Plagiarism Checker — Frequently Asked Questions

A plagiarism checker is software that automatically compares your text against billions of online and academic sources to detect copied or improperly cited content. Our tool uses PlagAware — the same engine trusted by universities across Europe — to search over 70 billion sources and identify direct plagiarism, paraphrased content, synonym substitution, and self-plagiarism. The results are presented in a color-coded PDF report with direct links to every original source found.

The process is simple: (1) Upload your document — PDF, DOCX, DOC, or TXT — and choose your scan type. (2) Enter your email address and complete payment. (3) Our plagiarism checker forwards the document to PlagAware, which checks every passage against 70+ billion sources. (4) Within 15 minutes, a detailed PDF report is sent to your email with all matches highlighted and linked to their original sources.

Our plagiarism checker is used by students at all levels (bachelor's, master's, PhD), researchers, academics, authors, and content creators. The underlying technology — PlagAware — is also used directly by universities and academic institutions to verify submitted papers. Over 3,000 students have trusted our service for their academic work.

PlagAware is a professional plagiarism detection engine used by over 11 universities and academic institutions. Unlike consumer-grade plagiarism tools that search only a limited set of web pages, PlagAware indexes and searches over 70 billion sources — including the open web, academic databases, digitized books, scientific papers, and repositories of previously submitted academic work. This breadth of coverage makes it the most reliable plagiarism detection solution available at the consumer level.

Yes — we use PlagAware, which is the same professional plagiarism detection engine that many European universities use internally. When you use our plagiarism checker before submitting your paper, you are using the same technology your university may use to evaluate it. This gives you a realistic preview of what a university check might reveal — so you can fix any issues before submission.

Our plagiarism checker accepts the following file formats: PDF, DOCX, DOC, and TXT. For the best text extraction, we recommend exporting your document directly from Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or another word processor rather than printing and scanning. The file must contain selectable text — image-only (scanned) PDFs without OCR text layers cannot be processed.

The maximum file size is 50 MB. Documents can contain up to 999 standard pages. These limits are more than sufficient for most academic documents, including full dissertations. If your file exceeds 50 MB, try saving it as a DOCX rather than PDF — DOCX files are typically much smaller.

On the order page, Step 2 contains a drag-and-drop upload zone. Either drag your file onto the zone or click it to open a file picker. Once you select your file, it uploads automatically and we calculate the number of standard pages. The page count determines your total price, which is shown in Step 4 before you complete payment.

Unfortunately we cannot process image-only (scanned) PDFs. Our system extracts text from the document file — if the PDF contains only images of text without a text layer, there is nothing to analyze. Please export a fresh PDF from your word processing software. If you only have a scanned version, run it through OCR software first to create a text-based version.

This depends on what information you want. If you want the most accurate plagiarism score for your written content, remove the bibliography — reference lists naturally match sources by design. If you want to see what a university check on your complete submission would look like, upload the full document. Both approaches are valid.

The price is based on the number of standard pages in your document. One standard page = 1,800 characters including spaces — the international academic measurement standard. Our plagiarism checker counts the characters in your uploaded file automatically and divides by 1,800 to get the page count. Pricing: Plagiarism Scan = $0.29/page · Combo (Plagiarism + AI) = $0.39/page · AI Scan = $0.29/page. Minimum charge: $0.90.

Yes. The minimum order amount is $0.90 regardless of document length. Documents shorter than 3 standard pages (~5,400 characters) are charged at this minimum. This minimum applies equally to all three scan types.

Yes. Use the code plagiarism-scan10 during checkout for an instant 10% discount. Enter the code in the "Discount Code" field on the order page and click "Apply" — the discount will be reflected in the total before you pay.

No. There are no subscriptions, no recurring charges, and no hidden fees. You pay once per order. The price displayed on the order page before payment is the full, final price. We will never automatically bill you.

We accept all major payment methods through our secure Stripe checkout: Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. All payments are processed via encrypted SSL connections. You do not need a Stripe account to pay.

In most cases, your plagiarism checker report arrives by email within 15 minutes of uploading your file and completing payment. For very large documents (200+ pages) it may take slightly longer — typically 20–30 minutes. If you have not received your report after 30 minutes, check your spam folder. If it is not there, contact us at kontakt@plagiarism-checker-online.net.

The PDF report contains: (1) an overall plagiarism percentage; (2) all detected matches highlighted by color — red for direct copies, yellow for paraphrases, orange for synonym substitutions; (3) direct clickable URLs linking to every original source; (4) page numbers identifying exactly where in your document each match is found. The report is clear, professional, and ready to share with an academic supervisor.

The plagiarism percentage indicates what proportion of your document's text our plagiarism checker found matching existing sources. A score of 0% means no matches were found. Scores below 10% are generally considered acceptable by most universities, especially when matches occur in properly cited quotations or reference lists. Scores above 20–25% typically warrant attention. However, acceptable thresholds vary by institution — always check your university's specific guidelines.

Yes. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee. If you do not receive your report within the stated timeframe, or if there is a technical error preventing a valid result, we will refund your full payment without question. Email us at kontakt@plagiarism-checker-online.net and we will process the refund promptly.

Yes. The PDF report is professional, clearly formatted, and suitable to share with a professor, thesis supervisor, or academic board. It shows the date and time of the check, the document name, the overall score, and all highlighted matches with source references. Whether a specific university officially accepts it as documentation depends on that institution's policies.

Absolutely. Your document is processed securely and used only for running your requested scan. We do not store your document in any persistent database, share it with third parties, or use it for training AI models. Your work remains entirely yours.

Yes. We operate in full compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our servers are located in Europe and all data processing follows EU data protection standards. We collect only the minimum data necessary — your email address to deliver the report, and your document to run the scan. For full details, please read our Privacy Policy.

Uploaded document files are not retained after the scan is complete. Transaction records (order amounts, email addresses, required for legal accounting purposes) are retained only as long as required by applicable law. We do not build customer profiles or use your data for marketing without explicit consent.

No. When you use our service, your document is scanned against PlagAware's database — it is not added to it. Your paper will not be stored in PlagAware's index and will not appear as a match in future checks by other users. This is an important distinction from institutional Turnitin accounts, which typically add student submissions to their database.

Yes. All payments are processed through Stripe — one of the world's most trusted payment processors. We never store payment card details on our servers. All payment communication is encrypted via SSL/TLS. Stripe is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant, the highest standard of payment security.

Our AI checker detects text generated by all major large language models, including ChatGPT (GPT-3.5, GPT-4, GPT-4o), Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, Meta Llama, Mistral, and AI writing tools built on top of these models such as Jasper, Writesonic, and Copy.ai. Detection works at the sentence level — every sentence receives an individual AI probability score.

Our AI checker achieves high detection accuracy for texts generated by current large language models. Sentence-level analysis significantly reduces false positives compared to document-level tools. However, no AI detector is 100% accurate — heavily edited AI text or highly formal human writing may occasionally receive uncertain scores. For best results, combine the AI checker with our plagiarism checker using the Combo package.

Each sentence receives a score from 25 to 75. A score of 25 means high confidence the text is human-written. A score of 75 means high confidence it was AI-generated. Scores between 35–60 represent uncertainty — possibly edited AI text, AI-assisted writing, or unusually formal human prose. The overall document also receives an aggregate score.

It depends on how much the original AI output was edited. Lightly edited AI text typically still shows elevated AI scores. Heavily rewritten text — where you changed most words, restructured sentences, added personal insight, and injected your own voice — may receive lower AI scores as it moves statistically closer to human writing. The checker measures statistical probability based on language patterns, not authorial intent.

If your university requires both a plagiarism checker scan and AI detection — as many now do — the Combo package at $0.39/page gives you both for 33% less than ordering separately. For thesis and dissertation submissions, Combo is the recommended choice. If you only need AI detection and have already completed a plagiarism check elsewhere, the standalone AI Scan at $0.29/page is the right option.