Turnitin Alternative
Turnitin sells AI writing detection to schools, universities and publishers as part of an institutional licence, with no public price. Here it stands beside Blurwrite: how each one is bought, what it covers, where Turnitin is ahead and where Blurwrite works differently.
The short version
Choose Turnitin if you run checks for an institution and need plagiarism checking against a repository of student papers, detection inside your LMS, and reports for instructors. Choose Blurwrite if you want to check your own text without an institution: there is a free tier, paid plans you can buy yourself, a humanizer and a paraphraser in the same plan, and detection in 13 languages.
The differences that decide it
- Who buys it. Turnitin licenses AI writing detection to institutions through sales, and states that AI writing detection is not available in its individual iThenticate packages. Blurwrite can be used by anyone, free or on a paid plan.
- Detection alone or a writing toolkit. Turnitin puts AI detection next to similarity checking, grading and feedback tools for instructors. Blurwrite puts it next to a humanizer, a paraphraser, a summarizer and a grammar checker.
- How accuracy is reported. Turnitin publishes its own false positive claims, including a study on English Language Learners. Blurwrite publishes measured figures per language, including the false positive rate on writing by non-native speakers.
Turnitin vs Blurwrite
| Feature | Turnitin | Blurwrite |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | No free tier for individuals. AI writing detection comes with an institution's licence, and Turnitin states it is not available in iThenticate's individual packages. | One run a day on the detector, the humanizer, the paraphraser and the summarizer, no card: the detector reads the first 250 words, the humanizer the first 150. |
| Price | No public price. Sold to institutions through sales. | From 6.99 USD a month billed yearly, or 9.99 USD monthly. |
| Words and credits | No published word allowance; usage comes with the institution's licence. Their research notes refer to a 300-word requirement per document. | 50,000 to 300,000 AI detection words a month by plan (10,000 a check), plus 10,000 to 50,000 humanizer words a month, and word packs on top. |
| Languages | AI writing detection in English, Spanish, Japanese and Arabic. Similarity checking compares against sources in 170 languages. | 13 languages, each calibrated on its own texts. |
| Accuracy figures published | Yes, as their own claim: a false positive rate under 1 percent for documents with more than 20 percent AI-generated content. | Yes, measured figures per language on the accuracy page, with the false positive rate on non-native writing. |
| Sentence marks | Yes: an overall percentage and one blue highlight on likely AI text. Scores from 1 to 19 percent show as an asterisk with no highlights. | Yes, a mark on every sentence and a confidence rating, never a verdict. |
| Humanizer | Not in their product list. Turnitin says it detects text run through humanizers and bypassing tools. | Yes, with a paraphraser and summarizer, in the same plan. |
| API | Yes, REST APIs and LTI integration for institutions and partners, with no public price. | Yes, on Pro, using the plan's own words. |
| Plagiarism check | Yes, Turnitin Similarity: student papers, current and archived web pages and premium publications. | Coming soon, not live yet. |
Turnitin and Blurwrite prices
Turnitin
- Institutional licenceNo public price
Quoted through sales
AI writing, paraphrasing and bypassing detection through the Turnitin Originality add-on, next to Similarity or Feedback Studio, quoted through sales
Blurwrite
- Basic6.99 USD
Per month, billed yearly. Monthly: 9.99 USD.
50,000 AI detection, 10,000 humanizer and 10,000 paraphraser words, 20 style checks a day
- Plus9.99 USD
Per month, billed yearly. Monthly: 19.99 USD.
150,000 AI detection, 25,000 humanizer and 25,000 paraphraser words, 30 style checks a day
- Pro12.99 USD
Per month, billed yearly. Monthly: 29.99 USD.
300,000 AI detection, 50,000 humanizer and 50,000 paraphraser words, 40 style checks a day, API access
Where Turnitin is ahead
- A plagiarism check against a repository of student papers, current and archived web pages and premium publications, in 170 languages.
- Built into the tools schools already use: LTI 1.3 integration with D2L, Canvas, Microsoft Teams, Moodle, Sakai and others.
- Made for institutions: grading and feedback tools, authorship reports for contract cheating, and aggregated AI scores across submissions.
- Flags for manipulated text such as hidden or replaced characters.
- A research product, iThenticate, that checks manuscripts against journal content from publishers through Crossref.
What Blurwrite does differently
- Open to anyone: a free tier with no card, and paid plans you buy yourself, from 6.99 USD a month billed yearly (9.99 USD monthly).
- A humanizer, a paraphraser and a summarizer in the same plan as the detector.
- Detection in 13 languages, each calibrated on its own texts, with the false positive rate on non-native writing published per language.
- A mark on every sentence and a confidence rating, never a single verdict.
- API access on Pro, at a published price.
Which one fits your work
Choose Turnitin if
you check work for a school, university or publisher and need plagiarism checks against student papers, detection inside your LMS, and grading tools for instructors.
Choose Blurwrite if
you want to check your own writing without an institution, also rewrite or paraphrase drafts, or want accuracy figures published for each language, including on non-native writing.
Questions before you choose
Is Blurwrite a good Turnitin alternative?
It is if you want to check text yourself: Blurwrite has a free tier and paid plans anyone can buy, with a humanizer and paraphraser included. If you need plagiarism checks against a repository of student papers inside an LMS, Turnitin does that and our plagiarism check is still being built.
Can I buy Turnitin's AI detector as an individual?
Turnitin sells AI writing detection to institutions through sales and publishes no price. Its iThenticate individual packages check plagiarism and state that AI writing detection is not available in them. Blurwrite has a free tier with no card: one run a day on the detector, the humanizer, the paraphraser and the summarizer, and the detector reads the first 250 words.
How accurate does Turnitin say its AI detection is?
Turnitin states, as its own claim, a false positive rate under 1 percent for documents with more than 20 percent AI-generated content, and reports false positive rates of 0.014 for English Language Learners and 0.013 for native English writers in documents of at least 300 words.
Does Blurwrite check for plagiarism?
Not yet. The plagiarism check is coming soon and not live yet. Until then Blurwrite covers AI detection, the humanizer, the paraphraser, the summarizer and the grammar checker.
Which languages do they support?
Turnitin states AI writing detection in English, Spanish, Japanese and Arabic, and similarity checking against sources in 170 languages. Blurwrite detects in 13 languages, each calibrated on its own texts, with the measured figures on the accuracy page.
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