Criteria	Grammarly	ChatGPT
Ease of Use	User-friendly interface	Incredibly easy to use
Customization	Offers limited customization options vis-a-vis ChatGPT	Can be highly customized for specific applications, industries, or use cases by developers doing the integration
Analysis Reports	Provides basic analysis reports for grammar, punctuation, spelling, engagement, clarity, and more.	Analysis reports can be as detailed or as precise as demanded by the input
Rephrasing Tools	Allows you to rephrase your writing pretty much any way you want	Can be used for rephrasing tasks
Integrations	Integrates with almost every app a writer could use	Can be integrated into various apps and services through API access
Pricing and Support	Prices aren’t cheap but won’t blow a hole in your pocket either	No educational material is offered by the app but independent sources offer plenty
Accuracy	Highly accurate in identifying and correcting grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.	Often hallucinates when it comes to facts
Writing Style	Lets you pick from predefined writing styles	Can mimic your writing style as well as that of any writer dead or alive
Plagiarism Checker	There are better (and more reliable) options out there	No plagiarism checker
Mobile Integration	Yes	Doesn’t offer standalone mobile apps for end users
Educational Material	I am yet to come across any	No educational material is offered by the app, but independent sources offer plenty of informational stuff
User Reviews	Routinely gets 4.5* out of 5	Routinely gets 4.5* out of 5
Free vs Paid Plans	Free plan: No restrictions and includes tone detection Paid Plan: Includes a plagiarism checker	Paid plan includes GPT-4, faster response times, and priority access to new features
Writing Goals	Lets you set your writing goals in advance as well as change them down the line	Same
Language Support	Only English	Can be trained and deployed in multiple languages

Ease of Use: How user-friendly are the interfaces of each product?

ChatGPT’s interface is among the most user-friendly of any software I have ever used.

That is because there are no distracting menus to take your attention away from the task you’re trying to perform. Neither is the workspace so small that you have to work hard to focus.

Need proof? Here you go:

Compared to the above, many users (especially those who have never used Grammarly before), may find its interface a bit confusing.

That may especially be the case if you’re using Grammarly Premium, which has so many menus that it might take an average writer days to figure out which of the options can help them improve their writing and which are there to fill space.

Customization: How customizable are the settings and options for each product?

ChatGPT’s output can be customized as much or as little as you want, depending on how exhaustive (or otherwise) your prompt is.

Let me explain.

Below are two prompts that I gave ChatGPT to write a detailed blog on how to start a writing agency. While the first sentence (or topic) in both prompts is the same, the output is different in each.

Here’s a simple prompt that I gave:

Here’s a more detailed one:

Notice the difference?

In the first case, ChatGPT only gave me a bird’s eye view, whereas in the second, it (tried to) explain everything in more detail and would have done so had I not entered the ‘don’t explain’ phrase in the prompt.

Now let’s turn our attention to Grammarly.

While it doesn’t let you customize almost everything under the sun as ChatGPT does, Grammarly still offers a fair few customization options.

For instance, you can:

• Create a personal dictionary
• Make your writing seem more diplomatic
• Use gender-neutral pronouns
• Replace bland words with vivid/descriptive ones
• Adopt a different writing style to yours
• … and customize many more settings

All in all, if you’re a writer who knows what they want, ChatGPT offers a wealth of customization options no other writing tool can match.

However, if you’re like me and would like someone to guide you along the way, Grammarly may prove to be a better fit.

Analysis Reports: What types of reports does each product offer to help users improve their writing?

ChatGPT’s analysis reports can improve every aspect of your writing if you give this tool prompts that are detailed enough.

Here’s an example of a prompt I often give to ChatGPT when I’d like it to analyze my writing:

Remember, when it comes to ChatGPT prompts, the lengthier they are, the better the quality of the output generated by this tool.

That means that if you want a detailed analysis report, don’t just issue a command like, ‘analyze my writing’. Instead, as I did in the above screenshot, discuss in detail what you want it to analyze.

Grammarly, as you might guess, doesn’t let you decide what type of analysis reports you’re after.

This app only sends you a weekly email highlighting things like how many words you wrote over the last 7 days, how many errors it corrected in the same period, and how accurate you were.

Don’t like waiting for days?

You can always head straight over to Grammarly’s webpage and get a report in real-time:

Integrations: How well does each product integrate with other platforms and tools?

ChatGPT can be integrated into almost every platform and service available out there via API access.

That means ChatGPT can be integrated into:

• Websites
• Mobile apps
• Writing processors
• Content generation tools
• … And many other software and digital services

Here’a very useful video for those wanting to integrate ChatGPT with MS Word:

Grammarly, too, integrates with (almost) everything and anything.

Besides integrating with Microsoft Office on Windows and Mac, it helps you improve your writing across 500,000+ apps and websites.

Here’s what all of the above means:

• If you’re serious about using either of these apps, lack of integration into your favorite writing processor is one problem you won’t be facing.

Pricing and Support: How do the pricing plans and customer support options compare between the two products?

Here’s what Grammarly charges for its services:

ChatGPT lets you use GPT-3.5 for free.

However, if you want faster response times, priority access to new features, and more updates, you’d have to pay for GPT 4.0.

This means forking out $20 per month + tax (if you’re living in the US or anywhere else in the world except the European Union), whose residents are required to pay €22.99 per month + tax.

Accuracy: How accurate are the suggestions and corrections offered by each product?

ChatGPT’s accuracy depends on what you want out of it.

If you just want suggestions to improve your writing skills, this app can be as accurate as some of the best writing tools on the internet.

However, if you are using it to generate full blog posts, it’s essential to ascertain each fact independently. That is because its accuracy has worsened since its initial release in November 2022.

As for Grammarly, this app flags your sentences for grammar and punctuation errors, as well as readability, overuse of passive voice, abuse of adverbs, and much more.

Don’t take the suggestions that Grammarly offers as gospel. Otherwise, your final draft will be unrecognizable from the first.

Take each suggestion one at a time. That way, you could easily decide which ones merit implementing and which ones you can simply ignore.

Writing Style: How well does each product cater to different writing styles and genres?

ChatGPT can write in any style you want it to be.

That is an amazing thing for writers who know everything about their target audience and, more importantly, their reading interests.

So, whether you’re writing an email to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies or a blog post teaching parents how to put their baby to sleep at night, ChatGPT can write in a style that would resonate with your target audience.

The same thing can be said about Grammarly Premium, which lets you pick from six different writing styles, including:

• Academic
• Business
• General
• Technical
• Casual
• Creative

Plagiarism Checker: How effective are the plagiarism-checking tools for each product?

ChatGPT doesn’t offer a plagiarism checker

Grammarly might have one, but it isn’t as reliable as Copyscape, which is considered the gold standard for detecting duplicate content.

So, if your client only pays you if your work is 100% original, I would never recommend trusting ChatGPT or Grammarly.

Mobile Integration: How well does each product integrate with mobile devices?

ChatGPT doesn’t have a standalone mobile app for end-users, but it can be integrated into almost every mobile app through its API.

Of course, that is something you cannot do (as it’s the app’s developer who will eventually decide whether their baby could do with ChatGPT).

Grammarly has a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

You can copy-paste your writing into the app to have Grammarly inspect it. Additionally, the app generates writing reports and lets you customize the suggestions on the go.

Educational Material: What types of educational material and resources do each product offer to help users improve their writing skills?

While ChatGPT doesn’t offer much educational material to help users improve the quality of their prompts, there are several other ways using which you can refine your prompt generation skills.

One of which is following experts like Ethan Mollick, the Wharton Professor whose tweets have done more than anything else in taking my prompt generation skills to the next level.

Just by following his tweets and implementing the valuable tips he offers on prompt generation, I have been able to write high-quality commands and, in turn, receive high-quality output from ChatGPT.

Unfortunately, Grammarly offers no educational material.

I’m saying this as a person who has been using this app for over 12 years. In all these years, I’m yet to recount a single email from Grammarly in which the app gave me educational material on how to make the most out of it.

User Reviews: What do users have to say about their experiences with each product?

ChatGPT and Grammarly seem to have very loyal followers.

ChatGPT’s fans seem to be almost everywhere on this planet, except in Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

The Grammarly Gang, which is what I like to call them, is much more limited in comparison. It comprises nerds like myself, as well as students, teachers, and professionals who want their writing to read better.

Free vs Paid Plans: How do the free and paid plans for each product compare in terms of features and value?

ChatGPT’s free and paid plans aren’t much different.

Of course, you get priority access to new features, faster response times, and fewer (if any) interruptions in GPT 4.0 than GPT 3.5.

However, when it comes to the quality of the responses they generate, there isn’t any difference (perhaps because it’s the quality of your prompt that defines the quality of the responses).

In contrast, Grammarly’s free and paid plans cannot be more different.

Here’s why I’m saying that:

Features	Grammarly Free Version	Grammarly Paid Version
Basic Editing Checks	Yes	Yes
Suggestions To Improve Correctness	Yes	Yes
Suggestions To Improve Clarity	Yes	Yes
Suggestions To Improve Reader Engagement	No	Yes
Style Guide	No	Yes
Plagiarism Checker	No	Yes
Passive Voice Misuse Checker	No	Yes
Improper Formatting Checker	No	Yes
Alternate Word Suggestions	No	Yes
Get Help From Expert Writers	No	Yes

Writing Goals: How well does each product help users achieve their specific writing goals?

Both apps can help users achieve their specific writing goals, though they go about it differently.

With ChatGPT, you have to be 100% sure about the targets you want your writing to hit. This is something a single-sentence prompt won’t be able to do, meaning you’d have to be well-qualified at prompt generation for ChatGPT to help take your writing to the levels you want it to reach.

Grammarly, on the contrary, doesn’t put you under so much pressure.

Whether it lets you customize the suggestions, Grammarly makes the rest of the job easier by outlining the writing styles. You can thus easily pick the one that resonates with your target audience.

Language Support: How many languages do each product support for grammar and spelling checks?

ChatGPT supports almost every language spoken on this planet for grammar and spelling checks.

Here is the proof:

Grammarly only provides English language support.

Though it lets users customize their writing to a specific English audience, including American, Canadian, Australian, British, and Indian.

Alternatives: What alternatives are there to both of these tools?

Here are the various alternatives to these apps you’d do well to check out:

• Hemingway
• WordTune
• ProWritingAid
• Autocrit
• Scrivener
• Ginger
• ChatGPT

Frequently Asked Questions

ChatGPT Vs. Grammarly: Which One Comes Out On Top?

ChatGPT and Grammarly both appeal to the same set of users. However, that doesn’t mean that they perform the same functions.

Pick Grammarly if You:

• Need a standalone mobile app for grammar and spelling checks
• Primarily write English and don’t need support for multiple languages
• Require a plagiarism checker for your work
• Are willing to pay extra for additional features

Select ChatGPT if you:

• Desire a high level of customization in generating content and are okay with crafting detailed prompts
• Generate content in multiple languages besides English
• Want to mimic different writing styles (such as those of your favorite content creators) for diverse audiences