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What Grammarly Actually Does
Grammarly works inline across your writing — catching grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors as you type, with Premium adding advanced clarity, engagement, and tone suggestions plus generative AI features (Grammarly Go) for rewriting and drafting.
Context-aware suggestions across every writing context
From one-line Slack replies to 5,000-word articles, Grammarly's suggestions stay accurate and easy to act on — it's built to work inline in whatever you're already writing, not a separate tool you switch to.
Getting Started: Installation
Go to grammarly.com and sign up for the free plan. Install the browser extension for web-wide coverage (Gmail, Google Docs, social media, most text fields), plus the desktop app for Mac/Windows if you write outside the browser.
Basic Grammar and Spelling Checks
How Suggestions Work
- Write as normal in any connected app — Grammarly underlines issues in real time
- Click an underlined word or phrase to see the suggested fix and a brief explanation
- Accept, ignore, or manually edit — Grammarly doesn't force changes automatically
The free plan alone catches grammar, spelling, and basic punctuation reliably enough for casual use, and outperforms most competitors' paid offerings at this level.
Clarity and Engagement Suggestions
How to Use Advanced Suggestions (Premium)
- Premium suggestions appear alongside basic ones, flagged separately as clarity, engagement, or delivery improvements
- Clarity suggestions target wordy or confusing sentences — review and simplify where the suggestion makes the point more directly
- Engagement suggestions flag passive voice or weak word choices that reduce reader interest
Tone Detection
How to Check and Adjust Tone
- Grammarly's tone detector analyzes your draft and displays a tone label (e.g., "confident," "friendly," "formal") based on your word choices
- Set a target tone for the document if you have one in mind — Grammarly flags mismatches between your intended and detected tone
- Use this before sending anything where tone matters — a job application, a client email — as a final check before hitting send
Check tone on emails to people you don't know well
Tone misreads are easy to make in writing without vocal cues — a quick tone check before sending an email to a new client or manager catches phrasing that might land more harshly than intended.
Grammarly Go: Generative Features
How to Use Grammarly Go
- Highlight a section of text and select a Grammarly Go action — rewrite, shorten, expand, or change tone
- Review the generated alternative and accept, adjust, or discard it
- Use it for rewriting existing drafts rather than generating content from a blank page — Grammarly Go is strongest at transforming text you've already written
Integrations
Grammarly connects to Google Docs via browser extension, plus native Mac and Windows desktop apps, an email plugin, and integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams.
- Install the browser extension for the broadest coverage across web apps
- Add the desktop app for native applications outside the browser
- Enable the Slack/Teams integration if your team communication benefits from the same suggestions
Full Workflow: Polishing a Professional Email
Here's a workflow for a client or manager-facing email:
Draft normally, accepting basic grammar fixes as they appear
Don't interrupt your writing flow for every suggestion — clean up as you go on obvious errors only.
Review clarity and engagement suggestions once the draft is complete
These are easier to evaluate against a finished draft than mid-sentence.
Check the tone detector before sending
Confirm the detected tone matches your intent, especially for anything going to someone outside your immediate team.
Use Grammarly Go to tighten a section that still feels wordy
A quick rewrite pass on the weakest paragraph often improves the whole email more than further manual editing.
Grammarly Pricing 2026
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Grammar, spelling, basic punctuation |
| Premium | $12/mo (annual), $30/mo monthly | Clarity/engagement, tone, plagiarism check, Grammarly Go |
| Business | $15/member/mo (annual) | Team features |
Start free — the annual Premium plan at $12/month is the best value if you write 3-4 days a week or more.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Only ever accepting basic grammar fixes. Premium's clarity, engagement, and tone features are where most of the real value is, and they're easy to overlook if you never look past the red underlines.
- Skipping the tone check on important emails. A quick check before sending catches phrasing issues invisible to the writer but obvious to the reader.
- Using Grammarly Go to generate from a blank page. It's strongest at rewriting existing text — for drafting from scratch, a dedicated AI writer is a better fit.