LanguageTool vs Quillbot: Which is better in 2026?
Pick by the job you do most.
Tested hands-on: 3 tests on a MacBook Pro (M1 Pro), October 23–29, 2026. How we tested
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Quick answer
- Choose LanguageTool if: You want grammar, spelling and style checks in more than one language: LanguageTool covers more than 30 languages and dialects, with over 20,000 extra Premium checks in seven of them.
- Choose Quillbot if: You mostly rewrite, shorten or summarize text and need to check it for originality.
- Price at a glance: LanguageTool: Free plan; paid from $24.90/mo · Quillbot: Free plan; paid from $19.95/mo
At a glance
 LanguageTool |  Quillbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Paid plans | From $24.90/mo | From $19.95/mo |
| Our tests | Won 1 of 32 ties | Won 0 of 32 ties |
| Best for | Writers and small teams who work in several languages and want grammar, style and rephrasing help on text they wrote themselves, rather than a tool that drafts articles from a prompt. | Students, professionals and content creators who mainly rewrite, polish and check their own writing and want a low-cost plan with a plagiarism checker, rather than a marketing content platform. |
LanguageTool and Quillbot are sister brands under Learneo, Inc., yet they come at writing from opposite ends. LanguageTool started in 2003 as an open-source project and is a grammar, spelling and style checker for more than 30 languages and dialects, with an AI paraphraser on the side. Quillbot started in 2017 as a paraphraser and now adds a grammar checker, AI Detector, AI Humanizer, summarizer, citation generator and plagiarism checker. This comparison puts their prices, free plans, team plans, style controls, integrations and API access side by side, based on each tool's own pricing and help pages as of October 2026.
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (12-month total) |
|---|---|---|
| LanguageTool | ||
| BasicFree; 2,000 characters per text field, 3 AI paraphrases a day, limited Picky Mode; the browser extension needs Premium | Free Free plan | |
| Premium1 user; $69.90 billed yearly; also $49.90 a quarter or $119.80 for 2 years; 150,000 characters per text field, unlimited AI paraphrasing | $24.90/mo | $69.90/yr ($5.83/mo) |
| TeamsPer user, billed yearly; $66.40 for 2-9 users ($69.90 list less 5%), 10% off from 10 users, rising to 50% at 1,000; Team Style Guide, Team Dictionary, user management | no monthly price | $66.40/yr, billed yearly ($5.53/mo) |
| Quillbot | ||
| FreeParaphrases up to 125 words at a time in 2 modes; basic grammar checks; 1,200-word summaries; limited AI Chat; no plagiarism checker | Free Free plan | |
| Premium1 user; $8.33/mo billed yearly ($99.95/yr); a quarterly plan ($39.95) is also offered; prices may vary by region | $19.95/mo | $99.95/yr ($8.33/mo) |
| Team PlanPer seat, billed every 12 months: $89.95 (2-10 seats), $79.95 (11-50 seats), $69.95 (51+ seats); all Premium features plus admin tools | no monthly price | $89.95/yr, billed yearly ($7.50/mo) |
Prices checked on .
Features compared
| Feature | LanguageTool | Quillbot |
|---|---|---|
| Brand voice | Partial · Rule-based: personal Style Guide on Premium, shared Team Style Guide and Dictionary on Teams | Partial · Premium Custom modes set a paraphrasing style from a guiding word such as 'friendly'; no brand voice profiles |
| SEO mode | No · No SEO features listed | No · No SEO mode or keyword research; only single-purpose generators for meta descriptions, SEO titles and SEO meta tags |
| Plagiarism check | No · No plagiarism checker listed | Yes · Premium only: 25,000 words a month; extra packs from $2.45 for 6,250 words |
| Templates | No · No templates; the paraphraser has five modes (general, formal, concise, fluent, simple) | Yes · More than 25 single-purpose generators (email, cover letter, copywriter, captions, titles, job descriptions); design templates too |
| Team seats | Yes · Teams plan from 2 users with user management; volume discounts for larger teams | Yes · Premium is 1 user; Team Plans from 2 seats, $69.95-$89.95 per seat a year |
| API | Yes · Free public API (20 requests a minute per IP); paid API $39 to $550/mo by daily calls; self-hostable server | No · No B2B or B2C API, per the help center |
| Word limits | Yes · 2,000 characters per text field free, 150,000 on Premium; 3 AI paraphrases a day free, unlimited on Premium | Yes · Paraphraser: 125 words at a time free, no limit on Premium; Summarizer: 1,200 or 6,000 words |
| Free trial | Partial · Free Basic plan; no Premium trial on the pricing page, 14-day money-back guarantee | No · No Premium trial listed; free plan instead; fees nonrefundable unless the law requires |
| Integrations | Yes · Extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera (Premium only; also covers Google Docs, Gmail); Word, Thunderbird; Windows and macOS apps | Yes · Chrome (incl. Google Docs), Edge, Safari, Word add-in; macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps |
How we tested
We gave LanguageTool and Quillbot the same 3 tasks on the same MacBook Pro (M1 Pro). Each test below lists the task, how we judged it, both results and screenshots; select a screenshot to see it at full size.
- Device
- MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) · macOS 26.6.2 · Chrome 155, Chrome 156
- Tested
- October 23–29, 2026
- Plans used
- LanguageTool: Free · Quillbot: Free
- App versions
- LanguageTool: Web editor, English (US), languagetool.org Paraphrasing Tool, Standard mode, Web editor, detected Spanish · Quillbot: Grammar Checker (web), quillbot.com Paraphraser, Standard mode, Grammar Checker (web), detected Spanish
| Test | LanguageTool | Quillbot | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catch ten planted errors in an English paragraph | Pass10 of 10 | Pass10 of 10 | Tie |
| Paraphrase two sentences without losing a fact | Fail5 of 6 | Fail4 of 6 | LanguageToolby Facts kept |
| Catch five planted errors in a Spanish paragraph | Pass5 of 5 | Pass5 of 5 | Tie |
| Tests won | 1 | 0 | 2 ties |
Test 1: Catch ten planted errors in an English paragraph
The task
Paste this FICTIONAL paragraph, which contains ten planted spelling, grammar and word-choice errors, into each tool's grammar checker on its free plan, with English (US) and default settings:
Fernhill Goods opened it's first pop-up shop in Portland last weekend. The shop sell refillable soap, sponges and brushes, and every refill come in paper packaging. Customers which bring there own bottles get a small discount. We recieve alot of questions about the starter kit, so the staff will show how it fit under a sink. The shop is open untill Sunday, than it moves to Seattle.
How we judged it
An error counts as caught when the tool flags it and offers the right fix.
Pass: 9 or 10 caught, and no suggestion that would make correct text wrong.
Partial: 6 to 8 caught, or one suggestion that would make correct text wrong.
Fail: 5 or fewer caught, or two or more such suggestions.
Style tips, such as an added comma, neither count nor count against the tool.
LanguageTool
Pass 10 of 10
All 10 planted errors flagged with the right fix ("recieve alot" in one card); its serial-comma tip does not count.
Quillbot
Pass 10 of 10
All 10 planted errors flagged with the right fix ("recieve alot" in one card); its serial-comma tip does not count.
Test 2: Paraphrase two sentences without losing a fact
The task
Paraphrase each of these two FICTIONAL sentences on its own, once, in each tool's paraphraser, keeping the mode or tone it opens with:
Fernhill Goods ships orders placed before 2 p.m. on the same working day, while orders placed later leave on the next working day.
Each refill pouch holds 500 ml, lasts about a month for a household of two, and can be returned empty free of charge with the prepaid label in every box.
How we judged it
The six facts: same-day shipping for orders placed before 2 p.m.; the next working day for later orders; 500 ml per pouch; about a month for a household of two; empty pouches returned free of charge; the prepaid label in every box. A sentence counts as reworded when at least three of its words are changed or moved.
Pass: all six facts kept, nothing added, and both sentences reworded.
Partial: all six kept and nothing added, but one or both sentences not reworded.
Fail: a fact lost or changed, a claim added, or the tool will not paraphrase a sentence on the free plan.
LanguageTool: Winner
Fail 5 of 6
Sentence 1 kept both facts in new words; sentence 2 kept 500 ml, a month for two and free returns but dropped that the prepaid label comes in every box.
Quillbot
Fail 4 of 6
Sentence 1 no longer says early orders ship the same day; sentence 2 made the free return depend on the package having the prepaid label.
Run by the assistant in the owner's Chrome, signed in, as the first paraphrasing of the day in each tool, in the mode each opened with (Standard in both), once per sentence, first result, no edits. LanguageTool lost one fact: it dropped that the prepaid label is in every box. Quillbot changed two: it moved 'on the same working day' onto the ordering, so early orders are no longer said to ship that day, and it made the free return depend on the package having the label.
Test 3: Catch five planted errors in a Spanish paragraph
The task
Paste this FICTIONAL Spanish paragraph, which contains five planted accent, agreement and spelling errors, into each tool's grammar checker on its free plan:
La tienda Fernhill abrio el sábado en el centro de la ciudad. Los clientes puede traer sus propios botellas y reciben un pequeño descuento. Cada recarga dura aproximadamente un mes. Las bolsas vacías se devuelve gratis con la etiqueta que viene en la caja. La tienda estará abierta asta el domingo.
How we judged it
An error counts as caught when the tool flags it and offers the right fix.
Pass: all five caught, and no suggestion that would make correct Spanish wrong.
Partial: three or four caught, or one suggestion that would make correct Spanish wrong.
Fail: two or fewer caught, two or more such suggestions, or the tool cannot check Spanish on the plan used.
LanguageTool
Pass 5 of 5
Switched to Spanish by itself; all 5 caught with the right fix (abrió, pueden, propias, devuelven, hasta).
Quillbot
Pass 5 of 5
Switched to Spanish by itself; all 5 caught with the right fix (abrió, pueden, propias, devuelven, hasta).
Our verdict
Pick by the job you do most.
LanguageTool is the better fit for proofreading across languages and teams. It checks grammar, spelling and style in more than 30 languages and dialects, and Premium adds a personal Style Guide, full Picky Mode and 150,000 characters per text field. Yearly, it costs $69.90 against Quillbot's $99.95, and Teams costs $66.40 per user a year for two to nine users, with a shared Style Guide and Team Dictionary. It also has an API, which Quillbot lacks, and a self-hostable open-source core. The catches: the free plan stops at 2,000 characters per field, the browser extension needs Premium, and no plagiarism checker is listed.
Quillbot is the broader toolkit for rewriting and originality checks. Premium lifts the Paraphraser's word limit, unlocks all nine modes plus Custom modes, and includes 25,000 words of plagiarism checks a month, next to an AI Detector, AI Humanizer and summarizer. Monthly, it is cheaper ($19.95 against $24.90), and free accounts include its browser extensions. Check two policies first: fees are nonrefundable unless the law requires a refund, and your text trains its models by default unless you opt out or use a Team Plan.
For careful, consistent writing in several languages, go with LanguageTool. For paraphrasing, summarizing and plagiarism checks, go with Quillbot.
Choose LanguageTool if
You want grammar, spelling and style checks in more than one language: LanguageTool covers more than 30 languages and dialects, with over 20,000 extra Premium checks in seven of them. It also suits teams that need consistent wording, with a shared Style Guide and Team Dictionary at $66.40 per user a year for two to nine users, and developers who want a public API or an open-source server to self-host. Premium costs $69.90 a year and comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Choose Quillbot if
You mostly rewrite, shorten or summarize text and need to check it for originality. Quillbot Premium removes the Paraphraser's 125-word limit, unlocks all nine modes and Custom modes, and includes 25,000 words of plagiarism checks a month in more than 100 languages, alongside the AI Detector, AI Humanizer and citation generator. It costs $19.95 a month or $99.95 a year, works in Chrome, Google Docs and Microsoft Word, and has iOS and Android apps. If privacy matters, turn off model training in the browser extension's settings.
Frequently asked questions
Are LanguageTool and Quillbot made by the same company?
They share an owner but are separate products, each with its own plans and prices. Quillbot has been part of Learneo, formerly Course Hero, since 2021. LanguageTool, which started in 2003 as an open-source project, is published by LanguageTooler GmbH in Hamburg, Germany, and is now managed by Learneo, Inc.
Which is cheaper, LanguageTool or Quillbot?
It depends on how you pay. Month to month, Quillbot Premium costs $19.95 and LanguageTool Premium $24.90; for a quarter, Quillbot charges $39.95 and LanguageTool $49.90. Billed yearly, LanguageTool is cheaper: $69.90 a year against $99.95. For teams, LanguageTool Teams costs $66.40 per user a year for two to nine users (its $69.90 list price less 5%), and the discount grows to 10% from 10 users and 50% at 1,000. Quillbot's Team Plan costs $89.95 per seat a year for two to ten seats, $79.95 for 11 to 50 and $69.95 from 51. Both team plans are billed yearly.
Does LanguageTool have a plagiarism checker?
LanguageTool lists none: its pricing page names no plagiarism checker, and its help center describes it as an AI editing tool rather than an AI writing tool. Quillbot's Plagiarism Checker comes with Premium: 25,000 words a month in more than 100 languages, with extra packs from $2.45 for 6,250 words. Quillbot's free plan does not include it.
Can I use LanguageTool or Quillbot for free?
Yes, both have a free plan, but neither lists a Premium trial. LanguageTool Basic checks up to 2,000 characters per text field and allows three AI paraphrases a day; its browser extension now needs Premium, so free users are pointed to the website. Quillbot Free paraphrases up to 125 words at a time in two modes (Standard and Fluency), with basic grammar checks, 1,200-word summaries, limited AI detection, the citation generator and its browser extensions. If you pay and change your mind, LanguageTool offers a 14-day money-back guarantee on every Premium package, while Quillbot's fees are nonrefundable except where the law requires a refund.
Do LanguageTool and Quillbot have an API?
LanguageTool does. Its free public API allows 20 requests a minute per IP address, paid API plans cost $39 to $550 a month depending on the number of daily calls, and its open-source core (LGPL 2.1 or later) can run on your own server. Quillbot's help center says it offers no API for businesses or consumers.
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