If you write in English a lot, Grammarly has probably become your go-to tool: install the browser extension, and a red underline instantly shows you what’s wrong — spelling, grammar, punctuation, even tone. That “fix-as-you-type” experience has spoiled many of us. So when people start writing in French, the first thought is: Wait, can Grammarly also correct my French?
The short answer: Grammarly’s core checker only supports English (you can switch between American, British, Canadian, Australian, or Indian English). Changing the interface to French doesn’t magically turn it into a “French Grammarly.” Their help center makes this pretty clear:
👉 Does Grammarly support languages other than English?
But things aren’t completely black and white. In the past year, Grammarly added a built-in translation feature that covers multiple languages, including French. In practice, this means you could translate your French text into English, let Grammarly polish the English, then translate it back — or write in English first and convert it into French later. It’s not perfect, but for short emails or social media posts, it can be “good enough.”
Still, many users would prefer to use Grammarly directly in French, because they’re used to its workflow and that reassuring sense of “one-click correctness.” And French, with its gender agreement, verb conjugations, and tricky accents, makes it very easy to slip up. People naturally want a safety net.
At the heart of it, the desire is simple: I want writing in French to feel as easy and safe as writing in English. Since Grammarly doesn’t fill that gap, what alternatives do we have?
Best Alternatives to Grammarly for French
The good news: there are several tools widely recommended by learners and native speakers. None of them are a perfect one-stop solution, but used together, they can save you from plenty of mistakes.
Antidote
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Positioning: The heavyweight in French writing assistance.
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Experience: Very comprehensive — checks spelling, grammar, style, and comes with integrated dictionaries and guides.
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Drawbacks: It’s not cheap (one-time license or subscription), and the interface can feel overwhelming at first.
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Best for: Professional writers or advanced learners working on essays, reports, or publications.
Scribens
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Positioning: Lightweight, free, and simple.
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Experience: Paste your text into a browser, get instant grammar and spelling suggestions. Very straightforward.
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Drawbacks: Limited depth, sometimes overly conservative, and may miss certain errors.
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Best for: Beginners or casual writers who just want a quick first check.
LanguageTool
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Positioning: A multilingual all-rounder, supporting French, German, Spanish, and dozens of other languages.
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Experience: Comes as a browser extension and integrates with Word and Google Docs, so you get “real-time” feedback while typing. Free version works fine, premium offers style and long-text checks.
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Drawbacks: Suggestions can be generic, and it might not always catch advanced grammar issues.
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Best for: Writers who switch between multiple languages or want a simple safety net everywhere.
Beyond Tools: Building Stronger Habits
Even without Grammarly, French writing is far from hopeless. Many learners actually make the biggest progress not from tools, but from consistent habits. Here are some that come up again and again in French learning blogs and communities:
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Read quality French content
Don’t just stick to textbooks. Read news, blogs, or novels — even a few paragraphs a day. Over time, you’ll absorb sentence patterns and linking words naturally. -
Practice in small chunks
Instead of trying to write a full essay, make it lighter:
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A tweet-length sentence about your lunch.
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Three-line emails to a friend.
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Short prompts from a course or learning site.
The key isn’t length — it’s consistency.
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Self-edit slowly
Before closing your document, read it sentence by sentence. If it doesn’t flow, it probably needs tweaking. Mark uncertain spots (“Should this verb be in the subjunctive?”) and check later. This forces you to notice your real weak points. -
Ask communities for feedback
Post a short text on a French learning forum, Reddit, or a Discord group. You’ll often get corrections plus more natural phrasing. It can sting to get picked apart, but the feedback is gold.
Final Thoughts
So, to wrap it up: Grammarly does not support French. It’s built for English and that’s where it shines. But that doesn’t mean you’re left stranded. Antidote, Scribens, and LanguageTool each bring something valuable to the table. None of them are flawless, but together they cover a lot of ground.
More importantly, progress comes less from the tool itself and more from your own practice. Write often, edit often, ask for corrections. Sometimes it’s that moment you look back and realize you conjugated a verb wrong that makes the lesson stick.
At the end of the day, tools can back you up, but your steady writing habits will take you further. Even just a little French writing every day adds up — and over time, you’ll discover you rely less on tools and more on yourself.