Nowadays, it can be difficult to find original content on the web. Look up a topic online, and you’ll get thousands of results. But most articles only repeat what has already been said. This brings up the question, how can you make sure your content is original?
One option is to use Copyscape, but it won’t be cheap—especially if you write for a living. Luckily, there are plenty of other plagiarism checkers available. Some are just as good as or even better than Copyscape Premium.
For starters, try these free Copyscape alternatives, and then pick one that meets your needs!
1. PaperRater Plagiarism Checker
PaperRater aims to help students and business professionals improve their writing. The program has three key features, including a plagiarism checker, a grammar checker, and a vocabulary builder. All of them are free.
This plagiarism checker uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to compare your articles, school essays, or blog posts to over 10 billion documents on the web. You can either upload the document or paste the text into the designated box, and then click Get Report. Your text will receive an originality score along with links to websites featuring similar content.
The free version of Copyscape only allows users to paste a link to the text they want to check. It doesn’t give you the option to check the content before it goes live. Plus, it limits the number of results to 10.
Copyscape Premium, on the other hand, charges $ 0.03 for the first 200 words plus $ 0.01 for each additional 100 words. The costs can add up quickly if you use the program often, or if you check large documents for plagiarism.
2. PrePostSEO
Like PaperRater, PrePostSEO allows users to paste text or upload documents to the site to check for plagiarism. However, it has several extra features that may come in handy:
- Users can upload documents directly from Google Drive or Microsoft One.
- You have the option to exclude quotes or specific URLs.
- PrePostSEO displays the document’s word count.
- It also has a built-in paraphrasing tool.
- It supports multiple languages, including English, German, Spanish, Turkish, and others.
- The program is available as a Google Chrome extension, too.
The downside is that you can only check up to 1,000 words if you’re a free but unregistered user. Users who sign up for PrePostSEO and choose the free plan can check up to 1,500 words at once.
The word limit is higher for basic, standard, company, and enterprise users, but they must pay a monthly fee. Prices start from $ 10 per month or $ 50 per year.
3. Small SEO Tools
Small SEO Tools, one of the most popular Copyscape alternatives, supports more than eight different languages and allows up to 1,000 words per search. Like with PrePostSEO, you can paste the text or upload documents from Google Drive and exclude specific URLs.
Another option is to check an existing web page for plagiarism by entering its address into the designated box. Users can also upload files from Google Drive or Dropbox, which makes everything a lot easier.
What makes this free plagiarism detector stand out is that it offers more detailed results. After you enter the text and click Check Plagiarism, you’ll see how each sentence or phrase compares to what’s already on the web.
The downside is that you might get false positives, meaning that commonly used phrases may appear as plagiarized. However, Small SEO Tools has a built-in rewriting feature that allows users to tweak their content with one click.
If your website or blog is hosted on WordPress, you can download and install the WordPress Plagiarism Checker Plugin by SmallSEOTools. This way, you’ll be able to check your posts directly from your dashboard without having to copy and paste the text into the program.
Discover the Best Free Alternatives to Copyscape
As you can see, Copyscape isn’t your only option. The above tools offer lots of extra features, such as automatic rewriting and cloud compatibility, and can be used for free.
PrePostSEO and Small SEO Tools also allow users to share their results and download reports. Plus, they support multiple languages. Copyscape has none of these features.
DupliChecker and PlagiarismDetector.net are worth checking out, too. These free Copyscape alternatives are similar to the ones listed above and include both free and paid versions.
