Best AI Manuscript Checkers 2026
An honest comparison of the best AI tools for checking academic manuscripts before journal submission, what each does well, and what it doesn't.
CheckMyManuscript
Best for submission readiness
Best for journal submission compliance
Strengths
80+ format-level checks
Citation-reference validation
Journal-specific compliance (Nature, IEEE, Elsevier, APA, PLOS)
Required declarations check (ethics, COI, funding)
PDF + Word + LaTeX support
Pay per review ($5), not subscription
Limitations
–
Not a real-time writing assistant
–
Focused on format checks, not scientific merit
Grammarly
Best for grammar
Best general grammar checker
Strengths
Industry-leading grammar and spelling
Real-time writing assistant
Clear, fast suggestions
Browser extension and Word add-in
Limitations
–
No manuscript structure checking
–
No citation validation
–
No journal compliance checks
–
May flag legitimate academic passive constructions
PaperPal
Best for language polish
Best for ESL academic writing
Strengths
Subject-area language models
Good ESL writing assistance
Academic writing style suggestions
Journal submission assistance features
Limitations
–
Limited structure checking
–
No citation-reference matching
–
Subscription pricing
Writefull
Best for academic phrasing
Best corpus-based language tool
Strengths
Corpus-based academic language suggestions
Overleaf (LaTeX) integration
Academic phrasing recommendations from published papers
Limitations
–
No structure checking
–
No citation validation
–
No journal compliance
Jenni AI
Best for drafting
Best for AI writing assistance
Strengths
AI writing and paraphrasing assistance
Citation generation
Good for drafting stage
Limitations
–
Writing assistant, not a submission checker
–
No manuscript structure validation
–
No journal compliance checks
Quick comparison
| Feature | CheckMyManuscript | Grammarly | PaperPal | Writefull |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grammar checking | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Academic language | ✓ | Partial | ✓✓ | ✓✓ |
| Manuscript structure | ✓✓ | ✗ | Partial | ✗ |
| Citation validation | ✓✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Journal compliance | ✓✓ | ✗ | Partial | ✗ |
| Required declarations | ✓✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| LaTeX support | ✓✓ | ✗ | Limited | ✓ (Overleaf) |
| PDF support | ✓✓ | ✗ | Limited | ✗ |
| Pricing | $5/review | Free–$12+/mo | Subscription | Free–Premium |
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Not used for AI training.
The practical edge your peers already use
Across disciplines and career stages, researchers reduce bottlenecks and submit with confidence: clearer drafts, easier guideline compliance, and less back and forth with co‑authors and reviewers.
I use it to review my students' papers. It instantly highlights typos, missing references, and unclear sections, helping me focus my feedback on the quality of the research instead of surface errors.
Ilyass
Professor in Mechanical Engineering, ÉTS Montréal
I relied on it throughout my thesis to strengthen my writing. It suggested clearer phrasing, improved flow between sections, and ensured my references were complete before the final deadline.
Manon
Master's Student in Speech Therapy
I write research in both Portuguese and English, and it adapts perfectly to either language. It provided precise feedback in Portuguese, helping me maintain academic tone and consistency across my drafts.
Afonso
PhD Candidate, UFPE
It gave excellent advice on how to rephrase and present ideas more clearly and concisely. The suggestions helped me refine my arguments and make my research more impactful.
Félix
Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
A round of suggestions helped to generally refine the text of my paper and, moreover, to present some of its key points in a more focused form.
Oleg
Professor, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
I use it to review my students' papers. It instantly highlights typos, missing references, and unclear sections, helping me focus my feedback on the quality of the research instead of surface errors.
Ilyass
Professor in Mechanical Engineering, ÉTS Montréal
I relied on it throughout my thesis to strengthen my writing. It suggested clearer phrasing, improved flow between sections, and ensured my references were complete before the final deadline.
Manon
Master's Student in Speech Therapy
I write research in both Portuguese and English, and it adapts perfectly to either language. It provided precise feedback in Portuguese, helping me maintain academic tone and consistency across my drafts.
Afonso
PhD Candidate, UFPE
It gave excellent advice on how to rephrase and present ideas more clearly and concisely. The suggestions helped me refine my arguments and make my research more impactful.
Félix
Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
A round of suggestions helped to generally refine the text of my paper and, moreover, to present some of its key points in a more focused form.
Oleg
Professor, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
Frequently asked questions
For submission compliance, structure, citations, metadata, and journal requirements, CheckMyManuscript is purpose-built for this. For grammar and general writing quality, Grammarly is strong. Many researchers use both: Grammarly during writing, CheckMyManuscript as a final pre-submission check.
Grammarly is excellent for grammar and writing clarity, but it doesn't check manuscript structure, citation completeness, abstract requirements, or journal-specific compliance requirements. It's a writing assistant, not a submission checker.
CheckMyManuscript is purpose-built for the pre-submission stage. It performs 80+ format-level checks modeled on real journal standards, structure validation, citation-reference matching, abstract completeness, metadata validation, and publisher-specific requirements. No other tool covers all these dimensions.
CheckMyManuscript offers a free submission readiness overview. A full detailed report is $5, a pay-per-review model that's better value than monthly subscriptions for most researchers. Grammarly has a free version; most other tools require subscriptions.
Yes: the best workflow for many researchers is: use Writefull or PaperPal for language quality during writing, use Grammarly for grammar, then use CheckMyManuscript as a final pre-submission gate for structure and compliance. These tools are complementary, not competing.