Last updated: February 19, 2025
We’re commonly asked about industry-standard editing and proofreading rates. Rates can vary widely. While there’s no standardization, there are market trends and averages.
In 2020, the EFA put together a survey with averages and ranges of rates across various types of editing, including copy editing and proofreading. They updated the rates in 2024, as seen below.
PS: EditorNinja is a copy editing, proofreading, and content writing service. Our pricing is based on the rates below, and our professional editors and writers, who have edited 12m+ words and written 250k+ more, are ready to tackle your content. Schedule an Intro Call to see if we’re the right fit for you.
Copy Editing Rates
| Copyediting | PER WORD | PER HOUR | PER PAGE | PAGES/HR | |
| Academic, humanities (student) | 3.0–5.0¢ | $40.00–50.00 | $7.50–12.50 | 4.0–8.0 | |
| Academic, humanities (faculty, publication) | 3.5–5.0¢ | $45.00–60.00 | $8.75–12.50 | 4.0–8.0 | |
| Academic, STEM (student) | 3.6–5.5¢ | $45.00–60.00 | $8.88–13.75 | 4.0–7.3 | |
| Academic, STEM (faculty, publication) | 3.8–6.0¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $9.50–15.00 | 4.0–7.0 | |
| Academic, other | 3.5–5.0¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $8.75–12.50 | 4.0–8.0 | |
| Business/marketing | 3.0–5.0¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $7.50–12.50 | 5.0–10.0 | |
| Fiction | 2.0–3.0¢ | $40.00–50.00 | $5.00–7.50 | 5.0–10.0 | |
| Graphic novels | 3.0–3.5¢ | $38.00–55.00 | $7.50–8.75 | 9.5–15.0 | |
| Legal | 4.0–14.8¢ | $50.00–65.00 | $10.00–36.88 | 5.0–7.0 | |
| Medical | 4.9–5.0¢ | $50.00–65.00 | $12.33–12.50 | 3.0–6.0 | |
| Medicolegal | 6.0–8.0¢ | $40.00–50.00 | $15.00–20.00 | 5.0–10.0 | |
| Memoirs | 2.5–3.5¢ | $45.00–55.00 | $6.25–8.75 | 5.0–10.0 | |
| Nonfiction | 3.0–4.0¢ | $45.00–60.00 | $7.50–10.00 | 5.0–8.0 | |
| Technical | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–7.8 | |
| Other | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–62.50 | $10.00–15.00 | 5.0–7.0 | |
Proofreading Rates
| Proofreading | PER WORD | PER HOUR | PER PAGE | PAGES/HR | |
| Academic, humanities (student) | 2.0–4.0¢ | $40.00–50.00 | $5.00–10.00 | 7.0–10.0 | |
| Academic, humanities (faculty, publication) | 2.0–3.4¢ | $40.00–50.00 | $5.00–8.53 | 7.0–10.0 | |
| Academic, STEM (student) | 3.0–5.0¢ | $42.50–55.00 | $7.50–12.50 | 6.0–10.0 | |
| Academic, STEM (faculty, publication) | 3.0–5.0¢ | $40.00–50.00 | $7.50–12.50 | 6.0–10.0 | |
| Academic, other | 2.0–4.1¢ | $41.50–55.00 | $5.00–10.25 | 6.0–10.5 | |
| Business/marketing | 2.0–4.0¢ | $45.00–57.50 | $5.00–10.00 | 7.0–10.0 | |
| Fiction | 1.2–2.0¢ | $35.00–45.00 | $3.00–5.00 | 8.0–14.0 | |
| Graphic novels | 1.5–2.8¢ | $35.00–40.00 | $3.75–6.88 | 9.5–17.5 | |
| Legal | 2.0–3.8¢ | $40.00–51.00 | $5.00–9.38 | 6.0–10.0 | |
| Medical | 5.0–5.0¢ | $45.00–60.00 | $12.50–12.50 | 6.0–10.0 | |
| Medicolegal | n/a–n/a | $37.50–65.00 | n/a–n/a | n/a–n/a | |
| Memoirs | 2.0–2.5¢ | $35.00–47.50 | $5.00–6.25 | 8.0–12.0 | |
| Nonfiction | 2.0–3.0¢ | $40.00–50.00 | $5.00–7.50 | 7.0–11.0 | |
| Technical | 2.5–4.0¢ | $45.00–57.00 | $6.25–10.00 | 6.0–10.0 | |
| Other | 2.0–3.3¢ | $36.00–51.00 | $5.00–8.28 | 6.5–10.0 | |
Developmental Editing Rates
| Developmental Editing | PER WORD | PER HOUR | PER PAGE | PAGES/HR | |
| Academic, humanities (student) | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–8.0 | |
| Academic, humanities (faculty, publication) | 4.0–5.0¢ | $56.50–70.00 | $10.00–12.50 | 4.0–7.0 | |
| Academic, STEM (student) | 5.0–7.0¢ | $50.00–65.00 | $12.50–17.50 | 3.0–7.0 | |
| Academic, STEM (faculty, publication) | 5.0–6.0¢ | $55.00–70.00 | $12.50–15.00 | 3.5–5.0 | |
| Academic, other | 4.0–6.0¢ | $55.00–76.50 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–7.5 | |
| Business/marketing | 4.0–6.0¢ | $55.00–72.50 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–10.0 | |
| Fiction | 3.0–4.0¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $7.50–10.00 | 5.0–10.0 | |
| Graphic novels | 3.3–5.0¢ | $50.00–70.00 | $8.25–12.50 | 10.0–15.0 | |
| Legal | 5.0–6.5¢ | $70.00–82.50 | $12.50–16.25 | 4.0–6.5 | |
| Medical | 5.5–7.0¢ | $60.00–75.00 | $13.75–17.50 | 2.5–4.5 | |
| Medicolegal | n/a–n/a | $45.00–75.00 | n/a–n/a | 3.5–10.5 | |
| Memoirs | 3.7–5.0¢ | $55.00–65.00 | $9.25–12.50 | 4.0–8.0 | |
| Nonfiction | 4.0–5.0¢ | $55.00–70.00 | $10.00–12.50 | 4.0–7.0 | |
| Technical | 5.0–7.3¢ | $58.00–65.00 | $12.50–18.13 | 3.5–6.5 | |
| Other | 4.0–6.0¢ | $60.00–70.00 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–7.5 | |
Line Editing Rates
| Line Editing | PER WORD | PER HOUR | PER PAGE | PAGES/HR | |
| Academic, humanities (student) | 4.0–5.0¢ | $45.00–60.00 | $10.00–12.50 | 4.0–8.0 | |
| Academic, humanities (faculty, publication) | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–65.00 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–7.3 | |
| Academic, STEM (student) | 4.0–6.5¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $10.00–16.25 | 4.0–7.5 | |
| Academic, STEM (faculty, publication) | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–6.5 | |
| Academic, other | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–65.00 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–7.3 | |
| Business/marketing | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–70.00 | $10.00–14.88 | 5.0–8.0 | |
| Fiction | 2.5–4.0¢ | $45.00–60.00 | $6.25–10.00 | 5.0–8.0 | |
| Graphic novels | 2.5–4.0¢ | $40.00–55.00 | $6.25–10.00 | 10.0–15.0 | |
| Legal | 5.0–15.5¢ | $60.00–75.00 | $12.50–38.75 | 5.0–8.5 | |
| Medical | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–65.00 | $10.00–15.00 | 3.0–6.0 | |
| Medicolegal | 7.0–9.0¢ | $40.00–57.50 | $17.50–22.50 | 5.0–10.0 | |
| Memoirs | 3.0–4.1¢ | $50.00–60.00 | $7.50–10.25 | 5.0–8.0 | |
| Nonfiction | 3.5–5.0¢ | $50.00–65.00 | $8.75–12.50 | 4.0–7.0 | |
| Technical | 4.0–6.0¢ | $50.00–65.00 | $10.00–15.00 | 4.0–7.0 | |
| Other | 4.0–6.3¢ | $50.00–70.00 | $10.00–15.75 | 4.0–6.0 | |
Formatting Rates
| Formatting | PER WORD | PER HOUR | PER PAGE | PAGES/HR | |
| Academic, humanities (student) | $45.00–50.00 | $40.00–50.00 | 7.0–11.0 | ||
| Academic, humanities (faculty, publication) | $50.00–60.00 | $45.00–52.50 | 7.0–10.0 | ||
| Academic, STEM (student) | $45.00–55.00 | $50.00–50.00 | 4.0–10.0 | ||
| Academic, STEM (faculty, publication) | $50.00–60.00 | $50.00–55.00 | 4.0–10.0 | ||
| Academic, other | $50.00–60.00 | $30.00–50.00 | 6.0–10.0 | ||
| Business/marketing | $50.00–65.00 | $45.00–55.00 | 7.0–12.0 | ||
| Fiction | $50.00–60.00 | $2.50–3.50 | 15.0–18.0 | ||
| Graphic novels | $51.25–66.25 | $5.00–25.00 | n/a–n/a | ||
| Legal | $75.00–90.00 | $5.00–n/a | 8.0–14.5 | ||
| Medical | $55.00–60.00 | $13.75–15.00 | 1.0–4.0 | ||
| Medicolegal | n/a–n/a | n/a–n/a | n/a–n/a | ||
| Memoirs | $50.00–65.00 | $2.50–5.00 | 7.0–12.0 | ||
| Nonfiction | $50.00–65.00 | $2.65–5.30 | 7.0–11.0 | ||
| Technical | $61.25–75.00 | $7.50–12.80 | 6.5–11.0 | ||
| Other | $70.00–76.50 | $3.90–5.60 | 8.0–9.0 | ||
How Much Does It Cost to Edit 1,000 Words?
Copy editing costs a median per-hour rate of $45. This is the industry average, of course, with more senior editors (who can edit faster) charging more and less experienced editors taking longer, and so costs may vary by a few dollars per hour on either end. At that hourly rate and 2,000 words edited per hour, 1,000 words cost approximately $22.50-$35, based on the turnaround time and the type of content.
EditorNinja charges $50 per thousand words edited, up to 5,000 words. We guarantee the turnaround time we give you. Pricing is on a volume basis above that. Schedule a call with us here to chat about your need.
For the purposes of the EFA survey and this chart, a page was defined as 250 words, which is the industry standard for a manuscript page.