Direct answer
Turnitin is not a program you install on your laptop. It is an online plagiarism and AI-writing detection platform that universities access through their learning management systems, which is why searching for a "Turnitin download" usually ends in confusion [1]. What students are typically looking for is a way to see their own similarity and AI report — or the report itself as a downloadable file. This guide explains what Turnitin actually is, how students receive its reports, and how to check your draft before you submit.
Can You Download Turnitin as an App or Software?
The short answer is no — Turnitin is not downloadable software for students. It runs inside your university's learning management system (Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard) or on the Turnitin website, and it is only activated when an instructor creates an assignment that uses it [2]. There is no standalone Turnitin desktop app that you can install and use to scan your own papers.
The closest thing to a "download" is Turnitin Draft Coach, a Microsoft Word add-in that lets students check similarity and AI writing signals inside their document as they work [2]. However, Draft Coach is only available when your institution enables the integration, and its preview does not replace the full institutional report your instructor receives.
So if you searched "turnitin download," you are probably really asking how to get a Turnitin check on your draft — and that is a legitimate question with more than one answer. The key takeaway is simple: Turnitin is a service, not software. What you can actually download is the output — your similarity report and AI writing report.
How Do Students Get a Turnitin Similarity and AI Report?
Reports are generated per assignment. When your instructor enables Turnitin for an assignment and you submit through your LMS, Turnitin processes the paper and produces two outputs: a similarity report and an AI writing report [3]. Both reports are stored with your submission and can be opened from the assignment's feedback area.
The AI writing report shows a percentage that reflects how much of the paper Turnitin judges to be machine-generated [3]. Scores below 20% are displayed as an asterisk (*) rather than a number, and 0% is the only explicit low numeric outcome students typically see. The similarity report, meanwhile, matches your text against a large database of published and student work.
Importantly, instructors control whether the AI report is visible to students. If it is hidden in the assignment settings, you will not be able to open or download it from your submission page. That is why many students look for an independent way to obtain the same reports before submitting — so they know where they stand ahead of the due date.
How Can You Check Your Draft With Turnitin Before You Submit?
The safest route is through your institution: some courses set up practice or draft assignments, and Turnitin Draft Coach can flag similarity and AI signals inside Word before you hand anything in [4]. These options are useful because they show you Turnitin's own assessment while you still have time to revise.
However, practice assignments depend entirely on instructor settings, and anything submitted through the LMS is visible to your teacher [4]. Many students therefore use an independent Turnitin checking service to preview real similarity and AI results on their own draft, with no institutional submission attached. Running a check before the deadline lets you catch flagged AI sections, fix similarity matches, and decide whether to revise — instead of discovering the problem after it has been graded.
Whichever route you choose, the goal is the same: a real Turnitin report in your hands before you submit.
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FAQ
Is Turnitin free to download?
Turnitin is not a downloadable product, so there is nothing to pay for or install. Access is provided through your university's learning management system, and students normally use it at no personal cost when an instructor enables it for an assignment.
Can I download my Turnitin report as a PDF?
Yes. If your instructor has made the report visible, you can open the similarity report and download or print it from the feedback area of your submission. The AI writing report is typically viewed on screen within the same interface.
Does Turnitin have an app I can install?
Turnitin is a web-based service, and the official integrations work through your browser or LMS. The main downloadable component is Turnitin Draft Coach, a Microsoft Word add-in, which institutions must enable before students can use it [1].
Can students use Turnitin to check their own papers?
Only through instructor-created assignments, practice submissions, or enabled Draft Coach features — Turnitin does not offer a personal self-check portal for students. Many students instead use independent Turnitin checking services to preview real similarity and AI reports on their own draft [3].
What does an asterisk (*) mean on a Turnitin AI report?
An asterisk means the AI score is below 20% and Turnitin displays it as a range bucket rather than a single-digit number [1]. In most cases, 0% is the only explicit low numeric outcome students will see on the AI writing report.