What is Turnitin?

Turnitin is the global standard in academic integrity, trusted by over 16,000 educational institutions worldwide to detect plagiarism, AI-generated content, and contract cheating. Its Similarity tool compares submissions against the world's largest academic content database including billions of web pages, journals, and previously submitted papers. Turnitin's AI writing detection, named to TIME's Best Inventions of 2025, flags AI-generated or AI-assisted text. The companion product Feedback Studio streamlines instructor grading and commenting, while Gradescope handles structured assessment grading.

Key Features

Plagiarism DetectionAI Writing DetectionSimilarity ReportTurnitin Clarity (Writing Process)Feedback StudioInline CommentsRubric GradingLMS IntegrationiThenticate for ResearchGradescope IntegrationExamSoft IntegrationAcademic Database ComparisonAI Use TransparencyResubmission TrackingClass-wide AnalyticsFERPA ComplianceMulti-language Support

How to Use Turnitin

1Set up a Turnitin account via your institution's LMS or directly

2Create an assignment and configure the similarity and AI detection settings

3Students submit their work through the assignment portal

4Turnitin generates a Similarity Report highlighting matched content

5Instructors review the report, add feedback, and record grades

Who is Turnitin for?

✅ Best For

University and college instructors who need a legally defensible, institutionally backed system for detecting plagiarism and ensuring submitted work is original
Academic institutions seeking a comprehensive integrity platform that covers detection, feedback, grading, and now AI writing transparency in one suite
Researchers and journal editors who need iThenticate to verify manuscript originality before publication in peer-reviewed journals

❌ Not For

Individual K-12 teachers or small schools that need an affordable standalone plagiarism checker, since Turnitin is priced for institutional licensing rather than individual subscriptions
Educators who want a student-facing writing coach or self-improvement tool, as Turnitin's primary function is detection and reporting for instructors rather than guidance for students
Users expecting a free or low-cost solution, as access is typically provided through institutional subscriptions rather than individual purchases

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Pricing

Is Turnitin free? No, there is no free plan.

InstitutionalCustom

✓Annual contract priced per institution size
✓includes Similarity
✓AI detection
✓and Feedback Studio

iThenticateCustom

✓Standalone plan for researchers and publishers

Prompts to Try

Check this student essay for plagiarism

Generate a similarity report for my class submissions

Flag any AI-generated sections in this paper

View the writing process timeline for this submission

Use Cases

A university English department processes 4,000 end-of-semester essays through Turnitin and uses the batch Similarity Reports to identify 23 cases requiring academic review, all within 24 hours of submission.

A professor teaching an online course uses Turnitin Clarity to view the step-by-step writing timeline for a suspicious submission and discovers the entire essay was pasted in a single session, prompting a follow-up conversation with the student.

A graduate research coordinator uses iThenticate to run all PhD theses through similarity checking before submission to the university repository, ensuring no unattributed content reaches the archive.

A law school instructor uses Turnitin's Feedback Studio to leave inline comments and rubric-based grades on 60 case briefs, returning marked work to all students within the same day.

A curriculum administrator at an international university uses Turnitin's AI detection reports to establish a data-informed policy on acceptable AI use in student assessments across all departments.