How to Use Paperpal for Free (We Tested It: 0% to 50% AI)

We tested Paperpal's free plan on a real student paragraph: grammar fixes, 0% plagiarism, and why "Accept all" made it look 50% AI.

Learning Guides · AI Guides · Paperpal tutorial

The short answer

Paste your text, click each underlined word and read the reason before you accept it, then run the free plagiarism check. Never click Accept all on an essay you will hand in.

21grammar suggestions on our 124 words
0%plagiarism, free check
50% AIafter “Accept all” on human text

About the links: we tested every feature ourselves on a free account. Some links are affiliate links: if you upgrade through them, Worksheet365 may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Code PAP20 = 20% off. Our disclosure.

Watch the full test in 3 minutes

Paperpal made my essay 50% AI: video thumbnail of our real Paperpal test
Paste, read the reason, plagiarism check, then the AI detector test. Open on YouTube ↗

What Paperpal is

Paperpal is an AI writing assistant for academic work. It checks grammar, runs a plagiarism check and estimates AI writing, on the web, in Word and in Google Docs. We used only the free plan, in this order:

Step 1: paste your text

Paperpal editor with red underlines on a student paragraph and the counter showing 21 suggestions next to the Accept 21 edits button

Click Create New Document and paste your essay. In a few seconds every possible mistake gets a red line, and the Edit panel counts them.

Good to knowThe count is not a grade. On the same 124 words we got 20, then 18, then 21 suggestions.

Step 2: click a suggestion and read the reason

Two Paperpal suggestions: a rewording from big to significant that we rejected, and a real grammar fix to teenagers' lives that we accepted

Click one underlined word. A small box says why Paperpal wants the change, with Accept and Reject. This is the habit that matters most.

AcceptReal mistakes: verb agreement (“students uses”), verb form, spelling, apostrophes (“teenagers’ lives”).
Think twiceCards called Rephrase, Word Choice or Conciseness (“big” → “significant”). They change your style, not your grammar.

Step 3: run the free plagiarism check

Paperpal Checks panel with Plagiarism and AI Detection ticked, and a plagiarism result of 0% with 232 of 7,000 free words used

Open Checks in the right bar, tick Plagiarism and run it. It took about a minute. Our own paragraph scored 0%; if yours is higher, add quotation marks and a citation to each match.

Our AI detector test: 0% → 50% → 0%

Can Paperpal’s own edits make human writing look like AI? We ran its AI detector on three versions of the same paragraph.

My own text0%“likely fully human”
After “Accept all”50%75 of 116 words flagged
Real fixes only0%grammar fixed, voice kept
Three Paperpal AI detection results for the same paragraph: 0% for the original, 50% after Accept all, 0% with only real grammar fixes
Paperpal AI markers: the sentences it rewrote are highlighted pink as AI, the untouched sentences stay green
The sentences Paperpal rewrote the most are the ones that turned pink.
Keep it in proportionOne test is not proof for every detector, and Paperpal says its scores are estimates, not proof. But the pattern was clear enough to change how we click.

5 rules to keep your own voice

  1. Never click “Accept all”on an essay you will submit. That one click took us from 0% to 50% AI.
  2. Accept real mistakesAgreement, verb forms, spelling, apostrophes.
  3. Reject rewordingsRephrase, Word Choice, Conciseness: rewrite it yourself if needed.
  4. Reread the end resultPaperpal changed “can’t” to “can not”. The right word is “cannot”.
  5. Check your school’s rulesGrammar help is usually fine, AI rewriting may not be: is using AI cheating?

Free or Prime?

Free

  • 200 grammar edits a month
  • Lite plagiarism report (7,000 words on our account)
  • AI detection preview
  • 5 paraphrases a day

Prime · $6/month (yearly)

  • 20,000 grammar edits
  • 10,000 plagiarism words
  • 25,000 AI detection words
  • 500 paraphrases a month

A few essays a month? Free is enough. Long assignments every week? Prime is worth a look; code PAP20 takes 20% off.

Try Paperpal free ↗Partner link · prices checked November 2026

Our honest take

GoodEvery suggestion explains itself, and the free plagiarism allowance is generous.
Watch outCounts change between runs, “Accept all” can look like AI, some fixes are wrong.
Best forStudents who want to catch real mistakes and will read each suggestion.

Questions

Is Paperpal free?

Yes. The free plan includes 200 grammar edits a month, a Lite plagiarism report and a limited AI detection preview. Paid plans add more words and unlimited AI detection.

Is the Paperpal plagiarism check free?

Yes, you get a Lite report on the free plan. Our free account showed 7,000 plagiarism words a month in November 2026.

Can Paperpal make my essay look AI-generated?

In our test, yes: after Accept all, Paperpal’s AI detector rated our human-written paragraph 50% AI. Accepting only real grammar fixes kept it at 0%.

Is using Paperpal cheating?

Fixing your own grammar is usually allowed. Letting a tool rewrite your sentences may break your school’s AI policy. Check your syllabus, and see is using AI cheating?

Does Paperpal work in Word and Google Docs?

Yes. Paperpal has a Microsoft Word add-in and a Chrome extension for Google Docs and Overleaf, plus the web editor we used.

How we tested: free Paperpal account, web editor, November 11, 2026, on a 124-word paragraph we wrote with deliberate student mistakes. Prices from Paperpal’s pricing page the same day; they may change. Paperpal is a trademark of its owner. Related: we tested 3 AI detectors · AI tools for students.

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