Grammarly and Quillbot are two of the most popular AI writing improvement tools available — but they serve different primary purposes. Grammarly is primarily a grammar and writing quality checker. Quillbot is primarily a paraphrasing and rewriting tool. Understanding this distinction is the key to choosing the right tool — or knowing when to use both. In this head-to-head comparison I’ve tested both tools extensively to give you an honest verdict.
Quick Verdict
Choose Grammarly if you want to improve the quality, clarity, and correctness of your own writing. Choose Quillbot if you need to paraphrase, rewrite, or summarise existing content. Many writers use both tools for different tasks.
Grammarly vs Quillbot: Side-by-Side
| Feature | Grammarly | Quillbot |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Premium price | $12/month | $9.95/month |
| Grammar checking | Excellent | Basic |
| Paraphrasing | Basic | Excellent |
| Plagiarism checker | Yes (Premium) | Yes (Premium) |
| Summariser | No | Yes |
| Citation generator | No | Yes |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes |
| Word/Google Docs | Yes | Yes |
About Grammarly
Grammarly launched in 2009 and has grown to over 30 million daily active users. It started as a grammar checker but has evolved into a comprehensive AI writing assistant. In 2026 Grammarly goes far beyond grammar — it checks clarity, engagement, delivery, and tone, and now includes an AI writing assistant for generating and rewriting content.
Grammarly integrates with virtually every writing surface — browsers, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, email clients, and more — making it the most seamlessly integrated writing tool available.
About Quillbot
Quillbot launched in 2017 with a specific focus on paraphrasing — helping writers rewrite content in different ways while preserving the original meaning. It has since expanded to include a grammar checker, summariser, citation generator, and translator.
Quillbot is particularly popular with students and researchers who need to paraphrase source material, avoid accidental plagiarism, and summarise long documents efficiently.
Feature Comparison
Grammar and Writing Quality Winner: Grammarly
Grammarly’s grammar checking is significantly more sophisticated than Quillbot’s. It catches subtle errors, suggests better word choices, identifies overly complex sentences, and provides detailed explanations for every suggestion. Grammarly Premium adds tone detection, clarity improvements, and engagement scoring.
Quillbot has a grammar checker but it’s clearly a secondary feature — basic compared to what Grammarly offers.
Paraphrasing Winner: Quillbot
Quillbot was built for paraphrasing and it shows. It offers eight paraphrasing modes — Standard, Fluency, Formal, Academic, Simple, Creative, Expand, and Shorten — giving you precise control over how content is rewritten. The outputs are natural and preserve meaning well.
Grammarly can suggest rewrites but paraphrasing is not its primary function. For dedicated paraphrasing tasks Quillbot is clearly superior.
Summarisation Winner: Quillbot
Quillbot includes a summariser that condenses long documents into key points. Grammarly has no equivalent feature. For students and researchers summarising papers and articles, this gives Quillbot a clear advantage.
Plagiarism Checker Winner: Tie
Both Grammarly Premium and Quillbot Premium include plagiarism checkers. Grammarly’s checks against a larger database of academic and web content. Quillbot’s is sufficient for most use cases. Both are comparable for standard plagiarism checking needs.
Integrations Winner: Grammarly
Grammarly integrates with virtually every platform you write on — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Outlook, Gmail, Slack, and more. The browser extension works across almost every website.
Quillbot integrates with Google Docs and has a browser extension but the coverage is narrower than Grammarly’s extensive integration ecosystem.
Pricing Winner: Quillbot
Quillbot Premium at $9.95/month is cheaper than Grammarly Premium at $12/month. Both offer significant annual discounts — Quillbot drops to around $4.17/month and Grammarly to around $6.67/month on annual plans.
For budget-conscious users Quillbot offers more paraphrasing-specific value per dollar.
Free Plans
Both tools have genuinely useful free plans:
Grammarly free — grammar and spelling checking, basic writing suggestions, tone detection. Sufficient for basic proofreading.
Quillbot free — paraphrasing up to 125 words, summariser, grammar checker, citation generator. Sufficient for light paraphrasing needs.
Who Should Use Grammarly?
Grammarly is the better choice if you:
- Write regularly and want to improve your writing quality
- Need seamless integration across all your writing apps
- Want detailed explanations for every suggested improvement
- Create professional emails, reports, or business content
- Need the most comprehensive grammar and style checking
Who Should Use Quillbot?
Quillbot is the better choice if you:
- Frequently need to paraphrase or rewrite content
- Are a student working with research sources
- Need to summarise long documents quickly
- Want a citation generator built in
- Need a more affordable premium option
Should You Use Both?
Many writers use both tools together — Quillbot for paraphrasing source material and Grammarly for improving the quality of their own writing. At a combined cost of around $22/month (or significantly less on annual plans) the combination covers every writing improvement use case.
Final Verdict
Both tools are genuinely excellent at what they do — the key is understanding what each one is for.
Grammarly is the better all-round writing improvement tool. If you only choose one, Grammarly’s broader use case, better integrations, and superior grammar checking make it the more versatile choice.
Quillbot is the better paraphrasing and research tool. For students, researchers, and anyone who regularly works with existing content, Quillbot’s specialised features justify the subscription.
Ratings:
- Grammarly: 4.4/5
- Quillbot: 4.2/5
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grammarly better than Quillbot? For grammar checking, writing quality improvement, and integrations, yes. For paraphrasing, summarising, and research-focused tasks, Quillbot is better. The best choice depends on your primary use case.
Can I use Grammarly and Quillbot together? Yes — many writers use both. A common workflow is using Quillbot to paraphrase research sources and Grammarly to improve the quality of your own writing.
Is Quillbot free to use? Yes — Quillbot has a free plan that includes paraphrasing up to 125 words, a summariser, grammar checker, and citation generator. The Premium plan at $9.95/month removes word limits and unlocks all paraphrasing modes.
Does Grammarly check for plagiarism? Yes — Grammarly Premium includes a plagiarism checker that scans against billions of web pages and academic papers. The free plan does not include plagiarism checking.
Is Quillbot safe to use for academic work? Quillbot is a legitimate tool used by millions of students. However using it to paraphrase and submit work as your own without proper citation may violate your institution’s academic integrity policy. Always check your institution’s guidelines on AI tool usage.
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