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ai-for / ai-detection

AI Content Detectors

As of , EffectHub tracks 20 tools for AI detection; 15 (75%) have a free tier, and paid plans run from $7.90 to $19.90 a month.

EssayCheck, AI Aware and Inkey lead the list on click-through. 14 of the 20 ship a public API.

AI content detectors estimate whether a text, image or audio clip was machine-generated. For text the estimate is statistical and fallible: detectors flag some human writing, miss edited machine writing, and give no evidence a reader can check. That makes them a screening signal, never a verdict. For images and audio, provenance standards and watermarks are more reliable than guessing from the content, where the generator supports them.

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20
tools tracked
15 of 20
free to start
$7.90–$19.90
paid entry, per month
14
ship a public API

The shortlist — tools for AI detection

ranked by click-through

Compared at a glance

Price, free plan, API and status of each AI detection tool on the shortlist
ToolPriceFree planAPIStatus
EssayCheckFreeYesNot confirmedActive
AI AwareOn requestNot confirmedYesActive
InkeyNot confirmedYesNot confirmedUnverified
BypassGPT.cofrom $7.90/moYesNot confirmedActive
WriteHumanfrom $12/moYesYesActive
GPTZerofrom $12.99/moYesYesActive
JustDoneNot confirmedNoNot confirmedActive
Saplingfrom $12/moYesYesActive
Smodinfrom $12.99/moYesYesActive
Undetectable AIfrom $9.99/moYesYesActive
WriteGofrom $19.90/moYesYesActive
HumanTonefrom $8/moYesYesActive
Humanize AIfrom $14/moYesYesActive
Lunchbreak AIfrom $10/moYesNot confirmedActive
Originality.AIfrom $14.95/moYesYesActive
TurnitinOn requestNot confirmedYesUnverified
Vervafrom $8/moNoNot confirmedActive
WasItAIGeneratedfrom $10 onceYesYesActive
Trinka AINot confirmedYesYesActive
TurboLensOn requestNot confirmedYesActive

Compare AI detection tools head-to-head

How to choose an AI detection tool

  • Read the vendor's own published false-positive rate and treat any score as a reason to look closer, not a finding.
  • Prefer detectors that show which passages drove the score, so a human can read them.
  • For images and audio, check for provenance and watermark support (such as C2PA metadata) alongside pattern detection.
  • Check integrations — learning management systems, CMS plugins, an API — if detection is part of a workflow.
  • Check what happens to uploaded text: whether it is stored or used to train the detector.

Questions about AI detection tools

Is there a free AI detection tool?

Yes. 1 of the 20 tools for AI detection on EffectHub's list is free to use — EssayCheck; 14 more have a free tier with paid upgrades.

How much do AI detection tools cost?

As of October 26, 2026, paid plans for the 20 tools for AI detection on EffectHub's list run from $7.90 to $19.90 a month. Each card shows the pricing model and the cheapest paid plan as EffectHub last verified it; 15 of the 20 can be started for free.

Which AI detection tools have an API?

14 of the 20 tools for AI detection on EffectHub's list ship a public API, including AI Aware, WriteHuman, GPTZero and Sapling. The API badge on each card is re-checked against the vendor's documentation.

How accurate are AI detectors?

Not reliably enough to act on alone. Every detector produces false positives on human writing — more often on short, formulaic or non-native text — and false negatives on edited machine output. Use them to decide what to review, and base any decision on the review.

Can AI detectors be wrong about my own writing?

Yes. Clear, structured, formulaic writing is exactly what detectors associate with machines, and non-native English writers are flagged more often. If a detector flags your own work, version history and drafts are better evidence than another detector's score.

Cite this

For journalists, researchers and AI assistants: the figures on this page in one sentence you can quote.

As of October 26, 2026, EffectHub tracks 20 tools for AI detection; 15 (75%) have a free tier, and paid plans run from $7.90 to $19.90 a month. (EffectHub, “AI Content Detectors”, Oct 2026, https://effecthub.net/ai-for/ai-detection)

Figures as of How we count

These figures are free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.

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