Average Proofreader Salary in South Africa for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Proofreader salary for 2024 in South Africa and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the South African rand. To keep things simple, we are using the ZAR currency code instead of the currency symbol R.

How Much Does a Proofreader Make in South Africa?

A Proofreader working in South Africa will typically earn around 307,400 ZAR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 151,800 ZAR to the highest average salary of 476,600 ZAR.

Average Annual Salary
307,400 ZAR
Average Monthly Salary
25,616 ZAR

Lowest Annual Salary
151,800 ZAR
Lowest Monthly Salary
12,650 ZAR

Highest Annual Salary
476,600 ZAR
Highest Monthly Salary
39,716 ZAR

These are average salaries for a Proofreader in South Africa and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Proofreader to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Proofreader salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Proofreader Salaries in South Africa

So we've looked at the average salaries a Proofreader will earn in South Africa. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Proofreader can earn between 151,800 ZAR and 476,600 ZAR on average in South Africa. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Proofreader in South Africa is 311,700 ZAR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 311,700 ZAR, and 50% of the population earn more than 311,700 ZAR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Proofreader salary in South Africa, 25% of the population are earning less than 208,600 ZAR while 75% of the population earn more than 208,600 ZAR.

75% of the population earn less than 403,100 ZAR, and 25% of the population earn more than 403,100 ZAR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Proofreader Salary by Experience Level in South Africa

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average proofreader salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Proofreader in South Africa that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 175,900 ZAR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Proofreader salary would increase to 228,000 ZAR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Proofreader, the average salary would be 313,700 ZAR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 390,000 ZAR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Proofreader with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 417,100 ZAR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Proofreader with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 447,300 ZAR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
175,900 ZAR
2-5 Years +29%
228,000 ZAR
5-10 Years +38%
313,700 ZAR
10-15 Years +24%
390,000 ZAR
15-20 Years +7%
417,100 ZAR
20+ Years +7%
447,300 ZAR

Proofreader Salary by Education Level in South Africa

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Proofreader in South Africa based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Proofreader in South Africa with a high school education can earn an average salary of 222,300 ZAR.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Proofreader in South Africa with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 254,800 ZAR.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Proofreader in South Africa with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 341,900 ZAR.

  • Master's Degree. A Proofreader in South Africa with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 430,500 ZAR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
222,300 ZAR
Certificate or Diploma +15%
254,800 ZAR
Bachelor's Degree +35%
341,900 ZAR
Master's Degree +26%
430,500 ZAR

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in South Africa is around 156,000 to 467,000 ZAR and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Proofreader Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In South Africa, a male proofreader will earn an average of 294,700 ZAR, while a female proofreader will earn around 313,700 ZAR.

This means that a male proofreader earns approximately 6% less than a female proofreader for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in South Africa

Male
294,700 ZAR
Female +6%
313,700 ZAR

Proofreader Average Pay Raise in South Africa

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Proofreader in South Africa is around 10% every 19 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in South Africa is around 8% every 18 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 10 ÷ 19 ) × 12  = 6%

What this means is that a Proofreader in South Africa can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 6% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in South Africa for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in South Africa.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Proofreader Bonus and Incentive Rates in South Africa

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Proofreader is a low bonus based job, with 30% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

70% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4%.

Received Bonus
30%
No Bonus
70%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in South Africa earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
386,400 ZAR
Private Sector -7%
361,500 ZAR

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Proofreader

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Proofreader in South Africa.

Job Title Category Salary
Advertising Copywriter Publishing and Printing 357,300 ZAR
Art Director Publishing and Printing 367,900 ZAR
Art Supervisor Publishing and Printing 325,600 ZAR
Artist Publishing and Printing 349,300 ZAR
Assistant Editor Publishing and Printing 268,900 ZAR
Associate Content Management Specialist Publishing and Printing 341,900 ZAR
Associate Editor Publishing and Printing 294,700 ZAR
Binder and Finisher Publishing and Printing 157,600 ZAR
Bindery Supervisor Publishing and Printing 210,500 ZAR
Circulations Director Publishing and Printing 499,300 ZAR
Color Matcher Publishing and Printing 205,700 ZAR
Color Technician Publishing and Printing 175,900 ZAR
Commissioning Editor Publishing and Printing 315,900 ZAR
Communications Editor Publishing and Printing 294,300 ZAR
Content Copywriter Publishing and Printing 341,900 ZAR
Content Management Assistant Publishing and Printing 294,700 ZAR
Content Publisher Publishing and Printing 294,700 ZAR
Content Writer Publishing and Printing 332,500 ZAR
CopyWriter Publishing and Printing 339,100 ZAR
Corporate Print Center Specialist Publishing and Printing 266,000 ZAR
Curator Publishing and Printing 279,400 ZAR
DTP Operator Publishing and Printing 305,600 ZAR
Editor Publishing and Printing 327,800 ZAR
Electronic Publisher Publishing and Printing 341,400 ZAR
Fashion Subeditor Publishing and Printing 335,100 ZAR
Media Design Manager Publishing and Printing 562,600 ZAR
Media Planner Publishing and Printing 371,100 ZAR
Photographer Publishing and Printing 275,500 ZAR
Planning and Supply Manager Publishing and Printing 628,000 ZAR
Print Production Coordinator Publishing and Printing 294,300 ZAR
Print Production Manager Publishing and Printing 592,600 ZAR
Printing Press Operator Publishing and Printing 283,400 ZAR
Production Editor Publishing and Printing 308,900 ZAR
Publisher Publishing and Printing 363,000 ZAR
Publishing and Printing Coordinator Publishing and Printing 254,800 ZAR
Publishing and Printing Manager Publishing and Printing 587,800 ZAR
Publishing and Printing Supervisor Publishing and Printing 472,000 ZAR
Publishing Specialist Publishing and Printing 403,100 ZAR
Reporter Publishing and Printing 425,100 ZAR
Technical Writer Publishing and Printing 335,800 ZAR
Technical Writing Manager Publishing and Printing 475,700 ZAR

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in South Africa, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Bloemfontein 273,000 ZAR
Cape Town 322,600 ZAR
Durban 301,300 ZAR
Johannesburg 315,700 ZAR
Port Elizabeth 279,400 ZAR
Pretoria 301,600 ZAR

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