Every tool starts at zero and earns points for what it does and what it costs. Here is exactly what earns them.
The short version
- These tools do different jobs, so each kind has its own checklist: AI writing assistants on 5 things, AI copywriting tools on 5 things, academic writing tools on 5 things and AI detectors and humanizers on 5 things. Each checklist is worth 100 points, and a tool is only ranked against its own kind.
- The final score is those points out of 10. A tool with 84 points scores 8.4.
- Everything comes from the tool's own website. We don't take payment for points.
AI writing assistants
What it helps withPricingWhere it worksTeams and controlPrivacy and security
What earns points
1. What it helps with
30 of 100 pointsWhat can it do with your writing beyond fixing it? Grammar and spelling, plagiarism checks, writing new text from a prompt, keeping to a saved voice, citations, and spotting or rewriting AI text.
Fixes spelling and grammarup to 2
Checks for plagiarismup to 2
Writes new text from a promptup to 1.5
Writes in a saved voice or styleup to 1.5
Detects AI-written textup to 1
Rewrites AI text to read as humanup to 1
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 30 of the 100.
2. Pricing
25 of 100 pointsWhat the cheapest paid plan costs each month on monthly billing. All six have a free plan, so that earns no extra points here.
Monthly price, cheapest paid planup to 10
| Up to $12 | +10 |
| Up to $15 | +8.5 |
| Up to $20 | +7 |
| Up to $25 | +5.5 |
| Up to $30 | +4 |
| Over $30 | +2.5 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 25 of the 100.
3. Where it works
20 of 100 pointsDoes it work where you already write: as you type in other apps, in your browser, in Word, Google Docs, Outlook and Gmail, and on your phone's keyboard?
Works as you type in other appsup to 2
Browsers it has an extension forup to 3
| None | 0 |
| 1 browser | +1 |
| 2 browsers | +2 |
| 3 browsers | +2.5 |
| 4 browsers or more | +3 |
Word, Google Docs, Outlook, Gmail and Slack add-insup to 3
| None | 0 |
| 1 add-in | +1 |
| 2 add-ins | +2 |
| 3 add-ins | +2.5 |
| 4 add-ins or more | +3 |
Phone keyboard that checks as you typeup to 2
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.
4. Teams and control
15 of 100 pointsCan a team share it and set the rules: its own style guide and terms, shared settings, an API, single sign-on and a personal dictionary?
Your own style guide and termsup to 2.5
Team plan with shared settingsup to 2
Personal dictionaryup to 1.5
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.
5. Privacy and security
10 of 100 pointsDoes it keep your writing out of AI training, and does the vendor hold SOC 2 and ISO 27001?
Does not train AI on your writingup to 4
| Yes | +4 |
| Only if you opt out | +2 |
| No | 0 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 10 of the 100.
A real example: Grammarly
Here is how Grammarly got its 8.3.
| Section | Points |
|---|
| What it helps with | 30 of 30 |
| Pricing | 10 of 25 |
| Where it works | 20 of 20 |
| Teams and control | 15 of 15 |
| Privacy and security | 8 of 10 |
| Total | 83 of 100 = 8.3 out of 10 |
See every fact behind Grammarly's score.
AI copywriting tools
Brand and contentPricingWhere the copy goesTeams and controlPrivacy and security
What earns points
1. Brand and content
30 of 100 pointsDoes the copy sound like your company? Your brand voice, learning from your own documents, target keywords, whole campaigns from one brief, a guess at how copy will perform, a long-form editor and images.
Writes in your brand voiceup to 2
Learns from your company documentsup to 2
Writes to target keywordsup to 1.5
Builds a whole campaign from one briefup to 1.5
Predicts how copy will performup to 1.5
Long-form document editorup to 1
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 30 of the 100.
2. Pricing
25 of 100 pointsWhat the cheapest paid plan costs each month, and whether there is a free plan or a trial.
Monthly price, cheapest paid planup to 6
| Up to $10 | +6 |
| Up to $30 | +5 |
| Up to $50 | +3.5 |
| Up to $70 | +2 |
| Over $70 | +1 |
Free trialup to 1
| None | 0 |
| 1 to 7 days | +0.5 |
| 8 days or more | +1 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 25 of the 100.
3. Where the copy goes
15 of 100 pointsCan the copy go straight to where it is used, like your CMS, CRM or email tool, and into Word, Google Docs or your inbox?
Places it sends content to directlyup to 7
| None | 0 |
| 1 integration | +3 |
| 2 integrations | +5 |
| 3 integrations | +6 |
| 4 integrations or more | +7 |
Word, Google Docs, Outlook, Gmail and Slack add-insup to 3
| None | 0 |
| 1 add-in | +1.5 |
| 2 add-ins or more | +3 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.
4. Teams and control
15 of 100 pointsCan a marketing team work in it together: review and approval steps, a shared workspace, an API and single sign-on?
Review and approval stepsup to 3
Team plan with shared workspaceup to 2.5
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.
5. Privacy and security
15 of 100 pointsDoes it keep your content out of AI training, and does the vendor hold SOC 2 and ISO 27001?
Does not train AI on your contentup to 4
| Yes | +4 |
| Only if you opt out | +2 |
| No | 0 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.
A real example: Jasper AI
Here is how Jasper AI got its 7.2.
| Section | Points |
|---|
| Brand and content | 25.5 of 30 |
| Pricing | 6.3 of 25 |
| Where the copy goes | 15 of 15 |
| Teams and control | 15 of 15 |
| Privacy and security | 10.5 of 15 |
| Total | 72.3 of 100 = 7.2 out of 10 |
See every fact behind Jasper AI's score.
Academic writing tools
Research and citationsChecking your workPricingWhere you writePrivacy and security
What earns points
1. Research and citations
30 of 100 pointsDoes it help you back up what you write? Finding real papers and citing them, importing your reference manager, answering questions about a paper, and the citation styles it knows.
Finds real papers and cites themup to 3
Reference managers and formats it importsup to 3
| None | 0 |
| 1 format | +1.5 |
| 2 formats | +2.5 |
| 3 formats or more | +3 |
Answers questions about a paperup to 2
Citation stylesup to 2
| None | 0 |
| 1 to 100 styles | +1 |
| 101 styles or more | +2 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 30 of the 100.
2. Checking your work
20 of 100 pointsCan it check your work before you submit it: plagiarism, AI-written text, and grammar and style for academic writing?
Checks for plagiarismup to 4
Detects AI-written textup to 3
Academic grammar and style checksup to 3
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.
3. Pricing
20 of 100 pointsWhat the cheapest paid plan costs each month, and whether there is a free plan.
Monthly price, cheapest paid planup to 7
| Up to $10 | +7 |
| Up to $20 | +6 |
| Up to $30 | +5 |
| Up to $50 | +3 |
| Over $50 | +1.5 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.
4. Where you write
15 of 100 pointsDoes it work where you write your papers: Word, Google Docs and Overleaf, the formats it exports, and LaTeX?
Word, Google Docs and Overleaf add-insup to 6
| None | 0 |
| 1 add-in | +2.5 |
| 2 add-ins | +4.5 |
| 3 add-ins or more | +6 |
Export formatsup to 3
| None | 0 |
| 1 format | +1 |
| 2 formats | +2 |
| 3 formats or more | +3 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.
5. Privacy and security
15 of 100 pointsDoes it keep your papers out of AI training, and does the vendor hold SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA?
Does not train AI on your papersup to 4
| Yes | +4 |
| Only if you opt out | +2 |
| No | 0 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.
A real example: Paperpal
Here is how Paperpal got its 8.2.
| Section | Points |
|---|
| Research and citations | 21 of 30 |
| Checking your work | 20 of 20 |
| Pricing | 16 of 20 |
| Where you write | 10.5 of 15 |
| Privacy and security | 15 of 15 |
| Total | 82.5 of 100 = 8.2 out of 10 |
See every fact behind Paperpal's score.
AI detectors and humanizers
Detecting AI textRewritingPricingWhere it worksTeams and trust
What earns points
1. Detecting AI text
30 of 100 pointsHow well can it tell AI-written text apart? A verdict, the sentences it flags, the AI models it names, uploaded files, many documents at once, and proof that a person wrote it.
Detects AI-written textup to 3
Marks which sentences look AI-writtenup to 2
AI models it namesup to 2
| None | 0 |
| 1 to 3 models | +1 |
| 4 models | +1.5 |
| 5 models or more | +2 |
Scans uploaded filesup to 1
Scans many documents at onceup to 1
Shows a person wrote itup to 1
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 30 of the 100.
2. Rewriting
25 of 100 pointsCan it rewrite text: making AI text read as human, paraphrasing, fixing grammar and checking for plagiarism?
Rewrites AI text to read as humanup to 4
Paraphrases your textup to 2
Fixes spelling and grammarup to 2
Checks for plagiarismup to 2
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 25 of the 100.
3. Pricing
25 of 100 pointsWhat the cheapest paid plan costs each month, and whether there is a free plan or a trial.
Monthly price, cheapest paid planup to 6
| Up to $10 | +6 |
| Up to $15 | +5 |
| Up to $20 | +4 |
| Up to $30 | +3 |
| Over $30 | +1.5 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 25 of the 100.
4. Where it works
10 of 100 pointsDoes it work where the text is: a browser extension, Word and Google Docs, and school systems like Canvas and Google Classroom?
Browser extensionup to 3
| None | 0 |
| 1 browsers or more | +3 |
Word and Google Docs add-insup to 4
| None | 0 |
| 1 add-in | +2 |
| 2 add-ins or more | +4 |
Canvas, Moodle and Google Classroomup to 3
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 10 of the 100.
5. Teams and trust
10 of 100 pointsCan a school or team rely on it: an API, SOC 2, a team plan and GDPR?
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 10 of the 100.
A real example: GPTZero
Here is how GPTZero got its 7.8.
| Section | Points |
|---|
| Detecting AI text | 28.5 of 30 |
| Rewriting | 10 of 25 |
| Pricing | 19.4 of 25 |
| Where it works | 10 of 10 |
| Teams and trust | 10 of 10 |
| Total | 77.9 of 100 = 7.8 out of 10 |
See every fact behind GPTZero's score.
When a tool doesn't say
If a tool's website doesn't answer a yes-or-no question, it gets half the points for that item. Not zero, because a missing answer isn't the same as a no, and not full marks, because silence shouldn't beat a vendor who answers honestly. For a number, like a price, it gets the typical value of the tools that do publish one. Every item scored this way is marked on the tool's scorecard.
If a tool leaves out more than a third of what we check, we don't show a score for it at all. A number built mostly on guesses wouldn't be fair to you or to the tool. Right now 19 of the 19 tools we checked have enough information to be scored.
What the score doesn't tell you
We score what a tool offers and what it costs, as its own website describes it. That's not a hands-on test. The score can't tell you whether a tool is easy to use, whether its data is accurate, or whether support answers quickly. The review covers that.
See the AI Writing tools ranked or read how we review tools in general.