20 Best Online Proofreading Jobs for Beginners (Earn $50/Hour)

When you are thinking about working from home and making money online, what do you think about?

It can be hard to pinpoint the best stay-at-home-mom jobs – but you definitely need to give proofreading jobs a good look!

If you enjoy reading and have an eagle eye for spotting spelling or grammar mistakes, this could be the perfect job for you.

In this article, I’ll go over the best proofreading job around and how you can get started today!

What Is Proofreading?

In this day and age, there is so much that is done online and so much content for people to digest.

With that in mind, there are lots of opportunities for work, and one such opportunity is that of proofreading.

Proofreading is one of the final steps in the process of content creation – so for example, this article that you are reading now will have a proofreader work on it before it is published.

It is where a critical eye is cast over a piece of writing to check for spelling and grammatical errors.

This is an important step because when you are writing you can accidentally make small mistakes that you don’t notice even if you read it back.

Pros vs. Cons of Proofreading

Pros

• You can work from home.
• You can manage your own time and fit proofreading around other things that you want to do.
• If you are naturally good at spotting mistakes, this will come easily to you.
• The start-up costs for a proofreading business are very low compared to other businesses.
• There are beginner proofreading jobs out there.
• You can start proofreading as side hustle and scale-up.

Cons

• Further education/experience may be necessary for a lot of jobs.
• There can be very strict, tight deadlines to adhere to.

How Much Do Proofreading Jobs from Home Pay?

As with anything, it depends on your experience, who you are working for, and how they are paying you.

You can be paid hourly, per word or per project. 

It’s most likely that you will be paid per project and typically on a freelance or contractual basis.

A good starting fee for proofreading is $15 an hour, but you can increase this as you gain experience and impress your clients.

According to Glassdoor the average salary of a proofreader is right around $45,000 per year. 

What Skills Do I Need to Be a Freelance Proofreader Online?

To be a proofreader, you will need to have excellent spelling and grammar skills and be able to spot a mistake quickly.

You will need to be patient and not rush through your work as you need to pick up on mistakes that have not been spotted by whoever has written it (sounds obvious, but there are things that you may not notice that you think you would!).

For some clients, you will be required to have an English or journalism degree, but there are many jobs where you just need to have some relevant experience.

What Proofreading Tools Do I Need?

You will need a desktop computer or laptop to work on, ideally, but it’s up to you what you work best on (I love a laptop personally!).

There are some other tools that you can use to help make your proofreading job faster. Although it is worth noting that you shouldn’t rely on the tools to do your job for you as they won’t pick up everything.

Google Docs

You won’t regret using Google Docs as it’s so easy to use, and you can easily store lots of your documents within it.

You can easily share your work once it has been completed, and your client is able to add comments that you can then resolve.

Grammarly

This is a must-have for proofreaders as it is essentially an online tool for proofreading.

Grammarly is an amazing, time-saving tool for proofreaders and writers alike. Grammarly will scan the work and let you know of all grammar and spelling errors.

You will be able to decide if you want to change it or not, as there may be things that it picks up but you are happy with due to the style of the writing.

Dropbox

If your clients don’t use Google Docs, then they may have Dropbox as an alternative, so make sure that you get an account set up and you know your way around it.

How to Find Work as an Online Proofreader

Think about what kind of proofreading work you want to do before you search for clients. There are so many different options out there for you, so it’s in your interest to find the best fit.

When it comes to searching for proofreading jobs, there are other search terms that you can use to bring up the jobs, such as

• Freelance proofreading
• Editing jobs
• Copy editing
• Editor
• Book editor/editing
• Academic editor
• Online proofreading jobs
• Beginner proofreading jobs
• Proofreading positions

A great place to find clients is within relevant Facebook groups.

I know lots of people who have found work within Facebook groups by adding value and letting people know that they are available to help.

There are a lot of sites out there that are great places to look for work because hiring companies will generally head to these to find someone for the job.

Training to Become an At-Home Proofreader

There are various training courses that you can take if you are serious about becoming a proofreader and working from home, such as Proofread Anywhere.

Caitlin Pyle runs the popular course Proofread Anywhere, which will prepare you for a successful career as a proofreader.

The General Proofreading course will give you 40+ lessons in 8 modules, 10 grammar and punctuation-specific worksheets, bonus resource guides for all kinds of markets, and 40+ real-life example jobs.

Not only will it teach you how to proofread but it will also teach you how to set up and run your proofreading business and how to market your business to get clients!

Sign up for Proofread Anywhere’s FREE Intro to Proofreading workshop to learn how you can get started.

How to Qualify to Be a Proofreader

It kind of goes without saying, but in order to be a proofreader and to be hired as one, you need to be good at editing and spotting mistakes easily.

When you have applied to work for a company, you will probably have to do a test for them that you will need to pass in order to be hired.

In order to pass the tests, it’s recommended that you know of the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook– for which there are lots of free resources online if you are unfamiliar with them.

Is Proofreading a Career?

Proofreading has been around for a long time, but even more so nowadays as there is so much content that is readily available at our fingertips. There are plenty of ways that you can now make money online.

As with anything though, it depends on how much effort you are willing to put into it. You can’t just expect clients to flock to you, so you will need to have a plan for marketing your business and getting clients.

Proofreading is definitely a career, and there are many people who are incredibly successful, such as Caitlin Pyle who runs Proofread Anywhere. It is also safe to say that there are legitimate proofreading jobs online.

To start your proofreading career today, sign up to the course Proofread Anywhere, to find out how to get clients and improve your skills.

Best Online Proofreader Jobs for Beginners

Upwork

Upwork is a great site for freelancers because you can choose your own clients and projects from what is available on there.

It will highlight relevant jobs for you to apply for, and it’s up to you to make sure that you create an excellent profile and pitch to the client.

Freelancer

Freelancer is a platform that is very similar to Upwork, and you need to complete your profile and skill set so that you can be matched to jobs.

Domainite

This is a site that’s not very well paid, but if you are brand new to proofreading, it can be a good place to get started.

Polished Paper

Polished Paper (which, by the way, has an amazing looking website!) say that it has opportunities for exceptional editors.

You will need to sign up, upload your resume, and then complete its 35-question test.

ProofreadingServices.com

There are full-time and part-time remote positions available, with pay ranging from $19—$46 per hour.

To sign up, you will need to complete a 20-minute test on this site.

Fiverr

Have you heard of Fiverr before? It’s a great site that we have used before and are happy to use again because it’s great value for money from a buyer’s point of view, but you also have the opportunity to make a lot of money as a seller.

As the name suggests, the lowest offering is for $5, but you can upsell your services to get more than $5.

You can offer to proofread for clients for different price points depending on document length, complexity, etc.

Wordvice

There are remote, part-time jobs available on this site, and this company asks that you let it know your expected pay rate in your application.

You will need to submit your application and resume, complete an editing sample, and then you will be notified of your results via email.

It does ask that you are enrolled in or have completed a graduate degree program.

CACTUS Communications

There are opportunities to work from home full-time or to freelance.

CACTUS are currently recruiting for

• Freelance specialist editors
• Freelance pharma/regulatory editor
• Freelance alt text editors
• Scientific reviewers: physical sciences and pharma

It does ask that you have a relevant degree in the subject that you would be editing.

Gramlee

Gramlee say that it is always looking for exceptional editors and that you will edit from home if you are selected to work for this company.

To apply, you will need to submit its Employee Application form and wait to hear back if you have been approved.

Scribe Writing

Scribe Writing (previously called Book in a Box) is a company that takes on freelance editors for book editing.

The great thing about this site is that if it doesn’t currently have any open vacancies, you can set up email alerts for when it does.

EditFast

You will need to complete the registration process and pass the EditFast review, but whether or not you get work depends on clients choosing you for the project.

Payments to editors will be made through PayPal. EditFast gets 40% of the final total project price.

Scribbr

To join Scribbr’s team, you will need to follow this process:

• Take a language quiz. If you pass, Scribbr will review your CV and your motivation statement to see if you will fit in well with the team.
• Complete a language editing assignment.
• If you have passed the test assessment, you will be invited to join the Scribbr Academy. You will need to complete two simulation orders, and then you will be ready for real orders.

Writer’s Relief

Writer’s Relief is an author submission service that helps creative writers to get published.

To apply, fill in its application form, but please note that it only accepts 2% of the people who apply.

FlexJobs

FlexJobs is a job site, and you can search for various keywords such as “online proofreading jobs,” which will bring up everything that is available.

Wordfirm Inc.

Wordfirm Inc. provides editorial services and publication production. You will have to fill out a lengthy application, so make sure you give yourself time to sit down and go through it.

American Journal Experts

All of the positions are remote and can be done from anywhere in the world.

You can find a list of its job openings and apply for whichever are best for you.

OneSpace

OneSpace (previously known as CrowdSource) is a company that hires workers to do short tasks such as writing and editing jobs.

Edit911

The qualifications that are required to apply to work here are

• A PhD in English or another writing-intensive discipline;
• A published scholar, with demonstrable talent and skills as a writer;
• A teacher and/or book editor with verifiable experience;
• A master copy editor and experts in various documentation styles, such as MLA, APA, and Turabian;
• Proficient in MS Word and at least one other software application, such as InDesign or Publisher;
• Dedicated to providing their clients with the world’s finest, most professional editing.

If you meet these requirements, you can send Edit911 a sample of your writing and your resume, to which it will respond within 48 hours.

Kirkus Media

Various job openings are available on here, and there are frequently jobs for work-at-home editors and book reviewers.

SmartBrief

Keep an eye on this one, as it occasionally has openings for work-at-home copy editors. The pay is $15 per hour.

Final Thoughts on Online Proofreading Jobs

Becoming an online proofreader is an amazing opportunity to make some great money online.

If you’re serious about turning your online proofreading job into a legitimate side hustle or even career, we highly recommend you take Proofread Anywhere’s General Proofreading course.

You got this! Now go get your first client!