Grammarly Keyboard Alternatives for Android (Free & Paid, 2026)

If you're leaving Grammarly Keyboard, the short list looks like this: Synapse if you want AI corrections without a forced monthly fee, Gboard if free autocorrect is enough, SwiftKey if prediction matters more than grammar, and LanguageTool if you write in several European languages. Each takes a different trade on the same three questions: what it costs, what it fixes, and what happens to your typing data.

The longer answer, with prices and the catches nobody puts in their app description, is below.

Full disclosure before we start: we make Synapse, one of the five options here. The comparison stays factual and the competitors' strengths are real; pick whatever fits your typing.

Why people drop Grammarly Keyboard on Android

Three complaints come up again and again:

1. The price. Grammarly's free tier covers basic spelling and grammar, but tone, rewrites, and the good suggestions sit behind Premium at roughly $12/month billed annually, or up to $30 billed monthly. That's a streaming-service bill for a keyboard.
2. You pay whether you use it or not. Keyboard AI is bursty. You need it hard for one client email, then not at all for two days. A flat subscription charges you for the quiet days too.
3. It's a corrector, not a full assistant. Grammarly fixes and polishes what you typed — Premium can adjust tone and rewrite drafts on Android. But it won't translate a message or run a free-form instruction like "make this a polite payment reminder".

If none of those bother you, Grammarly remains a competent product. If at least one does, here are the alternatives.

Quick comparison

1. Synapse — AI corrections without the subscription

Synapse works on a different model from every subscription keyboard: energy credits. Normal typing is free forever and never touches the network. When you want AI, you select your text, open the prompt section, and tap a prompt; the corrected text replaces your draft right in the message box a moment later.

What that unlocks compared to Grammarly:

• Free-form prompts. "Fix grammar" is one prompt among any you can write: "translate to Spanish, casual", "make this sound less annoyed", "turn these bullets into a client update". Grammarly's Android keyboard does none of that.
• Saved custom prompts. Your five regulars become one-tap buttons.
• Pay-as-you-go. Signup includes 20,000 free credits. After that, top up between $5 and $30 when you actually run low; USDT payments get 30% extra. There's no subscription at all — nothing renews behind your back.

The catches, stated plainly: Synapse installs as a direct APK from the website rather than the Play Store (Play Protect still scans it, and Android shows a one-time "allow from this source" prompt), it needs Android 8+, and AI prompts need internet. The typing layout is English QWERTY; the AI can write and translate in Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, and many other languages via prompts.

The AI grammar checker keyboard page shows the correction workflow step by step.

2. Gboard — the free baseline

Google's keyboard is what most Android phones ship with, and its autocorrect is genuinely good. Recent versions add a proofread function on many devices that checks a sentence on demand.

Where it wins: it's free, fast, stable, and supports a huge range of languages. Where it stops: corrections are reactive and conservative. It fixes typos; it won't restructure a clumsy sentence, adjust tone, or apply an instruction. Translation exists but lives in a separate toolbar flow rather than rewriting your text in place.

If your standard is "don't let me send teh", Gboard clears it for free. If your standard is "make this message good", it doesn't reach.

3. SwiftKey — prediction first, grammar second

Microsoft's SwiftKey has the best next-word prediction in the business and handles typing in two languages at once without switching layouts, which bilingual texters love. Swipe typing is excellent.

Microsoft has folded Copilot into SwiftKey: tone rewriting (Professional, Casual, Polite, Social Post presets), a compose tool, and a built-in translator, free with a Microsoft account. What it doesn't do is take free-form instructions — the AI tools are a fixed menu. Pick SwiftKey for typing feel plus solid preset AI; pick a prompt-based keyboard when you need the AI to follow your instructions.

4. LanguageTool — the multilingual corrector

LanguageTool started as an open-source grammar checker and its Android keyboard brings that engine to your phone. It genuinely checks grammar (not just spelling) in more than 25 languages, with German, French, Spanish, and Dutch coverage that beats Grammarly's English-centric focus.

Pricing is friendlier too: the free tier is usable, and Premium runs around $5–8/month depending on the plan, cheaper than Grammarly. Limits: it corrects, it doesn't compose. No prompts, no tone rewriting, no templates. If your writing spans European languages and correction is all you need, it's the strongest pure-corrector alternative on this list.

5. The ChatGPT workaround — powerful, but the workflow hurts

Plenty of people skip keyboards entirely: draft in WhatsApp, copy, switch to the ChatGPT app, paste, add "fix the grammar", copy the answer, switch back, paste. It works, and the free tier covers casual use.

The cost is the loop itself. Six app-switches per message is fine once a day and miserable ten times a day. That copy-paste round trip is the exact problem keyboard-level AI exists to delete — the fix happens where the cursor is. Treat the chatbot as the fallback for long documents, not the daily driver for messages.

How to choose

Match the tool to your actual week:

• You send a handful of messages that must be correct (client chats, work email): Synapse. Bursty use is what pay-as-you-go is for, and prompts cover translation and tone in the same tap.
• You just want typos caught, at zero cost: Gboard, done.
• You type in two languages mid-sentence: SwiftKey.
• You write serious text in German, French, or Spanish: LanguageTool.
• You occasionally need heavy rewriting of long text: keep any keyboard and use a chatbot for the big jobs.

For a wider look that includes reply-suggestion keyboards and the rest of the field, our best AI keyboard 2026 comparison goes deeper than this Grammarly-focused list.

FAQ

Is there a completely free Grammarly alternative for Android?

Gboard, for basic correction. If you mean free access to real AI rewriting, Synapse's 20,000 signup credits work without any payment — that's enough to run grammar fixes for a long time before deciding whether to top up.

Does Grammarly Keyboard still work on Android in 2026?

Yes, it's still maintained. This list exists because of its pricing and its correction-only scope, not because it's abandoned.

Which alternative is best for WhatsApp?

Any keyboard works in WhatsApp, since keyboards are system-wide. The difference is workflow: Synapse rewrites text inside the chat box, which we walk through in the AI keyboard in WhatsApp guide.

Are third-party keyboards safe to type passwords with?

Android switches password fields to a secure input mode, and reputable keyboards don't retain that input. For the broader question of what keyboards can see, check each app's privacy policy — the honest ones say exactly what leaves the device.

Can I switch keyboards and go back if I don't like it?

Yes, in two taps, and your old keyboard keeps its learned words. Our Android keyboard switching guide has the exact steps for every brand.

Try the pay-as-you-go model first

The cheapest way to settle this is to test the one with no recurring bill: download the free Synapse APK from the download section, sign up for the 20,000 free credits, and run "fix grammar" on your real messages for a week. If it doesn't earn its keep, switching back costs two taps and zero dollars.