TL;Dr: Here's a list of the best plagiarism checkers that will be further reviewed in this article:
- Grammarly Pro: Best plagiarism checker for students
- Whitesmoke: Best plagiarism checker for teachers
- Turnitin: Best plagiarism checker for research papers
—-
Using someone else’s words and pushing them off as your own isn’t borrowing, but plagiarism.
Enter: Plagiarism checkers, tools that help avoid exactly that.
Basically, plagiarism checkers scan content and find if they’ve been copied from hard (read: books, journals, etc.) or soft data (read: online content, etc.)
But what’s the best plagiarism checker in 2020?
Well, every tool is good in its own way, but there are a few that stand out from the rest.
In this article, I cover some of the best plagiarism checkers and further review it to tell you exactly what’s good and bad about them.
So let’s get started.
Comparison Table: Best Plagiarism Checker in 2020
| Parameter | Grammarly | Whitesmoke | Turnitin |
| Character Limit | 100,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 – 30,000 (Avg) |
| Online Database | 1.7 billion-plus websites | 1.7 billion-plus websites | 1.7 billion-plus websites with iThenticate |
| Offline Database | Yes (collab with ProQuest) | None | Yes (Proprietary database) |
| Response Time | 5 stars out of 5 | 3.5 stars out 5 | 2 stars out 5 |
| Reliability | 4 stars out of 5 | 3 stars out of 5 | 5 stars out of 5 |
| Additional Features | 5 stars out of 5 | 3 stars out of 5 | 1 star out of 5 |
| Use case scenario | Best plagiarism checker for teachers, college students | Best plagiarism checker for teachers, and research papers | Best plagiarism checker for students and research papers |
What's the best plagiarism checker in 2020?
1. Grammarly Pro (best plagiarism checker for students)
With Grammarly plagiarism checker, you can not only check other websites for similar content but also against hardcopies such as books and other publications. Grammarly also has the most significant character limit so you can run checks on the biggest documents with it.
Grammarly is the highest rated tool which can be used for punctuation checks, grammar checks, and even plagiarism checks. There is a proofreading service which is available at the click of a button for double assurance.
On another note, check out my Grammarly premium review for a more in-depth review of this software.
Who is Grammarly for?
Grammarly is a plagiarism checker for students, teachers and most people looking to up their content can benefit from Grammarly as its functions extend beyond plagiarism into content, punctuation and even vocabulary checks.
Key Features:
- Grammar and punctuation
- Spelling check
- Writing style recognition
- Repetition of words
- Active – Passive Voice tracker
- World-class thesaurus
Best reasons to get Grammarly Pro.
Reason 1: Lighting fast plagiarism checks
Grammarly holds one of the fastest speeds when it comes to checking your content for plagiarism. Once you import the content, you get your work checked quickly, sometimes within seconds.
With Grammarly, you also get to see your punctuation, grammatical, spelling errors—and you even get to see suggestions to replace them to the most suited for their contexts.
Reason 2: Largest offline database
No other plagiarism checker out there offers what Grammarly has to offer. The collaboration with Proquest allows you to check a big offline database of different publications and contents.
Turnitin does this too, but they do it with their database which is more focused towards checking for plagiarism with other student assignments and research papers.
| PROS | CONS |
|
|
2. Whitesmoke (best plagiarism checker for research papers)
Whitesmoke will review your material for plagiarism through online content. They scan through 1.7 billion webpages, just like Grammarly Pro. The downside is that they do not have any system to check for plagiarism with offline publications.
Also, if you do need additional features such as grammar checker, spell checks, and even other functions, WhiteSmoke is apt. They have good customer support and also provide proofreading services.
Who is Whitesmoke for?
Whitesmoke is a plagiarism checker for students and professional writers who are on a budget. If it is your budget that is your top priority and not the quality of services, Whitesmoke is the perfect match.
On another note, I've compared Grammarly against Whitesmoke in another article.
Also, if your articles are generally small in size and do not exceed ten thousand characters, you should go with Whitesmoke. For any document bigger than that, you should opt for Grammarly.
Key Features:
- Grammar and punctuation
- Spelling check
- Vocabulary enhancer
- Forbes calls it the #1 tool for writing.
- TopTenReviews gold award.
Best reasons to get Whitesmoke.
Reason 1: Economically priced plagiarism checker
If you are looking at checking your material for plagiarism from online content, Whitesmoke is a good option. Whitesmoke plagiarism checker has been in business for quite some time now.
Over the years, they have been perfecting their software to offer the best quality plagiarism checks. But you see, unlike Grammarly Pro, Whitesmoke does not have a collaboration with any other third party to check for plagiarism from offline publications.
Reason 2: Good additional features
WhiteSmoke is a one-stop-shop for all writers, which helps you check for grammar, spelling, writing style, and punctuation. It has invested millions in developing Natural Language Processing.
NLP and various other proprietary algorithms try to learn your style and suggest improved changes which match your fashion of writing. It could be professional, informal, or even conversational.
| PROS | CONS |
|
|
3. Turnitin (best plagiarism checker for university professors)
Turnitin has been in this game for over two decades not but is more focused on providing a reliable and quality service to the bodies where plagiarism tends to mean much more. Educational institution.
Your grades and in turn your career is dependent on your submissions and no one knows that better than Turnitin. Thus, they go beyond measures to check your submissions for plagiarism. They currently work with 30,000 institutions and have an excellent database.
On another note, check out my other article where I compared Grammarly vs Turnitin for more information.
Who is Turnitin for?
Turnitin is the best plagiarism checker for research papers, and for university professors that want to check student’s authenticity. They review the submissions against all the previously submitted research and assignments.
Turnitin provides the educational institutes a cheaper and simpler solution to check their students' works. It has an extensive collection of offline databases that is focused on all educational related copies.
Key Features:
- 30 million-plus students
- Big proprietary database
- Focused plagiarism checks
Best reasons to get Turnitin.
Reason 1: Highly reliable
Turnitin has its software as well as their staff working on your student’s papers checking for plagiarism. The internal control system is tight, and no bit of plagiarism is going to go unchecked.
They do take their time performing their duties, but you know for sure that their work is almost a hundred percent reliable. So this lets you be worry-free and perform your duties.
Reason 2: Great packages
Turnitin provides very flexible packages to you, best suiting your need. Generally, people claim that it would cost you around $2-$3 per student per subject annually, but the packages may vary from credit to credit.
Either way, no matter what you teach or how heavy your subject is, you get to choose a great package that suits your requirements and do not have to pay extra for any you do not need.
| PROS | CONS |
|
|
Winding up on plagiarism checking software
Every plagiarism checker on this list is good in its own way.
Some plagiarism checkers are great for research papers while others are good for students and even university professors.
However, if you are looking for exceptional features and online cum offline plagiarism check and are not bother about the price, Grammarly is the best for you.
If you are a student on a budget who is not bothered with the quality of plagiarism check but still needs basic features such as a grammar checker, Whitesmoke is the best for you.
If you are a representative of an educational institution or work with/for them and extensive plagiarism check with online and offline focused educational content, Turnitin is the best option for you.
I hope this review gives you clarity on which software to narrow down.
See also: