Being a student is tough. Constant classes and exams combined with the urge to unwind at every opportunity often put you in a position where you’re chasing deadlines, cramming deep into the night, and cursing your workload with every fiber of your being. On top of that, every class is its own problem to solve, with every professor thinking of both themselves and the class as your top priority.
Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in the day for you to handle all these responsibilities, so students often reach out for help through essay writing services to lighten the load.
These services may be traditionally frowned upon but have lately grown into a legitimate business that offers much-needed respite to their customers. Sometimes you won’t have the time; other times, your handling of the material in question simply won’t be up to standard.
In these cases, essay writing services stand out as useful tools, providing crucial help in times of need. With the influx of so many options on the market, it’s essential to know which sites you can trust and which will make you regret ever contacting them. We’ll look to go over all the essential signs you should look for in a service that tells you it’s legit and, even more importantly, what red flags to keep an eye on so you won’t get burned.
What to keep an eye on
Right of the bat, we need to point out, the worst thing you can do is type “essay writing service” into the Google search bar and jump on the first link that appears. As you would expect, many are out there looking to take advantage of you when in a bind, so it’s vital to do your homework before committing to a service. To be sure you’re getting what you’re paying for, scour independent reviews and look at the terms of service. Both will give you a good idea of what to expect.
Another thing worth mentioning is the legality of the content you’re getting. Without getting too much into it, the short answer is yes, it’s legal, as long as the essay isn’t blatantly copying/plagiarizing already published work(s). In this field, the cost of the work usually reflects the quality you’ll be getting. Here and there, you’ll encounter bargain deals that will offer discounts (repeat business, for example).
Check the details of the site. Never use any site that doesn’t have an SSL certificate, and if possible, try and find out where it’s registered. Getting SSL certificates is so easy for legit sites nowadays that there is absolutely no reason a site shouldn’t have it. Registration is important because it directly reflects on content quality. If an essay service is registered in Africa or Asia, there’s a very high chance your essays will be written by unqualified, underpaid labor, making them hardly worthwhile and usable. Ideally, look for sites that are based in countries that speak the language.
Additionally, if you can, try to find out when the site/service was established. Those that have been around longer tended to issue good quality work (they wouldn’t have survived otherwise), while those that have just a couple of months under their belt could be set up as quick cash grabs. Try looking for any written guarantees that are offered. Everything from the level of quality, deadlines, privacy policy, and refunds needs to be explored to get the full picture of service.
Finally, look at these services as chances to gain experience at writing essays yourself. It just isn’t feasible to use them every time you need something done in the long run. Instead, study the final product and work on getting yourself to the point where you’ll be able to write it yourself.
Best Essay Writing Services
Now that you’ve got a good idea of what to look for and what to look out for when searching for an essay writing service, we’ll go over some of the best solutions on the market. There is no particular order to their placement, all of them are well-established names, and you won’t go wrong with either. Some of the proposed solutions have a specific niche that we’ll certainly highlight, but there will be much more similarities than there will be differences.
1. PaperHelp
PaperHelp is one of the most popular and well-known services worldwide. Catering to their primary audience, students, they try to keep their prices affordable overall. Fortunately, the work quality doesn’t suffer from it, which can be confirmed by numerous positive reviews worldwide. Terms of service are laid out and easy to understand – your identity is confidential, and refunds are available in full if anything goes wrong on their end or by percentage if you cancel for any reason.
Ordering an essay is done through a price calculator where you go through the forms picking and choosing exactly what you’re looking for. Featured are things like the number of pages/words, deadline, academic level, etc. There’s even the option of requesting a specific writer, but that costs extra. Once you’re done, a price for the commission will pop up, and you’re all set. All their writers are experts in their fields of study (MA and/or Ph.D. degrees), so there shouldn’t be any issues with the quality of your essay.
In case you do need to contact them for any reason, round-the-clock support is there for you, and the number of revisions isn’t limited.
- Price: starts at $12/page for a college grade paper
- Revisions: up to 3 free revisions
- Support: 24/7 support through various channels
- Shortest deadline: 3 hours
2. GradeMiners
GradeMiners emphasizes speed more so than any other service we’ve found. A less complex, short essay can be done in less than an hour. Of course, the terms you set when ordering are crucial for such a time crunch, and the quality won’t be as good as something that took a day or two. However, there are times when it really is that urgent, and you can really be picky. Don’t misunderstand. Everything is edited and proofread by professionals so that you won’t be disappointed, but at times there simply physically isn’t enough time to write something out of this world.
Special attention to deadlines continues with data that tells us 97% of their assignments are done within the set parameters. You would maybe expect those kinds of numbers as the norm, but they’re far from it since things can get complicated with more complex tasks. Aside from writing essays, GradeMiners also offers editing and proofreading services for any type of document you need, regardless of length.
Usually, services such as these will focus solely on their own work, so the ability to submit your own for a check is refreshing. The prices are somewhat higher than average, but if you consider the short deadlines offered and many extra services you can use, it’s to be expected. There are also ways to get a discount, so it all evens out in the end.
- Price: starts at $19.34/page for a college grade paper
- Revisions: unlimited within two weeks of order
- Support: 24/7 support through various channels
- Shortest deadline: 1 hour
3. 1Essay
The best way to sum up 1Essay is variety. Using their service, you won’t be limited to commissioning just an essay, but instead a plethora of other documentation as well. You can get things like research papers, lab or technical reports, presentations, etc. Now, if you think because they offer such a wide specter of services, they’re stretching their writers too thin, don’t fret. We can’t attest to the writer’s workload, but considering how complex the process is to become one of their writers, we can attest to their credentials.
Each of them holds a degree of some sort in the field they’re assigned to, and the academic level of that degree determines both the quality of the writing and the price. Namely, to place a commission, you’ll need to go through a detailed calculator that ultimately determines the price of the project. Because there are so many options to choose from, your guidelines will be crucial for the person that will be doing the work. Factors in the calculator include the type of paper, length, academic level, deadline, writer, etc.
Just like with some other services, both on our list and otherwise, you can choose a specific writer for an additional fee if you’re so inclined. Although the robust calculator might seem like too much to handle, it’s actually really easy to use, akin to forms all of us have filled out at one point or another.
- Price: starts at $12.00/page for a college grade paper
- Revisions: Unlimited
- Support: 24/7 support through various channels
- Shortest deadline: 3 hours
5. 99Papers
Much like 1Essay, 99Papers stands out from the crowd due to the variety of services provided, including speeches, capstone projects, various reports, etc. The system put in place is an easy step-by-step process that guides you through ordering a paper and downloading it afterward; once it’s finished, as is the case with all services, you’ll need to provide input regarding the type, length, deadline, etc.
The great thing about 99Papers in the chat window that pops up after you’ve filled the commission form. Through chatting with the service’s representative, you can go over every little detail that isn’t present in the default form, making the ordering process a unique experience. The form and subsequent conversation make out the final price of your paper. Both new customers and repeat customers get access to discounts that vary depending on the parameters you’ve assigned when ordering.
Unlike some services that offer lighting fast work in under an hour for simple papers, 99Papers will need a minimum of three hours for the fastest commissions, but the quality of the papers really comes to the forefront if given at least four hours or more. Naturally, the shorter the deadline, the more it will cost.
- Price: starts at $12.60/page for a college grade paper
- Revisions: unlimited within 10 days of order
- Support: 24/7 support through various channels
- Shortest deadline: 3 hours
6. Proessaywriting
Proessaywriting has been around for almost a decade now. In that time, they’ve accumulated many positive reviews on independent sites and were featured on well-known online publications in the US. They offer a wide range of services that aren’t limited just to essay writing but also expand into proofreading and editing. In order to cover all provided services, employed is a diverse staff of writers with degrees in a variety of fields.
Once you’ve submitted your commission, you’ll have direct contact with the assigned writer for the duration of the process, meaning you’ll have direct input on how the final paper will look. If you prefer a more hands-off approach, you’ll probably be content with just the provided regular updates. The prices you’ll encounter are in line with the average prices you’ll find with other services in the field, and new users will even get a complimentary discount.
- Price: starts at $16.78/page for a college grade paper
- Revisions: unlimited
- Support: 24/7 support through various channels
- Shortest deadline: 3 hours
7. EssayOnTime
Speaking of established services, EssayOnTime has been active for fifteen years and counting. During all of that time, the reviews they’ve gotten have been overwhelmingly positive, and as they’ve grown over time, both the staff and services have been expanded upon. Aside from offering essays from a multitude of fields, their deadlines are also impressive. For less complex papers, you could have everything done in as little as three hours.
The customer support that’s in place is also one of the best and most accessible you’ll be able to find. Writers can be reached through chat, email, messenger, and by phone, round the clock. Combining the 24/7 availability and every possible way to reach them you could think of means there’s virtually no downtime.
The fact all writers are certified isn’t such a surprise. However, there is one interesting method of completing the tasks which EssayOnTime employs that is rather rare. Namely, tasks are approached by a small team that includes a researcher, writer, and proofreader. Working in unison, they’re much more efficient than a sole person doing the work, or even teams forward work to others in a step-by-step fashion.
- Price: starts at $18.45/page for a college grade paper
- Revisions: unlimited
- Support: 24/7 support through various channels
- Shortest deadline: 3 hours
8. A-writer
A-writer is another service that combines a great support structure with fast and quality writing. One of the main differences that separate it from others is the usage of dedicated customer service agents you can talk to instead of waiting for the writers to respond. Additionally, if the need arises, the writers can be contacted as well. The writing process is transparent, updating almost in real-time, which will enable you to see how it’s crated and therefore learn to do it yourself in the long-term.
The user interface on the site is extremely user-friendly, so even those with limited experience regarding these types of services won’t have a problem getting a handle on things and commissioning exactly what’s needed. The deadlines are never broken once a job is accepted, which is something that’s proudly displayed on their site.
For those that want to be extra sure the paper they’ve gotten is the real deal, you can use the free plagiarism checker provided on the site. Most of the services that run this check include this check in the writing process, but it’s refreshing some let you check for yourself.
- Price: starts at $22.99/page for a college grade paper
- Revisions: unlimited
- Support: 24/7 support through various channels
- Shortest deadline: 3 hours
Overview
| STARTING PRICE/PAGE | REVISIONS | SUPPORT | SHORTEST DEADLINE | |
| PaperHelp | $12.00 | 3 free | 24/7 | 3 hours |
| GradeMiners | $19.34 | unlimited through 14 days | 24/7 | 1 hour |
| 1Essay | $12.00 | unlimited | 24/7 | 3 hours |
| 99Papers | $12.60 | unlimited through 10 days | 24/7 | 3 hours |
| Proessaywritting | $16.78 | unlimited | 24/7 | 3 hours |
| Essayontime | $18.45 | unlimited | 24/7 | 3 hours |
| A-writer | $22.99 | unlimited | 24/7 | 3 hours |
FAQs
Are essay writing services legal?
Probably the first question that comes to mind has a surprisingly straightforward answer – yes, as long as nothing is plagiarized, you shouldn’t have any problems whatsoever.
Are essay writing services safe?
They are if you do your research. Unfortunately, there are many services out there just trying to make a quick buck without any thought for the customer. Research is key, so look for those around for a while, have good independent reviews, and always read the terms of service.
Will I have any guarantees if I’m not satisfied?
Any legit essay writing service (this includes all of the ones on our list) will have guarantees of some kind. In most cases, if a writer can’t be found for your commission, or if the deadline is broken, you’ll be fully reimbursed. On the other hand, you’ll be given multiple revisions, so there shouldn’t be any issues with the content itself. Still, even then, if you simply can’t find common ground, you’ll be eligible for a refund of at least some percentage of the total amount.
Does commissioning an essay always work?
Nothing is 100% foolproof, and that can be extended to writing services. There will be rare times when a combination of an unfavorable deadline, theme, and length simply won’t be possible – a 20 page, PhD-level paper can’t be completed in three hours, and that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The bottom line is to be realistic and plan accordingly.
Summary
Essay writing services should be perceived as tools that can help you out immensely when you find yourself in a bind. However, they shouldn’t become your go-to solution for every task that’s put in front of you. Each of the services we’ve pointed out is trustworthy, fast, and diverse enough that they can be that tool for you.
While they’re a great short-term relief, they’re also a great chance to study writing methods you can then use in the long run, making the already substantial benefits twofold.