BeLikeNative

You opened a Google Doc, started writing an email, or jumped into Outlook and Grammarly just… isn’t there. No suggestions. No green circle. Nothing. If you’re asking “is Grammarly down?” right now, you’re not alone. Grammarly outages affect millions of users, and when the service goes down, your writing workflow grinds to a halt.

This page covers how to check if Grammarly is actually down, how to fix the most common Grammarly issues, and what to use as a backup grammar checker when Grammarly isn’t available.

Is Grammarly Down Right Now?

The fastest way to check whether Grammarly is experiencing an outage is to visit their official status page:

• Official status page: status.grammarly.com shows real-time updates on Grammarly’s servers, browser extension, desktop app, and mobile keyboard. According to Grammarly’s support documentation, this is the primary resource for checking service health [1].
• Third-party monitoring: Downdetector’s Grammarly page aggregates user-submitted outage reports and shows whether problems are spiking right now.

If the official status page says “All Systems Operational” but Grammarly still isn’t working for you, the problem is likely on your end. In that case, skip ahead to the troubleshooting section below.

If both sources confirm an outage, there is nothing to do on your end except wait for Grammarly’s engineering team to resolve it. Grammarly typically experiences several outages per year, ranging from partial degradation to full service interruptions that can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.

During an outage, you need a grammar checker that does not depend on Grammarly’s infrastructure. More on that below.

Common Grammarly Issues and How To Fix Them

If Grammarly’s servers are fine but the tool still isn’t working, the issue is almost always related to your browser, your extension settings, or a conflict with the site you’re using. Grammarly’s own troubleshooting guide recommends working through these fixes in order [2]. Here are the most common problems and their fixes.

Grammarly Chrome Extension Not Working

The Chrome extension is Grammarly’s most popular product, and it’s also the one that breaks most often. Try these fixes in order:

1. Disable and re-enable the extension. Go to chrome://extensions/, find Grammarly, toggle it off, wait five seconds, and toggle it back on.
2. Remove and reinstall. If toggling didn’t help, click “Remove” on the extension, then reinstall it from the Chrome Web Store. This clears any corrupted extension data.
3. Update Chrome. Grammarly requires a recent version of Chrome. Go to chrome://settings/help to check for updates.
4. Test in Incognito mode. Open an Incognito window, make sure Grammarly is allowed in Incognito (you can enable this at chrome://extensions/ under Grammarly’s details), and test again. If it works in Incognito, another extension is likely interfering.
5. Check for extension conflicts. Ad blockers, privacy extensions, and other writing tools can interfere with Grammarly. Temporarily disable other extensions and test one by one to find the conflict.

Grammarly Not Working in Google Docs

This is the single most common Grammarly complaint. Google Docs uses a custom text rendering engine that doesn’t behave like a standard text field, which makes integration inherently difficult.

1. Enable the Google Docs setting. Open the Grammarly extension, click the gear icon, and make sure “Check writing on Google Docs” is toggled on. This setting is off by default for some users.
2. Clear your session. Log out of Grammarly, clear your browser cookies for app.grammarly.com, then log back in. Stale authentication tokens frequently cause the Docs integration to fail silently.
3. Check your editing mode. Grammarly only works when Google Docs is set to “Editing” mode. If you’re in “Suggesting” or “Viewing” mode, Grammarly will not load. Check the dropdown in the upper-right of your document.

It’s worth noting that Grammarly’s Google Docs integration has a long history of reliability issues. Many users report it working intermittently regardless of settings. If you write frequently in Google Docs, consider having a second grammar tool available. Our guide to grammar checking in Google Docs covers alternatives that work reliably.

Grammarly Not Working in Outlook

Grammarly’s behavior in Outlook depends on which version of Outlook you use:

1. Check the add-in. In Outlook desktop, go to File, then Options, then Add-ins. Make sure the Grammarly add-in is listed and enabled. If it’s in the “Disabled” list, re-enable it.
2. Desktop app requirement. Grammarly for Outlook desktop requires the Grammarly desktop app to be installed and running, not just the browser extension.
3. Use Outlook Web instead. Grammarly’s Chrome extension works reliably in Outlook Web (outlook.office.com). If you’re stuck, switching to the web version is often the fastest fix.

If you’re having broader spell-check problems in Outlook, our Outlook spell check troubleshooting guide covers both built-in and third-party solutions.

Having spell check issues in Microsoft Edge? See our Edge spell check troubleshooting guide for step-by-step fixes.

Grammarly Not Loading or Spinning

If you see the Grammarly icon but it spins indefinitely or shows a loading screen that never resolves, the problem is usually one of these:

• Server-side issue. Check status.grammarly.com first. A spinning loader with no error message often means the service is degraded but not fully down.
• Cache problem. Clear your browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+Delete or Cmd+Shift+Delete), then do a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) on the page where Grammarly isn’t loading.
• Network interference. VPNs, corporate firewalls, and certain DNS configurations can block Grammarly’s servers. Try disconnecting from your VPN or switching to a public DNS like 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8 to test. Grammarly’s support team specifically mentions this as a common cause of connection errors [3].

BeLikeNative vs Grammarly: A Quick Comparison

If Grammarly going down has you looking at alternatives, here’s an honest side-by-side comparison.

To be straightforward: Grammarly is a more comprehensive and mature tool. It has deeper integrations, a larger feature set, and years of refinement behind it. BeLikeNative is lighter, cheaper, and purpose-built for people who write in English as a second language. It also includes translation and paraphrasing in its free tier, which Grammarly does not.

For a deeper comparison, our guide to free Grammarly alternatives for students breaks down the differences in detail.

How To Prevent Grammar Tool Outages From Affecting You

Relying on a single grammar checker means a single point of failure. Here are three ways to protect your writing workflow:

1. Keep a backup grammar tool installed. Having a second Chrome extension like BeLikeNative means you can keep writing even when your primary tool goes down. You don’t need to use both daily, but having a backup ready saves time during outages. BeLikeNative also works in Microsoft Teams, Slack, and other collaboration tools.
2. Leave your browser’s native spell check enabled. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all have built-in spell checkers. They won’t catch grammar issues, but they’ll catch typos and misspellings as a baseline. Make sure this isn’t disabled in your browser settings.
3. Save important drafts locally. If you’re writing something critical and your grammar tool goes down mid-edit, copy the text into a local document. You can paste it back and run checks once the service is restored. This also protects you against browser crashes.

If you use Gmail for professional correspondence, having a backup grammar checker is especially important. A misspelled word or awkward sentence in a client email leaves a lasting impression.

Some users also pair their grammar checker with a paraphrasing tool. If that’s your workflow, our roundup of QuillBot alternatives covers the best free options available right now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Grammarly down right now?

The best way to check is to visit status.grammarly.com for official updates, or check Downdetector for user-reported outages. If both show normal operation, the issue is likely on your end, and the troubleshooting steps above should help.

Why is Grammarly not working in Google Docs?

The most common cause is the Google Docs integration setting being turned off. Open your Grammarly extension settings and make sure “Check writing on Google Docs” is enabled. You also need to be in “Editing” mode, not “Suggesting” mode. If it’s still not working, try logging out and clearing your cookies for app.grammarly.com.

What can I use instead of Grammarly when it’s down?

BeLikeNative is a free Chrome extension that provides grammar checking, translation, and tone adjustment. It runs on independent infrastructure, so it works even when Grammarly’s servers are offline. Install it once and it’s ready whenever you need a backup.

Need grammar checking in Notion? See our Notion grammar check guide for tools that integrate directly.

Is there a free grammar checker that works like Grammarly?

BeLikeNative offers a free tier that includes grammar checking, paraphrasing, and translation. It works across all websites through a Chrome extension, similar to how Grammarly operates. While Grammarly offers deeper English-specific analysis, BeLikeNative is a strong free option, especially for non-native English speakers.

How often does Grammarly go down?

Grammarly typically experiences several outages per year, ranging from brief partial disruptions to longer full-service interruptions. Most outages are resolved within a few hours. You can check Grammarly’s historical uptime at status.grammarly.com, which logs past incidents.

Does clearing my browser cache fix Grammarly?

Yes, in many cases. Cached data and stale cookies are among the most common causes of Grammarly extension failures. Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (or Cmd+Shift+Delete on Mac), clear your cached images and files, then do a hard refresh on the page. Grammarly’s support team recommends this as one of the first troubleshooting steps [2].

Can I use Grammarly and BeLikeNative at the same time?

Yes. Both extensions can be installed simultaneously. Many users keep BeLikeNative installed as a backup and only activate it when Grammarly is unavailable. There are no known conflicts between the two extensions.

Sources

1. Grammarly Status Page – Official real-time service status and incident history.
2. Grammarly Support: Resolve Issues – Official troubleshooting guides and known issues documentation.
3. Grammarly Support: Can’t Connect Error – Official guide for connection errors including VPN and firewall interference.
4. Downdetector: Grammarly – Third-party outage monitoring with user-submitted reports.
5. Grammarly Support: Extension Stopped Working – Official guide for site-specific extension failures.