What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism involves using someone else’s work without proper attribution. Wikipedia describes it as the wrongful appropriation, stealing, and publication of another author’s language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions, and presenting them as original work.
Examples of Plagiarism
Instances of plagiarism abound, and here are several notable examples:
- Copying another person’s work without proper citation.
- Hiring an external writer or using an essay mill to complete assignments.
- Presenting overheard ideas and conversations as your own.
- Reproducing text from websites, library books, and other sources verbatim.
- Using someone else’s images, music, videos, or writing style without their explicit permission, which constitutes a punishable act of plagiarism.
What Are the Different Types of Plagiarism?
Plagiarism can be categorized into five main types:
- Direct Plagiarism: Copying someone’s work word-for-word without proper attribution.
- Self-Plagiarism: Reusing your own previous work for a new assignment without acknowledgment.
- Mosaic or Patchwork Plagiarism: Incorporating text from a source without quotation marks or slightly rephrasing it while retaining the original structure.
- Accidental Plagiarism: Failing to cite sources correctly, misquoting, or neglecting citations unintentionally.
- Outsourcing: Hiring others, such as essay mills or freelance writers, to produce work on your behalf.
We recommend a mix of free and paid plagiarism detection tools to suit various needs and budgets.
Here is the list of top 20 best plagiarism checker tools in 2023:
1. Grammarly
Grammarly stands out as the premier plagiarism checker for teachers and students. Trusted by top universities such as Berkeley, Stanford, and the University of Michigan, it serves as both an automated proofreader and plagiarism detection tool.
How Does Grammarly Process & Detect Plagiarized Content?
Grammarly’s specialized document scanning minimizes the risk of unoriginal text, making it ideal for detecting unintentional plagiarism. It is highly favored by educators. Supported document types include:
- Academic documents (essays, research proposals, case studies, book and literature reviews, etc.)
- Business documents
- Medical documents
- Creative writing (scripts, novels, etc.)
2. Originality.AI
With AI writers like Outranking (read our Outranking review) and Rytr (read our Rytr AI review), the inclusion of AI-generated content by writers is surging.
For bloggers, site owners who outsource content, or academics (students submitting AI-generated essays is no longer far-fetched), having a plagiarism checker that also detects AI content is invaluable.
Originality.AI not only checks for plagiarism but also identifies content generated by AI tools like ChatGPT.
Its straightforward pricing and user-friendly interface make it an excellent choice.
3. ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid’s online plagiarism checker tool is one of the best in the market. It helps to check for copied content in manuscripts, novels, or literary works.
ProWritingAid is the best website for plagiarism checks for authors/creative writers.
Besides being a trusted plagiarism software, ProWritingAid shows up as your writing coach. It detects grammar errors, style issues, and over 20 different mistakes that authors and editors are likely to make.
4. Whitesmoke Plagiarism Checker
Whitesmoke is a highly robust and accurate plagiarism-checking software. In addition to its capabilities as a grammar checker and proofreader, Whitesmoke’s anti-plagiarism tool is widely trusted.
It scans billions of web pages and resources to detect unoriginal or copied content in your documents, displaying any matches found.
Although Whitesmoke’s online plagiarism checker isn’t as renowned or efficient as Grammarly’s, it serves as a great alternative. With integrations for browsers, MS Word, and Outlook, it elevates your content analysis experience significantly.
5. Duplichecker
Duplichecker is a top free plagiarism checker ideal for teachers and writers. It’s completely free, making it perfect for quickly checking writing, school assignments, or student submissions.
Whether you’re outsourcing online content like blog articles from freelance writers, or preparing academic essays, theses, or other assignments, Duplichecker is essential.
Simply paste your text into the text box at the top of the page and click the “check for plagiarism” button. Alternatively, you can upload a Word document if that’s more convenient.
6. PlagiarismCheck.org
PlagiarismCheck.org is a dependable tool designed to assist teachers, students, and online content creators in detecting plagiarism.
It’s particularly beneficial for reviewing your own work for unintentional plagiarism before submitting it to professors or content authorities.
Upon uploading your document, PlagiarismCheck scans and compares your content against a continuously updated database, highlighting any unoriginal sections and generating a detailed plagiarism report.
7. Quetext
Quetext began as a simple duplicate content checker but now offers advanced features, ranking among the top 10 plagiarism checkers. Its free version allows you to paste your text and check for duplicates across web pages. The DeepSearch feature examines your content for contextual plagiarism, ensuring thorough checks.
8. SmallSEOTools Plagiarism Checker
SmallSEOTools stands out with its multifunctional platform, offering a plethora of tools boasting advanced features and functionalities.
While its plagiarism checker may be basic, users appreciate SmallSEOTools for its cost-free service, making it widely favored.
Simply paste your text, click ‘Check for Plagiarism,’ and SmallSEOTools swiftly highlights any copied content in red, providing quick detection.
9. Copyleaks
Copyleaks, a free alternative to Copyscape, functions as both a plagiarism detection and copyright protection tool.Copyleaks not only detects unintentional plagiarism in your writing or students’ essays but also helps combat content theft by identifying where your content is used online.
Copyleaks for education streamlines plagiarism detection by enabling bulk checking of up to 100 thesis, essays, and research submissions, saving valuable time for schools.
Copyleaks offers unique features not found in other premium plagiarism checkers:
- Scan physical content: Take a picture of text and compare it against a vast database for plagiarism detection.
- API access for flexibility and increased bandwidth.
- Multi-language support ensures plagiarism checks in any language.
- Free mobile app for convenient plagiarism checks on the go.
10. Viper Plagiarism Checker
Viper plagiarism checker offers a free option as an alternative to Turnitin. It helps find copied content and provides links to the original sources, safeguarding your intellectual property.
While ScanMyEssay may not be as top-tier as Grammarly for plagiarism checking, it’s a budget-friendly option that gets the job done.