Manuscript review services · 2026 price survey

Manuscript editing and pre-submission peer review services: what they cost

List prices for human editing and pre-submission peer review from Enago, AJE, Editage, Springer Nature, Wiley, Elsevier, Wordvice and Charlesworth, captured from each pricing page on 12 September 2026, with a 5,000-word estimate where a per-word rate is published.

Pre-submission peer review pricesEditing prices by vendor
Captured 2026-09-12 · list prices as displayed · re-verified quarterly
Headline figure

Human pre-submission peer review costs $272 to $1,545 and up.

On 12 September 2026, five vendors published a price for a human pre-submission peer review or a scientific edit that includes one: Enago from $272 for a single reviewer to $799 for three, AJE from $289 to $500 and up, Editage at $0.24 per word (about $1,200 for a 5,000-word paper), Wiley at $1,500 for up to 6,000 words, and Springer Nature from $1,545. Enago's hybrid AI-plus-expert report is $99. A PeerReviewAI Peer Review is $49 for any length. The rest of this page shows every figure with its source so you can check the arithmetic.

Prices captured 2026-09-12
Pre-submission peer review

Pre-submission peer review, service by service.

Only services that describe a review or peer-review-style evaluation are listed here; pure language editing is in the next table.
ServicePublished priceTurnaroundWhat the vendor says it includesSource
Enago — Pre-Submission Peer Review$272 (1 reviewer) · $535 (2) · $799 (3)5 business daysReviewer report(s) from subject expertsvendor page
Enago — AI Peer Review Lite$99 (shown as reduced from $149)4 daysAI-generated structured report validated and annotated by a subject-matter expertvendor page
AJE — Presubmission Review$289Not stated on the pricing pagePre-submission assessmentvendor page
AJE — Pre-Submission Peer ReviewStarting at $500Not stated on the pricing pagePeer-review-style evaluationvendor page
Editage — Scientific Editing Pro$0.24/word standard ($1,200 at 5,000 words) · $0.30/word express6–16 business days standard; 4–10 expressContent review of novelty, data and conclusions; two rounds of peer review; language editing; journal formatting; cover letter; one year of re-editingvendor page
Springer Nature Author Services — Scientific EditingFrom $1,545Standard or rush (fee)PhD editor team review, developmental edit, premium language editing, strategic report, one additional editvendor page
Wiley Editing Services — Top Journal Editing$1,500 up to 6,000 words; $0.25/word above6 business days (+1 day per 600 words above 6,000)Editing aimed at top-journal submissionvendor page
PeerReviewAI — Peer Review$49 per manuscript, any lengthMinutes, streamed live16-section review; every reference verified against PubMed and Crossref with retraction screening; reporting-guideline and journal author-instruction audit; journal formatting as Word tracked changes; review PDF and formatted .docx download automaticallypricing
Editing services

Editing prices by vendor.

Every tier the vendor lists publicly, in the vendor's own units. The last column converts to a 5,000-word manuscript only where the vendor publishes a per-word or flat rate.
Prices shown for 3,000 words; manuscripts over 5,100 words are quoted individually
TierPublished price
Copy Editing$174 (6 days) to $225 (1 day)
Substantive Editing$252 (6 days) to $432 (1 day)
Top Impact Scientific Editing$600 (6 days) or $900 (4 days)
Pre-Submission Peer Review ↗$272 (1 reviewer), $535 (2), $799 (3); 5 business days
AI Peer Review Lite (AI + expert validation) ↗$99; 4 days
Journal Selection / Formatting / Submission$170 / $119 (0–4,000 words) / $153
5,000-word estimate: Quoted individually above 5,100 words; 3,000-word list prices $174–$900
AJE (American Journal Experts)
SOURCE ↗
Flat prices where shown; language-editing tiers say "Please Contact Support for Price"
TierPublished price
Presubmission Review$289
Pre-Submission Peer ReviewStarting at $500
Scientific Editing (PhD editor, developmental edit, strategic report)Contact for price
Manuscript FormattingStarting at $75
5,000-word estimate: $289 (Presubmission Review) or from $500 (Pre-Submission Peer Review)
Editage
SOURCE ↗
Per-word rates; Scientific Editing Pro from the service page
TierPublished price
Standard English EditingFrom $0.0425 per word
Premium English EditingFrom $0.065 per word
Scientific Editing Pro (includes two rounds of peer review, journal formatting, cover letter) ↗$0.24 per word standard (6–16 business days); $0.30 express
5,000-word estimate: $212.50 (Standard) · $325 (Premium) · $1,200 standard or $1,500 express (Scientific Editing Pro)
Springer Nature Author Services
SOURCE ↗
"Pricing starts at" figures; per-word pricing via upload
TierPublished price
Silver Language EditingFrom $91
Gold Language EditingFrom $312
Scientific Editing (PhD editor team, developmental edit, strategic report)From $1,545
Manuscript Formatting$125
5,000-word estimate: From $91 (Silver) to from $1,545 (Scientific Editing)
Wiley Editing Services
SOURCE ↗
English Language Editing priced by word band; figures shown for the first band (500 words)
TierPublished price
English Language Editing (first word band)USD 167 (4 days), 247 (2 days), 395 (24 hours)
Top Journal Editing$1,500 up to 6,000 words (6 business days); $0.25 per word above
Manuscript Formatting / Journal Recommendation$75–$150 / $220
5,000-word estimate: $1,500 (Top Journal Editing, flat up to 6,000 words)
Elsevier Language Editing Services
SOURCE ↗
"Starting from" prices; word band not stated on the overview page
TierPublished price
Standard (4–25 business days)From $95
Express (1–4 business days)From $170
Plus (12 months of re-editing; reference check for consistency, completeness and structure; cover letter)From $204
5,000-word estimate: From $95 to from $204 (word band not stated)
Wordvice
SOURCE ↗
Per-word; turnaround options from 9 to 168 hours
TierPublished price
Academic Editing$0.044 per word
5,000-word estimate: $220
Charlesworth Author Services
SOURCE ↗
Quote-based: the prices page redirects to a quote form
TierPublished price
Essential / Advanced editing packagesInstant quote by word count (no public per-word rate)
5,000-word estimate: Not published
Taylor & Francis Editing Services
SOURCE ↗
Pricing page blocked automated capture on the capture date
TierPublished price
Editing servicesNot captured
5,000-word estimate: Not captured
What the money buys

Human service or AI review: what each actually does.

Human editing and review services provide
  • A named editor, often with a PhD in the field, and an editing certificate for the journal.
  • Native-speaker rewriting of voice, flow and structure, not only sentence-level correction.
  • Re-editing after revision, in several tiers for a full year.
  • In the scientific tiers, a human reader's judgment of novelty and a strategic report; some add journal selection and submission.
  • Turnaround from one day to several weeks; price scales with word count and speed.
PeerReviewAI provides, for $49
  • 16-section review of methods, statistics, interpretation and writing, returned in minutes.
  • Every reference checked against PubMed and Crossref; status per reference; retraction screening on every DOI.
  • Item-by-item audit against the applicable guideline: CONSORT, SPIRIT, PRISMA and extensions, STROBE, CARE, SRQR, ARRIVE, TRIPOD, SQUIRE, CHEERS, STARD, STREGA, plus audit against the target journal's author instructions.
  • Journal formatting applied to your .docx as Word tracked changes, included.
  • Zero Data Retention (Anthropic); never stored or used for training. No accept/reject verdict.
When a human service is the right call

Deep rewriting for a new voice; an idiosyncratic house style; a career-defining submission where a named expert's opinion is worth $1,500; journal selection and submission handled for you. Run the automated checks first either way, so the editor's hours go to judgment.

Method

How this survey was done.

Prices copied as displayed on 12 September 2026, in each vendor's units. Per-word vendors get a 5,000-word estimate; flat-range vendors show the range; quote-only or blocked pages (Taylor & Francis) say so. Re-run quarterly.

Protected by Anthropic’s Zero Data Retention
Your manuscript is never stored, logged, or used for training.
FAQ

Questions, answered.

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Run the $49 review first. Spend the rest on judgment.

Reference verification, the reporting-checklist audit, the journal-instruction audit and the formatting tracked changes are done in minutes. See the full sample review before you decide.

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