In United Kingdom, published freelance rates for a copy editor are £31.92–£42.66 an hour.
Freelance
£31.92–£42.66 an hour
Sources
1 document
What copy editor work in United Kingdom pays, according to the documents that set rates there, each quoted as printed. How the pay guide works →
What the published rates say
Hour
Substantial editing, rewriting, development editingCIEP · Recommended minimums · 1 Mar 2026
£42.66
CopyeditingCIEP · Recommended minimums · 1 Mar 2026
£37.11
IndexingCIEP · Recommended minimums · 1 Jan 2026
£34
ProofreadingCIEP · Recommended minimums · 1 Mar 2026
£31.92
Each published rate as a day's pay
Freelance · 4 figures
£31.92 an hour
£42.66 an hour
US$ a day at the ECB rate for the month. A month is 12 payments over 260 working days, or 13 or 14 where the agreement says so; a year is 260 days; a shift counts as a day.
| Type of work | What | As printed | US$ a day | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance | Proofreading | £31.92 an hour | $342.99 | CIEP · Recommended minimums · 1 Mar 2026 |
| Freelance | Indexing | £34 an hour | $365.34 | CIEP · Recommended minimums · 1 Jan 2026 |
| Freelance | Copyediting | £37.11 an hour | $398.75 | CIEP · Recommended minimums · 1 Mar 2026 |
| Freelance | Substantial editing, rewriting, development editing | £42.66 an hour | $458.39 | CIEP · Recommended minimums · 1 Mar 2026 |
Every figure, as printed
Open a row for the wording in the document and its dates.
Printed
Proofreading £31.92DocumentCIEP suggested minimum hourly rates 2026–27 · Recommended minimums StatusIn force · 1 Mar 2026 Built to cover holidays, sickness, National Insurance, pension, CPD, office, software and equipment, so not comparable with employee pay.
Printed
Copyediting £37.11DocumentCIEP suggested minimum hourly rates 2026–27 · Recommended minimums StatusIn force · 1 Mar 2026
Printed
Substantial editing, rewriting, development editing £42.66DocumentCIEP suggested minimum hourly rates 2026–27 · Recommended minimums StatusIn force · 1 Mar 2026
Printed
Indexing £34.00DocumentCIEP suggested minimum hourly rates 2026–27 · Recommended minimums StatusIn force · 1 Jan 2026 Society of Indexers' suggested minimum from 1 January 2026, repeated by CIEP.
Questions people ask
In United Kingdom, published freelance rates for a copy editor are £31.92–£42.66 an hour.
CIEP, in 1 document.
About this data. These rates are compiled from publicly available sources and quoted as printed, with their date. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any figure. For information only: Journalist.net does not recommend or set rates. How we count