Book editing costs, by type of edit

The four edits and what each fixes

Editing is not one service. It is four passes that work at different levels of the book, and they are priced differently because they take different amounts of time.

• Developmental edit. The big picture: is the argument in the right order, does each chapter earn its place, what is missing, what should go. You usually get a long editorial letter plus comments in the manuscript.
• Line edit. The sentences: clarity, rhythm, repetition, tone. It makes a sound draft read well.
• Copy edit. Correctness and consistency: grammar, punctuation, usage, names, numbers, a style sheet.
• Proofread. The last pass, on the laid-out pages, for typos and layout errors such as bad breaks and missing words.

The order matters. Reedsy's guide to self-publishing costs says it is strongly recommended to go through the passes in this order, because a copy edit on chapters that later get cut or rewritten is money spent twice.

Rates by book type

The most complete public rate data in the US is the EFA 2026 Rate Chart. It is built from a survey of more than 1,100 members, run from November 2025 to mid-January 2026, about the rates they charged in 2025. Each cell is a range of median rates, and a "page" means 250 words. Here are the rows that matter for nonfiction authors.

Per word. Source: EFA 2026 Rate Chart, checked October 20, 2026.

Multiplied out, here is what each pass costs at different lengths for a general nonfiction book:

A business book costs a little more to develop (4.5 to 6 cents) and a memoir a little less across the board. The calculator switches rows when you change the book type.

Per word, per page or per hour

Editors quote all three ways, which makes quotes hard to compare. The EFA chart gives you what you need to convert them, because it also lists an hourly range and a pace in pages per hour.

Take a 50,000-word nonfiction book. At 250 words a page that is 200 manuscript pages.

• Copy edit by the hour: the chart's pace is 5 to 9 pages an hour, so 22 to 40 hours. At $45 to $60 an hour, that is about $1,000 to $2,400.
• Developmental edit by the hour: 4 to 8 pages an hour means 25 to 50 hours. At $57.50 to $70, about $1,440 to $3,500.
• Proofread by the hour: 7 to 12 pages an hour means 17 to 29 hours. At $40 to $55, about $670 to $1,570.

The hourly ranges are wider than the per-word ones because they multiply two uncertain numbers. That is the main argument for a fixed per-word or per-project price: you carry less risk. If an editor prefers hourly billing, ask for an estimated number of hours and a cap.

A second source: Reedsy's marketplace

Reedsy, a marketplace for freelance editors and designers, publishes averages from more than 230,000 quotes on its platform. In its 2026 cost guide the averages for an 80,000-word book are:

These sit at or below the bottom of the EFA's nonfiction ranges. Two reasons are likely: Reedsy's figures cover every genre, including fiction, which the EFA chart shows is cheaper to edit, and they are averages of quotes rather than survey medians. Use the EFA range to budget, and treat the Reedsy figures as evidence that quotes below it are common and not a warning sign on their own.

An editorial assessment deserves a note. It is a written report on the whole manuscript without line-by-line edits. If you cannot afford a full developmental edit, an assessment plus your own revision is the usual compromise.

Where you can save, and where you cannot

Reasonable savings

• Revise before you hire. Editors price by length and by how much work the draft needs. Readers from your target audience can flag the structural problems for free.
• Combine the line and copy edit. Many copy editors offer a heavier pass. Ask what is included and skip a separate line edit if the answer covers it.
• Cut words, not passes. Every 10,000 words you cut from a nonfiction book saves $400 to $500 on a developmental edit and $300 to $400 on a copy edit at EFA rates.
• Use an assessment instead of a full developmental edit if you are an experienced writer and can act on a written report.

False savings

• Skipping the copy edit. Nobody can copy edit their own book. You read what you meant, not what you wrote.
• Proofreading the manuscript instead of the pages. The point of a proofread is to check the typeset book. Doing it before layout misses layout errors, so it is not really a proofread.
• Copy editing before the structure is settled. If chapters move or vanish after the copy edit, you pay for the copy edit twice.

How to read a quote

Before you compare two prices, make sure they describe the same job:

1. Which pass is it, in the editor's own words?
2. Is the price per word, per page (how many words is a page?), per hour, or fixed?
3. How many rounds are included? Will they review your revisions?
4. Do you get a style sheet, an editorial letter, a call?
5. What does the editor need from you, and what happens if the word count changes?
6. Can you see a sample edit of a few pages first?

The EFA itself warns that individual rates vary with the type of work, turnaround, expertise, training and experience, so a quote outside the range is a prompt to ask why, not a verdict.