Antidote alternatives: which checker to pick, and how to leave
Five checkers, one per use case, and a five-step exit plan.
Short answer: Grammarly if you mostly write in English, LanguageTool if you write in several languages, ProWritingAid for books and long documents, Scribens if you want free French and English checking, Grammalecte if what you need is a free French layer. On price, Antidote+ Personal is $59.95 for the first year for one language, or $89.95 for French and English. Before you go: export your personal dictionary, then switch off automatic renewal in your Client Portal. We compared these five checkers and re-read their pricing pages in 2026.
Rankings are editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why people leave Antidote
Antidote bundles a French checker, dictionaries and language guides, plus an English module. People leave over the subscription model, the price of a second language, or because they write in languages Antidote doesn't cover. Four reasons, checked against Druide's pages and press coverage.
No more lifetime licenses for new customers
With Antidote 12, Druide replaced the one-time purchase with a yearly subscription for new customers. Long-time users pushed back on Reddit and elsewhere, comparing it to Adobe's move. Existing customers can still upgrade to Antidote 12 with a perpetual license, but without rephrasing, audio pronunciation or sync, and the offer runs until the end of 2026.
AI rewriting is subscription-only
AI sentence rephrasing is reserved for Antidote+ subscribers. If rewriting is the feature you want, a dedicated rewriting tool may be enough.
The second language costs extra
Antidote+ Personal is $59.95 for the first year with one language and $89.95 with French and English: $30 more for the second language. Druide offers a preferential rate on renewal. Prices are in US dollars, plus applicable taxes, and the yearly fee is paid in one go: no monthly installments.
Two languages only
Antidote checks French and English. If you also write in Spanish or German, you need a second tool and a second subscription. A multilingual checker covers both.
You mostly write… go to…
The right checker depends on how you write.
Antidote alternatives, tool by tool
For each checker: why switch, who it's for, the catch, how to migrate from Antidote, and 2026 pricing. Our guides to leaving Grammarly and leaving LanguageTool go deeper on those two. Hemingway Editor, QuillBot, Ginger and Wordtune also show up in lists; they focus on readability, paraphrasing or English-only rewriting rather than full French and English checking.
Grammarly: the default for English writing
$12/monthWhy switch to Grammarly. If you mostly used Antidote's English module, Grammarly is the reference for English: grammar, clarity, tone and fluency suggestions in your browser, desktop apps and email. Its paid advanced suggestions now also cover French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Italian, so bilingual writers in Canada or Europe keep one tool.
Who it's for. Professionals writing in English all day, bilingual French-English writers who want one subscription.
The catch. On the free plan, non-English languages only get basic spelling and grammar, and you can accept just 3 advanced suggestions a day. Antidote's built-in dictionaries and language guides have no direct equivalent here.
How to migrate. Install the extension and add your terms to Grammarly's personal dictionary from the TXT file you exported from Antidote.
Price. Free for basic corrections; Pro is $12 a month billed yearly.
- Price
- Pro $12/month, billed yearly
- Advanced languages
- English, French, Spanish and more
- Free
- basic corrections
- Catch
- no built-in dictionaries
LanguageTool: one checker for many languages
$69.90/yearWhy switch to LanguageTool. It covers 30+ languages, with advanced checks in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Polish and Portuguese, and runs in browsers, Word, Google Docs, macOS and Windows. If you write in French and English (and maybe a third language), it replaces Antidote's two modules with one plan.
Who it's for. Translators, students and freelancers writing in several languages, mostly in the browser.
The catch. It corrects; it doesn't teach. There are no dictionaries or language guides like Antidote's. The free plan stops at 2,000 characters per text field.
How to migrate. Export your Antidote personal dictionary as TXT and add the words to LanguageTool's personal dictionary. Install the extension before you cancel Antidote.
Price. $24.90 a month, or $69.90 a year ($5.83 a month).
- Price
- $69.90/year, $24.90 monthly
- Languages
- 30+, 7 with advanced checks
- Free
- 2,000 characters per field
- Catch
- no built-in dictionaries
ProWritingAid: for authors and long-form writing
$120/yearWhy switch to ProWritingAid. If you used Antidote's English side for long documents, ProWritingAid goes deep on style: overused words, sentence length, pacing, and dozens of reports built for novelists and non-fiction authors.
Who it's for. Authors, editors, students writing theses in English.
The catch. It is built for English, and the volume of reports can feel heavy for quick emails. Monthly plans aren't refundable.
How to migrate. Install the Word, Google Docs or browser add-in and import your manuscript.
Price. Premium is $10 a month billed yearly ($120); Premium Pro is $12 a month billed yearly ($144).
- Price
- Premium $10/month, billed $120 yearly
- Language
- English
- Best for
- long-form writing, fiction
- Catch
- heavy for short emails
Scribens: free French and English checking
FreeWhy switch to Scribens. Scribens checks French, English and 40+ other languages for free on its site and with browser extensions you can try without signing up. For occasional bilingual writing, it replaces Antidote at no cost.
Who it's for. Students, occasional writers, anyone who checks a few texts a week.
The catch. The free plan is capped at 8,000 characters a day. The site shows ads unless you go Premium.
How to migrate. Nothing to import: paste your text or install the extension.
Price. Free, with an ad-free Premium option.
- Price
- free
- Languages
- 40+, including French and English
- Catch
- 8,000 characters a day
- Best for
- occasional use
Grammalecte: open-source French checking
FreeWhy switch to Grammalecte. If what you'll miss is Antidote's French checking, Grammalecte is a free, open-source (GPL 3) French grammar checker for LibreOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird. Your text stays on your machine.
Who it's for. Bilingual writers who handle English with Grammarly or LanguageTool and want a free French layer, LibreOffice users, privacy-minded teams.
The catch. French only, focused on grammar and typography; rewriting happens elsewhere.
How to migrate. Install the LibreOffice or Firefox extension and re-add your custom words.
Price. Free.
- Price
- free, GPL 3
- Where
- LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird
- Data
- stays on your machine
- Catch
- French only
The 5 alternatives side by side
Our default pick: Grammarly if English is your main language, LanguageTool if you switch languages all day. One row per tool.
| Free or trial | First paid tier and languages | |
|---|---|---|
| Antidote+Starting point | 30-day trial | $59.95 first year (one language), $89.95 (bilingual) |
| GrammarlyEnglish | Free, basic corrections | Pro $12/month billed yearly; advanced English, French, Spanish |
| LanguageToolMultilingual | Free, 2,000 characters per field | $69.90/year; 30+ languages |
| ProWritingAidLong-form | Free plan | Premium $120/year; English |
| ScribensFree | Free, 8,000 characters a day | Ad-free Premium; 40+ languages |
| GrammalecteOpen source | Free, GPL 3 | Free; French |
Prices as listed by each vendor in 2026, in US dollars where shown. Monthly equivalents are our own math.
Leaving Antidote in five steps
Simple, but order matters: start with your personal dictionary, the part you built yourself.
Export your personal dictionary
Day 1In Antidote on Windows, choose Export dictionary from the File menu; on a Mac, click the button to the right of the dictionary name and choose Export. Pick TXT or XML and a save location. The file opens in any spreadsheet or word processor.
- Formats
- TXT or XML
- Contents
- your words and their details
Note your settings and rules
Write down your typography settings and custom rules. You'll recreate them in the new tool.
- Time
- an hour
- Note
- typography, rules
Run the new tool in parallel
Install the new checker's extension or add-in and use both for a week. Import or paste in the words from your exported dictionary.
- Time
- one week
- Goal
- spot what's missing
Turn off automatic renewal
Log onto your Druide Client Portal, go to Subscriptions, then Antidote+. Under Details, find Automatic renewal and click Edit to disable it. You can also delete your banking information under the Invoices tab. Druide doesn't refund purchases made in its online store, so switch renewal off before the anniversary date, not the day after.
- Where
- Client Portal, Subscriptions
- When
- before your renewal date
Uninstall when the term ends
Keep Antidote until the last paid day, then uninstall it and its connectors (Word, browser) so two checkers aren't underlining at once.
- When
- end of paid term
- Remember
- Word and browser connectors
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What people regret after leaving Antidote
The mistakes that come up again and again.
Forgetting the personal dictionary
Years of names, jargon and accepted words. Export it as TXT before you cancel.
Expecting dictionaries and guides
Antidote is also a set of dictionaries and language guides. The tools here correct; for learning, keep an online dictionary handy. Our grammar checker ranking compares what each one does.
Not checking where your text goes
Each checker handles your text differently: Grammalecte keeps it on your machine, online services process it on their servers. For sensitive documents, see our European grammar checker comparison.
Comparing prices that don't line up
Antidote shows a first-year price with a renewal discount; Grammarly and ProWritingAid show monthly prices billed yearly. Convert everything to a yearly total, tax included.
Mistaking a rewriter for a checker
Rewriting isn't proofreading. If you mainly want more natural text, our page on natural rewriting tools helps, as does our AI humanizer ranking for writers; for spelling and grammar, keep a real checker.
- Personal dictionary exported as TXT or XML
- Typography settings noted
- New tool installed and used for a week
- Automatic renewal turned off in the Client Portal
- Antidote connectors uninstalled at the end
Antidote alternatives: common questions
How do I cancel Antidote+?
Log onto your Druide Client Portal, open Subscriptions, then Antidote+, find Automatic renewal under Details and click Edit to disable it. Do it before the anniversary date: Druide doesn't refund purchases made in its online store.
What is the best free alternative to Antidote?
Scribens for French and English checking online, Grammalecte for French in LibreOffice or Firefox. LanguageTool and Grammarly also have free plans with limits.
How much does Antidote cost in 2026?
Antidote+ Personal is $59.95 for the first year for one language and $89.95 for French and English. The Family plan is $99.95 or $149.95. Renewals get a preferential rate.
Can I still buy Antidote with a lifetime license?
New customers get Antidote 12 as a subscription. Customers with a license for an earlier version can upgrade to Antidote 12 with a perpetual license, without rephrasing, audio pronunciation or sync. Druide lists the offer as valid until the end of 2026, so if you own an older edition, that's your last window to keep Antidote without a subscription.
How do I export my Antidote dictionary?
On Windows, File menu, Export dictionary; on a Mac, the button next to the dictionary name, then Export. Choose TXT or XML.
Grammarly or Antidote for English?
Grammarly for everyday English writing in the browser and email; Antidote if French is your main language and English comes second.
Is Antidote available in Spanish?
Antidote checks French and English. For Spanish, LanguageTool and Grammarly offer advanced checks.
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One tool to leave, one place to go, one exit plan. Nothing else.