Best AI Writing Assistants for Mac in 2026

Whether you are drafting emails, writing reports, translating messages for international colleagues, or simply trying to get through your daily communications faster, AI writing assistants have become indispensable tools for Mac users. The landscape has evolved significantly over the past year, with tools becoming smarter, more integrated, and more specialized.

But with so many options available, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Do you need a grammar checker, a full-blown text generator, a translation tool, or all of the above? Should it live inside a single app, or work across your entire system?

We evaluated the most popular AI writing assistants available on macOS in 2026, looking at their features, pricing, ease of use, and how well they integrate into everyday workflows. Here are the five best options, starting with the most versatile.

1. Wordwand: The All-in-One Writing Assistant That Works Everywhere

Best for: Mac users who want a single AI writing tool that works in every app.

Wordwand takes a fundamentally different approach from most AI writing assistants. Instead of confining you to a browser extension, a specific note-taking app, or a separate chat window, Wordwand is a native macOS application that works in any app on your Mac. Select text, press a keyboard shortcut, and Wordwand handles the rest, whether you are in Mail, Pages, Slack, VS Code, or any other application.

Key Features

• Works in any Mac app. This is the defining advantage. Because Wordwand operates at the system level, there is no need to copy text into a separate window or switch contexts. Select text in any application, trigger Wordwand with a keyboard shortcut, and your text is transformed in place.
• Grammar and spelling correction. Wordwand fixes grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors instantly. Unlike tools that only underline mistakes and wait for you to click each one, Wordwand rewrites the corrected text directly.
• Translation across 40+ languages. Translate selected text between more than 40 languages without leaving the app you are working in. This is particularly valuable for multilingual teams and anyone who communicates across language barriers daily.
• AI text generation. Need to draft an email reply, write a paragraph, or brainstorm ideas? Wordwand can generate text from a prompt, right inside whatever app you are using.
• Voice dictation. Hold the Fn key and speak. Wordwand transcribes your voice into text in real time, inserted directly into the active application. This is faster and more accurate than the built-in macOS dictation for longer passages.
• Text-to-speech and podcast mode. Have Wordwand read any selected text aloud with natural-sounding voices. Podcast mode goes further, converting long-form content into an audio experience you can listen to while doing other work.
• Summarization. Select a long article, email thread, or document and get a concise summary in seconds.
• Tone adjustment and enhancement. Transform casual messages into professional correspondence, or simplify complex language for a broader audience.

Pricing

Wordwand offers a generous free tier of 5,000 words per month, which is enough for light daily use. The Pro plan starts at $10.99/month and unlocks unlimited usage across all features, including voice dictation and text-to-speech.

Why It Stands Out

The system-wide integration is what truly sets Wordwand apart. Every other tool on this list either requires you to work inside a specific application or forces you to copy and paste text into a separate window. Wordwand eliminates that friction entirely. You stay in your workflow, press a shortcut, and the AI does its work right where you are. For Mac users who move between multiple apps throughout the day, and that is most of us, this is a significant productivity gain.

2. Grammarly: The Grammar and Style Specialist

Best for: Writers who primarily need English grammar, spelling, and style corrections.

Grammarly has been one of the most recognized names in writing assistance for years, and it continues to deliver a polished experience for grammar checking and style improvement. It is available as a browser extension, a standalone Mac app, and a keyboard for iOS.

Key Features

• Grammar, spelling, and punctuation checking. Grammarly excels at catching errors and suggesting corrections. Its suggestions are generally accurate and well-explained.
• Style and tone suggestions. Beyond basic grammar, Grammarly can flag wordiness, passive voice, and tone inconsistencies. The Premium tier adds more advanced style recommendations.
• Browser extension. Works well in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and other browsers, providing real-time corrections in web-based email clients, social media platforms, and online editors.
• Standalone Mac app. The desktop app provides a dedicated writing environment with all of Grammarly's checking capabilities.
• GrammarlyGO (AI generation). Grammarly has added AI text generation and rewriting features, though these are more limited compared to dedicated AI writing tools.

Pricing

Grammarly offers a free tier with basic grammar and spelling checks plus 100 AI prompts per month. Grammarly Pro costs approximately $12/month (billed annually) or $30/month billed monthly, and adds advanced grammar rules, style suggestions, tone detection, plagiarism detection, and 2,000 AI prompts per month.

Limitations

Grammarly has expanded beyond English to support grammar checking in six languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese) and translation across 19 languages. However, its multilingual capabilities are still narrower than dedicated tools like Wordwand, which supports 40+ languages for translation. Grammarly also does not offer voice dictation, text-to-speech, or the kind of instant inline text replacement that a native macOS tool provides. While the desktop app has expanded its coverage, support across native Mac applications can still be inconsistent.

3. Notion AI: The Best AI for Notion Power Users

Best for: Teams and individuals who already live inside Notion for their work.

Notion AI is built directly into the Notion workspace, making it seamlessly integrated for anyone who already uses Notion as their primary productivity tool. It can generate text, summarize pages, extract action items, translate content, and more, all within the Notion interface.

Key Features

• Text generation and editing. Ask Notion AI to draft content, rewrite paragraphs, change tone, or expand on bullet points. It works within the block-based editor that Notion users are already familiar with.
• Summarization. Notion AI can summarize long documents, meeting notes, or entire databases of content. This is particularly useful for team wikis and project documentation.
• Action item extraction. Point Notion AI at meeting notes and it will pull out action items and key decisions automatically.
• Translation. Translate content within Notion pages into multiple languages.
• Q&A across your workspace. Ask questions about information stored across your Notion workspace, and the AI will search and synthesize answers from your pages and databases.

Pricing

Notion AI is now bundled into the Business plan at $20 per user per month (billed annually). It is no longer available as a separate add-on. Free and Plus plan users only get a limited AI trial. This means you need to commit to the Business tier to access AI features, which can add up quickly for teams.

Limitations

The most significant limitation of Notion AI is that it only works inside Notion. If you draft emails in Mail, write code in VS Code, or chat in Slack, Notion AI cannot help you there. You would need to write or paste your text into a Notion page, use the AI features, and then copy the result back to your target application. For dedicated Notion users this is not a problem, but for anyone who works across many different apps, it creates a fragmented workflow.

4. ChatGPT (macOS App): The Versatile General-Purpose AI

Best for: Users who want a powerful conversational AI for brainstorming, drafting, and research.

OpenAI's ChatGPT desktop app for macOS brings the full power of its latest AI models to your Mac in a dedicated application. It is a capable general-purpose AI assistant that can help with writing, coding, analysis, and much more.

Key Features

• Conversational text generation. ChatGPT excels at generating long-form content, brainstorming ideas, drafting documents, and answering complex questions through a conversational interface.
• Code assistance. Beyond writing, ChatGPT is a strong coding assistant, making it useful for developers who need help with both prose and code.
• Image understanding. You can paste screenshots or images into the conversation for analysis and discussion.
• Custom instructions and memory. ChatGPT remembers your preferences and context across conversations, which helps it produce more relevant responses over time.
• Voice mode. ChatGPT supports voice conversations on mobile and web, though voice mode was removed from the macOS app in January 2026.

Pricing

ChatGPT offers a free tier with access to the base model. ChatGPT Plus costs $20/month and provides access to the latest models, faster response times, and additional features like image generation and advanced voice mode.

Limitations

The fundamental limitation of ChatGPT as a writing assistant is that it operates in its own separate window. To use it for writing tasks, you need to switch to the ChatGPT app, type or paste your text, get the result, and then copy it back to wherever you were working. This context-switching adds friction to every interaction. ChatGPT is also a general-purpose AI rather than a writing-focused tool, which means it lacks specialized features like inline grammar correction, system-wide text replacement, or integrated translation workflows. Additionally, voice mode was recently removed from the macOS app. At $20/month for the Plus tier, it is also the most expensive option on this list for users who primarily need writing assistance.

5. Apple Intelligence / Writing Tools: The Built-In Option

Best for: Users who want basic AI writing help without installing anything extra.

Starting with macOS Sequoia, Apple has integrated AI-powered Writing Tools directly into the operating system. These tools are available in most text fields across native and third-party apps through the system-level right-click menu or Edit menu.

Key Features

• Proofreading. Apple Writing Tools can check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors and suggest corrections.
• Rewriting. Select text and have it rewritten to be more concise, more professional, or more friendly.
• Summarization. Generate summaries of selected text, with options for paragraph format, bullet points, or tables.
• System-wide availability. Because it is built into macOS, Writing Tools works in any app that uses standard text views, without requiring any additional installation.
• Privacy-focused. Many Apple Intelligence features run on-device, and those that use cloud processing go through Apple's Private Cloud Compute infrastructure.

Pricing

Apple Intelligence Writing Tools are completely free for users with compatible hardware (M1 chip or later).

Limitations

While the system-wide availability is a genuine advantage, Apple Writing Tools are more limited in capability compared to dedicated AI writing assistants. They offer basic proofreading, rewriting, and summarization, but lack voice dictation with AI transcription, text-to-speech with natural voices, and the breadth of translation options that dedicated tools provide. Apple Intelligence now supports over 16 languages, a significant improvement from its US English-only launch, but it still lacks features like inline translation across 40+ languages, custom AI prompts, and chained text transformations that purpose-built writing tools offer.

Comparison Table

Feature	Wordwand	Grammarly	Notion AI	ChatGPT (Mac)	Apple Writing Tools
Works in any Mac app	Yes	Browser + limited desktop	Notion only	Separate window	Most text fields
Grammar correction	Yes	Yes (best-in-class)	Yes	Via chat	Yes
Translation	40+ languages	19 languages	Yes (in Notion)	Via chat	Limited
AI text generation	Yes	Limited	Yes (in Notion)	Yes (best-in-class)	No
Voice dictation	Yes (hold Fn)	No	No	No (removed from Mac)	No (system dictation separate)
Text-to-speech	Yes + Podcast mode	No	No	No (on Mac)	No
Summarization	Yes	Limited	Yes	Via chat	Yes
Tone adjustment	Yes	Premium only	Yes	Via chat	Yes
Free tier	5,000 words/month	Basic grammar + 100 AI prompts	None (Business plan required)	Limited model access	Full (M1+ required)
Pro price	From $10.99/month	~$12/month (annual)	$20/user/month (Business)	$20/month	Free
Native macOS app	Yes	Yes	Electron-based	Yes	Built-in

Which AI Writing Assistant Should You Choose?

The best tool depends on how you work, but for most Mac users, the answer comes down to a few key questions.

If you work across many different apps, Wordwand is the clear winner. No other tool on this list can fix your grammar in Mail, translate a message in Slack, generate a draft in Pages, and dictate notes in any text field, all from one keyboard shortcut without ever leaving the app you are in.

If English grammar checking is your primary need and you mostly write in a browser, Grammarly remains excellent at what it does. Its grammar and style suggestions are the most detailed and well-explained of any tool on this list.

If you live and breathe Notion, Notion AI is a natural fit. Its deep integration with Notion's workspace, databases, and collaborative features makes it powerful for teams that have standardized on Notion.

If you need a general-purpose AI for brainstorming, research, and long conversations, ChatGPT is hard to beat. It is the most capable conversational AI available, even if it requires you to work in a separate window.

If you just want basic proofreading and rewriting without installing anything, Apple Intelligence Writing Tools get the job done for simple tasks at no cost.

For Mac users who want a single, affordable tool that covers grammar, translation, generation, dictation, and text-to-speech, and works in every app on the system, Wordwand offers the most complete package. It fills the gaps that each of the other tools leaves open, and it does so with a native macOS experience that feels right at home on your Mac.