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How to Set Freelance Editing Rates

How to Set Freelance Editing Rates

Sep 05, 2023
9 min read

Knowing how much to charge for your services can be difficult for new editors, but it’s important to get your freelance editing rates right. You don’t want to undersell yourself, nor do you want to price yourself out of the market! While there’s no single perfect way to set your editing rates as a freelancer, we have a few helpful tips to share with you. Keep reading to learn more about setting freelance editing rates that work for both you and the client.

How to Set Your Freelance Editing Rates

There are a number of important steps to take before setting your rates as a freelance editor. You should:

Decide whether to charge by the hour, word, or page
Research industry averages for your services and experience level
Factor in your business costs
Establish a baseline rate for each service you offer
Plan how to adapt your baseline rates to fit each job
Regularly review your rates

1. Decide How You’ll Charge

The most common ways to charge for freelance editing services are by the hour, by the word (or number of words, typically per 1,000), or by the page. Each of these methods has its own merits.

Charging by the hour means you’re guaranteed to be paid for your time. However, it’s also easy to misjudge how long a job will take, especially when you’re first starting out. You might therefore either quote too much or too little for the whole project and end up underpaying yourself or overcharging your client.
Charging by the word or page, meanwhile, makes it easy to quote a price for a project. But different projects may require different amounts of work, even for documents of a similar length. And if you don’t take that into account, you may find yourself charging the same for a well-written document that only requires minor tweaks as for one that needs significant work.

Ultimately, whether you advertise your services with rates set by the hour, word, or page will be a matter of preference, with the final decision depending on what you think will appeal to your target clients. For example, if you mostly work on longer documents, a per-page rate may be the most attractive to potential clients. But flexibility is also helpful here – so if you list your rates by the hour, you could add a note saying that you’re willing to quote by the word or page if preferred.

2. Research Average Editing Rates

Once you know how you plan to charge, you’ll need to decide how much to charge. To reach a figure, it’s a good idea to research the standard editing rates in your region. This can be as simple as asking a friend or colleague in the same field how much they charge for their services. If you don’t know any other freelance editors, you can always connect with people through their websites (from search engine results) or via social media. Do your best to find editors at a similar experience level, though, as well as those who are providing the same services as you.

You should also check out the recommendations of professional proofreading and editing organizations. Their suggested rates are often based on a survey of their members, so they provide an up-to-date snapshot of real freelance fees.

Here are some examples from international societies and organizations:

The EFA (US) recommends charging $40–$62.50 per hour for copyediting and between $50 and $70 per hour for developmental editing (depending on the type of document).
The CIEP (UK) recommends a minimum hourly rate of £35.75 for copyediting and £41.10 for substantial editing, rewriting, and developmental editing.
AFEPI (Ireland) suggests charging an hourly rate of €44.60 for heavy copyediting and €39.30 for light copyediting.
IPEd (Australia and New Zealand) recommends new editors charge $60–$85 per hour and established editors charge $90–$130 per hour depending on their experience level. Although this society is for editors in both countries, these figures are specific to Australia.
Editors Canada does not provide specific rate recommendations for non-members but suggests charging an hourly rate based on your desired yearly salary.

There are also several editing societies associated with specific industries, such as the Council of Science Editors and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, so be sure to check the rate recommendations for your editing niche if available.

The average rate can change over time, though, so always check how recent the information is and keep an eye on any updates.

3. Consider Your Business Costs

You’ll need to account for your overall business costs when setting your rates to ensure you’re hitting your financial targets. So before deciding how much you’ll charge, factor in all relevant expenses, which might include:

Software subscriptions (e.g., Microsoft Word)
Continuing professional development courses
Marketing costs
Website maintenance
Office space
Taxes and insurance (depending on your country of residence)

In addition, if you’re charging a flat per-project fee, factor in the time you spend on related administrative tasks, such as client communication, billing, research, and revisions. In order to sustain a financially viable business and build your savings, you’ll also need to set your rates high enough to cover living expenses during vacations or slow periods.

4. Calculate Your Baseline Rates

Once you’ve done your research, you can decide on the basic rates for each of the services you provide. These baseline rates will act as a guide to help you quote prices for each job. Note the plural here, as you should price certain services differently even if you’re applying them to the same document.

When deciding how to set your rates, consider the services you’re able to offer and their respective levels of difficulty. For example, many freelance editors offer fact-checking, indexing, or formatting services in addition to editing. These are all specialized services and should be priced separately or bundled into packages with varying price bands.

For example, the EFA recommends charging $55–$72.50 for a fact-checking service, which is distinct from a freelance editing rate. It’s also important to understand the difference between proofreading and editing, as you’ll need to set different rates for these services to match your definitions of them and avoid scope creep.

5. Adapt Your Rates to Reflect the Work

Baseline rates are just that: a baseline. You won’t want to deviate from them too much when quoting prices – after all, potential clients aren’t likely to stick around if you ask them to pay a price way above the one you advertise! But as long as you clearly label them as starting figures, there’s room to adjust your rates to fit the situation at hand. There are a range of factors to consider when quoting a price for a job; here are the key ones:

The service type and level of editing requested – For example, while you might have a base rate for line editing, different editing jobs can vary significantly. You may want to ask to see a writing sample, or offer a taster edit on a segment, to get a better sense of what will be involved.
Whether the job requires any specialized knowledge – For example, if you specialize in a field where extensive subject-area expertise or higher education is required, such as legal, academic, or medical editing, you can typically command higher rates due to the additional research and precision required.
The volume of work involved – One client might ask for a feedback session or meeting after you edit their work, while another might just want any notes left in comments on the text. Other things to consider are whether the client is seeking a single pass on a document or multiple rounds, whether it’s one document or several, and how long the content is.
The complexity, topic, and genre of the document – For instance, highly technical, in-depth, or complex editing should be priced at a premium to reflect the added time and effort required.
How quickly your client needs the work finished – You can charge a rush fee for clients who request a faster turnaround time than your standard delivery timeline.
The relationship you have with your client – Many editors offer a discount for clients who provide repeat or regular work.

You can then use this information to decide whether you need to add to your baseline rates when quoting a price for a particular job. Likewise, if required, you can change the way you charge (e.g., charging by the page when your usual rates are by the hour). It’s about finding an arrangement that works for both you and the client before you start working on a document. Remember that your rates are not set in stone!

6. Regularly Review Your Rates

It’s a good idea to examine what you’re charging at least every six months. Here are some valid reasons for raising your rates:

There’s a rise in industry averages.
You’re having trouble covering your business costs.
Your cost of living has increased.
Your editing skills have improved or you’ve undertaken additional training.
You’re not short of work, and none of your clients are questioning (or complaining about) your rates.

Once you’ve decided to raise your rates, you need to let any repeat clients know. It’s important to be mindful of how you communicate the increase to minimize pushback or confusion. Always provide advance notice in writing (typically one to three months for regular clients) of the increased amount and when it goes into effect. Ensure you send direct notice, such as in a clear email, as you could lose clients if you try to sneak the message into the fine print of an invoice. When discussing your rate increase with your clients, be sure to emphasize the value they will receive for continuing to work with you.

Become a Certified Proofreader or Editor

Having a proofreading or editing qualification is a good reason to charge more for your services. It shows that your skills are up to date and that you’re motivated to grow and develop as a professional. Our Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor courses are CPD accredited and will teach you everything you need to know to begin or develop a career in the field. Give some free lessons a try today to find out more!

Updated on April 28, 2025