Looking for a free APA checker? Read this first

Before choosing a checker, look at what it actually checks: references, in-text citations, language, or the layout of a document. Those are different tasks, and a tool may cover only some of them.

APA details worth reviewing

• References. Review titles, authors, dates, and DOI links. Check italics and hanging indents in the formatted document. Our APA reference checklist covers selected rules.
• In-text citations. APA uses author–date citations. For two authors, use “and” in narrative citations and “&” in parenthetical citations. For three or more, use the first author’s surname and “et al.” from the first citation, unless that abbreviation creates ambiguity.
• Same author and year. Distinguish works with the same author and date using lowercase letters after the year, such as 2024a and 2024b, consistently in references and citations. Assign letters using the reference-list ordering rules.
• Numbers. Generally, use words for zero through nine and numerals for 10 and above. Exceptions matter: ages, percentages, measurements, and statistical values often use numerals even below 10.
• Punctuation and headings. APA uses the serial comma and one space after sentence-ending punctuation. There are five heading levels; check their formatting in the document itself.

Ask what the tool can actually see

Check the tool’s stated scope and limits rather than assuming “APA checker” means a complete document audit. Pasted plain text does not reliably retain font styling, spacing, margins, or indentation. A text-based suggestion cannot establish whether those features are correct in your original file.

A checker that shows you the fix

Style Guide Scanner offers suggested corrections to pasted text, explanations, and highlighted changes. It supports APA, Chicago, MLA, AP, and Harvard style. Suggestions need your review: the scanner can miss issues or suggest a change that is not appropriate, and it does not verify sources or document layout.

Public free scanning is currently waitlisted. When it opens, a free account receives 500 words total per day, resetting at midnight UTC. The $9.99/month plan allows up to 5,000 words per scan, subject to a 50,000-word rolling 24-hour allowance. Join the waitlist for an update when scanning opens.

Official APA sources

• Author–date citation system — author counts and citation forms.
• Works with the same author and date — year-letter suffixes.
• Numbers expressed in numerals — general rules and exceptions.
• Serial comma and spacing after punctuation.
• Headings — APA’s five heading levels.

This is an independent summary, not an official APA publication or an exhaustive checklist.