Most Grammarly issues on Mac fall into one of five categories. Understanding them helps you either fix the problem or recognise that the limitation is by design - and decide whether a different tool solves it better. Some of these are genuine bugs with fixes; others are architectural constraints with no workaround.
1. Only the Browser Extension Is Installed
This is the most common source of confusion. Grammarly on Mac comes in two parts. The browser extension works inside web pages in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. The separate Grammarly for Mac app is what brings suggestions to desktop apps such as Apple Mail, Word, Outlook and Slack. If you only installed the extension, Grammarly will not appear outside your browser.
The fix is to download the Grammarly for Mac app from Grammarly's website, sign in, and give it the Accessibility permission it asks for in System Settings > Privacy & Security. Once it is running, a Grammarly button appears beside supported text fields in desktop apps as well as in your browser.
If the Mac app is installed and still shows nothing, check that it is running in the menu bar and that its Accessibility permission is still switched on; macOS can drop the permission after an update. How to check grammar across your Mac covers the options in detail.
2. The App Is Not One Grammarly Supports
Grammarly's Mac app works in many desktop apps, but not every one. Grammarly keeps a list of supported apps on its site; if the app you are writing in is not on it, suggestions will not appear there, whatever you change in Grammarly's settings.
Grammarly names Slack, Discord and Apple Mail among the hundreds of desktop apps it supports, plus Word and Outlook. Code editors and some specialist apps are not on the list. If you write somewhere unsupported, the web version of that app in your browser is often covered by the extension instead.
Charm works differently. It uses the macOS Accessibility API and corrects as you type, rather than showing suggestions, and it does not depend on a list of supported apps. In code editors it starts in Manual, where you select text and press Option-Command-V.
3. Grammarly Keyboard Shortcut Conflicts
Grammarly's suggestion acceptance shortcuts can conflict with keyboard shortcuts inside the apps you are writing in. The most common issue is Cmd+Z: pressing Cmd+Z to undo a Grammarly suggestion can trigger the host app's undo history instead, leading to confusing behaviour where text disappears unexpectedly. This is a genuine bug rather than a design constraint - it arises from the way browser extension keyboard event handling interacts with the host page's own shortcuts.
The fix is to use the mouse to dismiss or accept Grammarly suggestions rather than keyboard shortcuts in contexts where conflicts occur. Some users also report that disabling Grammarly's keyboard navigation in its settings (the Grammarly extension options page) reduces conflicts. This issue does not affect all users and is most noticeable in complex browser-based editors like Google Docs or Notion web.
4. Grammarly Suggestions Appear in a Sidebar, Not Inline
Grammarly surfaces detailed suggestions in a sidebar panel rather than correcting inline as you type. Accepting a suggestion requires moving attention from the text to the sidebar, clicking the suggestion, and returning to writing. For users who want corrections to appear silently in the text - the model used by macOS autocorrect and Charm - this context-switching breaks writing flow.
This is a design choice rather than a malfunction. Grammarly's approach prioritises showing you the suggestion and the reason for it before applying a change, which has value for deliberate editing. But for fast-paced writing - emails, Slack messages, meeting notes - a sidebar interrupt is disruptive. If the suggestions appear correctly but the experience feels too slow or interruptive, this is the reason: Grammarly is built for review-mode editing, not flow-state writing.
5. Grammarly Processes All Your Text on Its Servers
This is not a malfunction - it is the correct and documented behaviour. Every piece of text you write in a Grammarly-enabled field is sent to Grammarly's servers for processing. This is stated in Grammarly's privacy policy and is how the service works. For most casual use, this is not a significant concern. But for users handling confidential documents - legal contracts, medical records, financial reports, client communications under NDA - sending that text to a third-party server is a genuine issue rather than a paranoid one.
For sensitive professional content, the implication is that Grammarly should be disabled in those contexts. The alternative is an on-device tool: Charm processes everything locally. Your keystrokes never leave your Mac. Spells and Polish run entirely on-device with no server connection required, no API key field, and no cloud option. See Is Grammarly safe on Mac for a detailed breakdown of the privacy implications.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't Grammarly work in Mac apps?
On Mac, Grammarly comes in two parts: a browser extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge, and a Mac app for desktop apps such as Apple Mail, Word and Slack. If you only installed the extension, Grammarly will not appear outside your browser. Download the Mac app from Grammarly's site to cover desktop apps too.
Does Grammarly work in Slack desktop on Mac?
No. Slack is an Electron app and renders content independently of your browser, so the Grammarly browser extension cannot inject into it. The Slack web app opened in Chrome or Safari does work with Grammarly. Charm, which uses the macOS Accessibility API, works in the Slack desktop app directly.
Why isn't Grammarly showing suggestions?
If Grammarly is not showing suggestions in a browser tab, check that the extension is enabled for that site - click the Grammarly icon in the toolbar and toggle it on. If it is not showing in a desktop app, check that the Grammarly Mac app is installed and running, and that the app you are writing in is one Grammarly supports.
Is there an alternative to Grammarly that works in every Mac app?
Yes. Charm uses the macOS Accessibility API to correct spelling, correct grammar and predict words as you type, including your browser and apps built on the web. All processing happens on-device. It costs $19.99 as a one-time purchase and requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Why does Grammarly work in some apps but not others on Mac?
Grammarly works in browser tabs through its extension, and in desktop apps through its Mac app. If suggestions appear in one but not the other, the missing piece is usually the other half: install whichever part you do not have yet.