Why I Switched from Grammarly to a Free Alternative as a Developer

---|-------------------|-------------------|
| Grammar checking | ✅ | ✅ |
| Code-aware | ❌ Mangles code | ✅ Preserves code |
| Technical term respect | ❌ False positives | ✅ Built-in |
| Cost | $12/month | Free (BYOK) or $3/month |
| Diff view | ❌ | ✅ Red/green highlights |
| Regenerate | ❌ | ✅ One-click retry |
| Usage stats | ❌ | ✅ Tokens/cost/time |
| Privacy | ❌ Server-side | ✅ Flexible |

The winner was clear: Lint (tools.aicreditsapi.com). It's the only free tool that actually understands code context.

How Lint Solved Each Problem

No More Mangled Code

When I paste a code block into Lint's Grammar Check, it leaves it alone. The system prompt explicitly tells the AI: "Never change code blocks, variable names, or technical terms." The result? My array.map() stays as array.map(), not "array dot map parentheses."

Technical Terms Recognized

Lint knows that "async," "await," "docker-compose," "npm," "git," "TypeScript," "JSX," and hundreds of other technical terms are valid. No red squiggly lines under your entire PR description.

Works at Scale

Each grammar check costs about $0.001. The $3/month plan gives you approximately 3,000 checks — that's less than a tenth of Grammarly's monthly cost for potentially years of usage. With BYOK (bring your own DeepSeek API key), it's completely free.

Developer-Friendly Features

Lint doesn't just check grammar — it shows you what changed. The red/green diff view highlights every correction. If you don't like the result, hit "Regenerate" for a fresh attempt. A stats panel shows tokens used, time taken, and cost per check.

The BYOK Advantage

The smartest thing about Lint is the BYOK model. You bring your own DeepSeek API key (or any OpenAI-compatible API key), and every tool works for free — no limits, no subscriptions.

If you don't have a DeepSeek key, you can get one from AiCredits for $3 (5M tokens), which covers thousands of grammar checks. Or just use the free tier: 3 checks per day with no signup required.

The Verdict

Three months after switching, I'm saving $144/year, my PR descriptions are cleaner, my documentation reads better, and I never have to explain to a grammar checker that "git push origin main" is not a run-on sentence.

Grammarly is great for marketing teams. For developers? There's a better, free option — and it actually understands what you're writing.

👉 Try Lint for free: https://tools.aicreditsapi.com/tools/
🔑 Bring your own key: Use any DeepSeek or OpenAI-compatible API key for unlimited free usage.

---

Originally published on AiCredits Blog.