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Buyer's guide · Updated
The best AI writing tools, compared
“AI writing tool” covers very different products: general chat assistants that draft anything, editors that polish what you wrote, marketing platforms that keep a brand voice, and fiction tools built for novelists.
We compared six of the most-used options on what they are best at, whether you can start free, what the first paid plan costs and where each falls short. Prices are in USD as listed by each vendor and usually exclude tax.
Comparison at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Key strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | All-round drafting, research and rewriting | Yes | See site | Free plan includes unlimited text chats with GPT-6 (subject to abuse guardrails); Plus adds projects, custom GPTs and expanded deep research | Free plan has limited uploads, memory and deep research; the Go plan may include ads |
| Claude | Long documents and careful, natural-sounding prose | Yes | $17/mo billed annually ($200/yr) or $20 monthly (Pro) | Free plan includes web search, file creation, memory and Claude Docs; context window up to 1M tokens (varies by model) | Usage limits reset on a rolling five-hour window, with weekly limits on paid plans |
| Grammarly | Polishing your own writing everywhere you type | Yes | $12 (Pro, as listed) | Pro adds full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustment, plagiarism and AI-text detection, and 2,000 AI prompts a month | Free plan is capped at 100 AI prompts a month; enterprise features are sold through Superhuman Go |
| Jasper | Marketing teams that need on-brand content | No (7-day free trial) | $59/mo per seat billed yearly, or $69 monthly (Pro) | Brand Voices, knowledge assets and audiences shape every output; marketing agents and a browser extension | Pro includes 1 seat, 2 Brand Voices and 5 knowledge assets; more users mean the custom-priced Business plan |
| Copy.ai | Small teams sharing one AI chat workspace | See site | $24/mo billed annually ($288/yr) or $29 monthly (Chat) | Chat plan includes 5 seats, unlimited words in chat and models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini | Workflow automation starts on the Growth plan at $1,000/mo billed annually |
| Sudowrite | Fiction writers and novelists | Free trial, no card needed | $10/mo (Hobby & Student, monthly) | Fiction-specific features: Write, Rewrite, Describe and Expand, style matching, series continuity, its own Muse models | Credit-based (225,000 credits a month on the entry plan); developmental and line edits start on the $22 Professional plan |
Prices as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 28 October 2026; they change often and usually exclude tax. “See site” means the vendor did not show a price we could verify.
Our take on each tool
ChatGPT
See site
The most flexible starting point: one tool for emails, outlines, summaries and rewrites. The free plan is genuinely usable for text. OpenAI's pricing page did not show plan prices when we checked, so confirm the current cost on the site before upgrading.
Visit ChatGPT ↗Claude
$17/mo billed annually ($200/yr) or $20 monthly (Pro)
A strong pick if you work with long reports or want drafts that need less editing. Pro is where most writers will land; the free plan is enough to judge whether its style suits you.
Visit Claude ↗Grammarly
$12 (Pro, as listed)
Less a writer than an editor: it catches mistakes and tightens tone in the apps you already use. Pair it with a chat assistant if you also need first drafts. The plans page lists Pro at $12 USD; check the billing period at checkout.
Visit Grammarly ↗Jasper
$59/mo per seat billed yearly, or $69 monthly (Pro)
Built for marketers rather than general writers. Worth it if keeping a consistent brand voice across campaigns is the problem you are solving; overkill for personal writing.
Visit Jasper ↗Copy.ai
$24/mo billed annually ($288/yr) or $29 monthly (Chat)
Good value for a small team that wants several models in one place, since five seats come in the entry plan. The bigger workflow features are priced for companies, not individuals.
Visit Copy.ai ↗Sudowrite
$10/mo (Hobby & Student, monthly)
The specialist choice for stories. General assistants can write fiction, but Sudowrite's tools are designed around chapters, characters and continuity. Yearly billing is advertised at up to 50% off.
Visit Sudowrite ↗How we picked
- We started from the AI writing tools our readers ask about most and kept a mix of categories: general assistants, editors, marketing platforms and a fiction specialist.
- Every price, free-plan detail and feature in the table was read on the vendor's own pricing page on 28 October 2026. If a price was not shown there, we wrote “See site” rather than guess.
- We did not accept payment for placement. Some links may become affiliate links; that never changes the order or what we say.
FAQ
What is the best free AI writing tool?
For drafting, ChatGPT and Claude both have free plans that handle everyday writing. For correcting your own writing, Grammarly's free plan covers spelling and grammar. Which is best depends on whether you need words generated or words fixed.
Is Grammarly an AI writing tool?
Yes, but mainly as an editor. It suggests corrections and tone changes and can generate text from prompts (100 a month free, 2,000 on Pro), but it is not built for long first drafts.
Which AI writing tool is best for marketing?
Jasper is the one built specifically for marketing teams, with brand voices and marketing agents. Copy.ai is a cheaper shared-chat option for small teams.
Can AI write a novel?
Tools like Sudowrite help with drafting, describing and expanding scenes and keeping a series consistent, but the story, structure and final edit are still yours.
Are these prices in rupees?
No. Prices are shown in USD as listed by each vendor and usually exclude tax. Some vendors convert currency at checkout.
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