Copyscape is a plagiarism detector designed for content creators. It's one of the most popular options on the market. Read more about our Copyscape review.

Out of all the Plagiarism tools out there, Copyscape is easily one of the most popular ones. While other tools will check plagiarism (like Grammarly, for instance), few tools solely focus on plagiarism checking alone. 

For freelance writers, bloggers, and other content producers, plagiarism checkers are paramount. But where does Copyscape stand up? Is having dedicated plagiarism software worth it?

Review Methodology

Before writing this review, I had already used Copyscape over 400 times to check articles of all sorts. So there wasn’t much research I had to do in preparation for writing it! 

However, I did check what other customers had to say. Copyscape premium is a rather popular tool, so there are many different opinions floating around out there. 

I also ensured that I tested articles in a variety of different industries. It isn’t odd for writing tools to be great for some industries and subpar for others. 

To ensure that Copyscape was picking up plagiarism, I purposefully added some plagiarised phrases into my content. (Spoiler alert: It picked it up just fine.)

What Is It?

Copyscape is an online plagiarism detector that detects duplicate content. You can upload a PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, and TXT, as well as paste the content or website’s URL directly into the search engine. 

You can use it for all kinds of content, ranging from blog posts to LinkedIn profiles to social media posts. Plagiarism detection is Copyscape’s only purpose. Unlike other software, it doesn’t check grammar, spelling, or anything of that sort. 

Copyscape also allows you to see and compare the websites that may be partial matches. 

A Simple Yet Effective Tool

Copyscape is a wonderful tool for freelance writers and other content creators. It is effective at checking for plagiarism and is exceptionally straightforward to use. You can teach yourself in about two minutes. 

It allows you to check content quickly and efficiently. Purchasing more credits only takes about five minutes.

Copyscape shows you what websites your content is similar to – allowing you to manually check to determine if the content has been plagiarized. It isn’t odd for some content to match others without it being plagiarized. 

For the most part, Copyscape offers peace of mind. Most quality content is not going to spring a plagiarism checker. However, it is always better to check first before posting the content. You never know when you’ve accidentally used phrasing that is similar to another article. 

Key Features

Ease of Use

Copyscape is straightforward to use. You just upload or copy-and-paste your article, and it does the rest for you. There is only a single page for you to mess around in – and there isn’t much on that page. 

In my experience, most people don’t need the training to figure out how to use Copyscape like a pro. It is one of the most straightforward software products I have ever used. Much of this is likely because it doesn’t do very much. 

Website Comparison

After checking an article, Copyscape will show you which websites your content matches (if any). 

This feature is vital in determining whether something is plagiarized or not. It isn’t odd for the system to flag duplicate content that isn’t plagiarized. 

For instance, if I’m writing about a specific product, the product’s name almost always sends off plagiarism signals. Copyscape sees it as a “phrase” and flags it.  Being able to check manually is essential. 

Commonly copied paragraphs – like Amazon affiliate explanations – also tend to flag in the system. 

Batch Searches

Copyscape does allow you to do batch searches if you need to check a lot of content. However, I’ve rarely used this feature, as I tend to check new content as I write it. 

However, this feature may be handy for editors and website owners who want to make sure they’re receiving unique content from their writers. 

Setting up a batch search is pretty straightforward. There isn’t much on the actual batch settings page – so it only takes a few seconds to figure it out. 

Ratings

• Ease of Use: 5/5
• Features: 4/5 
• Customer Service: 4/5 
• Value for Money: 5/5

Why You Can Trust Me

As a full-time freelance writer, I’ve used Copyscape’s premium search to check thousands of articles for plagiarized content. I use it in my business every day – on top of a variety of other writing programs. 

I have also used many Copyscape alternatives. For instance, I use Grammarly every day (though, to be honest, I don’t rely on their plagiarism checker). 

After working closely with other Copyscape users, I have a pretty good idea of the consensus on Copyscape. 

Testing Criteria

I used Copyscape’s web platform a few times a week, updating this review accordingly. Most articles tested range from 500 to 6,000 words and came from a range of industries. 

Updates on features and pricing are taken into account as they occur.