Writing essays can be stressful, especially when you're trying to fix grammar mistakes, check for plagiarism, and improve clarity—all before the deadline.

Finding a tool that does all of this for free isn’t easy. PaperRater is one option, but it has limitations, like a basic plagiarism checker and a word limit.

If you need a more effective AI essay checker, there are better free alternatives. These tools can help you catch errors, rewrite sentences, and ensure your work is original.

In this article, we'll list out the 6 best free PaperRater alternatives for checking for plagiarism and grammar mistakes in your essay in 2025.

What is PaperRater?

PaperRater is an AI essay checker that helps students analyze their writing for grammar, spelling, and plagiarism issues. It offers automated proofreading, word choice suggestions, and a basic plagiarism checker.

The tool is web-based and does not require downloads or installations. Users can paste their text into the platform and receive feedback within seconds.

While it’s useful for quick checks, PaperRater lacks advanced AI writing analysis and has restrictions on free usage.

Is PaperRater Safe & Legit?

PaperRater is a legitimate AI essay checker that has been used by students for years. It provides automated proofreading and plagiarism detection without requiring an account for basic features.

However, its plagiarism checker is not as comprehensive as some other tools. Since it does not provide detailed plagiarism reports or sources, students may need an additional tool for thorough checks.

While safe to use, users should always verify plagiarism results with a more advanced AI plagiarism checker.

Reasons to Use AI Proofreaders

Writing a strong essay isn’t just about getting ideas on paper—it’s about making sure your writing is clear, mistake-free, and original. AI essay checkers can help by quickly spotting errors, suggesting improvements, and checking for plagiarism before you submit your work.

Here are the benefits of using an AI essay checker:

• Check for Plagiarism - Avoid accidental plagiarism by scanning your essay against online sources and academic databases.

• Check Grammar - Fix spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes to make your writing clearer and more professional.

• Rewrite Sections if Needed - Improve awkward sentences and make your ideas flow better with AI-powered rewriting suggestions.

• Analyze Writing - Get feedback on sentence structure, readability, and tone to refine your essay.

• Instant Feedback - Save time by receiving corrections and suggestions in seconds instead of waiting for a teacher or peer review.

Using an AI study tool can help you submit a polished essay with fewer mistakes and more confidence in your work.

These tools can grade your essay and even rewrite sections of it for you!

6 Best Free PaperRater Alternatives for Checking Essays

If you're looking for a better way to check your essays, there are several free AI tools that can help with grammar, clarity, and plagiarism detection.

Whether you need quick grammar fixes or a full writing analysis, these alternatives offer useful features for students.

Here's our list of the 6 best free alternatives to PaperRater for checking essays with AI:

AI Blaze

First up on our list of the best alternatives to PaperRater is AI Blaze.

AI Blaze is your personal AI writing and studying assistant that helps you check your essay, rewrite sections, and even generate citations!

With AI Blaze, you can summarize articles, write research papers, and check them for mistakes, structure issues, and content suggestions anywhere you work using AI!

Features

• Write & improve papers using AI - AI Blaze can write and improve your essay or paper to help you streamline the writing process.

• Check your essays with AI - AI Blaze helps you fix mistakes, improve your thesis statement, improve structure, and give your essay a boost.

• Summarize any text, image, article, or PDF - Generate notes and summaries on any website with AI.

• Instantly use GPT-4 on any site with keyboard shortcuts and a dynamic AI sidebar assistant!

• AI Blaze is free! - Forget about annoying licenses or subscriptions

GPTZero

GPTZero is designed to detect AI-generated text, but it can also help students analyze their writing for originality.

It provides insights into sentence structure, complexity, and whether an essay appears to be written by AI. This can be useful for students who want to ensure their writing looks natural and authentic.

While it doesn’t check for grammar or plagiarism, it helps verify that an essay is entirely human-written.

Quillbot AI

Quillbot AI is primarily known for its rewriting tool, but it also includes a grammar checker and plagiarism detector.

Students can use it to rephrase awkward sentences, fix grammar mistakes, and improve word choice. The free version allows basic rewriting and grammar checking, while the plagiarism checker requires a premium upgrade.

It’s useful for refining essay content and making sure writing is clearer and more natural.

Scribbr AI

Scribbr AI specializes in plagiarism detection, making it a helpful tool for students who need to check their work before submitting it.

It scans essays against academic papers and online sources, highlighting any potential matches. The tool also includes a basic grammar checker to fix common writing mistakes.

It’s designed for academic writing, so it’s useful for students who need a more detailed plagiarism report.

Grammarly AI

Grammarly AI is a popular tool that checks essays for grammar, punctuation, and clarity.

It provides real-time feedback on sentence structure and word choice, helping students improve their writing as they type. The tool also detects tone and readability issues, making it useful for refining academic essays.

While the free version covers basic proofreading, plagiarism detection is only available in the premium plan.

Copyleaks AI

Copyleaks AI is a plagiarism checker that scans essays against academic databases, websites, and other sources.

It highlights any matches and provides a detailed report, making it useful for students who need a thorough originality check. The tool is often used by educators and institutions to verify content authenticity.

While it doesn’t include grammar checking, it’s a strong option for ensuring essays are plagiarism-free.

Prompts to Use With an AI Essay Checker

Using an AI essay checker is more effective when you provide clear and detailed prompts.

Here are some useful prompts to try:

• Check my essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes, and explain why each correction is needed.

• Rewrite this paragraph to make it clearer, more concise, and easier to read while keeping the original meaning.

• Analyze my writing style and suggest improvements to make it more formal and professional.

• Identify any sentences that sound awkward or unclear and provide better alternatives.

• Check my essay for passive voice and suggest ways to rewrite sentences in active voice.

• Scan my essay for potential plagiarism and provide a summary of any matching sources.

Providing detailed prompts helps AI tools give more accurate and useful feedback, making your essay stronger before submission.

Whether you need to write a topic sentence or introduction/conclusion paragraphs, using quality prompts can help you use AI to write and improve your essay, regardless of the topic.

Find the Right AI Tool for Your Essay

Choosing the right AI essay checker depends on your needs. Trying different tools can help you find the best PaperRater alternative for your essays.

To recap, our suggestion for the best free PaperRater alternative is AI Blaze. AI Blaze is the ultimate AI writing and studying assistant that helps you streamline the writing process, check your essay, and save time with AI for free!