Hemingway Editor
Color-coded readability analysis. Flags complex sentences, passive voice, adverbs, and reading grade level in real time.
What should journalists know about Hemingway Editor?
Hemingway does one thing and does it well: it shows you where your writing is dense. Color-coded highlights for hard-to-read sentences (yellow/red), passive voice (green), adverbs (blue), and complex phrases (purple). The readability grade is genuinely useful for journalism — most news copy should land at grade 6-9, and Hemingway tells you instantly where you stand. The free web version is fully functional for editing. The desktop app adds offline access for $19.99. Editor Plus layers on AI-powered rewrites via OpenAI, with tone adjustment across eight styles (confident, friendly, casual, professional, persuasive, etc.), grammar correction, and synonym suggestions. The AI rewrites are competent but generic — they'll tighten a sentence but strip voice. Best used as a second-pass tool: write in your own editor, paste into Hemingway for a clarity check, then fix the flagged sentences yourself rather than accepting AI rewrites wholesale.
Tightening prose for general-audience stories. Catching passive voice and overly complex sentences. Quick readability grade checks before filing. Freelancers self-editing without a copy desk. Dropping reading level on public-facing content.
Grammar and spelling (it's not Grammarly — use a dedicated grammar tool alongside it). Style guidance or voice coaching. Long-form writing workflow — there's no document management, no plugins, no browser extension. Creative or literary writing where intentional complexity is the point. Mobile — no apps or phone keyboards exist.
Security & Privacy
Data is scrambled while being sent to their servers
Data is scrambled when stored on their servers
Where servers are located — affects which governments can request your data
Privacy policy summary
The free web version runs readability analysis in the browser — text is not sent to servers. The desktop app is fully offline. Editor Plus sends text to OpenAI servers for AI rewrites. Hemingway states: 'We will never sell your data, let others use it to train an AI, or use it for advertising.' But the privacy policy is thin — no explicit data retention timeline, no detail on how long OpenAI retains submitted text, and no SOC 2 or independent audit mentioned. IP address and browser data collected for analytics.
How to protect yourself:
Use the free web version or desktop app for sensitive drafts — text stays local. If using Editor Plus AI features, do not paste unpublished investigative material or source-identifying text. The desktop app works fully offline with no server connection. For grammar checking on sensitive text, pair Hemingway (offline) with a local spell-checker rather than a cloud grammar tool.
Free web version and desktop app keep text local — no server transmission for core readability features. Editor Plus sends text through OpenAI for AI rewrites, with a stated no-sell/no-training policy but limited transparency on retention. No SOC 2 certification or independent security audit disclosed. Low risk for most editing use cases; avoid Plus for sensitive unpublished material.
Who Owns This
Known issues
No browser extension or mobile app — copy-paste workflow only. Flags legitimate adverbs and passive voice even when contextually appropriate; blindly following all suggestions flattens voice. No repetition detection (echoed words, repeated sentence starters). AI rewrites via Editor Plus tend toward generic phrasing — useful for structure, but strip distinctive voice. Long-form content is tedious to review since there's no section navigation or chapter handling. No plugin ecosystem. Editor Plus requires internet; desktop app is offline but has no AI features. Privacy policy lacks specifics on data retention for text processed through OpenAI.
Pricing
Free web version (full readability analysis, no account required). Desktop app: $19.99 one-time (offline, lifetime updates). Editor Plus: $8.33/month billed annually ($100/year) for 5,000 AI rewrites, or $12.50/month ($150/year) for 10,000. Team plan available at $12.50/user/month. 14-day free trial with 200 AI rewrites, no credit card.
This is an editorial assessment based on publicly available information as of 2026-04-02, using our published methodology. Independent security review is pending. Security posture can change at any time. This is not a guarantee of safety.
Something wrong or outdated? Report it.