Hemingway Editor, with one m, is a readability editor. You paste in what you wrote and it highlights sentences that are hard to read, passive voice, adverbs and other words that weaken a sentence, and words that have a simpler alternative. It gives the text a readability grade. Its site also lists a Plus version that checks grammar and can fix what it highlights, and a desktop app.
A note on names first. This site is Hemmingway, with two m's. It is a different product from a different company: an AI that writes for you, and rewrites a draft you paste in. We are not connected to Hemingway Editor. We are on the list below because a rewrite is another way to get clearer text.
We have not tested Hemingway Editor or the other editors and checkers here, so this page sorts them by job and does not rank them. What each one does is taken from its own website.
Who looks for a Hemingway Editor alternative
- You need a readability score you can report. Plain-language rules at work, or a reading level a document has to meet.
- You want grammar and spelling caught too. Wherever you type, not in a separate window.
- You edit long manuscripts. A book or a thesis, where you want reports on style across chapters.
- You write in other languages. You want a checker made for the language you are writing in.
- You want the hard sentence fixed for you. You know it is too long. You want the shorter version.
- You have not written it yet. No editor helps with that.
The kinds of alternative
Readability tools score your text and show what drags the score down. Checkers catch errors as you type. Manuscript editors report on long work. Rewriters hand back another version of your sentence. Writers produce the text. Hemingway Editor is the first kind, with some of the second in its Plus version.
The tools at a glance
| Tool | What it is | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readable | A readability toolkit that scores text with many formulas | A reading level you can measure and report, for documents and web pages | More about scoring than about rewriting |
| Grammarly | A writing checker that runs across browsers, documents and mail | Grammar, clarity and tone checked as you type | Not centred on a readability grade |
| ProWritingAid | Editing and critique software for authors | Style reports and feedback on long manuscripts | Aimed at authors more than everyday email |
| LanguageTool | A grammar, spelling and style checker for many languages | Writing in languages other than English | A checker, not a readability editor |
| QuillBot | A set of writing tools led by a paraphraser | Getting a sentence reworded for you | You judge whether the new version is clearer |
| Hemmingway | An AI that writes for you and rewrites drafts in plain words | Pasting in a dense draft and getting a plainer one back | No highlights and no readability score |
Readable
Readable's site describes a readability checker that scores text with a long list of established formulas, and also checks grammar, spelling and style. It takes documents and web pages as well as pasted text, and shows the score change as you edit. If the grade was what you used Hemingway Editor for, this is the alternative built around it.
Grammarly
Grammarly's site describes checks for grammar, spelling, punctuation and tone, with sentence and paragraph rewriting alongside. It runs as browser extensions, desktop and mobile apps, and inside Word and Google Docs. It suits people who care more about correctness than about a grade, and want it checked wherever they type. Grammarly alternatives sets out that group.
ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid's site describes software for authors, with a grammar checker, writing reports, a rephrase tool, and critique of chapters and whole manuscripts. It works inside Word, Google Docs and Scrivener. If you ran a novel through Hemingway Editor a chapter at a time, this is made for that scale.
LanguageTool
LanguageTool checks grammar, spelling and style in many languages, and its site says it flags overused phrases and redundant words. It has add-ons for browsers, office programs and mail. It is the one to look at if English is not the only language you write in.
QuillBot
QuillBot is led by a paraphraser: you give it a sentence and it gives you another way to say it. Its site also lists a grammar checker and a summariser. Where Hemingway Editor tells you a sentence is hard to read, a paraphraser hands you a replacement, and you decide whether it is better. QuillBot alternatives covers the rewriters.
Hemmingway
Hemmingway, with two m's, is ours. It does two things that matter here.
First, it rewrites. Paste a dense paragraph into the text simplifier and it comes back in plainer words and shorter sentences, saying the same thing. The text shortener cuts a draft down, and the AI humanizer takes a stiff draft and makes it read like a person wrote it.
Second, it writes. You say who a message is for and what you want said, and it writes the email, the reply or the letter. One version, nothing around it to cut.
In our own blind test, Human-Likeness, where a judge picks which of two texts a person wrote, Hemmingway-1 came first of the models we tested. That is our own benchmark, and no editor on this page was in it.
Where Hemmingway fits, and where it does not
It fits when you want the result and not the lesson. Hemingway Editor shows you which sentences are hard and leaves the fixing to you. Hemmingway does the fixing. That suits emails, messages, posts and short documents.
It does not fit when:
- you need a readability score. Hemmingway does not give one. Use Hemingway Editor or Readable.
- you want to see each problem marked in your own text so that you learn to avoid it. There are no highlights.
- you want every word to stay yours. A rewrite changes your phrasing, so read it against the original and check that nothing you meant was lost.
- the document is long. It is better at short writing, and a whole manuscript is a job for a manuscript editor.
- you write mainly in another language. It is English-first.
Hemmingway vs Hemingway Editor explains which is which.
How to choose
- Decide whether you want to be shown the problem or handed the fix.
- If you need a number to report, pick a readability tool.
- If you want errors caught while you type, pick a checker that runs where you write.
- If it is a book, pick an editor made for manuscripts.
- If you want the rewriting done, paste one real paragraph into a rewriter and compare it with your own.
- If the page is still blank, try a tool that writes. Hemmingway has a free trial with no card needed, and the plans are on pricing.
Try HemmingwayDownload the app
Common questions
What is the best alternative to Hemingway Editor?
It depends on what you used it for. For a readability score, Readable. For grammar as you type, Grammarly or LanguageTool. For long manuscripts, ProWritingAid. For having a dense draft rewritten in plain words, Hemmingway. We have not tested the others, so we do not rank them.
Is Hemmingway the same as Hemingway Editor?
No. Hemingway Editor, with one m, is a readability editor at hemingwayapp.com. Hemmingway, with two m's, is a separate AI writing app at hemmingway.io, from a different company. One marks up your writing; the other writes and rewrites.
Is there a free alternative to Hemingway Editor?
Hemmingway has a free trial with no card needed, and its text simplifier opens that trial with your draft filled in. For the editors and checkers here, check each one's own site for what you can use without paying.
Is there an AI that simplifies text for you?
Yes. Hemmingway's text simplifier takes a draft you paste in and rewrites it in plainer words and shorter sentences, keeping what it says. It does not score readability, so if you need a grade, run the result through a readability tool afterwards.
Does Grammarly do what Hemingway Editor does?
Partly. Going by its site, Grammarly checks grammar, clarity and tone as you type and suggests rewrites. Hemingway Editor is built around highlighting hard sentences and a readability grade. They overlap on clarity.