Best Spell Checker for Mac in 2026

The best spell checker for Mac depends on whether you want errors flagged or fixed. Every Mac already has a spell checker: the red squiggle. What most people are actually looking for is a spelling corrector, one that fixes the typo without stopping to ask. Charm is the top pick there, correcting silently in every app you type in, on-device, for a one-time $9.99. macOS's own built-in checking is the best free starting point, Grammarly is stronger for catching the wrong-word errors a spell checker cannot see, and LanguageTool leads if you write in more than one language.

How we ranked these tools

A spelling corrector on Mac is only as useful as the apps it covers. This ranking prioritises four factors: system-wide coverage, correction quality, privacy, and price. Red squiggles that show up in one app but not another are not a solution - they are a partial hint. A true spelling corrector should work wherever you write.

Research shows that adults make approximately 3-5 typos per 100 words when typing at normal speed. Across a full workday of writing, that adds up fast - and most of those mistakes happen in native apps like Slack, Mail, and Notion, not in browser tabs.

1. Charm - Best for Silent Correction in Every App

Charm is a native macOS menu bar app that corrects spelling across every application on your Mac. Its Spells feature works like a silent autocorrect - it detects a misspelling the moment you finish typing a word and replaces it automatically, in under 200 milliseconds, with no visible red underline and no confirmation prompt.

The coverage is comprehensive. Charm works in Apple Mail, Apple Notes, Pages, Safari, Slack, VS Code, Obsidian, Notion, Terminal, and every other app that accepts text input - except password fields, which are excluded for security. You configure it once, and from that point it runs invisibly in the background across your entire Mac.

Charm processes everything on-device. Your text never touches a server, no account is required, and there is no subscription. It requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later and costs $9.99 as a one-time purchase.

Beyond spelling, Charm includes two additional features: Polish for sentence-level grammar fixing, and Oracle for contextual next-word prediction with tab-to-accept. For pure spelling correction, Spells is the star - but the full package makes the $9.99 price genuinely hard to argue against.

Best for: Anyone who wants typos fixed as they type, everywhere on the Mac, including Slack, VS Code and other apps the system checker never reaches.

Not for: Anyone wanting a free tool, or running macOS 13 Ventura or earlier. Charm is $9.99 with no free tier, and it fixes mechanics rather than rewriting your sentences.

2. macOS Built-In Autocorrect - Best free option

macOS includes a built-in autocorrect system that works system-wide in most native Apple apps. It is free, requires no installation, and handles common misspellings reasonably well for everyday English. For casual users who only write in Apple's own apps, it covers the basics without any setup.

The limitations become apparent quickly. macOS autocorrect relies on a fixed dictionary and is notoriously poor at handling phonetic misspellings - the kind where you know roughly how a word sounds but not how it is spelled. It also struggles with technical jargon, product names, and uncommon proper nouns, often replacing correct specialist terms with wrong common words.

Coverage is another weakness. macOS autocorrect does not function in many third-party apps, including Slack, VS Code, and most Electron-based applications. If you spend significant time in those apps, the built-in tool offers no protection.

For users who primarily write in Mail, Notes, and Pages and have simple spelling needs, macOS autocorrect is a serviceable free option. For anyone writing across a broader range of apps or dealing with technical vocabulary, its gaps are significant. See our full comparison: Charm vs macOS Built-In Autocorrect.

Best for: Casual writing inside Apple's own apps, at no cost and with no installation.

Not for: Phonetic misspellings, where you know how a word sounds but not how it is spelled, and any app outside Apple's own, where it does not run.

3. Grammarly - Best for browser-based spelling

Grammarly's spell checking is excellent inside a browser. As a Chrome, Safari, or Firefox extension, it catches misspellings, contextual errors, and homophones (words that sound right but are spelled wrong for the context, such as "their" vs "there") with high accuracy. For writers who do most of their work inside web apps - Google Docs, Notion Web, Gmail in a browser tab - Grammarly is a strong performer.

The hard limitation on Mac is platform coverage. Grammarly on Mac is a browser extension only. It does not work in Apple Mail, Slack desktop, VS Code, Pages, or any native Mac application. According to productivity research, knowledge workers spend over 60% of their typing time in native desktop apps, not browser tabs. For that majority of writing, Grammarly is completely absent on Mac.

Grammarly Free includes basic spell checking. Grammarly Premium costs $144 per year and adds grammar, style, and clarity suggestions. For spelling correction specifically, the free tier covers the core functionality inside your browser. For a deeper look at how these two compare across all features, see Charm vs Grammarly.

Best for: Writers working mostly in the browser who want homophones and wrong-word errors caught, not just misspellings.

Not for: Native Mac apps outside the browser, and anyone who needs their text to stay on their own machine.

4. LanguageTool - Best for multilingual spelling

LanguageTool is a strong choice for users who write in multiple languages. It supports spell and grammar checking in over 30 languages via browser extension and a standalone desktop app. For non-English writers or bilingual professionals, its language breadth is unmatched in this category.

Like Grammarly, the browser extension is LanguageTool's primary delivery method on Mac. The desktop app adds some coverage, but it is not the seamless system-wide integration that Charm provides through macOS accessibility APIs. Coverage in native apps varies by application.

LanguageTool Premium costs $60 per year. A free tier exists with word limits and reduced language coverage. If your primary use case is multilingual writing inside browsers or Google Docs, LanguageTool is worth considering. For Mac-first, English-first users, it offers less value than Charm at a higher ongoing cost. More detail is available in our comparison: Charm vs LanguageTool for Mac.

LanguageTool is precise about what it does with your text, and the wording repays a close read. Its own site says: "To respect your privacy, no text is stored by the browser add-on." That is a promise about storage, not transmission, so your writing is still sent to its servers to be checked unless you run the open-source server yourself (checked 27 August 2026).

Best for: Bilingual and non-English writers. Its breadth of language support is unmatched in this group.

Not for: Seamless system-wide correction, since the browser extension is the main delivery route on Mac.

5. Apple Intelligence Proofread - Free option for macOS 15 Apple apps

Apple Intelligence, available on macOS 15 Sequoia with compatible Apple Silicon hardware, includes a Proofread feature that checks spelling and grammar in Mail, Notes, Pages, and other Apple apps. It is free and runs on-device, which aligns with Apple's privacy commitments.

The significant limitation is scope. Apple Intelligence Proofread is reactive, not real-time - it checks your writing after the fact rather than correcting as you type. It also applies only inside Apple's own applications. If you write in Slack, VS Code, Obsidian, or any third-party app, Proofread does not help. It is a useful addition for Apple app users on macOS 15, but not a replacement for a dedicated spelling corrector.

Proofread also requires macOS 15 Sequoia, an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later), and at least 8GB of RAM. For users on macOS 14 or Intel Macs, it is not available at all.

The hardware floor here is absolute. Apple's own How to get Apple Intelligence page gives the requirement as "Mac computers with Apple silicon" on macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later, plus 7 GB of on-device storage for the models (checked 27 August 2026). No Intel Mac qualifies, whatever version of macOS it runs.

Best for: Apple Silicon owners on macOS 15 who want a free proofreading pass inside Apple's apps.

Not for: Intel Mac owners, who cannot run it at all, and anyone wanting correction as they type rather than a check they trigger afterwards.

Comparison table

Why red squiggles are not enough

Spell check that marks errors with a red underline is useful - but only if you see it. In many Mac apps, you do not get red squiggles at all. Slack, VS Code, Obsidian, and most Electron apps do not render the standard macOS spell-check underline. You type, you send, and the misspelling goes out uncorrected.

Even where red squiggles do appear, they create friction. You have to stop, right-click, select the correction, and continue. Multiply that across the 3-5 typos per 100 words that average typists produce and the interruptions accumulate throughout a workday. Silent autocorrection - the approach Charm takes - removes the interruption entirely. The mistake disappears before you even notice it was there.

For users with dyslexia, ADHD, or other conditions that affect spelling, silent correction in every app is not just convenient: it is the difference between feeling supported everywhere you write versus only in browser tabs. The full picture on why built-in tools fall short is covered in our guide to best Grammarly alternatives for Mac.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best spelling corrector for Mac?

It depends whether you want errors flagged or fixed. Every Mac already has a spell checker built in, the red squiggle. If you want misspellings corrected silently as you type in native apps such as Mail, Notes and Pages, and corrected on Option-Command-V in Slack, VS Code and other Electron apps, Charm is the strongest pick at a one-time $9.99, on-device with no account. If you mainly write in a browser and want wrong-word errors caught too, Grammarly covers that better.

Does macOS have a built-in spelling corrector?

Yes. macOS includes autocorrect that works system-wide in most native apps. However, it relies on a fixed dictionary and struggles with phonetic misspellings, technical jargon, names, and uncommon words. It also fails silently in many third-party apps like Slack and VS Code.

Does Grammarly correct spelling on Mac outside the browser?

No. Grammarly on Mac is a browser extension only. It corrects spelling inside Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, but does nothing in native Mac apps like Mail, Slack, Pages, or VS Code. For system-wide spelling correction, you need a dedicated Mac app like Charm.

What is the difference between spell check and autocorrect on Mac?

Spell check marks misspelled words with a red underline so you can correct them manually. Autocorrect replaces the misspelling automatically as you type. Charm's Spells feature is a silent autocorrect - it fixes mistakes immediately without displaying any visual indicators, so your work is never interrupted.

Is there a spelling corrector for Mac that works in Slack and VS Code?

Yes - Charm. It uses macOS accessibility APIs to correct spelling in every application, including Slack, VS Code, Obsidian, Terminal, and any other app where you type. Most spelling tools only work in browsers or Apple's own apps. Charm covers everything.