‘Plagiarism’ is the act of purposely using another individual’s published work without legitimate authorization. When a person steals a piece work without crediting the author and claims it as their own production, it is an injustice and insult to the original writer’s creativity.
A plagiarized article can not only be sued by the publisher, but the work can also be disregarded in popular search engines such as Google. This content scraping problem is mainly prevalent among freelance writers and college students. This is why most professional online bloggers and universities have first class plagiarism detectors.
The most popular plagiarism checker in the market is ‘CopyScape’. It is very effective in detecting copied content. But, unfortunately, this is a premium tool and thus cannot be afforded by everyone. For those who are a little low on the budget, here are some CopyScape alternative tools that can be utilized.
10. Whitesmoke ($9.95/month)
This tool is especially effective for checking grammar and language errors. It detects every single mistake in the article and reports back to the checker almost immediately. The tool is predominantly used by dyslexics and people with writing issues. With this CopyScape alternative, you will be able to review writing with 100% accuracy for a reasonable rate. It also has the capability to complete the checking securely by following the necessary safety procedures. This way, you will be able to avoid content scrapers off your blog in order to maintain credibility.
9. PlagTracker ($14.99/month)
This is a plagiarism detector that operates very easily. All one needs to do is to update the file and press the ‘Start Checking’ box. This tool is available in two versions. The free online version is capable of checking your content within the time limit of 10 seconds. If the article is purely original and clean, the writer will be recognized as a ‘Master of Content’. PlagTracker is also available in the premium version. Though it is not as competent as the CopyScape premium, it does facilitate many features including database check, API access and PDF report.
8. UnPlag (4.99/month)
It is one of the simplest tools available online. It is completely free and very easy to use and understand. It is one of the most flexible systems since it is possible for the user to upload the file or even add the text to the search box. The tracking process takes a few seconds and then the user will be presented with the results. If the content of the article is plagiarized, the tool not only informs the issue but will also lead the user to the source from the data was copied. The only problem with this tool is the fact that it is not possible to check contents that exceed the word limit of 1500 words.
7. Grammarly (Free)
Even though this is a plagiarism checker, it is more effective in checking grammatical mistakes. Thus, it is known to be an effective proofreading tool. The grammar checks of this tool are professional and accurate since it uses more than 250 grammar rules for every article. One of the best features of Grammarly is its ability to check and report back any amount of content within a few seconds. This automated proofreader is used by many bloggers to check the works of beginners and inexperienced freelance writers.
6. Plagiarisma ($5/month)
Plagiarisma is one of the most productive systems to identify content scrapers. It used by a large market since the tool is able to check contents in 190 different languages. It is also possible to upload the article in various forms – as a Word document, URL or through text. This tool can be very easily downloaded either as software or an android app. But on the other hand, this CopyScape alternative only allows the user to check three articles per day. Moreover, it does not use Google as its default search engine. In order to alleviate these restrictions, the user has to pay extra.
5. Plagiarism Detector ($39)
This is particular plagiarism checker does not require users to subscribe. The services are completely free and signing up is only optional. The operation of this tool is very different to other CopyScape alternative systems. This one breaks your content into a number of sentences and then runs it through Google. This approach is undertaken to stay within the word limit of Goggle and thereby to ensure that each and every word has been thoroughly checked. The Plagiarism detector is a completely free online tool. Moreover, the tool does not have daily limit as well. This enables the user to check as many articles as he/she wants.
4. Plagium (Free)
It initially started as a free online plagiarism checker. But currently, it only allows two free trial runs and then requests the user to sign up. The content can submitted directly as text or through a file or URL. The system has two tracking options – Quick search and Deep search. Even though deep search is more effective and is known to be quite similar to the features and services of CopyScape premium, it is only accessible for users for sign up. By signing up, the user will not get to check multiple articles per day, but will also be given a record of all his/her previous checks for plagiarism.
3. SmallSeoTools Plagiarism Checker (Free)
This tool works very similar to another CopyScape alternative – Plagiarism detector. It checks for content scrapping by breaking the content into a number of sentences. One of the biggest advantages of this system is the fact that it is offers much more than regular plagiarism checking. There is a numerous availability of features such as Article rewriter, Word count checker, Spell checker tool, Keyword position and much more. SmallSeoTools is used more widely than CopyScape because it is both free and easy to use. There is no need to sign up and one can easily check for copied content by simply copy pasting the text on the search box. However, the tool has a word limit of 3000 words for each submitted article.
2. PlagScan ($14.99/40,000 words)
PlagScan is a free plagiarism tracker that is used for both educational and work purposes. It is used by wide target market since it is able to cater to the needs and requirements of all demographics. It offers instant results to the user as long as the file uploaded is within the limit of 300kB. It is known for its simple yet highly operative design, accurate checking and precise reports and availability of a number of useful features. Even though it is quite similar to any other CopyScape alternative, the tool does offer a comprehensive service and good value.
1. DupliChecker (Free)
The features and services of DupliChecker are quite similar to that of CopyScape premium. The tool only allows one free trial for those have not signed up. After subscribing, the user can do any number of checks for free. It is possible to submit the document in any form. The tool provides accurate results since it runs each sentence individually through reliable search engines such as Google. Even though it does have a restriction for the number of articles, it is does not have a set word limit for the uploaded content. Apart from acting as an efficient plagiarism checker, the tool also offers other services such as detecting anti-plagiarism banners.
Even though some of these plagiarism tools are not as effective and accurate as Turnitin or CopyScape, they have proved to be competent and productive to a satisfactory extent.