The median first draft among 19 editors who list short form arrives in 24 hours, and 58% of them quote a first draft within a day. How fast you get a cut depends as much on the package as on the person. Below are the delivery windows, reply times and on-time rates behind that number.
The short answer
- Median first draft: 24 hours
- Fastest quoted: 24 hours
- Median reply to an invitation: 48 minutes
- Median on-time delivery rate: 92%
What each package tier includes
Editors on UGC Editing sell fixed packages in up to three tiers, so you can see the price, the delivery window and the number of revision rounds before you message anyone. Here is the median of each across editors who list short form:
| Package | Median price | Median delivery | Revisions included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $6 | 4 days | 1 revision round |
| Standard | $14 | 6 days | 2 revision rounds |
| Premium | $31 | 9 days | 3 revision rounds |
Basic is the right tier when you know exactly what the cut needs. Standard is where most repeat buyers land, because the extra revision room absorbs the notes a first draft always attracts. Premium makes sense when the edit carries a paid media budget and a wrong cut costs more than the package difference.
The reliability signals worth reading
Portfolios show what an editor can do on a good day. These numbers show what they do on an ordinary one, and they are recorded by the platform, not written by the editor:
| Signal | Median across editors who list short form |
|---|---|
| Delivered on time | 92% |
| Orders completed | 95% |
| Clients who came back | 24% |
| Reviews per editor | 118 |
The average rating in this group is 4.4 out of five. Because ratings bunch up near the top everywhere, the repeat client rate usually separates editors better. A client who books the same editor again is a review written with money.
How long a first draft takes
The median first draft among editors who list short form arrives in 24 hours. The fastest editors quote 24 hours and the slowest 4 days, and 58% quote a first draft within a day. Across the whole marketplace the median is 36 hours, so this group sits below the marketplace as a whole.
Turnaround here means the first draft, not the final file. Each revision round adds its own time on top, so plan for the round trip, not just the first delivery. If a launch date is fixed, ask for the first draft early enough that a full round of notes still fits before it.
Questions to ask before you fund an order
A short exchange before funding saves a revision round later. Buyers who order often tend to ask the same few things.
- Have you cut this format before? Ask for one example that is close to your brief, not the best piece in the reel.
- What do you need from me to start? The answer tells you how organized the editor's process is.
- Which files will I get back? Exports for each placement, a caption file, and whether the project file is included.
- How do you want feedback? Timestamped notes on the video are faster for both sides than a list in a message.
- What happens if the footage does not support the brief? A good editor will say so early rather than deliver something that technically follows the brief and does not work.
None of these are tests. They simply surface the assumptions that otherwise come out in round two.
Mistakes that cost time and money
The expensive mistakes are made early and paid for late.
- Hiring on the showreel alone. A reel shows an editor's best work; the delivery record shows their usual work.
- Leaving the brief open. Every decision the brief does not make, a revision round makes instead.
- Sending notes one at a time. Batched notes in one round are faster for everyone than a trickle of messages.
- Changing direction mid round. A new idea after the first cut is a new brief, and it should be priced as one.
- Skipping escrow. Paying off platform removes the one mechanism that settles a disagreement fairly.
None of them needs more budget to avoid, only an earlier conversation.
How quickly editors reply
The median editor in this group replies to an invitation in 48 minutes, and 26% reply within half an hour. Right now 12 are open for new work, 2 are fully booked, and 9 accept instant booking, which means you can fund an order straight from their package without a call first.
Reply time is worth weighing because it predicts how a revision round will feel. An editor who answers a brief within the hour usually answers notes the same way.
Where to go from here
The fastest way to use these numbers is against real profiles. See how briefs are written, filter to the format you need, and shortlist editors whose package already covers your brief. Funding an order through escrow means you only pay once you approve the cut.
How we worked this out
Every figure on this page was computed from UGC Editing marketplace data as of Oct 15, 2026. The editor figures cover 19 profiles in scope out of 64 on the platform. Medians are lower medians, so each one is a value an editor or a brief actually listed rather than an average of two. Fees come from our own published fee schedule.
Nothing here comes from a survey, a study or an industry estimate. Where the data could not answer part of the question, the page does not guess.