Everything you need to know about TidyText — how it works, what it costs, who it's for, and how your data is handled.
Getting started
TidyText is a free, browser-based AI writing tool that improves, polishes, and translates your text. You bring your own API key from Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic, or any compatible provider. No account. No subscription. No data stored on our servers.
Everything happens in your browser — your text goes directly to your chosen AI provider, comes back improved, and stays between you and them.
TidyText itself is completely free. You only pay for the AI API calls you make — and that cost goes directly to your provider (Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.), not us.
Some providers offer a free tier. Google's Gemini API does, but check its terms first: you must be 18 or over, outside the UK, EEA and Switzerland free-tier text may be used by Google to improve its products, and in the UK, EEA and Switzerland we recommend its paid tier (typically fractions of a penny per request). Google also describes the API as for professional or business use, not consumer use, and a paid key doesn't change that — see what Google's terms say.
No. TidyText has no accounts, no sign-up, no email required. Open the app, enter your API key in settings, and you're ready. Your key is saved to your browser's local storage for next time.
Most AI writing tools charge a subscription and use their own API access behind the scenes — you pay them, they pay the AI provider, and take a margin. A bring-your-own-API-key (BYOK) tool like TidyText lets you connect directly to the AI provider you already have an account with.
This means lower cost (no middleman markup), your choice of model, and stronger privacy — the tool itself has no visibility into your content. TidyText is an AI writing tool built on this principle: your key, your model, your text.
TidyText AI is exactly that — an AI text improver with no account, no subscription, and no monthly fee. You bring your own API key from whichever AI provider you choose. The tool is free. The only cost is the API calls you make, which typically amount to fractions of a penny per request.
Google's Gemini API also has a free tier, with conditions — see what Google's terms say before you rely on it. The step-by-step Gemini API guide has full set-up instructions.
TidyText works with:
You choose the provider. TidyText connects directly — it's your key, your model, your cost.
Features & how-tos
TidyText doesn't have a separate humanise mode. Its Improve mode is prompted to fix awkward, repetitive or over-structured phrasing while keeping your rhythm and word choices — and to revise again with more restraint if the result sounds obviously AI-written.
It works best on writing that is genuinely yours. It isn't designed to disguise AI-generated text.
Use Polish mode rather than a full rewrite. Polish corrects errors — spelling, grammar, punctuation — while preserving your sentence structures, vocabulary, and style. It's designed for writers who want clean copy, not homogenised copy.
If you want to adjust the result further, try Improve mode, which rewrites for clarity while keeping your intent intact.
Yes. TidyText includes a dedicated translation mode. Select your target language, paste your text, and TidyText's translation prompt asks the model for a natural, idiomatic translation rather than a word-for-word rendering.
Because it uses the same frontier AI models as your chosen provider, translation quality is typically excellent across major languages.
Yes. Translation in TidyText requires no signup, no account, and no subscription — just your API key from your chosen provider. Open the app, switch to Translate mode, pick a target language from the 44 available, and paste your text. That's it.
TidyText's translation prompt asks the model to translate for meaning, rhythm and register rather than word for word, aiming for text that reads naturally in the target language — and the Editor's Notes explain the key choices it made.
Yes. TidyText auto-detects the language of whatever you paste in and edits in that language — not a translated version of English grammar rules. Write in French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Hindi, or any of the 44 supported languages and the improvement respects native conventions.
Translation mode supports the same 44 languages. The tool is built from the ground up for multilingual use — not English-first with translation bolted on.
This is what TidyText's prompts are specifically tuned for. Rather than defaulting to neutral corporate language, TidyText aims to improve clarity and correctness while keeping the human qualities of the original.
Use Improve for both personal and professional writing. If a result still feels too formal, press Try again for a noticeably different take, or edit the result yourself.
Absolutely. Paste your draft email, choose the appropriate mode (Polish for a light clean-up, Improve for clarity, or a custom tone), and TidyText returns a version ready to send.
It's particularly useful for non-native English speakers writing professional emails — improving naturalness and register without losing the original meaning.
Privacy & data
Not on any server of ours — TidyText has none for your text. Your text goes directly from your browser to your chosen AI provider, which processes it under its own terms. Your API key, settings and last 20 results are saved only in your browser's localStorage, where you can delete them from Settings.
We have no database of user activity and no way to see what you've written. See our full Privacy Policy for details.
No cookies, no advertising and no tracking pixels. We measure visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, which sets no cookies and doesn't receive the text you write. TidyText uses localStorage to remember your API key, settings and last 20 results. Full details are in our Cookie Policy.
Not by TidyText — we never receive your text. Whether your AI provider uses it depends on the provider and your plan. On Google's free Gemini tier, Google uses prompts and responses to improve its products and human reviewers may read them — except for users in the UK, EEA and Switzerland, where Google applies its paid-tier data terms; on Google's paid tier it doesn't. Other providers have their own terms, so check the API terms for the one you use. See our Privacy Policy for a summary.
TidyText vs alternatives
They serve different needs. TidyText is better if you want:
Grammarly offers things TidyText doesn't, such as browser extensions and a mobile keyboard. TidyText is a deliberate alternative — not a replacement for everything Grammarly does.
QuillBot is best known for paraphrasing. TidyText focuses on light-touch improvement that keeps your voice, with notes explaining each change. Key differences:
If the answer isn't here, send us a message. We read everything.
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