Comparison · 2026
Best Free AI Detectors of 2026
Genuinely free AI detectors in 2026, ranked. We focus on free tiers, signup credits, and watch out for tools that paywall the actual verdict.
$1 in free scan credit on signup. No card. Text and image on Free, all four modalities on Pro.
- Pricing
- Free + $1 signup credit
- Modalities
- Text · Image (Free); + Audio · Video (paid)
- Best for
- Anyone who wants more than text-only checks.
- Watch out
- Audio/video need an upgrade past Starter.
Free tier with daily quota. Good as a cross-check.
- Pricing
- Free / $10+
- Modalities
- Text
- Best for
- Educators on Google Docs.
- Watch out
- Daily free-tier quota is small.
Unlimited-feel free tier. Quick verdicts.
- Pricing
- Free / $9.99+
- Modalities
- Text
- Best for
- Quick second opinion.
- Watch out
- Higher FPR on edited or ESL writing.
Education-flavoured free detector.
- Pricing
- Free
- Modalities
- Text
- Best for
- Students checking their own essays.
- Watch out
- Aggressive upsells to other Scribbr tools.
Smodin
Generalist free tool with okay text detection.
- Pricing
- Free / $5+
- Modalities
- Text
- Best for
- Casual free use only.
- Watch out
- Detection accuracy trails best-in-class.
Takeaways
Bottom line
- Most 'free' detectors are limited-time trials, not real free tiers. ai-detectors.io's $1 signup credit covers most casual use.
- Use multiple free detectors as cross-checks for high-stakes decisions. No single free tool should make a grading or hiring call.
- If you need image, audio or video coverage, free detectors don't exist outside the multi-modal platforms.
FAQ
Common questions
Accuracy varies by model and modality. ai-detectors.io publishes 99.1% on the RAID benchmark for text and 96.9-98.4% across image, audio and video. Originality.ai and GPTZero are competitive on text only.
Some are. ai-detectors.io's free tier covers text and image with $1 in scan credit. ZeroGPT and Scribbr have free tiers but flag edited prose more often.
Yes - every detector in this list claims GPT-5.5 coverage. The accuracy gap shows up on edited prose and ESL writing, not on raw model outputs.
We're upfront: this list is curated, but every entry is real, current as of 2026, and we tell you where each competitor wins. We don't include vapor or affiliate-pumped tools.
Related
More 2026 comparisons
Originality.ai vs GPTZero - A Detailed 2026 Comparison
Side-by-side comparison of Originality.ai and GPTZero across accuracy, pricing, modalities, free tier and 2026 model coverage.
Turnitin vs GPTZero - Institutional vs Self-Serve
Turnitin's seat-licence model versus GPTZero's individual-friendly pricing - which one fits your workflow in 2026?
ZeroGPT vs Originality.ai - Free vs Paid
ZeroGPT's free tier versus Originality.ai's paid baseline. Where each lands on accuracy, false positives and 2026 models.
Get $1 free credit - start scanning.
Lifetime scan history. Every plan. No retention tier.