Grammarly for Mac is a writing assistant that works across your desktop, browsers, and Microsoft Word. Yes, it runs on Mac , and once you get past the accessibility permission step, it fits into the macOS workflow pretty well.
Does Grammarly work on Mac?
It does. You get a Mac desktop app, browser extensions for Safari and Chrome, and a Word add-in for Office on Mac. The desktop app acts as a system-wide tool, checking text in apps like Apple Mail, Slack, and Notes. The free plan covers grammar and spelling. Paid adds style suggestions, tone adjustments, and plagiarism checking. The grammarly mac app works whether you’re writing emails, school papers, or client reports.
How to download Grammarly for Mac
Option 1: Grammarly desktop app for Mac
- Go to grammarly.com/download and click Download for Mac.
- Open the downloaded
.dmgfile and drag Grammarly into your Applications folder. - Launch Grammarly from Applications and sign in (or create a free account).
- Grant accessibility permissions when prompted: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. This is what allows it to check text across your system.
- A Grammarly icon appears in your menu bar. It activates automatically in supported apps.
Option 2: Grammarly browser extension (Safari and Chrome)
- For Chrome: Go to the Chrome Web Store and search “Grammarly for Chrome.” Click Add to Chrome.
- For Safari: Open the Mac App Store, search for “Grammarly,” and download it. Then enable the extension under Safari > Settings > Extensions.
- Sign into your Grammarly account from the extension popup.
- Open any page with a text field , Gmail, Notion, WordPress , and Grammarly will underline suggestions as you type.
Option 3: Grammarly keyboard for iPhone and iPad (bonus)
If you write on your phone and finish on your Mac, Grammarly’s keyboard app for iOS is worth knowing about. Download it from the App Store, then add it via Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard. You get grammar and spelling suggestions in any app that accepts keyboard input.
How to use Grammarly on Mac
In Microsoft Word and Google Docs
For Microsoft Word on Mac, there’s a dedicated add-in. Open Word, go to Insert > Add-ins > Get Add-ins, and search Grammarly. The add-in adds a sidebar to the right of your document. You click each suggestion there rather than directly in the text , a small difference from what you might expect.
For Google Docs, the Chrome extension handles it automatically. Open a Doc with the extension active and Grammarly underlines issues inline, just like anywhere else on the web. There’s a small Grammarly button at the bottom right of the Doc , click it to open the full suggestion panel.
System-wide grammar checking
With accessibility permissions granted, the Mac desktop app works in Mail, Notes, Slack, Messages, and most other apps. Green squiggly underlines mark issues. Hover to see the suggestion, click to accept, or press Tab to skip. The menu bar icon shows a count of active suggestions.
If Grammarly isn’t appearing in a specific app, check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. Some apps with custom text rendering don’t support third-party accessibility tools, and there’s no workaround for those.
Grammarly Free vs Premium , what’s worth it on Mac?
| Feature | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar and spelling | Yes | Yes |
| Punctuation corrections | Yes | Yes |
| Clarity and conciseness suggestions | No | Yes |
| Tone detection | Basic | Advanced |
| Style suggestions | No | Yes |
| Plagiarism checker | No | Yes |
| Vocabulary suggestions | No | Yes |
| GrammarlyGO (AI rewriting) | Limited | Full access |
| Mac desktop app access | Yes | Yes |
| Safari and Chrome extensions | Yes | Yes |
The free plan handles most everyday writing tasks fine. If you write blog posts, proposals, or longer documents regularly, Premium is where the useful suggestions live , style, clarity, and vocabulary. For occasional personal use, free is probably enough.
Common issues and fixes on Mac
Grammarly not working in Safari
Check that the extension is enabled: Safari > Settings > Extensions. Make sure you’ve allowed it for all websites under Edit Websites. If it still doesn’t show up, try disabling other Safari extensions one by one to find conflicts. Restarting Safari after enabling the extension often helps , it doesn’t always activate mid-session.
Grammarly desktop app not opening
If the menu bar icon disappears or suggestions stop appearing, reset accessibility permissions. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility, remove Grammarly, then re-add it. Restart the app after. If it won’t open at all, delete it from Applications and download a fresh copy from grammarly.com.
Grammarly not showing in Google Docs
Open a new tab, click the Grammarly extension icon, and confirm it’s enabled and signed in. If it’s showing as active but not appearing in Docs, go to chrome://extensions, disable Grammarly, refresh Google Docs, then re-enable it. A Chrome restart usually sorts out persistent cases.
FAQ
Is Grammarly free on Mac?
Yes. You can download the desktop app and browser extensions for free. The free plan covers grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Style suggestions and plagiarism checking need a Premium subscription.
Does Grammarly work with Pages on Mac?
Only partially. The desktop app doesn’t reliably integrate with Apple Pages because of how Pages handles text. For long Pages documents, the most practical approach is to copy text into the Grammarly web editor, fix it there, and paste it back.
Is there a Grammarly app for Mac in the App Store?
The Safari extension version is on the Mac App Store. The main desktop app comes from grammarly.com directly. Both are legitimate , just two different distribution paths for different components.
Can I use Grammarly offline on Mac?
No. All processing happens on Grammarly’s servers, so an internet connection is required for suggestions to work.
Does Grammarly slow down my Mac?
The background monitoring is generally light. On a Mac with 8GB RAM or more, most people don’t notice anything. If you do see slowdowns, you can quit Grammarly from the menu bar when you’re not writing.
How do I uninstall Grammarly from Mac?
Drag the app from Applications to Trash. Remove its accessibility permission under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. For Chrome, right-click the extension icon and select Remove from Chrome. For Safari, disable or delete it under Safari > Settings > Extensions.
For more productivity app setups, see our guides on Google Meet for video calls, Zoom for online meetings, and AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude AI for writing and research.
