Copyscape Review (Is this Plagiarism Checker Tool Worth It?)

This hands-on Copyscape review will tell you everything you need to know about the popular plagiarism detection tool. In addition, it will help you decide whether it's the best option for you and if it is worth using.

Typically, Copyscape offers a free and premium service and access to various other related products. The free version works well but has limits, and restrictions, while the premium service offers multiple features for a reasonably low starting price.

If you want to know more about these features and benefits, how they work, and if it's the best option, I urge you to read this actual user Copyscape review in full.

Let's get started.

What Is Copyscape (& Plagiarism?)

Copyscape is a plagiarism detection tool that flags up content used illegally. Plagiarism is when someone takes your work and passes it off as their own.

Copyscape searches Google and Bing to check if another website or person is illegally using your content without consent. You can then contact the website owner and ask them to take it down or file a DMCA with the search engines.

While an online plagiarism checker is the primary purpose of the software, other benefits and features make it popular.

Let's take a look at them.

Copyscape Main Features

In the main, Copyscape provides a free, premium, and additional service called Copysentry.

Each has its own features, benefits, and uses, as shown below.

Copyscape Free Plagiarism Service

The free service on Copyscape lets you search URLs to find websites using your content without permission. When you run a search, you get a limited number of results displaying the websites with possible plagiarism detected.

With the free version, you can click on the results and get a breakdown of the content and a percentage of the same writing; the text is also highlighted.

The downside to the free service is the limits on results, searches, and the fact that you can only search by URL.

Copyscape Premium Service

Copyscape offers a premium service for unlimited searches, results, and other valuable benefits.

You can search by URL, API, multiple writing formats, and even by pasting content directly.

For example, you can take the content and paste it directly into the search box. The software will check the web for copies and highlight this in the results. Moreover, you can upload documents, search offline content, and check entire websites up to 10.000 pages.

Comparison Tool

A comparison tool is free for all Copyscape users to compare two pieces of content. You can search by the URL or by pasting in content.

When you want to scrutinize two articles together, it's beneficial to see precisely how they differ. 

Plagiarism Banners

Banners are available for your website to alert visitors and potential content thieves that you are using Copyscape to protect your content.

They are free to use as you wish.

Siteliner

Copyscape offers a duplicate content checker for free via a separate website called Site Liner.

The duplicate content checker is straightforward to use; enter your website and hit search. The tool will scan your site and provide a report detailing duplicate content, broken links, speed, and more.

Copysentry (Is It Included with Copyscape?)

Copysentry is a related service that monitors your website and alerts you when your content is published online. You enter your website details and receive an email if the daily scan finds any results.

You can change the settings to what you require, such as weekly scans instead of daily, and only contact you when a minimum or a maximum number of sentences are detected.

Unfortunately, Copysentry is a separate product and price range, so it will cost website owners extra to use this service.

You can learn more about Copysentry and the benefits of using it on the Copyscape website.

Who Should use Copyscape?

Copyscape is perfect for bloggers and online business owners. Website owners can use the software to detect other sites stealing their content and check if the content they are paying for from freelance writers has not been copied from elsewhere.

Many businesses outsource content to scale their website content production, so having a handy tool to check that each piece of content is original is a must-have option.

The tool is also helpful if you're a freelance writer, mainly because you can check if your content is not too similar to others and if you are referencing the source. 

Sometimes, writers can accidentally plagiarise content without realizing it. For example, they research ideas but don't always cite the person they got the idea from in the first place, or they don't write in their own words.

Is Copyscape As Good As Grammarly?

Ok, so I have used both services, including the premium options. In my opinion, Grammarly is better than Copyscape, but only if you are using Grammarly premium.

The reason being is that Grammarly Free doesn't have a plagiarism checker. 

Both tools detect plagiarism well, and the speed between the two is pretty much the same. However, the main reason Grammarly is better is that you also get a complete grammar checker service.

Copyscape focuses on detecting stolen content alone, whereas Grammarly Premium plagiarism checker offers an all-in-one solution.

Another reason Grammarly is better is that you pay a one-off payment, and the plagiarism service is free, so there are no unexpected bills.

Are There Any Good Copyscape Alternatives

Copyscape is an excellent online plagiarism service and does what it says on the tin; however, as with most successful software tools, there are usually some good alternatives.

Below is a list of the top three Copyscape alternatives worth considering:

• OriginalityAI: A plagiarism and AI detection tool built by content marketing and GPT-3 experts to help publishers scale their content.
• Grammarly Business: An advanced grammar checker tool with a plagiarism checker included for a set price.
• ProWritingAid: Pretty much does the same as Grammarly, but the plagiarism checker is a separate membership plan and price.
• Quetext: A plagiarism checker tool with limits on their free plan.

How Accurate Is Copyscape?

I ran a few tests to check the tool's accuracy, and the results were good.

The first test was a head-to-head comparison. I changed a few lines of text, and the software picked this up when scoring the similarity score.

Secondly, I pasted in some content from a blog post, and the software tool detected the site it came from immediately.

What does Copyscape Cost?

The price for using Copyscape premium is 3c per search up to 200 words and then 1c more per every 100 words.

For example, a 1000-word article will cost you 11 cents to check.

Sidenote: While these prices may seem inexpensive, they can rise significantly if you search for an entire website or use the API service. It shouldn't be an issue if you're checking a few articles per week, but always ensure you understand the pricing if you are batch-checking.

As for the Copysentry prices, there are two different options and costs involved.

The Copysentry standard plan is $4.95 per month for weekly checks up to 10 pages, plus an extra 0.25 cents per page after this. So, for example, 20 pages would cost you $7.45 each month.

The Copysentry professional plan will get you daily checks, but it comes with a higher cost. You pay $19.95 per month for up to 10 pages and an additional $1 for each page beyond this. So, as an example, 20 pages would cost you $39.95 each month.

As mentioned, the costs are relatively low when checking websites or articles on a low scale, but the price can rise when checking for large websites or hundreds of articles.

Copyscape Support

There are mixed reports for the support from Copyscape. While most people agree that the knowledge of support is good, the speed of getting help varies.

I decided to contact them via email with a support issue regarding an account issue, and within 24 hours, I had a reply that answered my query. Therefore, in my experience, support was good, and I didn't wait too long for a response.

They also have a dedicated FAQ page, which answers many queries, and an online support forum that isn't very busy but has some helpful advice and information.

Final Thoughts On Copyscape

Overall, Copyscape is a good plagiarism detection tool for anyone who needs to check and keep an eye on their content. It does a fantastic job detecting content theft and is pretty easy to use.

You get a free service for basic use and a premium option with unlimited usage and reports. The price is fair, and they have some free tools and additional paid services to make it even better.

However, the software is predominantly for detecting plagiarism. Therefore, if you want a tool that does online plagiarism checker and grammar correction in one, it will be best to look at alternatives like Grammarly Premium and Pro Writing Aid, which could save you some money depending on your usage.