I've been paying $144/year for Grammarly Premium for two years. I'm a senior developer who also runs an AI tools directory on the side, so I type a lot, Slack messages, code comments, blog posts, and Social Networks. Grammarly used to be essential. Now I'm not sure it's worth it anymore.
Here's what changed.
What I Actually Use Grammarly For
I'm not a native English speaker. I mess up "their" vs "there" constantly. I type "inclindg" instead of "including" more than I'd like to admit. Grammarly catches those mistakes before anyone else sees them, which is embarrassing to admit but true.
My day is split between writing code or just chating about this and that. Between the actual coding, there's a lot of typing in other places. Slack messages, code review comments. Technical documentation. And that's just for work.
Grammarly sits in the background and fixes my typos. That's it. That's all I really need it for.
Where It Actually Helps
Slack is probably 80% of the value. When you're explaining technical decisions to non-technical people, one typo makes you look careless. I used to spend too much time re-reading messages before hitting send. Now I type fast, and Grammarly catches "tomorrows" and "theyre" and all the stupid mistakes I make when I'm moving quickly.
It changed how I communicate. I reply faster because I'm not paranoid about typos. That saves me 20-30 minutes a day.
Blog posts. I write technical content for my AI tools directory. I'm not a writer, I'm a developer who reviews AI tools because I've tested 200+ of them. I use Claude to draft sections, then Grammarly's AI detection feature to ensure it doesn't sound too robotic. Or at least that's what I used to do.
Why I'm Getting Frustrated
The AI Detector Is Broken
This is the main reason I'm writing this post. I saw a Reddit thread where someone's text that used to show 0-9% AI a few months ago now indicates 50% AI-generated. Same text. Nothing changed except Grammarly's detector got more aggressive.
With Premium, you get an AI detection feature. If it's flagging human writing as AI, what's the point? You can't really tell which is which anymore. My blog posts need to sound like me, not like ChatGPT, but if Grammarly thinks human writing is AI-generated, the whole feature is useless.
It Tries to Control How You Write
Grammarly used to fix spelling and grammar. Now it constantly suggests rewriting excellent sentences. Red underline under a word I'm confident using - not because it's misspelled, but because Grammarly thinks I should use a different word. Like who asked?
Every suggestion pushes you toward the same boring, corporate writing style. I write something with personality, and Grammarly wants to flatten it out. The problem is you can't tell when it's flagging an actual mistake versus being opinionated about your style. Both get the identical red underline. So you stop and check every time, which breaks your flow.
ChatGPT Might Do This Better for Free
I saw a Reddit thread asking, "Is there any reason to keep Grammarly vs a ChatGPT subscription?" The person prompts ChatGPT to check spelling and punctuation, leaves those instructions in the personalization area, and it works. Why am I paying $144/year for something ChatGPT can do?
Sure, Grammarly works everywhere automatically, and ChatGPT requires copy-pasting. But is that convenience worth $144? I'm not sure anymore.
They Keep Removing Features
Someone on Reddit mentioned they can't find the "summarize" or "shorten" buttons anymore. The features they relied on just disappeared. I haven't hit this yet, but it's concerning. You pay for a tool, build it into your workflow, then they remove features?
It's Expensive
$144/year. That's $12/month for spell checking that's gotten increasingly aggressive about trying to rewrite my sentences. Students are paying $72/year with discounts and are still looking for cheaper alternatives. When people ask, "Is there something cheaper that just does grammar and spelling without all the AI suggestions?" you know the product's scope creep has gone too far.
What I'm Considering Instead
Honestly? I might cancel and use ChatGPT for the blog posts. Copy-paste is annoying, but it's free with my existing subscription. For Slack and day-to-day typing, I could use the free version of Grammarly or a basic spell checker extension.
Or maybe I keep Premium for one more year and see if they fix the AI detection. But I'm on the fence. The value proposition isn't there like it used to be.
Grammarly vs ChatGPT - Real Comparison
| Feature | Grammarly Premium | ChatGPT Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $144/year ($12/mo) | $240/year ($20/mo) |
| Grammar accuracy | Good | Better (research shows higher accuracy) |
| Real-time checking | Automatic as you type | Manual copy-paste |
| Works everywhere | Browser, Slack, Gmail | Separate window only |
| Accept/reject changes | Full control | Overcorrects |
| Follow-up questions | ❌ | ✅ |
| Content generation | Short-form only | Long-form, code |
| AI detection | ❌ BROKEN - flags human as AI | ✅ Accurate patterns |
| Plagiarism checker | ✅ Built-in | ❌ No |
| Brainstorming ideas | ❌ Editing only | ✅ Generate ideas |
| Code comments | Flags variable names | Understands context |
| Technical writing | Weak | Strong |
| Tone control | Brand voice preferences | Manual prompting |
| Style enforcement | TOO AGGRESSIVE | Only when you ask |
| Learning curve | Easy | Medium |
| Institutional acceptance | Allowed everywhere | Banned in some schools |
| Free version | Basic spell check | GPT-4o mini (limited) |
Key Takeaways
- ChatGPT Plus is better for deep writing and coding - Superior grammar accuracy, content generation, and technical understanding make it the clear choice for developers and content creators
- Grammarly Premium excels at passive background editing - Real-time, automatic spell-checking across all apps without requiring copy-paste workflows
- Power users benefit more from ChatGPT - If you already have a subscription and need both writing and coding assistance, ChatGPT's versatility wins out over Grammarly's single-focus approach
My Honest Take After 2 Years
I'm not saying Grammarly is bad. It still catches my typos before they embarrass me. But for $144/year? When the main Premium feature I paid for (AI detection) is now flagging human writing as AI? I'm not convinced anymore.
If you're a developer who needs spell checking, use the free version or your IDE's built-in checker. If you write content and need AI detection, wait until they fix whatever broke in their detector. If you already have ChatGPT, try that first before paying for Grammarly.
Grammarly used to be great when it stuck to grammar. Now it's trying to homogenize writing, the AI detector is broken, and it's expensive for what it does.
ChatGPT is more accurate for grammar (research-backed), gives you control over when it helps, and can generate content. But copy-pasting is annoying, and some institutions ban it.
Maybe the best combo is ChatGPT Free for rewrites + Grammarly Free for final typo sweep = $0/year.
