Last Updated on April 27, 2026 by Wubshet Tsegaye
Author: Wubshet Tsegaye — Blogger and editor
Three years ago, I almost published an article with “your welcome” in the opening paragraph. It was 11 PM. I’d spent six hours on that piece. My eyes were crossed. But I ran it through Grammarly before hitting publish.
Eight errors. Including that gem.
Since then? Fifty-plus posts. Some took 45 minutes. Others took three weeks. And I’ve figured out exactly where Grammarly shines, where it fails, and whether Premium is actually worth $12 a month.
I was wrong about one thing though—I’ll get to that.
Quick Answer
Start with Free. Upgrade when you’re publishing weekly or writing for clients.
| Plan | Best For | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Casual bloggers, hobby sites | $0 |
| Premium | Full-timers, freelancers | $12/month (annual) |
What Grammarly Actually Does
It’s a second pair of eyes that never gets tired. Checks:
- Spelling/grammar — typos, tense issues, subject-verb disasters
- Punctuation — comma splices, missing periods, rogue semicolons
- Word choice — when you use “very” six times in one paragraph
- Tone — are you coming off too aggressive? Too weak?
- Plagiarism — Premium only
Works everywhere: WordPress, Google Docs, Gmail, Twitter. Browser extension follows you around.
The Free Version: Don’t Sleep On It
Last Tuesday, midnight draft. Thought it was solid.
Grammarly Free found 8 errors:
- “your” instead of “you’re” (again, yes)
- Missing comma after an intro phrase
- Two run-on sentences
- Its/it’s confusion
- A sentence fragment
That’s Free doing its job. It won’t rewrite your sentences or make you sound smarter. But it’ll stop you from looking like you don’t know basic grammar.
What Free Won’t Touch
- ❌ Sentence rewrites
- ❌ Tone adjustments
- ❌ Word choice help
- ❌ Plagiarism checking
Free catches obvious stuff. Won’t help you write better—just correctly.
Premium: The $12 Question
I paid for six months. Here’s what I learned.
What you get:
- Full sentence rewrites (takes wordy garbage and makes it tight)
- Tone detector (are you coming off mad when you meant confident?)
- Word choice suggestions (stronger verbs)
- Plagiarism checker (essential if you cite sources)
My test:
1,200-word email marketing guide. Ran it through both.
Free: Caught 6 errors. Basic stuff.
Premium: Caught those 6 plus:
- Three “wordy” sentences (it was right)
- “Critical” instead of “very important” (way better)
- One 47-word sentence that needed splitting
Time saved: About 10 minutes.
The Contrarian Take: Premium Made Me Lazy
Here’s where I was wrong.
I thought Premium would make me a better writer. It didn’t—it made me a lazier editor.
When you have a tool suggesting “better” words every two sentences, you stop thinking about whether you would have chosen that word. You just click accept. I caught myself accepting suggestions that made my writing sound more generic, not more “me.”
I turned off Premium for a month and edited manually. My writing got worse at first, then noticeably better. I started actually thinking about word choice instead of outsourcing it.
I still use Premium. But I reject about 40% of its suggestions now. The tool should enhance your voice, not replace it.
Should You Pay? The Real Talk
Stick with Free if:
- You post 1-2 times per month
- You’re comfortable self-editing
- $12 is lunch money you don’t have
- This is a hobby
Upgrade if:
- You’re publishing weekly
- You write for clients (reputation matters)
- You need plagiarism peace of mind
- English isn’t your first language
If blogging pays your bills, Premium makes sense. If you’re writing about your cat? Free is fine.
Where It Actually Works
WordPress
Underlines errors as you type. Click, fix, move on.
Works in Classic and Gutenberg. Heads up: It’s glitchy sometimes. Refresh if suggestions don’t show.
Google Docs
Best integration. Sidebar is clean, fast. This is where I write everything now.
Gmail
Auto-checks emails. Saved me from telling a client I was “incontinent” instead of “inconvenienced.” True story.
5 Tips From Someone Who Learned The Hard Way
1. Don’t Click “Accept” On Everything
Grammarly told me to change “I’m pumped” to “I am enthusiastic.”
No. Use your judgment. It’s AI, not magic.
2. That Time I Ignored Grammarly (And Was Right)
Two months ago, Premium flagged “I could care less” as incorrect. Wanted me to change it to “I couldn’t care less.”
But I was quoting someone. In dialogue. The character would say “could care less” because that’s how people actually talk.
I kept it. Grammarly was technically right by grammar rules, but wrong by context.
Lesson: The tool doesn’t understand intent. You do.
3. Check the Tone Detector (Premium)
Click the emoji. See if you’re coming off angry when you meant helpful.
Small tweaks matter. “You need to fix this” vs “You’ll want to fix this” — Grammarly caught that shift for me.
4. Ignore “Advanced Issues” On Free
Free shows the underline but won’t fix it. Like showing you a locked door. Either rewrite it yourself or pay up.
5. Run the Plagiarism Check (Premium)
If you research online, do this. I sleep better knowing I’m clear, even though I’ve never had an actual issue.
Before/After: What Premium Actually Changes
Original sentence I wrote:
“Due to the fact that email marketing is very important for businesses who want to achieve success, you should really focus on building your list as soon as possible.”
Grammarly Premium suggested:
“Email marketing is critical for business success. Build your list now.”
My final version:
“Email marketing is critical. Start building your list now, not later.”
Premium got me 80% there. I took it the rest of the way. The tool gives you options—you still have to choose.
Free vs Premium: Side-by-Side
| Feature | Free | Premium | Worth It? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spelling/grammar | ✅ | ✅ | Essential |
| Basic punctuation | ✅ | ✅ | Essential |
| Advanced grammar | ❌ | ✅ | Helpful |
| Tone help | ❌ | ✅ | Nice bonus |
| Word choice | ❌ | ✅ | Use carefully |
| Plagiarism check | ❌ | ✅ | Essential for some |
| Sentence rewrites | ❌ | ✅ | Time-saver |
Free gets you 80% there. Premium gets you 95%. Is that last 15% worth $12? Your call.
My Actual Workflow
- Draft in Google Docs — Grammarly runs in background
- Fix red lines — non-negotiable
- Read aloud — catches what Grammarly misses (yes, I look crazy)
- Review Premium suggestions — accept maybe 60%, reject the rest
- Copy to WordPress — format
- Final check in editor
- Plagiarism scan — for client work only
- Publish
Time saved: 15-20 minutes per post
Errors caught: 5-10 per 1,000 words
FAQ (The Real Answers)
Does Free actually work?
Yeah. For casual bloggers, it’s plenty. Premium only matters if you’re cranking content or getting paid.
WordPress compatible?
Browser extension. Bit glitchy in Gutenberg sometimes. Refresh fixes it.
Replace a human editor?
Not even close. Catches typos, not terrible arguments. Good first pass, not final.
Safe to use?
Been around forever. Your stuff isn’t getting stolen.
Grammarly vs ProWritingAid?
Grammarly’s faster. ProWritingAid is deeper but slower—painfully slower. Most bloggers pick Grammarly.
Check SEO too?
Nope. Grammar only. For SEO, grab RankMath or Yoast.
Bottom Line
Three years. Fifty-plus posts. Hundreds of errors caught.
Grammarly’s not perfect. Sometimes it suggests weird changes. It definitely won’t fix your logic. But for catching the “your/you’re” disasters before they go live? Essential.
Start with Free. Use it on everything. When you’re posting weekly or writing for money, upgrade. But don’t let it write for you—that’s your job.
It’s the first tool in my blogging stack. I don’t hit publish without it.
You use Grammarly? Free or paid? Drop a comment—curious if it’s worth it for you.
Related Stuff
About Me
I’m Wubshet. I write posts and edit them with Grammarly before anyone sees them. That’s literally my system. Fifty posts later, it still works.
Heads up: Those Grammarly links? I get a small cut if you buy. I only recommend stuff I actually use.