If you’ve decided to hire a freelance proofreader to proofread your PhD thesis or research paper, you may be wondering if you can afford the cost of proofreading services. So, how much does proofreading cost?
English proofreading rates
The cost of proofreading services varies from one service provider to the next. But comparing proofreading rates isn’t always easy. Although many proofreading agencies and freelance proofreaders publish their rates online, some companies charge other fees (such as a project fee or taxes) or have a minimum order size.
To be able to compare apple to apples, ask for proofreading quotes from the freelance proofreaders or companies you’re considering.
To know what to expect, here are the 2024 proofreading rates reported by two professional associations and several companies. All prices are shown in euros, for easy comparison. I used Xe.com for currency conversion.
- CIEP, the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, recommends a minimum hourly rate of €35 as of March 2024. This minimum rate for proofreading is equivalent to about €0.02 per word for a proofreading pace of about 2000 words per hour.
- The Editorial Freelancers Association reports an average hourly rate of €36–€41 for proofreading nonfiction documents or business copy. The rates refer to 2020 and should be updated soon. Based on those rates, the median rate for proofreading nonfiction documents would be about €0.02, per word.
And here is what some companies offering proofreading services to researchers charge for proofreading a 9000-word manuscript:
- ProofreadingServices.com: €248 (one-week delivery)
- Proofed: €248
- Papertrue: €194–€297
- Quality Proofreading: from €144
- Proof-Reading-Service.com: €126
- Cambridge Proofreading: €206 (one-week delivery)
Freelance proofreaders may charge different rates— higher or lower—than companies that offer proofreading services.
Things to know before comparing proofreading rates
Many agencies charge more for English proofreading than independent proofreaders do, because agencies need to split their fee with the freelancer who actually proofreads on the manuscript.
Some agencies (ServiceScape, for example) charge a commission as high as 50%, much higher than that of freelancing platforms (20% in general). This means that if you pay €300 for English proofreading through a third party, only €150–€240 will go to the freelance proofreader. Keep this in mind when you’re comparing the proofreading quotes from different service providers.
Another thing you may want to know is that some vendors outsource their proofreading services to other companies, which work with freelance proofreaders. And, in turn, some freelance proofreaders outsource their proofreading projects to other people.
This doesn’t mean the freelance proofreader who works for you through an agency won’t do a great job. It only means that all the parties involved (agency, freelancers, and so on) will split the fee you’ll pay for proofreading services.
Factors that determine how much proofreading costs
When preparing a quote for proofreading, both companies and freelance proofreaders consider the following:
- number of pages or word count,
- what’s included in the service, and
- turnaround time.
The subject matter, document format, and proofreader’s experience will also affect the quote you’ll get for English proofreading.
Document length
In general, proofreading quotes increase with the number of words. But proofreading rates per word tend to be cheaper for long documents than for short ones. For example, a proofreader may charge 2 cents per word to proofread a PhD thesis but 5 cents per word to proofread a business letter.
Services included
Proofreading means different things to different people. When you compare proofreading rates, check the service description to make sure you’re not comparing apples to oranges.
Turnaround time
The typical turnaround time for proofreading a PhD thesis or a research paper is a few days to a week. If you’re in a hurry and the proofreader offers express delivery, you may need to pay a “rush fee” or a more expensive rate per word. Not all freelance proofreaders charge a rush fee. (I’m one of them.)
In short, how much does proofreading cost?
In general, the cost for proofreading academic documents starts at around 2 euro cents per word. The most expensive rate I’ve seen advertised for this service is 7 cents per word and up (by a company in the United States). Academic proofreading rates depend on document type and size, delivery time, and proofreading company.
Do you need a freelance proofreader for a research paper or PhD thesis in economics or natural sciences? Send me a message at editor@languageediting.com.
Related posts:
- How much does English language editing cost?
- Editing or proofreading: Which one is essential if you can’t afford both?
- What free proofreading tool do I recommend?
Last revised on 15 March 2024
