Best AI writing tools for $15 a month or less
Updated 23 Oct 2026 · Prices from vendor pages only · How we rank →
The short answer
Every tool here has a paid plan listed at $15 a month or less on its vendor's pricing page. Grammarly comes first: works across apps with a solid free tier and a modest Pro plan. The cheapest verified paid plan here is Novelcrafter Scribe ($4/month billed monthly). 6 of the 9 have a free plan we could confirm. Every price below is from the vendor’s own page, checked 16–23 Oct 2026.
Ranked shortlist
- Grammarly: Works across apps with a solid free tier and a modest Pro plan. Plan: Pro: $12/month
Includes team features previously only in Business - Sudowrite: Fiction-specific models (Muse, Ballad) plus 30+ models with rollover credits. Plan: Hobby & Student: $10/month
225,000 credits a month - QuillBot: Cheap Premium plan and a useful free paraphraser for students. Plan: Premium: $8.33/month billed annually
Unlimited paraphrase modes - Wordtune: Low-cost rewriting with a free daily allowance. Plan: Advanced: $4.89/month annual ($6.99 list)
30 per day - ProWritingAid: Grammar and style checker aimed at fiction writers. Plan: Premium: $10/month yearly ($120) or $30 monthly
Unlimited line editing reports - NovelAI: AI-assisted fiction writing and storytelling. Plan: Subscription: From $10/month
Text and image generation; on-demand Anlas also sold - Rytr: Low-cost AI writer for short-form copy. Plan: Unlimited: $7.50/month (yearly)
Unlimited generations, 50 plagiarism checks/month - Novelcrafter: Low monthly plans, a 21-day full trial with no card, and your choice of AI model. Plan: Scribe: $4/month billed monthly
Unlimited books; no AI features - Jenni AI: A free plan with no card, unlimited citations, and team seats for research groups. Plan: Plus: $12/month as displayed
5,000 autocompletes a month
Order follows ToolRank’s editorial ranking in Writing & Content, filtered to tools that fit this page. Anything we couldn’t confirm on a vendor page says “Not yet verified”.
Side by side
| Rank | Tool | Relevant plan | Starting price | Free plan | Best for | Main limitation | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Grammarly | Pro: $12/month Includes team features previously only in Business | $12/month (Pro) | Spelling and grammar corrections | Anyone writing emails and docs who wants clean, correct text | Free tier is spelling/grammar; full-sentence rewrites and tone need Pro. | 18 Oct 2026 |
| #2 | Sudowrite | Hobby & Student: $10/month 225,000 credits a month | $10/month | Free trial, no credit card (paid plans only) | Novelists and screenwriters | No permanent free plan shown; free trial only. | 23 Oct 2026 |
| #3 | QuillBot | Premium: $8.33/month billed annually Unlimited paraphrase modes | $8.33/month (billed annually) | Basic grammar fixes and limited paraphrasing | Students and non-native writers rewording text | Free plan limits paraphrasing modes; full access needs Premium. | 16 Oct 2026 |
| #4 | Wordtune | Advanced: $4.89/month annual ($6.99 list) 30 per day | $4.89/month (Advanced, billed annually) | 10 rewrites/day, 3 per month for some features | Polishing emails and short-form text | Free: 10 rewrites/day; Advanced is still daily-limited. | 18 Oct 2026 |
| #5 | ProWritingAid | Premium: $10/month yearly ($120) or $30 monthly Unlimited line editing reports | $10/month (Premium, billed yearly $120; $30 monthly) | Free plan with core editing tools | Fiction and long-form writers who want manuscript-level editing reports | Monthly billing costs roughly three times the yearly rate | 18 Oct 2026 |
| #6 | NovelAI | Subscription: From $10/month Text and image generation; on-demand Anlas also sold | $10/month | Trial period for new users (vendor FAQ) | AI-assisted fiction writing and anime-style image generation | No permanent free plan; plan prices beyond the starting price need a login to view | 18 Oct 2026 |
| #7 | Rytr | Unlimited: $7.50/month (yearly) Unlimited generations, 50 plagiarism checks/month | $7.50/month (Unlimited, billed yearly) | Free forever, 10K characters/month, no card | Cheap short-form copy drafting | Yearly prices shown; monthly prices are higher | 16 Oct 2026 |
| #8 | Novelcrafter | Scribe: $4/month billed monthly Unlimited books; no AI features | $4/month (Scribe, no AI) | 21-day free trial, no credit card, all features | Novelists who want to plan series and use their own AI model keys | No free plan; AI features need your own API key and the Hobbyist plan or higher | 22 Oct 2026 |
| #9 | Jenni AI | Plus: $12/month as displayed 5,000 autocompletes a month | $12/month (Plus) | Free: $0/month, 10 AI autocompletes a day, unlimited citations | Students and researchers writing papers with citations | Free plan caps autocompletes at 10 a day; team prices need a demo | 23 Oct 2026 |
Prices as listed by each vendor on the last-checked date, USD, before tax. Plans and limits change, so follow the sources below.
Who should pick which
Pick Grammarly for anyone writing emails and docs who wants clean, correct text (Pro: $12/month); think twice if you need long-form creative generation. Pick Sudowrite for novelists and screenwriters (Hobby & Student: $10/month); think twice if you write business copy rather than fiction. Pick QuillBot for students and non-native writers rewording text (Premium: $8.33/month billed annually); think twice if you need original long-form writing. Pick Wordtune for polishing emails and short-form text (Advanced: $4.89/month annual ($6.99 list)); think twice if you need unlimited rewrites for free. Pick ProWritingAid for fiction and long-form writers who want manuscript-level editing reports (Premium: $10/month yearly ($120) or $30 monthly). Watch out: monthly billing costs roughly three times the yearly rate. Pick NovelAI for AI-assisted fiction writing and anime-style image generation (Subscription: From $10/month). Watch out: no permanent free plan; plan prices beyond the starting price need a login to view. Pick Rytr for cheap short-form copy drafting (Unlimited: $7.50/month (yearly)). Watch out: yearly prices shown; monthly prices are higher.
FAQ
Which of these is cheapest?
Novelcrafter Scribe ($4/month billed monthly) is the lowest paid price we verified on this list (https://www.novelcrafter.com/pricing, checked 22 Oct 2026). Check the vendor page for tax, billing period and usage limits.
Which of these have a free plan?
Grammarly: Spelling and grammar corrections; QuillBot: Basic grammar fixes and limited paraphrasing; Wordtune: 10 rewrites/day, 3 per month for some features; ProWritingAid: Free plan with core editing tools; Rytr: Free forever, 10K characters/month, no card; Jenni AI: Free: $0/month, 10 AI autocompletes a day, unlimited citations.
How were these tools chosen?
They are the tools in ToolRank's rankings with a verified paid plan at or below $15/month (USD), confirmed on the vendor's own website on 16–23 Oct 2026. Tools we could not verify are left out rather than guessed, and anything unconfirmed is marked Not yet verified.
Sources
- Grammarly: Grammarly plans checked 18 Oct 2026
- Grammarly: Grammarly desktop checked 18 Oct 2026
- Grammarly: Grammarly mobile checked 18 Oct 2026
- Sudowrite: Sudowrite plans and pricing checked 23 Oct 2026
- Sudowrite: Sudowrite pricing checked 16 Oct 2026
- QuillBot: QuillBot Premium checked 16 Oct 2026
- Wordtune: Wordtune plans checked 18 Oct 2026
- ProWritingAid: ProWritingAid pricing checked 18 Oct 2026
- NovelAI: NovelAI homepage and FAQ checked 18 Oct 2026
- Rytr: Rytr pricing checked 16 Oct 2026
- Novelcrafter: Novelcrafter pricing and FAQ checked 22 Oct 2026
- Jenni AI: Jenni AI pricing checked 23 Oct 2026
- Jenni AI: Jenni AI team plans checked 23 Oct 2026
Related comparisons
Profiles: Grammarly · Sudowrite · QuillBot · Wordtune · ProWritingAid · NovelAI · Rytr · Novelcrafter · Jenni AI
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