11 Best Editing and Proofreading Services in 2026

Written by Scribendi

Last Updated: November 3, 2026

Our picks for the best editing and proofreading services in 2026 are Scribendi, Proof-Reading-Service.com, Fiverr, True Editors, ProofreadingPal, PaperTrue, Proofed, Enago, AJE, Editage, and LetPub.

We compared each service considering years of experience, turnaround times, pricing, and quality, using information from each company’s website as of November 2026.

What Is the Difference Between Editing and Proofreading? 

Editing focuses on how your document reads. An editor checks the flow, clarity, structure, and tone of your writing. An editor also makes sure each paragraph supports your argument.

Proofreading is the final check before you submit. A proofreader corrects grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization in the finished text.

Choose editing services, if your draft needs in-depth revision. Choose proofreading services if your draft needs a last review.  For a full comparison, read Editing or Proofreading?

What to Look for When Hiring an Editing or Proofreading Service

When hiring an editing or proofreading service, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Editor Qualifications

Experience and education play a large role in selecting the right editor or proofreader. You want to work with someone who is qualified, who has expertise doing the type of editing you're looking for, and who has had satisfied customers in the past. 

Check each service's ratings on review sites to ensure their customer satisfaction levels match what the service promises.

Samples

An editing or proofreading sample can give you an excellent idea of what to expect from your editor. Samples may be free or paid and allow you to evaluate the quality of an editing or proofreading service.

Communication

Good communication is also crucial. Will you be able to ask your editor questions during or after the process? 

The goal of any editor is to help you develop your best work, so clear communication throughout the process is key.

Pricing

You might be wondering what is a fair price to pay for proofreading. Professional proofreading rates vary, and so does quality. To get the best-value proofreading, you will need to find a reputable proofreading company.

11 Best Editing and Proofreading Services for 2026

1. Scribendi

Scribendi provides decades of editorial and subject-matter expertise for researchers at every stage on the way to publication. Founded in 1997 in Chatham, Ontario, Scribendi is now part of Edanz Inc. and M3 Inc. It serves clients in more than 150 countries.

Scribendi’s experienced editorial team reviews every document rigorously. Its experts hold master's and PhDs degrees across many disciplines. They know what a reviewer looks for and what a journal expects, so researchers know how their work will be read before they submit. Scribendi also builds AI tools that are trained on and inspected by its experts.

Beyond research, Scribendi gives authors expert editing, proofreading, and critique. It also provides businesses with expert editing and review for documents that have to be right.

On the Scribendi website, you can read case studies and customer reviews. Customers rate Scribendi 4.7 out of 5.

Best for: researchers who want expert review at every stage, from first draft to final submission, with subject-matter and language experts supporting certain services.

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: 2 hours

Number of years in business: 28+

Free sample: Yes, 500-word free sample for editing or proofreading (new customers only)

ISO certified: Yes

Account deposit feature: Yes

Competitive Advantages

Scribendi supports researchers from first draft to final submission. Its experienced editorial team brings 28+ years of experience to clients in more than 150 countries, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

Preparing a Journal Manuscript?

Try Scientific Editing or Humanities and Social Sciences Editing for Review by an Expert in Your Field

2. Proof-Reading-Service.com

Proof-Reading-Service.com offers English editing and proofreading for academic and scientific documents. It serves students, researchers, academics, universities, and authors.

An England-based company, Proof-Reading-Service.com works with proofreaders who are native English speakers and must pass an entry assessment. According to the company, 75% of its proofreaders hold a PhD.

The types of editing they help with range from journal article and scientific editing to PhD thesis and manuscript editing. This service is most helpful to professors, lecturers, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students.

Proof-Reading-Service.com offers a flat rate per 1,000 words. This rate does not change based on the type of content, so you know the cost before you order.

Best for: researchers and graduate students who want a fixed price per 1,000 words

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: Not listed on website.

Number of years in business: 20

Free sample: No

ISO certified: No

Account deposit feature: Yes

Competitive Advantages

Proof-Reading-Service.com charges a flat rate per 1,000 words, and 75% of its proofreaders hold a PhD. On request, it can also issue a proofreading certificate for publishers.

3. Fiverr

Fiverr is a marketplace for digital services that allows buyers and sellers to work with each other through Fiverr’s transactional platform. Founded in 2010, the company is based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Through Fiverr, many freelance proofreaders offer their services at different rates and turnaround times. Within the platform, editing services can be filtered by budget, delivery time, and content type.

You can also sift through the profiles of freelance editors, read their reviews, and learn about their history with editing and with Fiverr itself. Each editor offers different rates depending on their experience and turnaround time.

Best for: writers who want to compare and choose an individual freelance editor

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: Set by each freelancer

Number of years in business: 16

Free sample: No

ISO certified: Only its Information Security Management System, which is certified against ISO/IEC 27001. This certificate does not cover editing.

Account deposit feature: Yes (Fiverr Pro accounts only)

Competitive Advantages

With Fiverr, you have the flexibility to choose a specific editor, and many niche options are available. Each transaction is made through the Fiverr platform.

4. True Editors

True Editors offers professional editing services for academics, business owners, authors, and job applicants.

Their editing team is composed of PhDs, engineers, research scholars, postgraduates, physicians, and even journal peer reviewers. Each editor on the True Editors team receives specialized training in academic editing and must pass editing and language proficiency exams to qualify for their editing team.

Best for: academics and job applicants who want an editor matched to their subject area

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: Not listed on the website.

Number of years in business: 10+

Free sample: 300 words, from a document of at least 2,000 words

ISO certified: No

Account deposit feature: No

Competitive Advantages

True Editors has editors with specific subject-matter expertise.

5. ProofreadingPal

Operating out of Iowa City, IA, ProofreadingPal is an editing service that uses a two-proofreader model. This means that two proofreaders work on every piece of content ordered through their service.

ProofreadingPal offers editing services for students, professionals, and authors, including academic editing for writing styles such as APA, Chicago, MLA, or CSE. Their services are available 24/7, 365 days per year, with turnaround times ranging from 30 minutes to 7 days.

They accept documents around the clock, and their live customer service team is available during business hours. They offer free sample edits of up to 400 words and a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.

Best for: writers who want two proofreaders on every document

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: 30 to 60 minutes

Number of years in business: 16

Free sample: 400 words or less for editing

ISO certified: No

Account deposit feature: Yes

Competitive Advantages

With ProofreadingPal, you get two proofreaders reviewing every submission instead of one and quick turnaround times.

6. PaperTrue

PaperTrue started in 2014 as an editing service but has since expanded its services to include formatting and plagiarism checking for students, as well as cover design, typesetting, and online distribution for authors.

Helps a global audience of businesses, authors, and researchers edit their writing. To date, they’ve served over 52,000 clients and have 4.5+ stars on review sites, including Google Reviews and Sitejabber.

PaperTrue offers three service tiers. The Essential tier uses AI editing, the Standard tier combines AI editing with a light review by an editor, and the Premium tier uses human editors only. Premium clients can also name a preferred editor and request a certificate of editing. With locations in the US, Singapore, the UK, and India, they offer round-the-clock editing services, with human editing returned in as little as 12 hours, depending on word count.

Best for: authors who want editing and publishing services from one provider

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: 12 hours

Number of years in business: 12

Free sample: Not specified on the website.

ISO certified: No

Account deposit feature: Yes

Competitive Advantages

With PaperTrue, you get not only editing and proofreading services but publication services as well, including typesetting, cover design, and online distribution.

7. Proofed

Proofed is an editing and formatting service that helps students, businesses, authors, academics, researchers, and other professionals communicate effectively.

With a diverse group of editors, the team at Proofed offers extensive knowledge on nearly every subject. Its proofreaders train through Knowadays, Proofed’s partner company. Proofed’s terms bar editors from using third-party AI tools, and the company uses its own AI tools to support its human editors.

Proofed returns documents of up to 8,000 words within 24 hours, with express and rapid turnaround times that range from 3 to 12 hours for select word counts. Their team offers 24-hour support.

Best for: students and professionals who want the same proofreader on every document

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: 3 hours 

Number of years in business: 10+

Free sample: First 500 words free on your first upload (proofreading only)

ISO certified: Yes (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 27001)

Account deposit feature: No

Competitive Advantages

Proofed offers proofreading expertise in many fields, as well as formatting services. Clients can also request a specific proofreader from Proofed’s profiles.

8. Enago

Enago provides 24/7 editing services for the global research community. Since 2005, Enago has worked with more than 2 million authors in over 125 countries to help them publish their work in international journals.

Enago offers end-to-end publication support services, such as pre-submission peer review, journal selection, and post-submission review. It also guarantees that a manuscript will not be rejected solely for language quality. If that happens, Enago re-edits the manuscript at no extra cost, and a refund may apply for its Copy Editing and Substantive Editing services.

Enago’s team includes more than 3,000 editors with a PhD or master’s degree, and they have an average of 19.4 years of experience. Each manuscript is assigned to an editor with expertise in the same subject area. Like ProofreadingPal, Enago also operates on a two-editor model, where all manuscripts are reviewed by no fewer than two native English-speaking editors.

Best for: researchers who want two subject-matched editors and a language guarantee for journal submission

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: 24 hours

Number of years in business: 20+

Free sample: No

ISO certified: Yes (ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 27001)

Account deposit feature: Yes (Enago Wallet)

Competitive Advantages

Enago offers highly educated editors in the fields of science, academia, and business, along with help and support during the academic publication process.

9. AJE

American Journal Experts (AJE) offers scientific and academic editing services, in addition to translation, manuscript formatting, and pre-submission peer review, to help researchers publish their work. Founded in 2004 in Durham, North Carolina, AJE is now part of MPS Limited.

AJE offers four levels of English editing: Standard, Premium, VIP, and Scientific. Each manuscript is matched with an editor who is an expert in the author’s field. AJE also sells Curie, an AI writing assistant that refines language and structure.

Prices and turnaround times, as well as more in-depth information about each level of editing, can be found on the AJE website.

Best for: researchers who expect several rounds of revision after peer review

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: 1 business day 

Number of years in business: 20+

Free sample: No

ISO certified: No

Account deposit feature: Yes

Competitive Advantages

AJE’s editors are experts in each author’s field, and its Premium and VIP levels include unlimited free re-edits for 3 years. AJE also offers translation and formatting services.

10. Editage

Editage partners with researchers to offer English editing as well as publication support and translation services. Founded in 2002, Editage is a brand of Cactus Communications.

Each document submitted to Editage is assigned to an editor who best matches the content subject matter. Researchers can choose the service level, price, and deadline, and they can ask their editor questions about the edit.

Editage also has local language support, turnaround times of as little as eight hours, and a two-editor review for quality. Their team of more than 3,163 editors covers more than 1,640 subject areas and has edited work from authors in more than 191 countries.

Best for: researchers who want subject-matched editing and journal publication support from one provider

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: 8 hours

Number of years in business: 20+

Free sample: No

ISO certified: Yes

Account deposit feature: Yes (prepaid card)

Competitive Advantages

At Editage, two editors review every submission. They also offer client-to-editor Q&A, translation services, and unlimited free re-editing with their Premium and Scientific Editing services.

11. LetPub

LetPub offers editorial services for researchers in the scholarly publishing community. It is the flagship brand of Accdon LLC, based near Boston. In addition to editing, LetPub offers scientific illustration services, plain language summaries, and graphical and video abstracts.

The LetPub team is composed of experts and senior editors who come from a wide range of disciplines, each one a native English speaker with experience editing both scientific and technical documents. Each manuscript is matched with a PhD- or MD-level expert in its field. The types of editing included in LetPub’s services range from grant and language editing to response letter and scientific editing.

If a client accepts all recommended changes and the journal still rejects the paper solely for errors in punctuation, spelling, or grammar, LetPub will re-edit the paper for free or refund the editing fee. LetPub also provides a certificate of editing.

Best for: researchers who want editing plus visual research communication, such as graphical abstracts

Fastest turnaround time for 1,000 words: 48 hours

Number of years in business: 16

Free sample: No

ISO certified: Yes (ISO 17100, translation only)

Account deposit feature: Yes (Prepay account)

Competitive Advantages 

LetPub offers expertise in science for scientists and academics, as well as translation and formatting services.

Before You Submit, Get an Expert Review with Academic Proofreading

FAQ

Do I need editing or proofreading?

You need editing if your draft still needs work on flow, clarity, structure, or tone. You need proofreading if your draft is final and needs a check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. For a full comparison, read Editing or Proofreading?

How much does proofreading cost?

Proofreading prices depend on the word count and the turnaround time you choose. Some services also charge different rates for different types of documents. At Scribendi, you can see your price before you order when you upload your document or enter your word count in the Instant Quote tool.

How do I choose an editing or proofreading service?

Compare the qualifications of each service’s editors, the samples it offers, how you can communicate with your editor, and its pricing. Check independent review sites to see whether customer ratings match what each service promises. Before you order, confirm that the service works on your type of document.

Can I try an editing service before I pay?

Yes, many services offer a free sample. In this list, Scribendi edits or proofreads 500 words for free for new customers. Proofed proofreads the first 500 words for free on your first upload. ProofreadingPal proofreads and edits up to 400 words for free. True Editors edits a free 300-word sample from a document of at least 2,000 words. PaperTrue also offers a free sample. Proof-Reading-Service.com, AJE, and LetPub do not offer free samples.

Conclusion

There's a lot to consider when choosing an editing service. Save our table as a quick reference for your next document.

As long as you understand the important factors that go into choosing a great editing service, like experience, customer satisfaction, and quality, you'll be well equipped to choose the right one for you.

About the Author

Scribendi’s in-house experts review the work of researchers and authors at every stage, from first draft to final submission. They hold advanced degrees across many disciplines. Founded in 1997, Scribendi has reviewed 3.3 billion+ words for researchers and authors in over 150 countries.

Your Partner from First Draft to Final Submission