How to Check for Plagiarism: 10 Copyscape Alternatives

Are you 100% sure that the content you post on your website is original?

When it comes to testing for plagiarism, Copyscape has long been a leader and a popular option for students, teachers, writers, bloggers, and other content creators.

But is it still best when it comes to detecting and preventing plagiarism?

In 2018, Copyscape switched from a flat fee of 5 cents per search to a variable pricing model that charges 3 cents for the first 200 words and 1 cents for each additional 100 words.

Users have to buy premium credits, which can be confusing at times. If you use Copyscape frequently, the costs can add up faster than you might expect.

As AI technologies have evolved over the past few years, several alternatives to Copyscape have emerged in the market. Some of these tools are free while others have paid plans that are comparable to or lower than Copyscape.

In this article, we’re going to break down the top contenders. But first…

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the act of stealing someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own.

While sites like Google and Amazon try to avoid plagiarism, it is difficult to get a grip on the widespread problem. Google has even accidentally put plagiarized content above original content on occasion.

This is why it’s so important to stay vigilant and proactively protect the originality of your content.

Sometimes plagiarism is malicious and the thief knowingly stole someone else’s work but presented it as his own original idea.

But sometimes plagiarism is an innocent mistake. Maybe someone quoted a source but didn’t add a quote, or paraphrased an idea a little too close to the original content.

It happens.

Before you can deal with plagiarism, you must first recognize it. The tools in this list will help you do this.

Top 10 alternatives to Copyscape’s plagiarism check

1. Grammar

Grammarly is best known as a proofreading tool that checks grammar and analyzes text for readability and room for improvement.

But it also offers a free plagiarism checker that compares your text or file with 16 billion websites and academic papers.

The free version generates an instant report that tells you how many problems your document is having and whether or not plagiarism has been detected, but it doesn’t tell you exactly where those errors are.

To do this, Grammarly offers a premium, paid plagiarism checker that goes much deeper by marking sentences, providing source references, providing extended feedback, and assigning an originality rating to your document.

2. Plagiarism

Like Grammarly and many other options on this list, Plagiarisma comes in both free and paid versions.

To use this plagiarism checker, you can upload it directly to their website or rely on their Windows, Android, BlackBerry or Moodle plugins.

One of the advantages of plagiarism is that it can support 190+ different languages.

You can paste your text directly into Plagiarisma, upload a file, or enter a live url to check for duplicate content.

3. ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a strong competitor to Copyscape, and while it doesn’t offer a free version, it is an affordable alternative by comparison.

You can pay for a monthly, annual, or lifetime subscription, or purchase plagiarism checks in batches if that’s the only feature you’re interested in.

Because the software is based on the number of checks, not the word count, ProWritingAid’s plagiarism checker is ideal for writers with long content such as novels and scripts.

ProWritingAid works with both Windows and Mac and can be integrated into Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Gmail, Open Office and Scrivener, among others.

All desktop functions are also available directly in the web editor if you do not want to install the software.

When you choose Premium, you’ll have access to other tools like a contextual thesaurus, grammar checker, readability reports, and more.

4. Plagiarism check

The main advantage of Plagiarism Checker is that it is completely free and has a simple user interface. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Blackberry and also allows direct upload from Dropbox.

On this platform you have the option of inserting text directly into the plagiarism checker, uploading a file or inserting a website URL.

An additional feature is the ability to exclude a URL if you want to review your website but don’t want a specific page to be included.

The downside – the plagiarism checker can process a maximum of 1,000 words in a single search. So if you have long content, you need to split it up for exams.

5. CopyGator

CopyGator is the ultimate free blogging tool that analyzes your website’s RSS feed and alerts you when your content has been republished elsewhere. This program is a free alternative to Copyscape’s premium Copysentry feature.

To use CopyGator you have two options.

• The first is to add the image badge to your blog. If the badge turns red, CopyGator has detected that your content has been duplicated on another website.
• The second option is to paste your RRS feed directly into CopyGator and then click “View this feed”. All subsequent contributions are then monitored.

6. PlagScan

While PlagScan is available to individual users, it is highly preferred by academic institutions. PlagScan supports almost all popular file types and its index includes academic and scientific journals.

Like other tools on this list, PlagScan allows you to copy and paste text directly, upload a file, or enter a URL for review.

You also have the added versatility of setting up different filters and rules for the plagiarism check so the program knows how sensitively it should look for duplicate information.

You can sign up for a free trial to try it out. PlagScan is a great Copyscape alternative for educational purposes, but if you’re looking for a free or cheap alternative, be aware that the paid options can be expensive if you’re on a tight budget.

7. Plagiarism Detector

This alternative is great for beginners who need a simple, free tool to get started. Plagiarism Detector is similar to Plagiarism Checker with a simple, easy-to-use dashboard.

You can paste your text directly into the analyzer, upload a file, review a url, and exclude a url. The tool allows you to check both grammar and plagiarism.

Plagiarism Detector is free up to 25,000 words and then offers monthly subscription levels. You are also limited to a maximum of 1,000 words per exam at any one time.

8. CopyLeaks

The AI-based algorithms in CopyLeaks are able to analyze text in more than 100 languages.

Your site has tons of helpful tools, including text comparisons, a code checker, a duplicate file finder tool, and site comparisons.

CopyLeaks even offers an automated teacher assessment tool and their new Copyshield program to keep your website safe from plagiarism.

The free version allows you a maximum of 20 scans per month, but the features are limited.

When you’re ready to pay for a monthly subscription, you can get loads of useful bells and whistles. However, if you’re looking for a free alternative to Copyscape, there are others on this list that might suit you better.

9. Plagiarism

Like many of its competitors on this list, Plagium offers both a free and a paid version. You can do a quick search using the free checker, but depth-first search is a paid feature.

With Plagium you can analyze text, urls and files. Their paid plans are affordable when you need more than just the basics. You can either subscribe to a monthly plan or buy credits based on the number of characters you need.

The free version can analyze a maximum of 1,000 words at a time.

10. Unicheck

Unicheck is an all-in-one plagiarism prevention tool that can be tailored for personal, academic, or business use as needed. One of the main advantages of Unicheck is the ability to handle bulk uploads.

Generated reports never expire, so you can view them as often as you want. Unicheck also scans links to matching sources and warns you if the URL appears to point to a malicious site.

Unicheck’s add-ons and browser extensions make it easy to scan content quickly.

However, their plans are a bit pricey compared to some of the other options on this list, and their free plagiarism checker only allows a maximum of 200 words at a time.

The best plagiarism detection tools on the market

Copyscape has rightly earned its place as one of the most popular plagiarism detection tools available.

But while it used to be largely unchallenged, there are new players on the field worth checking out.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one plagiarism checking and proofreading analysis tool, Grammarly and ProWritingAid might be top of your list.

If you’re on a tight budget and want a free way to quickly run a plagiarism scan, then Plagiarism Checker might be a better option.

If you want to scan your RSS feed regularly, CopyGator is probably the ideal choice.

The best tool will be the one that ticks most of the boxes on your checklist and that suits your personal and professional needs.

Keep track of your content and protect your brand’s content by investing in plagiarism tools and having some time on your schedule to use these tools and be consistent with original content.

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