Inkshift gets one thing right that almost nobody else in this category does: pay once, no subscription. We respect that. But their critique, revision plan, and line markup are sold separately — so getting the full picture on your manuscript means checking out three times. EditRoast bundles the editorial roast and the full prioritized proofreading pass into a single price, plus a free synopsis nobody asked you to pay extra for.
Both are AI, both skip the subscription. Here's where the two actually part ways.
| EditRoast | Inkshift | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | One flat price per manuscript | Separate purchases: Critique, Revision Plan, Markup |
| Full novel, critique + line notes | $79 (up to 100k words, everything included) | ~$125 ($25 Critique + $100 Markup) |
| Deliverable format | Narrative editorial roast + separate itemized, prioritized proofreading list | Narrative critique; line markup sold as a separate add-on |
| Tone | Blunt, opinionated, built to be honest first | Neutral professional tool voice |
| Free bonus | Ready-to-use synopsis, every order | Query letter, synopsis, comp titles — bundled only at higher tiers |
| Best fit | Self-publishing / KDP authors who want a blurb-ready synopsis | Authors preparing to query literary agents |
| Languages | EN, ES, DE, FR, RU + more | English |
Inkshift is an AI manuscript critique tool sold per-manuscript rather than by subscription — a structure it shares with EditRoast and almost nobody else in this space. It offers a free analysis up to 10,000 words, then paid tiers: a $25 Editorial Critique (structure, character, pacing, plot coherence, prose quality, genre positioning), a $35 Revision Plan (critique plus chapter-by-chapter implementation guidance), and a $100 Markup (line-by-line comments across the full manuscript).
Because it's the closest thing to an apples-to-apples comparison in this market. Both are AI-driven, both are one-time purchases, both promise fast turnaround. Everyone else is a $15–40/month subscription tool with manuscript features bolted on. If you've already decided a subscription doesn't make sense for editing one book, Inkshift and EditRoast are the two names actually worth comparing.
It depends what you're buying. For critique only, Inkshift's $25 tier beats EditRoast's lowest tier if your manuscript is short. For a full novel where you want both an editorial verdict and full proofreading, EditRoast's $79 flat rate is cheaper than stacking Inkshift's Critique and Markup tiers separately.
Not query letters — EditRoast's audience is mainly self-publishing authors, not authors querying literary agents. Instead, every order includes a free, ready-to-use synopsis: the document self-published authors actually need for their KDP description, back cover, or beta-reader pitch.
No deciding mid-checkout whether you also need the markup tier. Upload, get your price for the full package — roast plus prioritized proofreading notes — and that's the whole bill.
EditRoast is built to tell you what's actually wrong and why it matters — not hedge everything into vague, safe language. You'll know exactly what to fix first.
EditRoast's first author is memoirist Nadi Petrova, who built the service around the exact bottleneck she hit self-publishing her own book — vanishing beta readers, slow editors, revision rounds with no priority order.
Every order includes a ready-to-use synopsis at no extra charge — the one document almost every self-published author needs and almost none enjoy writing.
For a full-length novel, EditRoast is a flat $79 that includes both an editorial critique and a full prioritized proofreading pass. Inkshift sells these as separate purchases — a $25 Editorial Critique, a $35 Revision Plan, and a $100 full Markup — so getting both critique-level and line-level feedback there runs closer to $125. Compare the specific tiers you need before assuming either is cheaper for your word count.
Both are AI-driven, one-time-purchase manuscript critique tools with fast turnaround — no subscription required, which already puts both ahead of most of the market. The differences are in structure and delivery: EditRoast bundles a narrative editorial "roast" and a separately itemized, prioritized proofreading corrections list (each fix pinned to its chapter, paragraph, and phrase) into one price, plus a free synopsis. Inkshift sells critique, revision planning, and line markup as separate tiers, and adds query-letter and comp-title extras aimed more at authors querying literary agents.
Yes. EditRoast reviews manuscripts natively in English, Spanish, German, French, Russian, and other European, Slavic, and Turkic languages, with real (non-machine-translated) site pages in ES, DE, FR, and RU.