How this plagiarism checker works
Paste between 25 and 1,500 words. The checker picks up to 8 full sentences spread across your text, using sentences of at least 7 words and cutting long ones to their first 30 words. It then searches Google (US results) for the exact wording of each sentence, in quotes.
A sentence counts as found when a search result shows that same wording, at least 5 words in a row, in its title or snippet. You get the share of checked sentences found online, each checked sentence with the pages where it was found, and a list of pages with matching text.
If your text is already published on your own website, add the site in the optional field. Your own pages are then ignored, so they do not count as matches.
How to read your results
The share found online tells you how many of the checked sentences already appear on other pages. Long sentences rarely match word for word by chance, so every match is worth a look.
- Open each matching page. Compare the wording in context. A match can be a quote, a common phrase in your field, or text that one site copied from the other.
- Look for clusters. Several sentences matching the same page usually means a whole passage was copied, in one direction or the other.
- Check credit. If the other page published the text first and your version has no quote marks or credit, rewrite it or cite the source before you publish.
A result with no matches is a good sign, but it is not proof that the whole text is original. The limits below explain why.
What this checker cannot do
Every plagiarism check has blind spots. Here are the limits of this one, so you do not trust a number too much:
- It checks a sample. Up to 8 sentences are searched, not every sentence, so a copied passage between them can be missed.
- It only finds indexed pages. Text that Google has not indexed, such as private documents, pages behind a login or very new pages, will not show up.
- It does not detect paraphrasing. The search looks for exact wording, so copying that has been reworded will not match.
- It is not an AI detector. It finds text that already exists online, not text written by AI. To check for AI writing, use our AI content detector.
Keep your text private
We do not store your text in a database. The result sits in a short-term cache for up to 24 hours, so you can open it again, and then it expires. To run the check, the selected sentences are sent to Google as search queries through our data provider. For that reason, do not paste confidential text, such as unpublished legal documents, client data or anything under a non-disclosure agreement.
When to run a plagiarism check
A quick check fits into most publishing routines. These are the moments it helps most:
- Before you publish work from writers. Check articles from freelancers, agencies or new team members before they go live.
- When you edit AI-assisted drafts. AI-assisted text can sometimes repeat wording from existing pages, so a quick check before publishing is sensible.
- To find copies of your content. Paste a passage from one of your pages, add your site as the one to ignore, and see whether other sites have republished it.
- For essays and reports. Check that quotes are marked and sources are credited before you hand the work in.
What to do if you find copied text
If the copied text is in your draft, rewrite the passage in your own words, or quote it and credit the source. Original writing is also better for SEO: when the same text appears on several sites, search engines generally show only one version, and it may not be yours.
If another site copied your content, contact the site owner first and ask for a credit with a link, or for the text to be removed. If that does not work, you can send a copyright removal request to the site's host or to Google. And if you want content that is original from the start and built to rank, our SEO services can plan and write it with you.
For other quick checks on your content and rankings, browse our free SEO tools. They cover keyword research, rankings, backlinks and AI search.