JPlag vs PlagAware

JPlag is free, open-source software for finding pairwise similarities among submitted programs. It examines program syntax and structure to help detect source-code plagiarism and collusion, especially in student programming exercises, and can also identify duplicated or stolen software parts. It does not compare submissions with the internet. Supported inputs include Java, C, C++, C#, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Kotlin, R, Rust, Swift, Scala, LLVM IR, Scheme, EMF, SCXML, text, and multi-language projects. JPlag runs locally, with the project stating that source code and plagiarism results are not sent externally. You can use its command-line interface, Java API, or Maven Central dependency. A bundled report viewer opens generated or existing reports. Base-code directories can exclude shared starter code, while matching-token sensitivity is adjustable. The default report lists up to 2500 comparison pairs, configurable with -n. Running or building it requires Java SE 25.

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.