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Grammarly vs Pismo

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. Grammarly starts at $12, Pismo at $9. Only Grammarly has a free tier.

GrammarlyGrammar, tone and rewriting help inside every appPismoDesktop hotkey that rewrites, translates, shortens or proofreads the text you selected in any Mac or Windows app.

Side by side

FactGrammarlyPismo
CategoryGrammar & ProofreadingAI Writing Assistants
Pricing modelFreemiumPaid
Starts at$12 month$9 month
Public APINoNo
PlatformsWeb, Chrome Ext, Windows, macOS, iOS, AndroidmacOS, Windows, iOS
CompanySuperhumanPismo (3F Venture Studio)
Launched2009—
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Grammarly

Still the default for catching mistakes inside other people's software, but the free tier has quietly become an AI-prompt meter and the honest price is $30 unless you commit to a full year.

Pros

  • Runs inside the apps people already write in rather than as a separate editor
  • Free tier still covers spelling, grammar and tone detection with no time limit
  • Pro folds in plagiarism and AI-text detection that rivals charge for separately

Cons

  • The $12 headline is the annual rate; paying monthly costs $30
  • Free AI allowance is 100 prompts a month and depletes quickly
  • No public API, so it cannot be embedded in another product
  • Enterprise pricing is not published anywhere on the site

Pismo

The whole value is that it works where you already are: no tab switch, no paste, just select and press a key in whatever application you happen to be in. Custom prompts bound to hotkeys make repeated editing passes cheap. It is a thin layer over a model, priced accordingly, and the euro pricing with unlimited requests is unusually simple.

Pros

  • Works in any macOS or Windows application via a system-wide hotkey
  • Rewrite, tone change, expand, shorten, translate and proofread from one selection
  • Custom prompts saveable and bindable to their own shortcuts
  • Unlimited requests and unlimited devices on both plans
  • Vendor states it does not store or process the texts you send

Cons

  • No free tier — only a one-week trial
  • Requires an internet connection, so nothing works offline
  • Priced in euros, so the dollar cost moves with the exchange rate
  • No API, no browser extension and no Linux build
  • A small studio-backed product with a thin public track record

Which one fits

Choose Grammarly if you need

  • Anyone writing in a browser, Word or email who wants corrections in place
  • Teams enforcing a house style guide across people who are not writers
  • Non-native English speakers who want fluency rewrites, not just error flags

Choose Pismo if you need

  • Editing text inside apps that have no AI features of their own
  • Non-native speakers fixing tone and grammar across email and chat
  • Repeating the same editing instruction via a saved prompt and hotkey

More comparisons

All Pismo alternatives →Browse all Grammar & Proofreading →