Top 11 Most Reliable Proofreading Services in 2024

Writers, business professionals, academic professors, researchers, graduate students, and others searching for professional proofreading services must select from an ever-growing list of online proofreading companies. The large number of proofreading services can make the process of choosing a reliable company difficult, so we provide basic information on 11 of the top online proofreading services to simplify the process. To choose the best proofreading service, you must first consider your needs, goals, and budget. This helps you make an “apples to apples” comparison of proofreading service providers, allowing you to make an informed decision. We provide more information on the  11 best proofreading services for 2024 to help you get started conducting research on proofreading companies.  

• 1) Editor World
• 2) Scribendi
• 3) Proofed
• 4) Paper True
• 5) ProofreadingPal
• 6) ProofreadingServices.com
• 7) Scribbr
• 8) Enago
• 9) Wordy
• 10) London Proofreaders
• 11) Cambridge

The 11 Best Proofreading Services of 2024

1. Editor World

Editor World is an American editing and proofreading services company that has a panel of on-demand proofreaders available 24/7, 365 days a year worldwide. Editor World's headquarters are in Virginia, USA, and the company also has an office in London. Every proofreader on the team is a native English speaker from the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada with years of experience helping clients who need proofreading services. You have the benefit of choosing your professional proofreader and can communicate directly with that professional through an internal messaging system. The professional proofreaders at Editor World must pass a stringent editing and proofreading skills test to be approved as a provider. The cost to proofread a manuscript with 3,000 words ranges from $78 for a 5-day turnaround to $102 for 1-day editing and $159 for an 8-hour turnaround. Some proofreaders at Editor World offer a discount of up to 20% off the regular price of proofreading services.

2. Scribendi

Scribendi is a Canadian editing and proofreading services company, and its proofreaders include freelance editors who are located around the world. The company was established in 1997 and has been one of the top editing and proofreading services. Scribendi assigns the document(s) you submit to a member of their proofreading team. The editing and proofreading company reviews research papers, journal articles, business documents, books, and other types of manuscripts. The price for proofreading a 3,000-word document at Scribendi ranges from about $183 for an 8-hour turnaround to about $103 for a 7-day turnaround.

3. Proofed Proofreading and Editing

A South African company, Proofed Proofreading and Editing assigns your document(s) submitted for proofreading to one of its professional proofreaders. The company uses Knowadays to hire its team of proofreaders and editors. The price to edit a document with 3,000 words is $105 (USD) at Proofed, with a 1-day turnaround. The cost increases to $315 for urgent proofreading services. Their professional editors review PhD manuscripts, books, business documents, and more. The company’s proofreading services include corrections related to grammar, spelling, and punctuation as well as improving word choice, ensuring consistency, leaving helpful feedback, and highlighting clarity issues.

4. Paper True

According to its website, Paper True has a presence in Singapore, India, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The company’s proofreaders are paid in Indian Rupee or the U.S. dollar. The editing and proofreading services company provides a plagiarism check for an added fee. PaperTrue can help clients with research papers, essays, dissertations, essays, and application materials. PaperTrue was founded in 2014. The price for proofreading services at PaperTrue is $117 for a 1-day turnaround.

5. ProofreadingPal

According to the ProofreadingPal, the company is based in Iowa, USA. The company’s proofreading staff includes “detail-oriented individuals”. Your first and last name, email, and phone number are requested in their online contact form to receive a quote. When you submit to this proofreading services company, two professional proofreaders will review your document. The company lists the following proofreading services: business proofreading, resume proofreading, academic proofreading, student proofreading, essay proofreading, and book and manuscript proofreading. ProofreadingPal can help academic writers with following specific style guides.

6. ProofreadingServices.com

A location for the headquarters of Proofreading Services was not found on their website. The company was founded in 2011. The company offers proofreading and editing services, translation, publishing services, and ghostwriting. Documents they review include academic documents such as dissertations and theses, book manuscripts, and business documents. The cost to edit 3,000 words with a 24-hour turnaround time at Proofreading Services is $113.88.

7. Scribbr

Scribbr is based in Amsterdam and provides proofreading services for a variety of languages. The cost to proofread 3,000 words at a university/college level and a 24-hour turnaround time is $127. The price for proofreading services at the PhD/MBA level is higher. The company provides professional proofreading services for academic, professional, and business texts. Scribbr also provides an AI Proofreader to correct errors. The proofreading and editing company’s editors are native speakers and university graduates, and come from a variety of fields.

8. Enago

Enago lists New Jersey as its physical location and provides author services for the research community. Other offices include those in Tokyo, Seoul, Istanbul, New York, Beijing, and Shanghai. Their author services include editing services, and the company does not list a separate proofreading service. The cost to edit 3,000 words with a 1-day turnaround time is $225. A plagiarism check requires an additional fee. The proofreading services company also offers add-ons such as a manuscript report, re-editing support, and support throughout the journal article peer review process.

9. Wordy

Wordy is located in London, United Kingdom and provides proofreading and copy editing services. The price to proofread 3,000 words is about $117 at Wordy, which appears to be for a 1-day turnaround. The proofreading company’s website states that the final price is dependent on the word count of the document, whether you want proofreading, editing, or rewriting, if you require a style guide (additional fees apply), and if you want to choose your team of editors (additional fees apply). The company's services include book and academic proofreading. Professional proofreaders are available 24/7.

10. London Proofreaders

London Proofreaders is located in the UK and provides professional proofreading services. Their return times for documents that have been proofread does not include Saturdays and Sundays, as the company is closed on the weekends. For information on the price to edit 3,000 words with a 1-day turnaround time, a custom quote must be requested. Each document has two proofreaders and their proofreading service includes a PhD proofreading service, dissertation proofreading, a thesis proofreading service, and an academic proofreading service.

11. Cambridge

Cambridge Proofreading was founded in Cambridge, England and has headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The company's return times for a document with 3,000 words start at 12 hours and increase to 7 days. The cost to edit 3,000 words with a 1-day turnaround time with one editor is $83.70, and the cost increases to $167.40 for a review by two editors. Cambridge provides proofreading services for academics, students, businesses, and individuals.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are proofreading services?

Proofreading services help writers remove errors and finalize written documents. Professional proofreaders help you correct errors related to grammar, spelling, typos, inconsistencies, and more. They can also help you improve the structure and flow of your document.

What types of documents benefit from proofreading?

Every written document can benefit from proofreading. However, it is particularly important to proofread book manuscripts, business materials, and academic documents. Authors want to make sure their book is professionally presented and free of errors before publication. Businesses want to protect their reputation by making sure they look professional to existing and potential clients. Faculty, researchers, and students need to have well-written documents such as journal articles, dissertations, theses, research papers, and books to succeed professionally.

How much do professional proofreading services cost?

There are numerous online proofreading services and the prices vary. The cost of proofreading is first impacted by the quality and experience of the proofreading company. Prices for proofreading also depend on the length of the document, the level of proofreading required, and the turnaround time. Prices for proofreading at Editor World start at 2.2 cents per word.

Is there confidentiality when documents are submitted for proofreading?

The top editing and proofreading services do ensure the confidentiality of your document. Indicators of reliability include Better Business Bureau reviews and ratings, online ratings, and clear contact information on the company's website. You want to make sure you can call and email the company before you consider submitting payment.

How do professional proofreading services work?

The top online proofreading services provide information on their websites describing how the services work. Some proofreading services assign your document to a proofreader, while others allow you to see the list of proofreaders and choose on your own. Generally, proofreading services require payment in advance. This means you submit your document with payment and then the proofreader starts the proofreading process. When the proofreading is completed, your revised file is uploaded back to the company's website. As the client, you download the revised file. At Editor World, we use Track Changes markup so you can see each revision made by your proofreader. We also send a notification email when the document is available for you to download.