Turnitin alternative
Keep the half of Turnitin that works. Migrate the half that does not.
Source similarity is still worth running. AI detection is the part that returns a probability you cannot act on. As a Turnitin alternative, Tolus leaves your similarity workflow untouched and replaces the detection half with a short oral defense: the student explains the work in their own voice, and the teacher gets a transcript and a rubric score back in Google Classroom.
The migration
You are not replacing a tool. You are moving one job to a better instrument.
Turnitin bundles two jobs that have drifted apart: matching text against sources, and guessing who wrote it. The first still earns its keep. The second has stopped paying off. Here is what stays put and what moves over.
Keep on Turnitin
Source similarity matching.
If your assignments depend on catching copied passages, keep that workflow exactly where it is. Tolus does not perform similarity matching against external sources, and it does not ask you to give that up.
Move to Tolus
AI authorship guessing, retired.
A 78% AI-likelihood score is not actionable on its own. It does not survive a parent meeting, and it does not tell you whether the student understands the argument they handed in. The oral defense answers that question directly.
Before
A flag that starts an investigation.
When detection misfires, the student carries the cost. A flagged report can consume hours of follow-up, and the accusation lands before the evidence does.
After
A verdict that cites the transcript.
Tolus never accuses; it asks. The student answers in their own voice, every sub-score cites a quoted moment, and you read the receipt before posting. Two to four minutes of student time, no investigation phase.
The switch, step by step
Run Tolus alongside Turnitin, then move the load over.
You do not have to remove Turnitin to add Tolus. Most teachers start by running Tolus on the assignments where understanding is the actual outcome (essays, problem sets, lab write-ups, history responses) and keep similarity tools in place for the assignments where source matching still matters. The migration is incremental, one assignment at a time.
- 01
Connect your Google Classroom course in one click, no IT setup.
- 02
Pick the rubric you already grade with. Tolus uses your weights.
- 03
Students get a private link, complete a short voice defense, and the score lands back in Classroom automatically.
- 04
Every score links to a transcript with citations, so you can read the receipt before posting.
Common questions
What schools ask before switching.
Why look for a Turnitin alternative?
Most schools start looking when they realize the question they actually need answered is no longer 'is this similar to existing text' but 'does the student understand what they turned in.' AI detection produces a probability; an oral defense produces evidence.
Can Tolus replace Turnitin for plagiarism checks?
Tolus does not perform similarity matching against external sources. Schools that need a similarity report should keep that workflow in place. Tolus replaces the AI-detection portion of Turnitin's value proposition with a stronger signal: the student's own voice defending their work.
How does Tolus avoid false accusations?
Tolus does not accuse. It scores only what the student says in their own voice during the defense, and every sub-score cites a quoted moment from the conversation. The teacher reviews the transcript and decides.
Will my district approve Tolus?
Tolus is FERPA-aligned, runs on a per-class basis, and writes scores back to your Google Classroom gradebook. The defense is recorded and stored alongside the score for audit. Pilot programs are free for one course through the term during beta.
How much teacher time does it save versus running Turnitin investigations?
A flagged Turnitin report can consume hours of follow-up. A Tolus defense produces a final, citable verdict in two to four minutes of student time, with no investigation phase required.
Last step
Migrate one course. Keep similarity, move detection.
Free for one course through the term. We help you wire up the rubric and walk through a sample defense, so the switch costs you nothing to try.