Copyleaks vs. Turnitin

A Comparison of the Leading Plagiarism Checkers

Copyleaks versus Turnitin. Which one is better? We ran 100 identical student essays through both Copyleaks and Turnitin—and the results were astounding! 

Online platforms used to detect plagiarism help protect original work and eliminate duplicate content. One of the first SaaS companies on the scene was Turnitin, founded in 1998 and widely used by schools and universities in the US. 

But, with the advent of new technology, especially in the field of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning, is Turnitin still as effective? 

With customer grievances mounting due to Turnitin’s obsolete technology and lack of proper customer support, Copyleaks has rapidly risen as the most effective tool for detecting plagiarism out there today. The rapid growth has caused some to wonder if Copyleaks is legit as a Turnitin alternative. But as any Copyleaks review will attest, the answer is a resounding yes. Copyleaks is rooted in AI technology, with built-in AI content detection. With the recent sudden proliferation of AI content, Copyleaks is perfectly positioned to ensure both originality and human content creation. Because it is built to adapt and evolve, Copyleaks can save your work from whatever is to come. AI is the only solution to fight AI. 

Not only is the technology cutting edge, but Copyleaks’ solutions are a fraction of Turnitin’s costs. In addition, Copyleaks offers a high level of customer support, with a dedicated team truly caring about customers’ experience, making Copyleaks safe and easy to use. 

Copyleaks is commonly utilized by highly reputable schools, universities, media agencies, and businesses through API and LTI integrations into existing learning platforms. Additionally, individuals such as students, teachers, writers, and freelancers use the web-based Copyleaks platform to improve their work.

Find out what's in your copy.
Get started with Copyleaks for free today!

How Does Copyleaks Perform in Comparison to Turnitin?

We tested the two platforms: Copyleaks vs. Turnitin, head-to-head! 

We ran 100 identical essays through both Copyleaks and Turnitin. Not only was Copyleaks more accurate, but Copyleaks outperformed Turnitin in every single feature, including

  • AI Content Detection
  • Identical text matching, 
  • Paraphrased text matching, 
  • Cheating detection. 

 

Furthermore, Copyleaks surpassed Turnitin in notable features like scanning source code files, using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to scan texts from images, and scanning in 100+ languages. Have a look at the details of our findings below.

Summary Findings​

Compared to Turnitin, Copyleaks found, on average:

  • 7 additional plagiarism sources per document
  • 75% more similarity matches and paraphrased text
  • 33% matches from Copyleaks’ educational databases

Features offered by Copyleaks, but not Turnitin, include:

  • AI content detection
  • Detection of paraphrased text using AI & machine learning algorithms
  • Text scanning from images using OCR technology
  • Scanning source code files
  • Cheating detection alerts
Copyleaks file folders

Identical Text

On average, Copyleaks detected 7 additional plagiarism sources per document and 75% more similarity matches in comparison to Turnitin.

Here is an example of scan results of an essay run through both platforms:

logo
Turnitin Logo

AI Content Detection

As much as we’d like to test Turnitin’s AI content detection, this is a key feature they’ve yet to build.

logo
Turnitin Logo

Paraphrased Text

We found that Copyleaks used SmartTextTM technology to detect 55% more plagiarism per document with a paraphrased content present. On the other hand, Turnitin failed to detect any plagiarism in 80% of the cases with paraphrased text.

Have a look at one case of an essay run through both:

logo
Turnitin Logo

Cheating Detection​

Copyleaks used CheatSpot.AI TM to uncover attempts at deceiving the plagiarism detection system, often used by those looking to cheat. Turnitin, however, does not offer any such solution–making it easier to cheat Turnitin.

Findings of a student paper with cheating attempts in both platforms:

logo
Turnitin Logo

Source Code​

In Programming Languages

Copyleaks used Codeleaks TM, a code plagiarism detector, to scan for plagiarism in source code files. Turnitin, however, does not have any capability to scan programming languages.

A case study of a source code file scanned in both:

logo
Turnitin Logo

OCR Technology​

Scanning Text from Images

Scanning Text from Images

Copyleaks has OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology that scans text from images and lets you see the original source. Turnitin, though, lacks OCR technology and cannot scan text from images.

Here is an example of essays with images run through the platforms:

logo
Turnitin Logo

Foreign Languages​

Capable of scanning 100+ languages for plagiarism, Copyleaks offers 70 additional languages not provided by Turnitin.

Findings of a paper in a foreign language run through both:

logo
Turnitin Logo

How is Copyleaks better than Turnitin?

01  ⟩  Cutting-edge Technology: Step into the Future

02  ⟩  Cost-effective: Fraction of the Cost

03  ⟩  Incredible Customer Support: Highly Dedicated Customer Success Team

04  ⟩  Focused on Clients’ Needs: Giving the Best Experience to Academic Staff and Students

Office Worker Running with Stack of Papers