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Are you looking for fast proofreading and editing services that can edit your documents? I’ve got you covered.
I’m a professional proofreader who has researched over 70 leading online proofreading and editing companies to determine which ones offer the fastest turnaround times and have a proven record of quality service.
Fast Proofreading and Editing Services
Here are the fastest proofreading and editing services. They’re ranked from fastest to slowest turnaround times (TATs) and serve a wide range of clients, including academics, authors, businesses, ESL speakers, job seekers, researchers, and students.
Fast Proofreading and Editing Services
| Company | Fastest TAT | Trustpilot Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1. ProofreadingPal | 30–60 minutes (up to 800 words) | 4.5 |
| 2. Scribendi | 2 hours (up to 1,000 words)* | 4.4 |
| 3. Proofed | 3 hours (up to 3,000 words) | 4.8 |
| 4. Wordvice | 9 hours | 4.8 |
| 5. Cambridge Proofreading | 12 hours | 4.9 |
Trustpilot ratings, turnaround times, pricing, and other details were collected in June 2026 and are subject to change. Please visit each company’s website for the most up-to-date information.
To create this list, I screened more than 70 proofreading and editing companies using Trustpilot ratings. Companies that passed the initial screening were then evaluated based on review counts, review recency, website quality, turnaround times, pricing information, and other factors.
I’ve looked up price quotes so you can see what each company charges for a 1,000-word document depending on various TATs.
If you don’t know whether you need proofreading, editing, or both, please see the last question in this article’s FAQ: “What’s the difference between proofreading and editing?”
To be included in this article, a company had to meet the following criteria:
- offer a turnaround time (TAT) of 12 hours or less
- provide an instant price quote (no waiting for a quote via email)
- have an excellent (4.3+) rating on Trustpilot—a customer review website
- have at least 100 reviews on Trustpilot
- have recent reviews on Trustpilot
- have a professional website that’s relatively free of grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors
If you’re on a budget, Wordvice offers 50% off on all first editing orders, and I have a link for an additional 10% off.
Top-Notch Tip: If you need your document back ASAP, say so. Most companies can accommodate you.
And if you need proofreading or editing for an academic document, I wrote a post about the best academic proofreading services.
1) ProofreadingPal
ProofreadingPal provides a combined editing and proofreading service to a broad clientele.
Headquarters/Location: United States
Fastest TAT Available: 30–60 minutes (800 words or fewer)
Trustpilot Rating: 4.5
Free Sample Proofread: Yes. They’ll proofread up to 400 words.
About the Editors: They are highly skilled proofreaders and copy editors, many of whom have a master’s degree or are pursuing a PhD.
Number of Editors Assigned to Document: 1 or 2 (you choose)
Services Offered: Combined Editing and Proofreading
Combined Editing and Proofreading: Checks for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, style, clarity, and formatting consistency. You’ll also receive helpful comments and recommendations.
Let’s see the prices for a 1,000-word document.
Price for Editing and Proofreading a 1,000-Word Document (One Editor)
| TAT | Price |
|---|---|
| 30–60 minutes | — |
| 90 minutes | $115.00 |
| 3 hours | $69.00 |
| 6 hours | $50.00 |
| 10 hours | $38.00 |
| 24 hours | $34.00 |
| 36 hours | $29.00 |
| 2 days | $26.00 |
| 3 days | $23.00 |
| 5 days | $22.00 |
| 7 days | $22.00 |
Get an instant price quote from ProofreadingPal.
2) Scribendi
Scribendi offers a combined editing and proofreading service to a wide variety of clients.
They advertise their editing and proofreading services as being separate; however, you’ll notice that no matter whether you select editing or proofreading, the cost of the service doesn’t change.
I asked someone via live chat about this, and they confirmed that their service combines editing and proofreading.
Headquarters/Location: Canada
Fastest TAT Available: 2 hours (1,000 words or fewer)
Trustpilot Rating: 4.4
Free Sample Edit: Yes (up to 500 words)
About the Editors: Typically, their editors have two or more degrees, 15 years of experience, and have been published in their chosen field.
Number of Editors Assigned to Document: 1
Services Offered: Combined Editing and Proofreading
Combined Editing and Proofreading: The scope of work varies by document type. However, they generally check for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and formatting (including references and citations where needed).
Editors also make changes and recommendations to improve structure, flow, clarity, and readability. They comment on any remaining issues and provide a brief summary of the work they’ve done, along with any major concerns.
Price for Editing and Proofreading a 1,000-Word Document
| TAT | Price |
|---|---|
| 2 hours* | $195.10 |
| 4 hours | $100.34 |
| 8 hours | $85.13 |
| 12 hours | $67.94 |
| 24 hours | $60.17 |
| 2 days | $55.23 |
| 3 days | $52.29 |
| 7 days | $47.71 |
Get an instant price quote from Scribendi.
3) Proofed
Proofed offers editing and proofreading services to a broad clientele.
Headquarters/Location: United States, United Kingdom, and Australia
Fastest TAT Available: 3 hours (3,000 words or fewer)
Trustpilot Rating: 4.8
Free Sample Edit: Yes, for their proofreading service (up to 500 words)
About the Editors: They have received comprehensive training via Knowadays, Proofed’s sister company, to ensure they can copyedit and proofread to a high standard.
Number of Editors Assigned to Document: 1
Services Offered: Proofreading and Editing
Proofreading: They check for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, and style. They also suggest where additional edits may be useful and point out references that don’t adhere to your specified referencing style.
Editing: Everything included in their proofreading service, plus checking for flow, clarity, concision, word choice, and tone. You’ll also get feedback and advice on content and writing style.
Price for Proofreading vs. Editing a 1,000-Word Document
| TAT | Proofreading Price | Editing Price |
|---|---|---|
| 3 hours (Rapid) | $105.00 | $156.00 |
| 12 hours (Express) | $70.00 | $104.00 |
| 24 hours (Regular) | $35.00 | $52.00 |
Note: For a 24-hour delivery, the word limit is 8,000.
Get an instant price quote from Proofed.
4) Wordvice
Wordvice provides a combined editing and proofreading service to a broad spectrum of clients.
Headquarters/Location: They have operations in the United States, Turkey, China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.
Fastest TAT Available: 9 hours
Trustpilot Rating: 4.8
Free Sample Edit: Yes (up to 500 words) for potential institutional and VIP clients, or individuals submitting lengthy documents
About the Editors: They have extensive editing experience, and many have advanced degrees (master’s and PhDs).
Number of Editors Assigned to Document: 1 (you can opt for 2 editors if you have an academic or university assignment document)
Services Offered: Combined Editing and Proofreading
Combined Editing and Proofreading: They check for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, formatting, word choice, clarity, concision, logic, tone, and flow. They also give substantive feedback on topic development.
Here are the editing service types and their per-word rates.
The price per word is based on the slowest turnaround time for that particular service.
| Editing Service Type | Price per Word |
|---|---|
| Academic | $0.044 |
| Admissions | $0.023 |
| Premium Admissions | $0.22* |
| Assignment | $0.044 |
| Business | $0.044 |
| Writer/Author | $0.040 |
The turnaround times they offer depend on the editing service type.
Let’s look at the price for a document submitted for business editing.
Price for Editing and Proofreading a 1,000-Word Business Document
| TAT | Price |
|---|---|
| 9 hours | $132.00 |
| 13 hours | $110.00 |
| 24 hours | $88.00 |
| 2 days | $77.00 |
| 3 days | $66.00 |
| 4 days | $55.00 |
| 5 days | $51.00 |
| 7 days | $44.00 |
Top-Notch Tip: Take advantage of Wordvice’s 50% discount on all first editing orders. You’ll get an extra 10% off by using the link below.
Get an instant price quote from Wordvice.
5) Cambridge Proofreading
Cambridge Proofreading provides a combined editing and proofreading service for academic and business documents.
Headquarters/Location: United States (founded in England)
Fastest TAT Available: 12 hours
Trustpilot Rating: 4.9
Free Sample Edit: No. I confirmed via email with Nicci Schmidt, Lead Editor at Cambridge Proofreading, that the company no longer offers free sample edits of client documents. However, you can view samples of their editing and proofreading work.
About the Editors: They have years of editing experience and advanced degrees from top universities worldwide.
Number of Editors Assigned to Document: 1 or 2 (you choose)
Services Offered: Combined Editing and Proofreading
Combined Editing and Proofreading: They check for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, word choice, style, tone, concision, clarity, and flow.
For longer documents, they provide feedback in an Editor’s Summary Report, along with comments to help you become a better writer.
Price for Editing and Proofreading a 1,000-Word Document (One Editor)
| TAT | Price |
|---|---|
| 12 hours | $34 |
| 24 hours | $29 |
| 2 days | $27 |
| 3 days | $26 |
| 7 days | $25 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose a proofreading service?
You want to choose a proofreading service based on several factors, including quality, cost, turnaround times, and the types of documents they proofread. Trustpilot is generally a good way to find out if a company provides high-quality work and is reputable.
Articles like this can help you make a more informed decision.
Since the definitions of proofreading and editing can vary from one company to the next, you want to ensure the business you choose provides precisely what you need.
Make sure to read the service description carefully.
What is the best proofreading and editing service?
Cambridge Proofreading is one of the most highly rated (per Trustpilot) proofreading and editing services. Their fastest turnaround time is 12 hours, which is pretty quick. Cambridge offers affordable prices and handles documents from three of the four main kinds of proofreading: academic, business, and translation (but not print media).
If you have a print media document (e.g., a book, e-book, magazine, or screenplay), BookBaby is a popular company that handles this type of content.
How much does it cost to have 1,000 words proofread?
Generally, it costs roughly $30–$60 to have 1,000 words proofread if you pay for a proofreading service. If you opt to hire a freelance proofreader, it usually costs about $10–$30 per 1,000 words. However, the price depends on the turnaround time, the complexity of the text, and the quality of the writing.
What’s the difference between proofreading and editing?
Some people use the terms proofreading and editing interchangeably, but they aren’t synonymous.
Editing focuses on improving a document’s content, structure, clarity, and flow. Proofreading is the final stage of the editorial process and focuses on fixing remaining errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and formatting.
Most documents go through four editorial stages: developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. The stages overlap somewhat, but proofreading is the last step and has the narrowest scope.
The table below summarizes the four stages.
The Four-Stage Editorial Process
| Editing Stage | What’s Involved |
|---|---|
| 1) Developmental Editing | Adds/subtracts/reorganizes entire sections of text to improve the overall content and structure |
| 2) Line Editing | Refines the language to improve flow, clarity, and consistency in style and tone |
| 3) Copyediting | Makes writing correct, comprehensive, consistent, clear, and concise; fixes mistakes with sentence structure |
| 4) Proofreading | Corrects errors with grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and basic formatting issues; checks for repeated and omitted words |
That concludes this article about fast proofreading and editing services.
I hope this information helps you save tons of time searching for high-quality and speedy services to improve your writing!
Best wishes to you!
“If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.”
– Buddha
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