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With so many online editing jobs available, how do you know which ones are ideal for you? In this article, I’ll break down the options for editing jobs based on where to find them and who they suit in terms of experience—beginner, experienced, or expert.
Most of the jobs in this article are suitable for developmental editors. However, line editors may also qualify for many of these opportunities.
Om Proofreading Picks for Online Editing Work
These are my choices for the best jobs for freelance editors.
| Pick | Reason |
|---|---|
| Best Freelance Platform: Fiverr | no written proposals needed to get gigs |
| Best Job Board: FlexJobs | all jobs screened by their research team |
| Best for Beginners: Proofed | no experience or degree required, but you must take and pass Knowadays’ proofreading class and their editing course |
What Is Editing?
Editing involves making substantial changes to a piece of writing. Developmental and line editors are tasked with making these major changes.
Developmental editing involves improving the overall content and structure of writing.
Line editing enhances a document’s language, logical flow, and readability.
Copy editors are also editors; however, they make changes on a smaller scale.
My Research Process for Developing This Job List
If you’ve ever looked for editing jobs, you know the words proofreading and editing are sometimes used interchangeably, even though they aren’t synonymous.
Therefore, I’ve talked to customer service reps, sent emails, and filled out contact forms to ensure these jobs are suitable for editors.
I want to give you options that accurately reflect what you’re looking for to save you time.
Top-Notch Tip: Read every job description carefully to know exactly what the position entails.
How the List Is Organized
I’ve listed the jobs according to where you can find them:
- Freelance Platforms
- Job Boards with Remote Work Listings
- Online Proofreading and Editing Companies
The online proofreading and editing companies are further organized by selectivity:
- Beginner Editors
- Experienced Editors
- Expert Editors
Please visit the companies’ websites for the most up-to-date information about hiring requirements and job availability, as these can change over time.
Notes about Your Role as an Editor
While researching, I noticed that some proofreading and editing services hire editors who are also tasked with proofreading (and everything in between).
I will tell you when I know that the editors hired by a particular business are tasked with the entire editorial process.
I’ll do this by stating that the editors are also responsible for proofreading, meaning they handle line editing and copyediting too.
Online Editing Jobs for Beginners
Let’s start with jobs on freelance marketplaces, which are well-suited to beginners.
FREELANCE PLATFORMS
Many editors get their first clients on freelance platforms, including the following:
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- Freelancer
- Guru
- PeoplePerHour
These marketplaces connect freelancers with clients and are especially helpful for beginners seeking experience and testimonials. If you’d like detailed information about these marketplaces—including commission fees, proposal systems, and tips for getting started—please see my article about online proofreading jobs for beginners.
JOB BOARDS WITH REMOTE WORK OPPORTUNITIES
Another great place to find editing opportunities for beginners is job boards, like these:
- FlexJobs
- Indeed
- Glassdoor
- SimplyHired
- Mediabistro
While many listings are on-site positions, remote jobs can often be found by searching for work-from-home roles. For a detailed breakdown of these job boards, see my guide to jobs for beginner proofreaders.
ONLINE EDITING AND PROOFREADING COMPANIES
Here’s a summary of the online editing and proofreading businesses mentioned in this article and the experience level needed to work for each one.
Online Proofreading and Editing Services That Hire Freelance Editors
| Beginner | Experienced | Expert |
|---|---|---|
| R3ciprocity | First Editing | Managed Editing |
| Proofed | Editor World | ProofreadingServices.com |
| Proofessor | Cambridge Proofreading | |
| Scribbr | Sibia Proofreading | |
| Grammar Chic | Wordvice | |
| Prompt | WordsRU | |
| American Journal Experts | Reedsy | |
| CACTUS Communications | Scribendi | |
| People Inc. | Quality Proofreading | |
| The Expert Editor | ||
| Global English Editing | ||
| Edit911 | ||
| Kibin | ||
| Enago |
Some businesses hire so many editors that jobs are only available sporadically. However, other companies provide editors with more consistent work since they keep their pool of editors relatively small.
We’ll start with the companies that hire beginners.
1) R3ciprocity
R3ciprocity was designed to provide a space where academics and grad students can give one another feedback on their writing.
You earn credits on R3ciprocity for editing or proofreading other people’s work. You can then use your credits to have someone edit or proofread your work. As the name suggests, the platform operates on the principle of give and take.
Requirements: To become a paid editor, you need to meet R3ciprocity’s quality standards for the test documents.
Availability: To learn about opportunities for paid work, you need to create a profile. The “contact us” section on your profile lets you reach out to the support team.
If you’re new to editing, this could be a wonderful way to hone your skills while helping someone, especially if you’re willing to volunteer.
Here’s a short video from the site owner, David Maslach, that shows how his site works. I’ve corresponded with Dave via email, and he is so nice!
2) Proofed
Proofed offers proofreading, copyediting, AI content editing, fact-checking, and formatting services to a broad range of clients.
Requirements: To work for Proofed, you need to pass the Becoming a Proofreader course and the Becoming an Editor class with distinction by scoring 80% or higher on the final exams. Proofed’s partner company, Knowadays, offers these courses.
If you pass the exam in both courses with distinction, they’ll invite you to complete a trial period with Proofed. If the trial goes well, you can join their team.
Availability: They’re seeking editors to join their growing team.
3) Proofessor
Based in the UK, Proofessor offers editing, proofreading, rewriting, and paraphrasing services.
Requirements: They hire native English speakers who have graduated from a UK/Ireland university. You also need to have a firm grasp of English and earn an excellent score on their tests.
Availability: You can contact Proofessor to see if they’re hiring.
4) Scribbr
Scribbr offers academic editing, proofreading, and essay coaching services.
The editors they hire are responsible for editing and proofreading.
Requirements: The main requirements are a bachelor’s degree or higher and the ability to edit at least 10,000 words per week.
Availability: They’re not hiring right now, but you can subscribe to their mailing list to be notified when they’re recruiting. You’ll need to scroll down to find the “Sign up now” button for the Scribbr waitlist.
5) Grammar Chic
Grammar Chic provides various services, including editing, writing, and formatting. They hire editors, copy editors, and proofreaders.
Requirements: You can email them at [email protected] to learn about their requirements.
Availability: You can contact them to see if they’re hiring.
6) Prompt
Prompt aims to help students become better writers by providing actionable feedback on their college essays and applications. Therefore, Prompt hires people to edit essays and give students thoughtful, comprehensive feedback.
If you’re an editor with a flair for coaching, you may want to consider becoming a writing coach at Prompt.
Requirements: They don’t have any requirements listed on their website.
Previously, they required applicants to have a college degree. They also stated that 80% of their coaches held advanced degrees, and 75% had teaching experience.
Availability: They’re not hiring. However, if you’re interested in becoming a writing coach, you can fill out this form to be added to their waitlist.
7) American Journal Experts
American Journal Experts (a division of Research Square Company) offers editing, manuscript preparation, and academic translation services for researchers who want to publish their papers.
Requirements: You must have native English proficiency and hold or be currently completing a master’s degree, PhD, MD, or professional degree. You can see their full list of requirements here.
Availability: They have openings for editors.
8) CACTUS Communications
CACTUS Communications wants to help society progress by making scientific knowledge accessible to people all around the globe.
Requirements: You need excellent written English skills and at least a bachelor’s degree. You can see the specific requirements when applying for a job.
Availability: You can visit their website to see if they have openings for editors.
9) People Inc.
People Inc. is a digital media company that publishes content about diverse topics. They occasionally have positions for editors.
You can search for both open roles and contract positions. Under the contract positions, you’ll see potential editing jobs under the editorial/content section.
Requirements: Requirements vary by job.
Availability: Please visit their website to check for any editing positions.
Freelance Work for Experienced Editors
10) First Editing
First Editing provides various services, including editing, proofreading, and formatting.
Their editors are responsible for proofreading.
Requirements: They only hire editors who are native English speakers with editing experience and formal training.
Availability: They’re hiring editors.
11) Editor World
Editor World provides editing, proofreading, writing, rewriting, and paraphrasing services.
They only hire editors who are also responsible for proofreading.
Requirements: Editor World hires native English speakers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Their main requirements are editing and proofreading experience and a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Availability: You can apply as an editor. The last time I checked their site (in June 2026), they said they were hiring editors with a PhD and/or science background.
12) Cambridge Proofreading
Cambridge Proofreading offers proofreading and editing services to a wide range of clients, but most are students and academics.
Their editors are responsible for proofreading.
Requirements: At a minimum, you need a bachelor’s degree, some editing experience, and an excellent grasp of the English language. But they prefer editors with more advanced qualifications, such as a master’s or PhD.
Please see their site for the complete list of requirements.
Availability: You can start here if you’d like to apply.
13) Sibia Proofreading
Sibia offers editing and proofreading for all kinds of documents.
Their editors are also in charge of proofreading.
Requirements: You need a degree from a top university and PhD-level editing experience.
Availability: They’re not hiring editors.
14) Wordvice
Wordvice provides editing and proofreading services to a broad range of clients. They focus on editing academic and admissions-related documents.
They prefer to hire editors who can also do proofreading.
Requirements: You need to have a master’s degree or be pursuing one. You must also have at least two years of editing experience and knowledge of several style guides. Please visit their site for the complete list of requirements and details of their hiring process.
Availability: They’re looking for qualified, experienced editors to join their team.
15) WordsRU
WordsRU provides editing, proofreading, and copywriting for businesses, authors, and academics.
Requirements: You need to have at least two years of editing experience. You must also have a master’s, PhD, or equivalent experience in an academic discipline.
You can see all of their requirements by clicking the link below.
Availability: They’re seeking editors.
16) Reedsy
Reedsy aspires to connect authors and publishers with accomplished freelancers in the publishing industry. They hire editors and proofreaders.
Reedsy keeps 10% of your earnings in exchange for advertising your services in their marketplace.
Requirements: You need a minimum of three years of professional editing experience, experience working for a traditional publisher, and demonstrated experience on a minimum of five published books. Please see the article I’ve linked below for details on the “five published books” requirement.
You can take the short quiz (“Are you ready to join Reedsy?”) in this article to determine whether you’re qualified to freelance for Reedsy.
I took the quiz to learn more about the requirements. Then, Reedsy emailed me saying that they “ask that all professionals on our platform have at least three years of experience working with books.”
However, they review profiles individually, so you can complete a profile if you’ve worked with bestselling authors or won a prestigious award in a book-related field.
Availability: You can sign up and create a profile for free. If they accept your application, your profile will be displayed in the Reedsy Marketplace. It’s important to note that Reedsy is quite competitive.
17) Scribendi
Scribendi offers editing and proofreading for a wide range of clients.
Their editors are tasked with proofreading.
Requirements: You need a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and at least three years of experience in editing, writing, document production, or language teaching.
Please visit their site for the full list of requirements.
They state the following concerning freelance editors:
“Must not reside in the US jurisdictions of Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Washington DC, West Virginia, or Wyoming.”
– Scribendi
Availability: You can visit their website to see if they’re hiring.
18) Quality Proofreading
Based in the UK, Quality Proofreading offers editing and proofreading services to businesses, academics, and students. They hire editors and proofreaders.
Requirements: You must have at least three years of editing experience and an advanced degree from a leading US or UK university.
Please visit their site for the full list of requirements.
Availability: They’re interested in hearing from experienced proofreaders and editors, especially those with backgrounds in science/engineering and business/management.
You can email your CV to [email protected] if you meet the requirements. Here’s the information you need to include in the email’s body and subject line.
19) The Expert Editor
Based in Australia, The Expert Editor offers editing and proofreading for books, business documents, and academic work. They also provide manuscript assessments.
Their editors are tasked with proofreading.
Global English Editing (below) is their sister site.
Requirements: You need to be a native English speaker with considerable experience and have a master’s degree or a PhD.
Availability: They often look to hire experienced editors. If you’re an excellent editor, they ask that you introduce yourself via email at [email protected].
20) Global English Editing
Global English Editing provides editing and proofreading for books, business writing, and academic documents. They also offer manuscript evaluations.
Their editors also proofread.
Requirements: All their editors are native English speakers with a master’s or PhD and extensive editing experience.
Availability: You can email them at [email protected] to see if they’re hiring.
21) Edit911
Edit911 provides editing, copyediting, and proofreading. They also transform dissertations into books.
Requirements: You must have a PhD. Please see their site for all the requirements.
Availability: They’re seeking editors for dissertations, theses, and books. If you meet the qualifications, you can send them your résumé and a writing sample.
22) Kibin
Kibin specializes in academic editing but accepts documents from a broad range of clients.
They hire editors who are also responsible for proofreading.
Requirements: Kibin hires experienced editors and has high standards. You can learn about their vetting process here.
Availability: Please visit their site to see if they’re hiring.
23) Enago
Enago helps researchers worldwide to successfully publish their manuscripts. They hire editors and copy editors.
Requirements: At least two years of relevant editing experience. You also need to be able to work with documents written by non-native English speakers and be an expert in a particular subject.
Please see their website for the complete list of requirements.
Availability: They’re looking for editors for several subjects. You can read about the application and selection process here.
Online Jobs for Expert Editors
24) Managed Editing
Managed Editing offers editing, copyediting, and proofreading to a varied clientele. They also provide publication-related services.
Requirements: You must have a master’s degree and at least five years of experience to apply, but they typically hire editors with far more advanced qualifications. Please see the full list of requirements here.
Availability: You can complete their freelance editing application so they’ll have your information when they need extra help.
25) ProofreadingServices.com
ProofreadingServices.com provides a range of services to academics, authors, and businesses.
Although they cater to clients who need copyediting and proofreading, they hire editors to handle developmental edits when needed.
Requirements: At a minimum, you’ll need years of experience in a relevant field (e.g., as an English professor or teacher). They claim to hire only 1 out of 300 applicants (source).
Availability: You can go here to learn more about freelancing for them and to take their 20-minute preliminary test.
That concludes this extensive list of online editing jobs. Now, let’s get answers to a few common questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I get online editing work?
Many strategies can help you hook online editing work. Common approaches include creating your own website, networking with writers and editors, reaching out directly to potential clients, and using LinkedIn to connect with professionals and look for opportunities.
Although my articles about starting a freelance proofreading business and finding proofreading clients are geared toward proofreaders, the same principles apply to freelance editors.
Can I work from home as an editor?
Yes, you can work from home as an editor. Many editing jobs are done remotely, and independent authors frequently hire freelance editors who work from home.
How much do online editors make?
According to ZipRecruiter, the average yearly salary of online editors in the United States is $51,564 (as of June 2026). This is roughly $25 per hour.
ZipRecruiter gives us more information about how much online editors earn by stating the following:
The majority of Online Editor salaries currently range between $35,000 (25th percentile) to $56,500 (75th percentile).
– ZipRecruiter
If you’re a beginner editor, you can expect earnings on the low end of this pay range.
If you’d like to see how pay rates differ for developmental and line editors, you can visit this page on the Editorial Freelancers Association’s website.
I hope this article has helped you discover several freelance editing opportunities that are right up your alley!
I wish you the best as you pursue jobs!
Best wishes to you!
“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.”
-Maya Angelou
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