Best passive voice checkers
The best passive voice checker depends on where you write. For a paste-and-check with a count, a percentage and an explanation of every flag, use a dedicated tool. For checking as you type in email and documents, you want a writing assistant with a browser extension. For WordPress, Yoast's readability check is already there. This page compares nine options on what they catch, what they miss, cost and privacy.
The comparison
| Tool | Where it works | Finds get/modal/infinitive passives | Separates adjectives (“I am interested”) | Count and % | Cost | Text stays in browser |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PassiveVoiceChecker (this site) | paste on the web | yes | yes, three tiers | yes, with benchmarks | free, no limit | yes |
| Hemingway Editor | web app; desktop app | partly | no | count | web free; Editor Plus paid | yes (web editor) |
| Grammarly | browser extension, apps, web | partly | no | no | free tier; premium for rewrites | no |
| ProWritingAid | extension, apps, web | partly | no | in reports | free tier; premium | no |
| Datayze passive voice detector | paste on the web | partly | no | count | free | — |
| Sapling | paste on the web; API | partly | no | per sentence | free tool | no |
| Yoast SEO | WordPress editor | partly | no | % with 10% threshold | free plugin | — |
| Microsoft Word | Word, Outlook | partly | no | no | included | — |
| Google Docs | Docs | partly | no | no | paid Workspace editions only | — |
“Partly” means the tool catches the standard be + participle pattern and some but not all of the get, modal and infinitive forms; we did not find any of them publishing a test set, so the column reflects our own spot checks and reviewers’ notes, not a formal benchmark.
Notes on each
Hemingway Editor. The web editor highlights passive sentences in green and counts them; it is the choice of many writers who want a fast, free pass and nothing else. It treats every be + -ed as passive, so “I was tired” counts. The paid Editor Plus adds AI rewrites.
Grammarly. Flags passive voice under clarity with the label “passive voice misuse” — see our guide to that flag. Its strength is being everywhere you type. Just Publishing Advice notes that the free version’s passive detection is limited compared with premium.
ProWritingAid. Offers a free passive voice checker page and a passive-to-active converter as entry points to its editing suite, which has more than twenty reports and browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge. Good if you want passive voice as one check among many.
Datayze. A long-running free detector that highlights the auxiliary and the verb separately and has a button that inserts “by zombies” into each flagged sentence so you can run the zombie test visually. No account.
Sapling. Free paste-in checker with a sentence-by-sentence verdict and an API for developers; Proofed’s review also mentions a passive-to-active converter.
Yoast SEO. If you write in WordPress you already have it. It counts sentences containing passive voice and warns above 10%; Yoast’s own description and our percentage guide explain the threshold.
Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Both can flag passive voice but neither gives a count, and both are off by default or restricted to certain plans. Our Word and Google Docs guides show how to turn them on.
How to choose
- You have a document and want to know where the passives are: a paste-in tool. Ours gives you the count, the percentage against benchmarks, and the reason for each flag, and keeps the text on your device.
- You want to be stopped as you type, everywhere: a writing assistant with an extension. Expect the full passive feature set to be paid.
- You publish on WordPress and care about readability scores: Yoast is already measuring it.
- You teach: the free paste-in tools plus our worksheet and quiz.
Whatever you use, remember that the flag is a question, not a verdict. Every tool on this list over-flags adjectives and under-flags the unusual passive forms, and none of them knows whether the doer matters to your reader. That part is still yours.
Questions people ask
- What is the best free passive voice checker?
For a one-off check of pasted text, a dedicated browser-based tool (ours, Datayze or Hemingway’s web editor) gives you every passive with no sign-up. For checking as you type across apps, Grammarly or ProWritingAid, though full passive-voice rewriting sits in their paid tiers.
- Does Grammarly's free version check passive voice?
Grammarly offers a free passive voice checker page, and its free product shows some clarity suggestions. Reviewers note that fuller passive-voice flagging and rewriting are part of the paid plans.
- Which checker is most accurate?
None is perfect. Rule-based tools find the be + participle pattern reliably and differ mainly in how they handle adjectival look-alikes (“I am interested”) and non-be passives (“got fired,” “needs to be done”). Ours publishes its test set and pass rate; most do not.
- Is my text private?
Tools that run in your browser (ours, Hemingway’s web editor) do not send your text anywhere. Writing assistants and most web checkers send it to a server for analysis; check their privacy terms if the text is confidential.
Check your own text
Paste a paragraph. The check runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Open the full checker for benchmarks and longer texts.