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Alternatives to Grammarly
Plagiarism Checker

Grammarly is most commonly known for its grammar-checking tool, a must-have for writers in any context. In fact, this very article was written with the help of Grammarly’s free Chrome extension.

What many don’t know, though, is that it also has a tool for detecting plagiarism. Like most online plagiarism checkers, it works by scanning one's text and pointing out sentences and phrases that show up in other sources online. It’s most often used in higher education and businesses that pay for large groups of users.

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Drawbacks of Grammarly

Though Grammarly is used widely in various learning environments and even recommended in some online courses, it has many drawbacks.

First, the price is much higher than other online writing assistants at $30 per month. The monthly cost can be less than this, but only if you’re willing to pay for a year upfront. And though you can get a lot of bang for your $0 buck with the free grammar checker, the plagiarism checker is not available in the free version. Therefore, your only option for accessing this feature is to pay for the subscription even if you don’t need or want the content editor.

Another downside to Grammarly is that there are substantial lag times in the software, making it especially tough to use if you have a tight deadline. The larger the document, the longer it takes to load. Not to mention, if you are using the Microsoft Word plugin, it could freeze while you are running the plagiarism detection report or, worse, not open at all. When this happens, sometimes your only option is to close your document and reopen it or restart your computer (and hope you saved your work).

If you’re looking for a reliable, accessible plagiarism checker, read on for a breakdown of what else is out there.

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#1 Quetext

Quetext is a plagiarism detection software that helps ensure that your content is original and gives credit where credit is due. It is becoming the new standard for students, teachers, and content writers to avoid plagiarism. And in cases where unoriginal writing is detected, its built-in citation generator helps to seamlessly credit the original source.

Top Features

  • ColorGrade™ Technology: The ColorGrade™ technology in Quetext gives you a clear picture of the content you need to revise. It takes out the guesswork, making spotting and removing plagiarism intuitive and fast.
  • Available to All: Anyone that wants to use Quetext can — and they can be up and running with it in no time at all. The free version is great for those who just need a quick check here and there, while the Pro version is no more than $10/month for all the bells and whistles.
  • Speed: Quetext is known as one of the most comprehensive plagiarism checkers with the fastest service. The website is also ad-free for both paid subscribers and those using the free version. The ad-free experience lets you focus on editing your content instead of wasting time waiting for ads to load.

Use Cases:

  • Content Writers: Content writers are held to a high standard when it comes to providing their clients with original copy. They also often create their own schedules. Quetext is always ready for use with no middle-of-the-night maintenance downtimes or required waiting periods before granting access.
  • Educators: Professors and schoolteachers can use Quetext to aid them in ensuring the uniqueness of their work and that of their students. They never have to worry about meetings with decision leaders to do so. All they have to do with Quetext is sign up for their monthly subscription, and they can use the plagiarism detection software for up to 100,000 words per month.
  • Flexible Classroom Settings: Students love Quetext because they have a risk-free way to quickly check their work to confirm originality before sharing it with their teachers. Quetext can be used in online classes as well as on-campus and even allows students to check up to 2,500 words for free.

#2 Turnitin

Turnitin is another well-known plagiarism checker that compares your content to other online sources. It checks websites, scholarly journals, and other students’ papers for any instances of duplicate writing.

While the technology behind the platform is advanced and reliable, Turnitin is only an option for those whose schools pay for it. In theory, Turnitin could be the best plagiarism checker on the market, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t use it.

Top Features

  • Identifies spelling and grammar errors: Like Grammarly, Turnitin helps students and teachers with the added feature of checking for spelling and grammar errors.
  • Scans through millions of resources: Educational institutions that pay for Turnitin often require students to use it because it scans through millions of resources that range from websites, journals, other peer-reviewed documents, and papers submitted by other students to ensure that the content is original.
  • Exclusive to educational institutions: Turnitin is different from most other plagiarism checkers because it is exclusive to educational institutions. The price for their service is decided based on individual negotiations between the given school and Turnitin sales reps.

Use Cases:

  • Providing feedback: Teachers use Turnitin to assist them in giving feedback to their students. Since it identifies spelling and grammar errors in addition to checking for plagiarism, it does double duty in helping teachers with their grading.
  • Submitting revised work: Teachers and students utilize the Turnitin software for accepting original and revised assignments from students. It allows students to resubmit articles that may not have achieved an acceptable plagiarism score. At the same time, it gives teachers easy access to the papers without dealing with multiple platforms or email.
  • Used by students: Students have access to a helpful tool that helps them achieve their goals of turning in their original work on time.

#3 Copyscape

Copyscape is another online plagiarism detection software available for writers of all kinds. It provides a scan of your work to help users ensure originality, plus it offers a unique product called CopySentry, which helps businesses monitor the web for theft of their content.

However, the free version of Copyscape is extremely limited—you can only enter an existing website URL to check for plagiarism, rather than copy and paste unpublished text or upload a file. It also doesn’t allow users to save their originality reports once they are run.

Top Features

  • Batch search: Copyscape lets you check multiple pieces of content at one time for plagiarism, up to 10,000 pages at once.
  • Exclusion list: Users can create an exclusion list that filters out certain sites from the plagiarism check (for instance, other websites they own or are already aware of).
  • Syncs with WordPress: Copyscape Premium includes a WordPress plugin, allowing users to scan for plagiarism as they’re producing content inside the CMS.

Use Cases:

  • Blog maintenance: With its WordPress plugin, Copyscape makes regular blog maintenance quick and easy, identifying instances of plagiarism directly inside the CMS.
  • Monitoring competition: More valuable than its plagiarism checker, Copyscape’s CopySentry product is a great tool for businesses to effortlessly be on the lookout for encroaching competition.
  • Business acquisitions: When one business acquires another, Copyscape’s batch search feature comes in handy for auditing an entire website for plagiarism all at once.

#4 DupliChecker

DupliChecker is an online tool that lets anyone check their work for plagiarism—either for free or with a paid membership that works on a sliding scale.

However, it falls short on the sophistication of its actual plagiarism detection and often appears “buggy” with the amount of ads on the site. A quick Google search reveals users reporting their results as being incomplete; the plagiarism checker sometimes fails to identify as many instances of plagiarism as a simple Google search for the same block of text.

Top Features

  • Built-in grammar check: Like Grammarly, DupliChecker also features a tool for checking your grammar in the submitted text. This can make for a handy substitute for the more expensive Grammarly when you’re in a pinch.
  • Free: DupliChecker can be free forever as long as you only need to check (low-stakes) content in small bits at a time.
  • Unlimited uses: One can use the platform as often as they want and check as much content as they need...but only 1,000 words at a time.

Use Cases:

  • Short on time: DupliChecker is a good resource to use for one-off, low-stakes plagiarism checks that require a quick turnaround time.
  • Brief, one-off checks: While not an option for checking large amounts of content or multiple website pages at a time, DupliChecker can be good for running a scan on one page or one chunk of text here and there.
  • Submission flexibility: The simple interface lets you copy and paste your content, upload a variety of file types, or enter a website URL for a quick scan.

#5 PlagScan

PlagScan is an online plagiarism checker that’s particularly popular in Germany, where it was created. It accepts many file formats, such as PDF and Word documents, in addition to a simple copy and paste.

PlagScan is used by many professionals and educational institutions alike, but it falls short with the number of false positives it provides when detecting plagiarism. It also appears to have an outdated database, sometimes failing to detect plagiarism where it really matters.

Top Features

  • Printable PDF: PlagScan lets you print out reports and aids in making edits to the text. It’s a great way to collaborate with others in making the quality of work better.
  • Inexpensive, but not free: Individuals can register for free on PlagScan, but beyond that, you can’t benefit from it until you become a paying member. The good news is that the paid subscription is fairly inexpensive, starting at $5.99/month.
  • Ease of use: The PlagScan interface can be rather busy-looking, but once you get used to it, it becomes easy to use and understand.

Use Cases:

  • Working within an LMS: For education systems using a learning management system, PlagScan can usually integrate to incorporate plagiarism checking directly into the LMS environment.
  • Educators: If a given school is paying for an enterprise package, it makes sense for that school’s educators to use the PlagScan plagiarism checker to verify students’ work.
  • Businesses: Though inexpensive if you only need to check 6,000 words or less ($5.99/month), the price for individuals rapidly increases from there. However, the pricing structure is suitable for businesses where several users require access.

#6 Viper

Viper is the plagiarism checker on scanmyessay.com that uses “credits” to provide content evaluations for writers. It’s a quick and easy tool to use and is a great choice for content written in other languages besides English.

It offers a user-friendly experience but takes some getting used to. Since pricing is based on credits, the cost can quickly get steep depending on how much content needs to be checked. The main drawback to using Viper is that you essentially forfeit your right to privacy, as the site will publish your submitted work to other sites after a certain amount of time.

Top Features

  • Speed: Viper’s speed and ease of use makes it a popular option for writers who need a quick check here and there.
  • Multilingual: Viper is multilingual, making it great for creating content for different language speaking audiences
  • Pay as you go: There is no subscription with Viper. You buy credits as you need them.

Use Cases:

  • Multilingual content: Viper can help with writing content in multiple languages, while avoiding plagiarism.
  • One-off articles: Buying credits for just the amount of words you need may be preferable to a monthly subscription if you have very limited content needs.
  • Student papers: The stakes are lower for students who want to use Viper as a plagiarism checker if they don’t mind their content being republished three months later. Professional copywriters, however, don’t want to risk their content being shared to other sites, especially if it’s promoted as a “student paper.”

What is the best alternative to Grammarly?

If all you’re looking for is a fast and easy way to keep your grammar in line while you write, you should go install the Grammarly plugin right now! However, if you’re looking for a plagiarism checker —whether you’re a student, teacher, or professional copywriter, Quetext is really your best bet.

Even if you go the Pro route with Quetext, you’re maxing out at less than $10 a month for the most advanced, most efficient plagiarism checker on the internet. If you only need a one-off originality check, you definitely don’t want to go blowing $30 for one month of the full Grammarly suite (which is what you’re paying and getting, even if the plagiarism checker is all you actually need).

Between the low-cost pricing (or even no cost), accessibility, advanced technology, and seamless, pleasant user experience, you can’t beat the value you get with Quetext’s plagiarism checker. Give it a try (for free!) and see for yourself.

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