PlagScan is a plagiarism checker designed around the educational institution. Although there are a plethora of individual and commercial tools available, PlagScan remains a contender for price and accuracy. However, compared to some of the major competitors, PlagScan does have some downsides.
First, it can be a bit slow compared to programs like Copysentry and Plagium. Second, its functionality is somewhat limited.
packages and prices
PlagScan initially offers a free trial so you can try it out without purchasing it first. For students and individual users, PlagScan gives away the first 2000 words for free. Beyond that, there are options for private and professional use.
Private
One note to take, these options are prepaid options. The first option is a 6000 word, 24 page option. This option costs €1 per 1000 words and costs €6. The second option is 17.500 words, 70 pages long and costs around €0,74 for 1000 words for a total of €13. Fourth, there is a 40.000 word, 160 page option. This option costs around €0,63 per 1000 words and a total of around €25. Finally, the 100,000 word option with 400 pages costs around €0.50 per 1000 words and a total of around €50.
Business
Business options differ from private options because they are not word-based pricing, but rather page-based pricing. There are three levels; Lite, Professional and Business. Lite offers URL checker, plagiarism check, and email support. Professional adds API access and comprehensive reporting. Enterprise adds even more with Private Repository and Premium Support.
For commercial pricing, at 200 pages, with an average of 250 words per page, Lite costs €18 per month. To continue, Professional costs around €20 per month and Enterprise costs an additional €3 at €23 per month. With 3200 pages, Lite costs €255 per month, Professional €286 per month, and Enterprise €330 per month. The built-in pricing tool has a maximum of 102 pages, or an average of 400 words per month. Lite for this size costs €25 per month, Professional €600 per month and Enterprise €000.
Interface and in use
In general, PlagScan's interface is relatively simple. Side-by-side mode allows you to compare your originally uploaded document with all possible matches.
You can also see in the standard view that it keeps the main document in the middle, the header at the top showing "pest level" information, and a sidebar showing sources. There are a handful of different colors overlaid on your original document to easily show where plagiarism may have occurred. Red text is an exact match to a font, blue was possibly rephrased or rephrased, and green is text marked as a citation.
Support
There are many support options for PlagScan users to collect more information. There are video tutorials to help you get familiar with using the product, step-by-step guides, and manuals that explain how to use the program.
Additionally, there is a robust FAQ section, documentation for API and LMS integration, and reseller partner program. Finally, there is a contact page where you can submit a form to the team, or even call with questions. They were even kind enough to give the address of their headquarters in Germany.
final verdict
All things considered, PlagScan is a pretty robust program when it comes to fighting plagiarism. Although some other programs may have stand-alone functionality, no program should be used solely for plagiarism detection. PlagScan itself says in its training and support videos that the only real way to determine if it's plagiarism is through human interaction. However, as a counterfeiting deterrent, PlagScan is definitely a good option to consider adding to your arsenal.