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PlagAware

plagaware.com

From €2.99/mo Free plan WebAPI
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Spec score 8.8 #7 of 31 in Plagiarism Checkers

What it is

PlagAware is a plagiarism search engine for educational institutions, businesses, and individuals. Its FullScan technology checks submitted text against more than 70 billion online documents and user-provided comparison texts, while text monitoring can flag potential copying or duplication on texts and web pages. An AI detector looks for stereotypical language associated with systems such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and LLaMA; PlagAware says it does not send data to those external providers. Reports can be edited interactively, downloaded as PDFs, and shared through permanent links. Users can paste text, upload TXT, RTF, HTML, DOC, DOCX, ODT, and PDF files, or submit through the API. The web application works in supported modern browsers without workstation installation and offers integrations for Moodle, SharePoint, Joomla, WordPress, and Blogger. It accepts texts up to 750,000 characters, files up to 15 MB, and up to 50 parallel uploads. A significant coverage limit is that it does not access non-public sources such as paid scientific journal articles or paid portal content. Plans include free use, subscriptions, and prepaid credits; Subscription Light is €2.99/month with a six-month minimum term.

Spec sheet

What it does
PlagAware checks submitted texts for plagiarism and continuously monitors texts or web pages for possible content theft.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Purpose
PlagAware is a plagiarism search engine for educational institutions, businesses and individuals.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
API
The public HTTP POST API accepts text or file submissions, callback URL, language, project and external IDs, library options and dry-run mode.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Integrations
Official pages describe Moodle integration and possible integrations with SharePoint, Joomla, WordPress and Blogger.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Security
The company states that data transmission uses AES-256 encryption and that servers use intrusion detection, network firewalls and application firewalls.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Headquarters
Neu-Ulm, GermanyRead 28 Sep 2026 · plagaware.com
AI detection
An AI detector for ChatGPT, Gemini and LLaMA-style writing plus readability analysis is included in plagiarism checks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
AI detector
The AI detector identifies stereotypical language from texts generated by systems such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and LLaMA, and sends no data to ChatGPT or other external providers.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
API example
Official API documentation includes a working PHP multipart/form-data example.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Company founding
OpenRegister records PlagAware GmbH’s registration date as January 29, 2016 and current capital as €25,000.Read 15 Oct 2026 · openregister.de
Data retention
Application data remains until manual or automatic deletion, backups are retained for three months, and account deletion irrevocably deletes application data.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
File limits
Each uploaded file may be up to 15 MB, parallel uploads are capped at 50, and text length is capped at 750,000 characters.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Free version scans
Version and revision scans after the first scan are free without a time limit.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
FullScan coverage
Its FullScan technology searches more than 70 billion online documents and user-provided comparative texts.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Hosting
PlagAware databases and web servers are hosted by Hetzner Online GmbH in Gunzenhausen, Germany.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Hosting location
Databases and web servers are hosted by Hetzner Online GmbH in Gunzenhausen, Germany.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Independent praise: price
The LinkedIn reviewer described the €12.99 100-page package as reasonably affordable despite confusing reporting.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Independent test detection
Scribbr reported that PlagAware detected 57% of planted plagiarism on average, second among the tools in that test.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scribbr.com
Independent test result
Scribbr’s test gave PlagAware an overall score of 3.7 and ranked it third among the free-checker tools tested.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scribbr.com
Independent test: edited passages
A LinkedIn hands-on comparison found solid detection of verbatim online passages but substantially poorer handling of edited sections, which were sometimes flagged as whole paragraphs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Independent test: PDF report
The same comparison reported that PlagAware’s PDF used generic red highlights without source links, making review difficult.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Input formats
The service accepts TXT, RTF, HTML, DOC, DOCX, ODT and PDF files, plus pasted text and API submissions.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Legal entity
The maker is PlagAware GmbH, registered at Brumersweg 35/1, 89233 Neu-Ulm, Germany, with Dirk Malthan as managing director.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Limit: PDF usability
Scribbr said the downloadable PDF report is difficult to read and does not preserve the original formatting.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scribbr.com
Limit: scholarly coverage
Scribbr found weaker performance on scholarly sources and heavily edited text.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scribbr.com
Limits
The features page specifies a maximum text length of 750000 characters, a 15 MB maximum file size and up to 50 parallel uploads.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Monitoring
Website monitoring accepts automatically discovered URLs, sitemap URLs, manually entered URLs and library text files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Moodle compatibility
The Moodle plugin is documented for Moodle 4.1 and later, including Moodle 4.5 LTS, with older documentation also mentioning Moodle 3.9.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
News: AI export
On March 12, 2026 DOCX and PDF exports gained optional AI-detection and writing-style analysis summaries.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
News: report navigation
On March 12, 2026 PlagAware announced a color-coded interactive report overview bar for navigation through matches and clean text.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Personal library
Users can store reference texts in a private library and run plagiarism checks against them.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Praise: online report
Scribbr praised PlagAware’s color-coded online report and its ability to attribute many matches correctly.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scribbr.com
Privacy claim
PlagAware says uploaded documents are accessible only through authenticated accounts and are not disclosed to third parties.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Report features
Reports provide source links, interactive review, graphical text comparison, PDF export and permanent sharing links.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Report tools
Reports can be edited interactively, downloaded as PDF files and shared through permanent links.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Scan technology
PlagAware says its engine examines every sentence and uses a BLAST-algorithm variant to compare candidate matches.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Search coverage
The FullScan service searches more than 70 billion online documents plus optional user reference texts.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Security encryption
The company states that browser-to-server transmission uses AES-256 encryption.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Self-hosting
PlagAware is delivered as a hosted web application; the Moodle library synchronizer requires helper software installed on the customer’s Moodle server.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Source limitation
PlagAware does not access non-public sources such as paid scientific journal articles or paid portal content.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Support and documentation
The site provides getting-started, FAQ, detailed usage, administration and video tutorials plus a support contact form.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Supported inputs
Users can submit TXT, RTF, HTML, DOC, DOCX, ODT, PDF files or pasted text.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
System requirements
No workstation installation is required; supported browsers listed include Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome and Internet Explorer 9+.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Text monitoring
PlagAware continuously monitors texts and web pages for potential content theft and duplicate content.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Web application
PlagAware is a pure web application requiring no workstation installation and works through supported modern browsers.Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com

Plans and prices

Subscription Free Free 10 pages/month · up to 30 monitored URLs with Content Protection Banner Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Light €2.99 a month minimum six-month term; renews for six months unless cancelled with one-month notice 50 included scan pages/month plus 10 banner pages · up to 100 monitored URLs/texts · €0.06 per scan page Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Subscription Light €2.99 a month €2.99/month incl. taxes 50+10 pages/month · up to 100 monitored URLs · 6-month minimum term Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Standard €12.49 a month minimum six-month term; renews for six months unless cancelled with one-month notice 250 included scan pages/month plus 10 banner pages · up to 500 monitored URLs/texts · €0.05 per scan page Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Subscription Standard €12.49 a month €12.49/month incl. taxes 250+10 pages/month · up to 500 monitored URLs · 6-month minimum term Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
PrePaid Package S €12.90, paid once €12.90 incl. VAT 100 pages · ScanCredits do not expire · no subscription Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
PrePaid Package S €12.99, paid once 100 pages; no contractual obligations 1 ScanCredit per page (250 words) Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
PrePaid Package M €24.90, paid once €24.90 incl. VAT 250 pages · ScanCredits do not expire · no subscription Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
PrePaid Package M €24.99, paid once 250 pages; no contractual obligations 1 ScanCredit per page (250 words) Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
PrePaid Package L €39.90, paid once €39.90 incl. VAT 500 pages · ScanCredits do not expire · no subscription Read 2 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
Premium €39.99 a month minimum six-month term; renews for six months unless cancelled with one-month notice 1000 included scan pages/month plus 10 banner pages · more than 500 monitored URLs/texts · €0.04 per scan page Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com
PrePaid Package L €39.99, paid once 500 pages; no contractual obligations 1 ScanCredit per page (250 words) Read 15 Oct 2026 · plagaware.com

Every PlagAware plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • FullScan searches more than 70 billion online documents.
  • Reports can be edited and shared by permanent link.
  • Accepts pasted text, multiple file formats, and API submissions.
  • Integrations include Moodle, SharePoint, Joomla, WordPress, and Blogger.
  • Free plan and trial are listed.

Limits

  • Does not access paid journal articles or portal content.
  • Subscription Light has a six-month minimum term.
  • Maximum file size is 15 MB.

Who it suits

PlagAware suits educational institutions, businesses, and individuals checking or monitoring text for matching content. Its API and listed integrations may also suit organizations connecting plagiarism checks to existing systems.

PlagAware in depth

Read the full write-up

PlagAware is a web-based plagiarism checker and text-monitoring service for schools, businesses and individuals. It is strongest for users who need repeat checks, ongoing web monitoring and shareable reports. Its breadth across public online material is useful, but it cannot search paid journals or other non-public sources.

Overview

FullScan searches more than 70 billion online documents and user-provided comparison texts, giving PlagAware substantial reach for web-based matching. That scale does not make it comprehensive for every academic use: paid scientific journal articles and paid portal content are outside its coverage. Institutions that rely on those sources should not treat it as a complete check.

Alongside plagiarism matching, PlagAware offers an AI detector, continuous monitoring, report tools and integrations. It runs in a modern browser without workstation installation, with API access for workflows that need it.

Key features

Checks, monitoring and reports

Submissions can be pasted, sent through the API or uploaded as TXT, RTF, HTML, DOC, DOCX, ODT or PDF files. The limits—750,000 characters per text, 15 MB per file and up to 50 parallel uploads—make batch processing practical, though oversized files must stay within the file cap.

Continuous monitoring covers texts and web pages for potential content theft and duplicate content. That makes the service more useful to publishers and organizations protecting existing material than a checker limited to one-off submissions. Reports can be edited interactively, exported as PDF or DOCX, and shared through permanent links, supporting review and handoff without locking findings into a single format.

AI detection and integrations

The AI detector looks for stereotypical language associated with text generators including ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and LLaMA. PlagAware says it sends no data to ChatGPT or other external providers. This is a distinct privacy point for users handling sensitive submissions, though the stated detection method is focused on stereotypical language rather than a guarantee of authorship.

Integrations are described for Moodle, SharePoint, Joomla, WordPress and Blogger, alongside the API. That range suits institutions and site operators already using those systems; other workflows can still use the web application or API.

Security and data handling

The company says transmission uses AES-256 encryption and that its servers use intrusion detection and network and application firewalls. Databases and web servers are hosted by Hetzner Online GmbH in Gunzenhausen, Germany. Application data remains until manual or automatic deletion, backups are retained for three months, and deleting an account irrevocably removes application data.

Pricing

The free Subscription Free plan costs nothing and includes 10 pages per month plus up to 30 monitored URLs with the Content Protection Banner. It provides a useful way to try routine checks, but the small monthly allowance and URL cap limit sustained use.

Subscription Light costs €2.99 a month, billed €2.99/month incl. taxes, and includes 50+10 pages per month, up to 100 monitored URLs and a 6-month minimum term. Subscription Standard is €12.49 a month, billed €12.49/month incl. taxes, for 250+10 pages per month and up to 500 monitored URLs; Subscription Premium is €39.99 a month, billed €39.99/month incl. taxes, for 1000+10 pages per month and more than 500 monitored URLs. Both also require a 6-month minimum term. The higher tiers suit heavier recurring workloads, while the commitment makes them less appealing for occasional or seasonal checks.

For one-off demand, prepaid credits do not expire and carry no subscription: Package S is €12.90, paid once for 100 pages, M is €24.90, paid once for 250 pages, L is €39.90, paid once for 500 pages, and XL is €89.90, paid once for 1500 pages. These avoid a recurring term, at the cost of having no stated monthly allowance or monitored-URL allocation.

Volume License S costs €79 a year, billed €79.00/year incl. VAT, for 1200 pages per year at approximately €0.07 per page. Volume License M costs €175 a year, billed €175.00/year incl. VAT, for 3000 pages per year at approximately €0.06 per page. These fit predictable annual usage better than monthly subscriptions; the listed licenses provide page quotas rather than the monthly monitoring limits of subscription tiers.

Platforms

PlagAware runs on the web and offers an API. Its browser-based design avoids local installation, while integrations extend its reach into supported learning-management and publishing systems.

Who it's for

PlagAware is a good fit for schools, businesses and individuals who want web-source matching plus monitoring, editable reports or integration with Moodle and common publishing platforms. It is less suitable when checks must include paid academic literature, or when a user needs a short subscription commitment: monthly plans require six months, while prepaid packages are the more flexible option for sporadic checks.

Pros and cons

Pros: FullScan searches more than 70 billion online documents and user-provided texts, giving broad public-web coverage.

Pros: Monitoring, editable reports, PDF and DOCX exports, and permanent sharing links support ongoing review rather than isolated scans.

Pros: API access, named integrations and browser-based use allow several deployment paths without workstation installation.

Pros: Prepaid credits do not expire, and the free plan includes a small monthly checking allowance.

Cons: Paid journals and other non-public portal content are excluded, limiting its value for source-complete academic screening.

Cons: Paid monthly subscriptions have a six-month minimum, which is a poor match for brief or irregular projects.

Cons: The free plan's 10 pages per month and 30 monitored URLs are narrow limits for institutional or business-scale work.

Alternatives

Choose Noplag if its free tier's three monthly checks, 2,500-word limit per check and Public web plus Common Crawl corpus better match a small-volume workflow, or if its Linux, macOS, Windows or self-hosted platforms matter.

PrePostSEO Plagiarism Checker is an alternative with Android and iOS support as well as web and desktop platforms. For another web and API option, Copyscape offers free URL scans with per-site and result limits, alongside paid protection.

Plagius is a paid alternative with a 30-day Basic license for one Windows computer and internet plagiarism search, but no AI detection. Compilatio AI Detector is another paid web and API option, with one-time credit packages that can be accumulated and used for six months.

Pick Copyleaks AI Detector when its AI and plagiarism detection, 30+ AI-detection languages and 1,200 unified credits are the better fit. Dolos is a free, open-source option for users who want a self-hosted-capable service and can work within its 10 MB ZIP-upload limit. PlagiarismSearch offers one-time submission packages for plagiarism and AI checks.

For category overviews, see Plagiarism Checkers and AI Plagiarism Checkers.

Verdict

Choose PlagAware if you need broad public-web matching combined with monitoring, report sharing and integrations, and its six-month subscription terms suit your workload. Its prepaid packages make occasional use more flexible. Look elsewhere when paid academic sources are essential or when you need a comprehensive check beyond public and user-supplied material.

Verdict

PlagAware combines text matching, monitoring, report tools, and integrations in a web application. Its exclusion of non-public sources is important when assessing coverage for a specific use case.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to PlagAwareAll alternatives →