I Tested Writely: Best Free AI Writing Tool Better Than Grammarly?

I’ve been looking for the best free ai writing tool better than grammarly for months. Not because Grammarly is bad—it’s fine for catching typos and tightening sentences. But when you’re trying to draft a full blog post or SEO article from scratch, Grammarly doesn’t help you write anything. It only polishes what you’ve already typed. I needed something that could actually generate content, not just clean it up.

That search led me to writely. I tested it for a week, using one real-world scenario: writing a 1,500-word SEO guide about “home office setups.” Here’s what happened step by step, and where it worked or fell short.

Starting from scratch: the outline test

I opened writely and picked the blog post mode. I entered a rough topic: “How to set up a productive home office in 2026.” The tool asked for a bit more context—target audience, tone, and keywords. I added “budget-friendly” and “remote worker.” Within maybe 15 seconds, it gave me a full outline. Not just headings but sub-points and a few suggested internal links. That was faster than I expected.

The outline wasn’t perfect. One section, “choosing the right desk lamp,” felt too narrow for a general guide. But I could drag sections around and delete what I didn’t need. The editing interface is clean—no clutter, no ads. It felt like using a stripped-down word processor with AI built in.

Expanding the content: where it got interesting

I clicked “expand” on the introduction section. The AI wrote a few paragraphs that hit the right SEO notes—mentioning natural light, ergonomics, and productivity without sounding spammy. I noticed it naturally used phrases like “free ai content writer 2026” when I told it the article target year, but I had to correct one mention of “AI recommendations” that sounded too robotic. That’s the tradeoff: the tool is good at structure and keyword placement, but the tone sometimes leans generic if you don’t tweak the prompt.

For a free tool, the writing quality is solid. It’s not going to win literary awards, but for SEO content it does the job. I’d say 70% of the output needed no changes. The rest needed phrasing adjustments—removing filler words or making the sentences flow more naturally. But that’s less editing than I usually have to do with other free AI writers.

SEO features: the real differentiator

What sets writely apart from other free options is the built-in SEO guidance. As you type, it shows a readability score and keyword density. I haven’t seen that in any other best ai writing assistant 2026 offering at this price (free). When I added a secondary keyword—like “ai seo content generator free”—it flagged that I hadn’t used it enough in the first 300 words. I adjusted and the score improved. Small thing, but for someone writing for search traffic, that’s useful.

But I’m cautious here. The SEO suggestions are based on standard best practices, not real-time search data. It won’t tell you if a keyword is too competitive or trending down. You still need to do your own keyword research. It’s a helper, not a replacement for a proper SEO tool.

Where it falls short

One limitation: writely is not a grammar checker. It can catch some spelling errors, but it doesn’t have the deep grammar engine that Grammarly does. So if you’re used to Grammarly’s red underlines for every misplaced comma, you’ll miss that here. I found myself running my final draft through Grammarly just to catch small mistakes. So calling it “better than Grammarly” depends on what you need. For content generation? Yes, absolutely. For proofreading? No.

Also, the free tier has a word limit. I think it’s around 5,000 words per month. That’s fine for a few blog posts, but heavy users might hit the ceiling quickly. I didn’t test the paid version, but the free version was enough for my one-week trial.

Should you switch?

If you’re a blogger, content marketer, or solo website owner trying to produce articles without spending hours on drafts, writely is probably the best free ai writing tool better than grammarly for your actual writing needs. It handles ideation, outlining, and first drafts much better than Grammarly ever could. But keep Grammarly around for the final polish. They’re not really competitors—they solve different parts of the writing process.

I’ll probably keep using writely for my next few SEO pieces. The speed gain alone is worth it. Just don’t expect it to edit your work perfectly, and you’ll be fine.