How to find affordable editing for your thesis

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. A 50,000 word thesis, for example, might have 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. An efficient editor can probably edit 10 pages an hour. That equates to 20 hours work, at a minimum, for your editor. Your editor should be educated and experienced, and therefore their hourly rate will have to reflect this.

Conclusion = 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 always be improved by a good editor).

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 improvement 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.

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

These are the prices indicated on each company’s website. The AUD is currently worth about 0.9 of the USD.

Do your research!

Clearly the cost of editing a 50,000 word thesis varies 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.

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.

The wrap up

Quality thesis editing and thesis proofreading inevitably has a certain level of cost involved. However, 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.