Side-by-Side Comparison · March 2026
AI Detector Comparison
Six tools, one benchmark corpus, no affiliate arrangements.
| # | Tool | Accuracy | False Pos. | False Neg. | Latency | Pricing | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Originality.aioriginality.ai | 91% |
7% | 11% | 420ms | paid | 4.6/5 |
| #2 | GPTZerogptzero.me | 87% |
10% | 15% | 380ms | freemium | 4.1/5 |
| #3 | Copyleakscopyleaks.com | 79% |
12% | 22% | 510ms | freemium | 3.7/5 |
| #4 | Sapling AIsapling.ai | 76% |
17% | 24% | 610ms | freemium | 3.2/5 |
| #5 | Writer.comwriter.com | 84% |
8% | 18% | 290ms | paid | 3.9/5 |
| #6 | Hive Moderationthehive.ai | 88% |
9% | 12% | 340ms | paid | 4.2/5 |
How to Choose
For Maximum Accuracy: Originality.ai
Originality.ai leads at 91% accuracy with 7% FPR. Free plan, then credit-based pricing.
For Education: GPTZero
GPTZero is the standard in schools. 87% accuracy, free account, sentence-level highlighting.
For LMS Integration: Copyleaks
Copyleaks has the deepest Canvas, Moodle, and Blackboard integrations. AI detection in 30+ languages.
For Enterprise: Writer.com
Writer.comfastest API at 290ms. Full platform commitment required at $18/user/month.
For Voice & Deepfakes: Hive Moderation
Hive Moderation is the only tool that reliably detects AI-generated voice and video. API-only, enterprise pricing.
Key Metrics
Accuracy vs. False Positive Rate
A 91%-accurate detector with 7% FPR is safer than a 93%-accurate detector with 15% FPR: the latter falsely accuses twice as many innocent writers. For academic integrity, FPR is the critical metric.
See our full accuracy methodology for content-type breakdown.
False Positive Rates: The Critical Metric
A false positive occurs when an AI detector incorrectly classifies human-written text as AI-generated. For academic integrity contexts, this is the most consequential error: it means wrongly accusing a human writer. The best detectors have FPR of 7 to 10%; the worst are at 17 to 19%. Non-native English speakers and STEM writers are disproportionately affected across all tools tested.
API Latency for Production Pipelines
Latency matters when building detection into a real-time content workflow. Writer.com at 290ms enables near-instant inline detection. Copyleaks at 510ms introduces a half-second delay that accumulates at high throughput. For batch processing use cases, accuracy and cost matter more than latency.
Pricing Models Side by Side
Originality.ai uses a credit model (1 credit = 100 words) with a free plan, Pro at $14.95 a month and Enterprise at $179 a month. GPTZero offers a free account plus Premium (300,000 words a month) and Professional (500,000 words a month). Copyleaks bills credits (1 credit = 250 words) from $13.99 a month billed annually; Writer.com uses per-seat pricing. Prices checked 22 October 2026. Hive Moderation requires enterprise volume negotiation. See our pricing page for full comparison.
Head-to-head comparisons
Two detectors at a time, on the same 2,400 texts, with a decision table, pricing and worked examples. Also see the Sapling review.