How to find affordable editing for your thesis

Editor’s note: This article was reviewed and updated in July 2026 to meet Expert Editor’s latest editorial standards. The prices listed below reflect rates at the time of review and are likely to have changed since.

PhD and Master’s students are inevitably price sensitive when it comes to dissertation or thesis editing. Being a student has many upsides, but wealth isn’t one of them. So it’s natural that cost is a significant consideration for any student when it comes to editing.

I’ll use this post to explain some of the costs involved in editing a thesis. The take-away is that it can’t ever be done properly and super cheaply at the same time. However, prices vary between professional editing companies and it’s important to do your research to find the service best suited to you.

Why can thesis editing be costly?

Editing a thesis or dissertation is time consuming and your editor won’t be paid in peanuts. To give a concrete example: a thesis of around 50,000 words — a useful mid-range illustration, though PhD theses typically run longer and Master’s theses shorter — might span roughly 200 pages. Each page has to be methodically assessed by your editor for language, expression and whether academic conventions are met. If English is your second language, the language and expression part will be even more important to get right. Depending on the complexity of the work and the level of editing required, academic editors typically work through around 4–10 pages an hour — with thorough copy editing of complex academic material falling toward the lower end of that range. At that pace, a 200-page thesis represents a substantial time commitment for your editor, often well in excess of 20 hours. Your editor should be educated and experienced, and their hourly rate will reflect this.

It’s also worth understanding that thesis editing is more demanding than editing most other documents. An editor working on a thesis must be familiar with the conventions of academic writing — things like the appropriate use of hedging language (“it appears that…” rather than “this proves…”), the correct structure of an abstract, and the disciplinary norms around passive versus active voice. They also need to check that your argument flows logically from chapter to chapter, not just that individual sentences are grammatical. That level of critical engagement takes significantly more time and expertise than, say, proofreading a business report.

You’re inevitably looking at a fairly costly edit.

Super cheap options

There are, of course, a couple of very cheap options for the cost-conscious student.

Do it yourself

This is the cheapest option. It’s totally free, in fact. But it’s not necessarily wise. You’re probably a little too close to your work to have a good perspective on it. More obviously, however, you probably just don’t know what’s needed in terms of editing it. If you did, you would have written a perfect thesis the first time around, and editing would be redundant (hint: a thesis can almost always be improved by a good editor).

There is also a well-documented cognitive phenomenon at play: when you re-read your own writing, your brain tends to fill in what you meant to say rather than reading what is actually on the page. This means self-editing will often leave errors behind, no matter how carefully you go through it. If you do choose to self-edit, at the very least let the document sit for a week or two before reviewing it — the distance helps — and read it aloud, since your ear will often catch what your eye misses.

A friend or family member

This can be quite a cheap option if your friend or family member is generous with their time. It’s still a 20+ hour endeavour, so they should probably be offered at least some token compensation. However, the drawbacks of a layman editor are significant. They’ll probably be able to spot some spelling and grammar mistakes, and even make some improvements in language. But not to the same extent as a professional editor. And I’m yet to encounter a layman that knows much about the intricacies of referencing and citation.

There’s one exception worth noting: if your friend or family member happens to be an academic — or even a postgraduate student — in your own field, their feedback can be genuinely useful. They may be able to flag jargon that is unclear, spot logical gaps in your argument, and offer a reader’s perspective on how well your chapters connect. That said, they are still unlikely to have the editorial training needed to polish sentence-level language and expression to a professional standard, so their input is best treated as complementary to professional editing rather than a replacement for it.

Professional editing

The only realistic option to get your thesis edited properly is hiring a professional editor. However, not all professional editing services are equal, especially when it comes to cost. Here is an idea of what a 50,000 word PhD or Master’s thesis can cost.

Australian editing companies (in AUD)

Elite Editing: $1430

Better Essays: $1045

The Expert Editor: $875

Overseas editing companies (in USD)

Scribendi: $978

Edit911: $1350

Wordy: $1250 (Note: Wordy’s platform status has been uncertain — verify that they are accepting new clients before booking.)

Note: These prices were sourced from each company’s website and should be verified directly before you commit, as they may have changed. The AUD has historically traded at significantly less than the USD — in recent years the exchange rate has been approximately 0.63–0.69 AUD to 1 USD, which affects the relative cost of overseas services.

Do your research!

The cost of editing a 50,000 word thesis varies considerably amongst the six editing companies surveyed. Some companies are more affordable than others. So do your research and always be an informed consumer. You’ll be able to find a company that is affordable for you.

One practical tip: many editing services offer a free sample edit, where they will edit the first page or so of your document at no charge. Take advantage of this wherever it’s offered. It lets you assess the quality of the editor’s work and their familiarity with academic writing before you commit to the full cost. Two companies can charge very similar rates but deliver quite different results, so seeing a sample of actual edits on your own writing is more informative than any price comparison.

More things to consider

It’s vital you understand exactly what you’re paying for. No two editing companies provide the same type of service. Will your editor be a specialist academic editor? What will your editor do, and what won’t they do? What is their approach to turn around times? Will you be charged extra for a short return time? A good editing service should provide this information on their website. If they don’t, ask them. These are all important considerations to keep in mind when choosing an editing service.

Here are some specific questions worth asking before you book:

• What level of editing is included? There is a meaningful difference between proofreading (catching surface errors) and copy editing (improving sentence structure, word choice, and flow). Make sure you know which one you’re paying for.
• Will the same editor work on the entire thesis? Consistency of style and tone across 200 pages is much easier to achieve if a single editor handles the whole document rather than having it split across a team.
• Do they have subject-matter familiarity? An editor who has worked on theses in your discipline — whether that’s the sciences, humanities, or social sciences — will be better placed to handle the specific conventions and terminology of your field.
• What style guide do they follow? If your university requires APA, Chicago, or another specific style, confirm the editing service is familiar with it and will flag any deviations in your referencing.
• Is there a revision policy? Some services will address follow-up questions or minor revisions after delivery; others consider the job complete upon submission. Knowing this upfront saves confusion later.

The wrap up

Quality thesis editing and thesis proofreading inevitably has a certain level of cost involved. Do your research and you’ll find a professional editing company that works for you — both in terms of cost and the type of service they provide.

The smartest approach is to treat editing as a planned budget line from the beginning of your candidature, not a last-minute expense. If you factor it in early, the cost feels far less daunting — and you’ll have time to shop around properly rather than rushing a decision in the weeks before submission.