Every writer needs an editor. When you can’t afford a human one, Grammarly and Hemingway step in—but they’re editing for completely different things.

Grammarly catches your mistakes. Hemingway challenges your style. Understanding this distinction is the key to knowing which one belongs in your workflow.

What They Actually Do

Grammarly is a comprehensive writing assistant. It checks grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, engagement, and delivery. It works everywhere you write and has expanded into AI writing assistance.

Hemingway Editor focuses exclusively on readability. It highlights complex sentences, passive voice, adverb overuse, and difficult phrases. It gives you a grade level and word count. That’s it.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Grammarly	Hemingway
Grammar Check	Comprehensive	None
Spelling	Yes	None
Readability Score	Basic	Primary focus
Passive Voice	Yes	Yes (highlighted)
Adverb Detection	Premium	Yes
Sentence Complexity	Premium	Yes
Tone Detection	Yes	No
Browser Extension	Yes	No
Desktop App	Yes	Yes
Mobile App	Yes	No
AI Writing	Yes	No
Real-time	Yes	Yes
One-time Payment	No	Yes ($19.99)
Subscription	$12-30/month	None

Where Grammarly Excels

Comprehensive Error Catching

Grammarly catches everything: typos, grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, commonly confused words, inconsistent spelling (US vs UK). For non-native speakers or anyone who struggles with mechanics, this coverage is invaluable.

The suggestions explain why something is wrong, which helps you learn over time.

Works Everywhere

Browser extensions, desktop apps, mobile keyboards, Microsoft Office integration, Google Docs—Grammarly embeds into your existing workflow. You don’t need to copy-paste into a separate tool.

Tone and Context Awareness

Grammarly adjusts its suggestions based on the context you set. Casual email gets different treatment than formal business communication. It understands audience and intent.

AI Writing Assistance

GrammarlyGO generates drafts, rewrites passages, and adjusts tone on command. It’s become a legitimate AI writing tool beyond just corrections.

Plagiarism Checking

Premium includes plagiarism detection against billions of web pages. Essential for academic work or content marketing where originality matters.

Where Hemingway Excels

Brutal Simplicity Focus

Hemingway doesn’t care about grammar. It cares whether your writing is readable. Complex sentences turn yellow. Very complex sentences turn red. Passive voice appears green. Adverbs show blue.

This visual approach forces you to confront your style choices. No explanations, no negotiations—just color-coded truth.

Teaching Writing Craft

Using Hemingway regularly trains you to write cleaner. You start noticing your passive voice habits. You catch yourself reaching for adverbs. The tool is less about fixing individual pieces and more about changing how you write.

Grade Level Clarity

Hemingway shows what grade level reads your writing. Want to reach a general audience? Aim for grade 6-8. Writing for academics? Higher is fine. This concrete metric helps you calibrate.

Zero Subscription

Pay $19.99 once for the desktop app. Done. No monthly fees, no premium tiers, no feature unlocking. For writers who value simplicity, this pricing model is refreshing.

No Internet Required

The desktop app works completely offline. Write on a plane, in a cabin, wherever. Your text never touches external servers.

The Quality of Suggestions

Grammarly’s suggestions are often excellent but occasionally wrong. It can be overly conservative, flagging intentional stylistic choices as errors. Creative writers sometimes find it constraining.

Hemingway doesn’t suggest anything—it just highlights problems. You decide how to fix them. This requires more skill but produces more ownership over your voice.

Who Should Choose What

Choose Grammarly If You:

• Struggle with grammar, spelling, or punctuation
• Write in English as a second language
• Need corrections across multiple platforms
• Want AI writing assistance
• Write professional/business content
• Need plagiarism checking

Choose Hemingway If You:

• Have solid grammar but wordy style
• Want to improve your prose quality
• Write blog posts, articles, or books
• Prefer one-time purchases over subscriptions
• Need offline capability
• Want to learn to write better, not just fix mistakes

Using Both Together

The best approach might be both. Write your first draft, then run it through Hemingway to tighten the prose. Finally, pass it through Grammarly for mechanical polish.

This workflow catches different types of problems:

1. Hemingway: Structural and stylistic issues
2. Grammarly: Grammatical and technical errors

The tools don’t conflict because they’re solving different problems.

Pricing Breakdown

Grammarly:

• Free: Basic grammar and spelling
• Premium: $12/month (annual) to $30/month (monthly)
• Business: $15/member/month

Hemingway:

• Web: Free
• Desktop: $19.99 (one-time)

Over a year, Grammarly Premium costs $144-360. Hemingway costs $20 once. The value comparison depends entirely on what you need.

The AI Factor

Grammarly has fully embraced AI with GrammarlyGO. It can draft emails, rewrite paragraphs, and generate content. This makes it competitive with dedicated AI writing tools.

Hemingway hasn’t added AI features and probably won’t. The team seems committed to doing one thing well. Whether this is a strength or limitation depends on your perspective.

Limitations to Know

Grammarly:

• Premium is expensive for casual users
• Can encourage generic, “safe” writing
• Occasionally flags correct usage
• Subscription fatigue is real

Hemingway:

• Won’t catch actual errors
• No real-time integration
• Desktop app hasn’t updated significantly
• No mobile option
• Copy-paste workflow is friction

My Verdict

Grammarly wins for professional writers who need comprehensive assistance across emails, documents, and business communication. The everywhere-integration and error-catching breadth justify the subscription for daily professional writing.

Hemingway wins for improving the quality of your prose. It’s not about correctness—it’s about crafting sentences that land. For bloggers, authors, and anyone trying to write more clearly, the $20 investment pays for itself immediately.

If you forced me to choose one? Hemingway. Grammar you can learn. Style takes longer to develop, and Hemingway accelerates that development. Plus, free web access means you can try it right now.

But for most writers, both tools deserve a place in your workflow. Let Hemingway make you a better writer. Let Grammarly catch what you miss.

Good writing isn’t just correct. It’s clear, engaging, and effortless to read. Different tools serve different parts of that equation.