StyleGuard vs textlint

StyleGuard Pro is a text proofing system for spelling, style, word usage and proper names. It tracks edits and proposes corrections as people type, and writers can check text against references such as The Associated Press, The Canadian Press and the Financial Times or use custom dictionaries. StyleGuard Manager lets teams create custom entries and share dictionaries and style rules. The service is available on the web, macOS and Windows, through browser extensions, and via an API for connecting the proofing engine to web CMS or editorial production systems. Listed integrations include Google Docs, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Adobe InDesign. Office compatibility varies: cross-platform add-ins support Microsoft 365 or Office 2016 (16.0.11629) or newer; Windows desktop add-ins support Office 2013 or newer. The subscription is cloud-based and requires an internet connection for cloud text analysis. StyleGuard is paid, has a free trial and starts at $49.99/yr. Listed annual plans include $89.99 a year for the Financial Times Style Guide and Plain Language Style Guide, C$125 a year for Canadian Press Stylebook and Caps & Spelling, and $349 a year for Plain Language for Adobe InDesign.

textlint is a free, open-source tool for checking natural-language text against rules users install and configure. It parses text into an abstract syntax tree, evaluates that structure, and reports errors or warnings. Markdown and plain text are supported by default, while plugins can add HTML and other formats. The tool has no bundled default rules, so users need to select and set up the checks they want. Its CLI can automatically fix problems and produce output in multiple formats. The project lists integrations for Visual Studio Code, Vim, Emacs, Atom, Sublime Text, micro, and NetBeans, and text checks can run in GitHub Actions workflows for commits and pull requests. The CLI can also run as an MCP server, allowing AI assistants to lint and fix text using a project’s textlint configuration. For browser use, @textlint/editor is described as an offline text-linting extension. Developers can use the package’s high-level APIs to integrate textlint into applications. It requires Node.js 20 or later and is MIT-licensed.