Turnitin Colors Meaning: Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red and AI Colours
Turnitin uses colour in three different ways, and mixing them up is the most common reason students misread their reports. This page puts every Turnitin report colour in one place.
1. The similarity score icon (or flag)
The coloured icon or flag beside your submission summarises your overall similarity score.
| Colour | Score | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | No matching text | Nothing matched in Turnitin's databases |
| Green | One word to 24% | Normal for referenced work |
| Yellow | 25 to 49% | Likely to be reviewed |
| Orange | 50 to 74% | High; usually investigated |
| Red | 75 to 100% | Very high |
Detailed guides: blue, green (including the green flag), yellow.
What does orange mean on Turnitin?
Orange means 50 to 74% of the paper matches sources. Most markers treat it as high and will ask for an explanation. Common causes are a resubmission matching an earlier stored copy, long unquoted passages, or an assignment template left in.
What does red mean on Turnitin?
Red means 75 to 100%. In practice this is often a paper matching an earlier copy of itself. See 100% similarity on Turnitin.
What does grey mean?
A grey icon with no percentage means the report is still pending. Refresh after a few minutes. See report pending or not available.
2. Highlight colours inside the similarity report
Inside the report, each source gets a number and a colour, and the matching text in your paper is highlighted in that colour. These colours identify sources; they do not rank severity. A red highlight is not worse than a blue one. Check the source number and the match group instead.
The newer report also colour-codes the four match groups with small icons: Not Cited or Quoted, Missing Quotations, Missing Citation, and Cited and Quoted. You can see them on the similarity sample below.
3. Highlight colours inside the AI writing report
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cyan / light blue | Likely AI-generated text |
| Purple | Likely AI-generated and then AI-paraphrased |
The AI indicator icon itself shows blue when the report processed successfully, an asterisk for scores from 1% to 19%, and grey when the file could not be processed.
Turnitin colour code at a glance
| Colour | Where | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Similarity icon | 0%, no matching text |
| Green | Similarity icon | 1 to 24% |
| Yellow | Similarity icon | 25 to 49% |
| Orange | Similarity icon | 50 to 74% |
| Red | Similarity icon | 75 to 100% |
| Grey | Similarity or AI icon | Pending, or could not be processed |
| Cyan | AI report highlight | Likely AI-generated |
| Purple | AI report highlight | AI-generated, then AI-paraphrased (English only) |
| Any colour | Similarity highlight | Identifies a source, not severity |
See every colour on a real report
Both screenshots below come from the same 24-page, 6,364-word paper. The similarity report found 1% overall similarity. The AI writing report flagged 51% of the qualifying text as likely AI-generated. Tap either one to see it full size.
Screenshots shown for illustration. Your own reports arrive as full PDFs in your dashboard.
Next: what is a good similarity percentage and how to read a Turnitin report.
Frequently asked questions
What do Turnitin colours mean?
On the similarity icon: blue means no matches, green 1 to 24%, yellow 25 to 49%, orange 50 to 74%, red 75 to 100%.
What does a green flag mean on Turnitin?
A green flag or icon means your similarity score is low, between one matching word and 24%.
Are highlight colours in the report the same as the score colours?
No. Highlight colours inside the report identify individual sources. They do not indicate severity.
What does orange mean on Turnitin?
Orange means 50 to 74% similarity, which most markers treat as high.
What does purple mean on Turnitin?
In the AI writing report, purple highlights text likely AI-generated and then AI-paraphrased. This group applies to English only.
What colours does the Turnitin AI report use?
Cyan for likely AI-generated text and purple for AI-generated text that was then AI-paraphrased.