Grammarly vs Lint: The Grammar Checker That Respects Your Code

# Grammarly vs Lint: The Grammar Checker That Respects Your Code

Every developer knows the feeling. You write a detailed PR description or a technical document in VS Code, and Grammarly lights up like a Christmas tree — half your code is "wrong," technical terms are flagged as typos, and the AI helpfully suggests "fixes" that would break your CI pipeline.

Don't get me wrong — Grammarly is a powerful tool. With 54 million monthly active users and a valuation that peaked at $13 billion, it's the undisputed king of grammar checkers. But here's the thing: Grammarly was built for business writing, not technical writing.

Enter Lint — the grammar checker built by developers, for developers. Free to start, code-aware by design, and priced at a fraction of Grammarly's $12/month plan.

The Core Problem: Grammarly Doesn't Understand Code

Grammarly's AI is trained on general English — blog posts, emails, academic papers. Feed it a code snippet or a technical document, and here's what happens:

| Issue | Grammarly | Lint |
|---|---|---|
| Flagging variable_name as typo | ❌ Underscores = spelling error | ✅ Perfectly fine (snake_case) |
| Casing suggestions (isActive → "is active") | ❌ Suggests breaking your naming convention | ✅ Preserves camelCase/PascalCase |
| Technical terms (API, RESTful, idempotent) | ❌ Marked as misspelled | ✅ Recognized as valid |
| Code in paragraphs | ❌ Underlined in red everywhere | ✅ Knows to skip code blocks |
| Grammar rules for docs | ✅ Strong for prose | ✅ Strong for prose + technical writing |
| PR descriptions | ❌ Reformats technical content | ✅ Understands dev workflow language |
| Price | $12/month | Free (3 checks/day) or $3/month |

Real Developer Examples

Example 1: Code in Documentation

Your text:
> The fetchUser() function retrieves user data from the /api/v2/users/{id} endpoint. Make sure the isAuthenticated flag is set to true.

Grammarly:
- fetchUser → "Did you mean 'fetch user'?"
- isAuthenticated → "Consider removing camelCase"
- /api/v2/users/{id} → flagged as "Incomplete sentence"

Lint:
- ✅ Recognizes function names, paths, and placeholders as intentional
- ✅ Only checks the surrounding prose for grammar
- ✅ Result: "The fetchUser() function retrieves user data from the /api/v2/users/{id} endpoint. Make sure the isAuthenticated flag is set to true."

Example 2: PR Descriptions

Your text:
> Fixed the race condition in QueueHandler.process(). The lock_timeout was set too low (3s when max processing time is 12s). Increased to 15s.

Grammarly: Flags lock_timeout, QueueHandler, and suggests rewriting as "The lock timeout was set too low..."

Lint: Leaves your technical language intact, only catches actual grammar issues in the English prose.

Pricing: Lint Is Dramatically Cheaper

This is where the comparison gets really one-sided.

| Plan | Grammarly | Lint |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Very limited | 3 checks/day (actually useful) |
| Basic premium | $12/month (Grammarly Premium) | $3/month (100 checks/day, 5K chars) |
| Standard | N/A | $9/month (2,000 checks/day, 100K chars) |
| Professional | N/A | $19/month (5,000 checks/day, 500K chars) |
| BYOK (your own API key) | ❌ Not available | ✅ Free, unlimited use |
| Annual savings vs Grammarly | — | Save $108–$360/year |

The BYOK model is our secret weapon. Have a DeepSeek, OpenAI, or any OpenAI-compatible API key? Plug it into Lint and use every single tool for free, with zero limits. No subscription needed.

Beyond Grammar: Lint's Full Toolkit

Grammarly does one thing (grammar checking). Lint is a full writing assistant suite for developers:

| Tool | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Grammar Check | Code-aware grammar & spell checking |
| Paraphraser | Rewrite sentences while preserving technical meaning |
| Summarizer | Condense technical docs without losing precision |
| Translator | Translate code comments & technical docs |
| Email Writer | Draft developer-friendly emails |
| Academic Writer | Write tech papers with proper formatting |
| Code Explainer | Break down complex code into plain English |
| Readability Analyzer | Measure how readable your docs are |
| Tone Analyzer | Check if your writing sounds right |
| Plagiarism Checker | Verify originality of technical content |

All 10 tools are included in every plan. No per-tool upsells.

The Verdict

Grammarly is excellent — for its target audience. If you write business emails, marketing copy, or academic essays all day, Grammarly is a solid choice.

But if you write code for a living, Lint is the better tool. It respects your code, understands technical terminology, costs a fraction of the price, and comes with 10 tools instead of one.

The best part? You can try Lint right now for free, no credit card required.

Try Lint for Free

[→ Try Lint's Grammar Checker Now](https://tools.aicreditsapi.com/tools/grammar-check)

No sign-up required. 3 free checks every day. Or bring your own API key for unlimited access.

---

*Lint is an AI writing tool platform for developers. We build tools that understand code, respect technical terms, and don't charge you for features you don't need.*