Main workflow
- Refine
- Check and rewrite text across most Mac apps
- Hemingway
- Write, paste, or import text into a dedicated editor
Refine vs Hemingway Editor
Refine vs Hemingway: local AI across your Mac
Refine brings local AI writing help into most Mac apps. Hemingway centers its own editor on readability, concise prose, and document-level feedback.
v1.34
macOS 14+
Full-featured 7-day free trial
Quick comparison
| Feature | Refine with local model | Hemingway Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Main workflow | Check and rewrite text across most Mac apps | Write, paste, or import text into a dedicated editor |
| Offline use | Local AI works offline after model download | Desktop 3 works offline but does not include Hemingway's newer AI features |
| Language coverage | 50+ languages and regional variants | Documents American English plus seven regional English dialects |
| Price | $38 one-time lifetime license | Free web editor; Desktop 3 is $19.99 once; Editor Plus starts at $100/year |
Offline use
- Refine
- Local AI works offline after model download
- Hemingway
- Desktop 3 works offline but does not include Hemingway's newer AI features
Language coverage
- Refine
- 50+ languages and regional variants
- Hemingway
- Documents American English plus seven regional English dialects
Price
- Refine
- $38 one-time lifetime license
- Hemingway
- Free web editor; Desktop 3 is $19.99 once; Editor Plus starts at $100/year
Refine vs Hemingway Editor feature comparison
The deciding factor is usually where you want help. Refine follows your writing across macOS, while Hemingway offers a focused document editor with a dedicated readability score.
Product focus
Refine
Grammar, fluency, explanation, translation, and rewriting across your Mac.
Hemingway Editor
Clear, concise prose through readability scoring, highlights, and a focused editor.
AI processing
Refine
Downloaded models run on your Mac. Optional BYOK requests go directly to the provider you choose.
Hemingway Editor
Editor Plus sends relevant content through Hemingway and an LLM host. Hemingway says it discards content after processing and prohibits AI training. Classic stays on-device and has no AI.
Grammar checking
Refine
Context-aware grammar, spelling, typo, and punctuation suggestions from a local model.
Hemingway Editor
The free editor flags clarity and style issues. Editor Plus adds unlimited advanced grammar fixes.
Readability guidance
Refine
Fluency suggestions can make phrasing clearer while preserving the intended meaning.
Hemingway Editor
A dedicated grade-level score, document statistics, and highlights for hard-to-read sentences, passive voice, adverbs, and simpler alternatives.
Rewriting tools
Refine
Fluency improvements, explanations, translation, rewrite presets, and custom prompts.
Hemingway Editor
Editor Plus can simplify, polish, rephrase, change tone or length, add detail, and provide document feedback.
Languages
Refine
More than 50 languages and regional variants for checks, fluency help, explanations, and translation.
Hemingway Editor
English-focused. Editor Plus documents settings for American, British, Canadian, Indian, Australian, Irish, South African, and New Zealand English.
Where you can use it
Refine
Across many Mac apps and websites on macOS 14 or later, with a floating editor fallback.
Hemingway Editor
In the web editor or the separate Desktop 3 editor for Mac and Windows. Editor Plus also offers team billing and roles.
Document workflow
Refine
Works with selected text where you already write, plus a resizable floating editor.
Hemingway Editor
Editor Plus can import and export Word, Markdown, and HTML. Desktop 3 also supports document and publishing workflows.
Price and license
Refine
$38 once for one Mac, or $68 once for 3 Macs.
Hemingway Editor
The web editor is free. Desktop 3 is $19.99 once with no AI. Editor Plus starts at $10 month-to-month or $100/year for 5,000 AI sentence rewrites per month.
Observed free-editor coverage
Where the free style checks left grammar errors unchanged
Hemingway's free editor focuses on readability and style. In this same-input check, it did not provide the expected grammar correction for any of the eight errors.
For each example, we used the same American-English input with both tools and compared their outputs with the expected minimal correction. These examples are not an overall accuracy ranking.
Refine v1.34 with Gemma 4 E2B and Hemingway free web editor, observed 2026-07-31; both using American English.
What the same-input check showed
The local language-model output matched the expected minimal correction in all eight examples. Hemingway's free editor supplied no grammar correction; one input received only a generic adverb highlight.
Adjective before a noun
The noun “decision” needs the adjective “quick” here, not the adverb “quickly.”
Text to check
The team made a quickly decision before noon.
Expected change
Local language model: Caught
Changed “quickly” to “quick.”
Hemingway free editor: No grammar correction
Highlighted “quickly” as an adverb, but did not identify that “quick” was needed before the noun. The visible correction action was “Fix this with AI.”
Object pronoun after a verb
The pronoun is the direct object of “thanked,” so it needs the object form “her,” not “she.”
Text to check
The courier thanked she for the detailed note.
Expected change
Local language model: Caught
Changed “she” to “her.”
Hemingway free editor: No grammar correction
No relevant grammar finding or correction; the error stayed unchanged.
Plural subject–verb agreement
The plural subject “doors” takes “have,” not the singular form “has.”
Text to check
The warehouse doors has closed for the night.
Expected change
Local language model: Caught
Changed “has” to “have.”
Hemingway free editor: No grammar correction
No relevant grammar finding or correction; the error stayed unchanged.
Base verb after a modal
After the modal “must,” English uses the base verb “check,” not “checks.”
Text to check
The driver must checks the mirrors before leaving.
Expected change
Local language model: Caught
Changed “checks” to “check.”
Hemingway free editor: No grammar correction
No relevant grammar finding or correction; the error stayed unchanged.
Preposition before a destination
When “arrive” names a destination, English normally introduces that destination with a preposition such as “at.”
Text to check
The delivery truck arrived the warehouse before dawn.
Expected change
Local language model: Caught
Changed “arrived the warehouse” to “arrived at the warehouse.”
Hemingway free editor: No grammar correction
No relevant grammar finding or correction; the error stayed unchanged.
Do-support in a direct question
A direct “why” question with an ordinary verb needs “did” before the subject, with the main verb in its base form.
Text to check
Why the meeting ended early?
Expected change
Local language model: Caught
Changed “Why the meeting ended” to “Why did the meeting end.”
Hemingway free editor: No grammar correction
No relevant grammar finding or correction; the error stayed unchanged.
Past tense of “write”
The time word “yesterday” calls for the finite past form “wrote.” “Written” is a participle and cannot stand alone as the finite verb here.
Text to check
The clerk written the final note yesterday.
Expected change
Local language model: Caught
Changed “written” to “wrote.”
Hemingway free editor: No grammar correction
No relevant grammar finding or correction; the error stayed unchanged.
Negating an infinitive
To negate this infinitive, “not” belongs before “to.” The finite form “don't” cannot fill that position.
Text to check
The host asked us to don't open the side door.
Expected change
Local language model: Caught
Changed “to don't” to “not to.”
Hemingway free editor: No grammar correction
No relevant grammar finding or correction; the error stayed unchanged.
Which writing assistant should you choose?
Choose Refine for private help across your Mac
Refine is a better fit when you want contextual writing help where you already type, backed by a local model and a one-time license.
- You want grammar and fluency suggestions across email, browsers, notes, editors, and chat apps.
- You want local AI that continues working without an internet connection.
- You write in languages beyond English or need inline translation and explanations.
Choose Hemingway for focused readability editing
Hemingway is a better fit when a dedicated document editor, grade-level score, and clear style highlights are central to your process.
- You want a free readability checker for English prose.
- You prefer writing, importing, and exporting documents in one focused editor.
- You want explicit targets and highlights for sentence complexity, passive voice, adverbs, and word choice.
Refine vs Hemingway Editor FAQ
Is there a free alternative to Hemingway Editor?
Hemingway already offers a free web editor for readability scoring and style highlights. Refine is a paid Mac app with a full-featured trial, local AI models, and writing help across many apps rather than only inside a dedicated editor.
Do Refine and Hemingway Editor work offline?
Refine's local models work offline after download. Hemingway Desktop 3 also works without internet, but its official page says it does not include the newer AI features. Hemingway describes Editor Plus AI as cloud-based.
Which option keeps AI writing checks on my Mac?
Refine runs downloaded AI models on your Mac, so checked text is not uploaded to Refine servers. Editor Plus sends relevant content through Hemingway and an LLM host, but Hemingway says it discards document content after processing and prohibits training. Its separate Classic app stays on-device without the newer AI features.
Did Hemingway's free editor correct the tested grammar errors?
No. In our scoped eight-input check, the free editor supplied no grammar correction. It highlighted “quickly” as an adverb in one sentence, but did not identify that the adjective “quick” was required; the visible correction action required AI. This result does not evaluate Editor Plus.
When is Hemingway Editor a better fit?
Choose Hemingway when you primarily edit English documents and want its readability grade, document statistics, color-coded style highlights, and import or export workflow.
When is Refine a better Hemingway alternative?
Choose Refine when you want private local AI across most Mac apps, offline grammar and fluency help, support for more than 50 languages and variants, translation, explanations, and custom prompts.
Source notes
Hemingway product details and listed US prices were reviewed July 31, 2026. Features and prices can change after review.
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Try local writing help across your Mac
Download Refine and use the full-featured trial before buying a lifetime license.
v1.34
macOS 14+
Full-featured 7-day free trial