Proofreading Academy Review: Is Knowadays Worth It in 2026?

Last updated: 14 October 2026. Course pages, prices, refund terms and the Proofed work guarantee re-read on Knowadays’ site that day. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.

We first reviewed this course in 2022, when it was still called Proofreading Academy. On 14 October 2026 we re-read the Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor course pages, the full 13-module curriculum, the guaranteed-work page, Knowadays’ terms and FAQ, and its Trustpilot profile, including every one- and two-star review on the first pages. We also read the Reddit threads that come up when people search for the course, and we flag below why those threads deserve less weight than they seem to.

What is Knowadays (formerly Proofreading Academy)?

Knowadays is an online training company that teaches proofreading, editing and related writing skills. It sold its first course, Becoming A Proofreader, in 2017 under the name Proofreading Academy, and it says more than 9,000 people have taken that course since. It is the training arm of Proofed, an editing agency that proofreads academic, business and creative documents for clients, which is why the course ends with a route into Proofed’s freelance work.

The catalog has grown well beyond proofreading. On 14 October 2026 Knowadays listed courses in editing, copywriting, freelance writing, AI prompting for writers and editors, fact-checking, formatting in Microsoft Word, freelancing and public speaking, plus a business-focused Proofreading For Professionals course. Two courses matter for most readers of this page: Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor, because those are the two that qualify you for the work guarantee.

What’s included in Becoming A Proofreader

Becoming A Proofreader has 13 modules and 78 lessons. Each module mixes short lessons with how-to videos, quizzes and “try it yourself” exercises on sample documents. Knowadays says most learners finish in 30 to 50 hours. There are no deadlines and you keep lifetime access, including to content added later.

Curriculum from knowadays.com/courses/becoming-a-proofreader, read 14 October 2026.

Three practical details the sales copy is quick to pass over:

• You need the full desktop version of Microsoft Word (Office 2016, 2019, 2021 or Microsoft 365). Phones, tablets and Chromebooks can show the lessons, but not the Word tools the exercises and final assignment use. Proofed requires full Word too.
• Tutor support is real, but most of it is on request. You can contact a tutor any time, and after your final assignment is graded you get a call to go through the feedback. Day to day, it is a self-paced course.
• The final assignment is a proofreading test, not a quiz. You proofread documents with no time limit, a tutor grades them, and passing earns a CPD-accredited digital certificate. The first attempt is included; extra attempts cost $75 (GBP 50) each, and you can buy up to two.

Try two free Knowadays lessons →

The guaranteed work trial: the real differentiator

The reason Knowadays costs more than a video course is the route into paid work. The rule, as Knowadays states it: pass both Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor with a distinction score of 80% or more, and you can start paid freelance work with Proofed. Passing the proofreading course alone does not qualify you.

What happens next, from Knowadays’ guaranteed-work page and FAQ:

1. Proofed sends onboarding paperwork and you set up a profile on its platform.
2. You start on real client documents, with detailed feedback on your first 15. (Earlier versions of this page described a 10-document paid trial; the current wording is feedback on your first 15 documents.)
3. You choose how much work to take. All Proofed editors are self-employed freelancers, and Knowadays says plainly that the amount of work available varies.
4. With experience you can take longer documents, move into a reviewer role or join the support team.

Two eligibility limits are easy to miss. You must live in, or be registered for tax in, a country that has a tax treaty with the United States and a currency Proofed’s payment system supports; Knowadays publishes the list. And the 80% bar applies to both final assignments, so plan for the possibility of paying for a resit.

How well does the work pay? Knowadays does not publish Proofed’s rates. The most-cited figure online comes from a long-time Proofed freelancer who posted on Reddit in 2023 that pay ran up to $14.50 per 1,000 words, and that she managed about 3,000 words an hour. Treat that as one person’s experience from three years ago, posted with a referral link (more on that below), not as a rate card.

Knowadays pricing

Every Knowadays course is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. You can pay up front or spread the cost with the pay-later provider offered at checkout.

How we read the pricing: if the Proofed route is why you are buying, budget $849 plus a possible $75 resit. If you only want to learn to proofread and find your own clients, the $499 course alone covers that, and the last module covers finding work and setting rates. The bundles are priced 15% and 25% below the separate courses; check the course page for the current price before you buy.

Check the current bundle price →

Is Knowadays accredited?

Yes, in the sense most course buyers mean. Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor are accredited by the CPD Certification Service, a UK body that checks the quality of professional training and lets providers issue CPD points. When you pass, your certificate carries the CPD stamp.

What that accreditation is not: a license or a regulated qualification. Neither the US nor the UK licenses proofreaders, and clients hire on test results, samples and experience rather than on a particular certificate. If you search for an “accredited proofreading certification” expecting something like a bar exam, it does not exist. The things that come closest are:

• A recognized course with a graded assignment, such as Knowadays’ or the courses run by professional bodies.
• Membership of a professional body. In the UK that is the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), which grades members by training and experience. In the US, the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) is the main membership group.
• Passing a company’s own test, which is exactly what the Proofed route is.

Is Knowadays legit?

Yes. Knowadays is a real company with a real sister business behind the job guarantee, its terms are published, and its refund policy is clear. On 14 October 2026 it had a Trustpilot TrustScore of 4.9 from 554 reviews. Two caveats from Trustpilot itself: Knowadays pays for a Trustpilot subscription, and it invites customers to leave reviews, which tends to lift scores.

The low-star reviews are few, but they are specific, and they line up with each other:

• Grading felt inconsistent. One reviewer who passed but missed the 80% bar twice said the feedback on the second attempt contradicted the first, and that the marking leaned on house style. Knowadays replied that every marking point links back to a lesson and that tutors calibrate grading.
• Resits cost money. The same reviewer objected to paying for extra attempts; Knowadays confirmed the price (GBP 50 / $75) in its reply.
• Proofed work was not what one buyer expected. A US reviewer who bought the bundle said the course materials had errors, that much of the available work was academic and ESL documents, and that the pay was low compared with established freelancers.

We also want to flag something about the Reddit evidence. The most visible Reddit threads about Knowadays, in r/beermoneyglobal, r/RemoteJobs and r/remotework, are copies of the same enthusiastic post by one Proofed freelancer, each with her referral link. Commenters on those threads noticed the identical wording and pushed back on paying about $500 for a job. Her account may be genuine, but it is marketing, and you should weigh it that way.

How much do proofreaders make?

Rates depend on the client, the type of document and your experience, and new proofreaders usually start lower. Two reference points Knowadays itself cites: the Editorial Freelancers Association’s member survey put average US proofreading rates at roughly $35 to $60 an hour, and the UK’s CIEP suggests a minimum of GBP 29.85 an hour. The EFA publishes its current median rates by type of work on its rates page.

Proofed pays per word rather than per hour, so your hourly rate depends on speed. That is why the course’s last module, on finding your own clients and setting rates, matters even if you plan to start with Proofed.

How long does the course take?

Knowadays says most learners finish Becoming A Proofreader in 30 to 50 hours, and Becoming An Editor in about 40. There are no deadlines, including on the final assignment, so you can finish in a few weeks or take six months. One Proofed freelancer featured on Knowadays’ site, a retired teacher, took six months to qualify through both courses.

Free trial and refund policy

You can try two lessons of any Knowadays course free, without paying, from the course page. That is the cheapest way to find out whether you enjoy the work and can handle the exercises.

After you buy, Knowadays’ terms allow a full refund within 14 days of purchase, as long as you have not completed more than 50% of any course and have not submitted a final assignment. Email refunds@knowadays.com to request one.

Pros and cons

Who Knowadays is for, and who should skip it

Buy it if you want proofreading and editing income, you will commit to both courses, you have full Word, and you live in a country Proofed can pay. The bundle plus the Proofed route is a coherent on-ramp, and it is what the price is for.

Skip it if you want to polish your own writing, you are not sure you would enjoy proofreading for hours, or you would only take the proofreading course and never the editing one. Start with the free lessons or a cheap course, and come back if you decide to go professional.

Knowadays vs the cheaper alternatives

Proofread Anywhere is the best-known US alternative. It starts with a free introductory workshop and teaches general and transcript proofreading, with an emphasis on finding your own clients rather than a job pipeline. We have no affiliate relationship with it.

Udemy is where to start if budget decides it: its proofreading courses teach grammar, punctuation and markup for far less than Knowadays, especially during Udemy’s frequent sales. Pick one with many recent ratings and a recent update date. You give up tutor grading, CPD accreditation and any route to work.

Browse proofreading courses on Udemy →

Other Knowadays courses worth knowing about

• Becoming An Editor: nine modules on copy editing, structure, tone of voice and editing AI-generated text. The second half of the work guarantee.
• Proofreading For Professionals: for people who check their own or their team’s documents at work, not for freelancers.
• Becoming A Copywriter and Becoming A Freelance Writer: writing courses; the freelance writing course lets you publish on Knowadays’ blog for a portfolio.
• How To Fact-Check, AI Prompting For Writers And Editors, Formatting In Microsoft Word: short add-ons, bundled in the Editorial Course Suite.

Frequently asked questions

Is Knowadays worth it?

For someone who wants proofreading and editing income and will take both courses, yes: the tutor-graded assignments, CPD certificate and guaranteed freelance work with Proofed justify the $849 bundle. For improving your own writing, no; a cheap course or the two free lessons cover that.

Is Proofreading Academy the same as Knowadays?

Yes. Proofreading Academy renamed itself Knowadays. It is the same company and the same Becoming A Proofreader course, which it has sold since 2017.

How much does Knowadays cost?

On 14 October 2026 Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor were $499 each, the two-course bundle was $849 (list $998) and the six-course Editorial Course Suite was $1,197. Extra final-assignment attempts cost $75 each.

Does Knowadays really guarantee work?

Conditionally. You must pass both Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor with 80% or more and live in a country Proofed can pay. You then start freelance work with Proofed, with feedback on your first 15 documents. The amount of work varies.

Is Knowadays accredited?

Its proofreading and editing courses are accredited by the CPD Certification Service, and passing earns a CPD-stamped certificate. Proofreading itself is not a licensed profession in the US or UK, so no course is a legal requirement.

How long does the Knowadays proofreading course take?

Most learners finish in 30 to 50 hours. There are no deadlines and you keep lifetime access.

Can I get a refund from Knowadays?

Yes, within 14 days of purchase if you have completed no more than half the course and have not submitted a final assignment. Email refunds@knowadays.com.

Is there a free trial?

Knowadays offers two free lessons from each course, sent when you sign up on the course page.

What do I need to take the course?

A laptop or desktop computer with the full version of Microsoft Word (2016 or later, or Microsoft 365) and an excellent command of written English. No degree or prior experience is required.

Sources, all read 14 October 2026: knowadays.com (Becoming A Proofreader, Becoming An Editor, guaranteed work, FAQ, terms and conditions), Trustpilot, the EFA rates page, proofreadanywhere.com and Reddit (r/beermoneyglobal, r/RemoteJobs, r/remotework).