PapersOwl Review:
based on real mystery shopping

A*Help Score: 82.3/100
published January 23, 2023 - updated September 11, 2024

In J.K. Rowling’s wonderful universe, owls connect the worlds of wizards and ordinary people. These birds symbolize wisdom and knowledge. This phenomenon can be found in many cultures and stories. The owl named Hedwig was Harry Potter’s close friend, accompanying him during years of study and preparing for exams. 

So naturally, the brand name of PapersOwl should stand for something magical and educational, helping struggling students to work miracles with their assignments. It’s an essay writing service that we decided to test and check whether they can become your trusted provider of academic assistance. See How We Test Essay Writing Services for more details about our testing approach.

Quick Overview

PapersOwl stands out as a great combination of superior work and exceptional service at an affordable price. Those who prefer essay platforms based on a bidding system will find immense value in the numerous benefits offered by this service.

The Good
  • Exceptional customer service
  • Personal contact with writers
  • Great quality of personal essays
  • Affordable pricing policy
The Bad
  • Poor selection of payment methods
  • Skimpy choice of extra services
A*Help's Choice Our verdict AHelp score 🔥 Updated April 2024
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CustomWritings
Best quality papers 86.75/100 Visit website
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99Papers
Best value for money 85.5/100 Visit website
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SpeedyPaper
Best customer support 81.95/100 Visit website
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EssayShark
Best contact with writers 80.8/100 Visit website
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EssayPro
Best overall experience 77.1/100 Visit website
An infographic with a short PapersOwl review describing the ways it was tested and how it received an A*Help Score: 82.3/100

Experience review: PapersOwl Mystery Shopping

Every student is bothered by questions like “is DoMyEssay legit?” or “does EssayService have good writers?”. A*Help can take your worries away. During the mystery shopping, we became undercover agents who engaged in cooperation with PapersOwl, pursuing the only mission – to verify if their services and writers deserved to be called as knowledgeable as the wise bird they picture on their logotype.  

The A*Help team placed two actual orders with PapersOwl through their website. The first was a personal narrative essay due in six hours, and the second was a memo to the CEO, which we wanted to have completed in seven days. While hammering the deal, we made sure to survey the website: all features, options, and additional services that it offers were carefully tested. In order to get a detailed picture of the shopping experience, we asked for revisions, requested refunds, and checked customer support capabilities whenever possible. 

As soon as Papers Owl completed our articles, we sent them to our ally in the academic environment. The US college professor Sybil Low reviewed and graded the essays in compliance with existing American college standards. She provided detailed feedback on both papers discussing how well the authors obeyed the guidelines, maintained the structure, and commented on the overall quality of their writings. Her conclusion is found further in this report.

Here is our testing and research scenario:

✍ Paper⭐ Personal Essay (2 pages)💼 Business Memo (4 pages)
🎓 Academic level Undergrad. (yrs. 1-2)Undergrad. (yrs. 3-4)
✅ Paper formatMLAChicago / Turabian
⏰ Deadline6 hours7 days
👉 Paper instructionsFor this assignment, you will be writing a personal narrative–a story–illustrating an event or experience exemplifying gratitude. In other words, share a colorful story about an experience or event for which–either during or after the event– you feel or felt thankful. An example might be writing about your experience as a senior in high school and the teacher who helped you to achieve your goal of graduating and attending college. Another example might be writing a story about your experience growing up in a rural community, acknowledging that it was this small, but mighty, community that made you who you are today, and for this, you are thankful. This assignment should be at least 550 words. Underline your descriptive thesis statement or the point of your story. No outside/secondary sources are needed. See Appendix C – Formatting and Submitting Your Work See Formatting your Essay: MLA 8th EditionYou are the Government Relations Director at a Canadian business. You have been asked to write a memo to your CEO about COVID-related government impacts on your business, comparing two provinces in which you operate. Your assignment is to write & submit this memo Your Task:
1. Choose a specific business you work in (Air Canada, Loblaws, 3M Canada, etc).
2. Choose two provinces to compare for your memo.
3. Research both provinces – what restrictions were in place in both provinces that affect your business? What supports are in place?
4. Write a memo in three parts: (1) how COVID is impacting our business, (2) a comparison of two provinces, (3)reflections on Canadian federalism and any recommendations for the CEO on how to work with governments to lead your business through the crisis

Looking for more essay topics and ideas for inspiration? Check our Best essay writing topics digest. The most popular categories for custom writing assignments according to the weekly market data released by A*Help.

During the final phase of our investigation, we meticulously analyzed the data obtained to form the A*Help score – the success indicator for a service. As you can see, although not wizards, we did cast some professional spells over PapersOwl. Let’s see now how well the service stood against our charm.

Our partner and a professor of an American college Sybil Low tells what she wants to find in a well-composed college essay:

I’ve read, perhaps, thousands of college essays throughout my career, and for me, the most successful ones always emerge from honesty. During every assessment, I cannot not help but remember Anne Elrod Whitney’s words in one of her sudies “Keeping It Real: Valuing Authenticity in the Writing Classroom” that authenticity is a must. The ability to speak candidly, convey an authentic voice, and inspire reflection and introspection does not require a student to be a professional writer. It’s crucial for students to write from their prespective and experience. This approach makes every writing uniques and it empovers students to understand themselves better.

Paper Quality – 39.3/50 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Poor quality work can quickly ruin an excellent overall impression. Alternatively, many students can sacrifice the pleasure of interacting with the service in favor of well-written essays. As we already discovered, PapersOwl keeps the bar very high in the overall experience aspect of our research. Let’s find out if this reputation holds up through the rest of our study.   

A screenshot of our order page at papersowl
Our order page at PapersOwl.com (click to see a large picture)

Like no one else, Professor Low knows that the art of creating essays doesn’t come with waving a magic wand. Her eye is trained to look for the signs of the writer’s trickery, and she returned the papers with the following grades: 89.3 for the personal narrative, and 68.1 for the business memo. Although the disparity of scores for two papers is common for many writing services, it’s substantial in the case of PapersOwl.  Nevertheless, both papers scored above the minimum acceptable passing bar of 60 points, so this difference in scores of the two essays may be just a single event.  We’ll break down the score for each essay separately.

PapersOwl’s personal essay is an example of a very good piece of writing. Among its merits are excellent grammar (100) and punctuation (100), proper word choice (79), and decent spelling accuracy (87). This service also demonstrated remarkable competence in the element, where only a few companies usually excel: 85 points for reasoning and logic is a fantastic result. 

Professor Low also highlighted the quality of the essay: 

We often need a turning point in life that will change everything for the better, open people’s eyes to mistakes they have made in the past, and teach them to look forward to the future. It can be hard to know when that moment comes, and, of course, it’s even harder to tell about it with the skill of a true writer. It’s an inspiring story about a woman finding her soulmate at just the right time.

Minor formatting issues and the imperfect length of the essay (98) must be addressed by the service in future writings, but they don’t lower the final grade significantly. All in all, the writer spared no effort with this essay. 

Which is not true about the other author who worked on our memo to the CEO. The paper beat the minimum accepted level (60) by 8 points, but it has multiple things that could be improved in the most important areas for the business paper. “Fair” formatting is the central trouble zone in this memo. Vertical and horizontal spacing, body and section headers, and page breaks all require improvement. Similarly, reference formatting is also poor, with wrong titles, miscapitalized, and missing elements forming the “main problem area.” The professor also points out  in-text citations issues in the document. Unfortunately, high grades for mechanics (93) and reasoning & logic (94) have lower levels of priority in memo’s grading and thus were unable to pump up the final score.

A more detailed assessment report is available in the information below.

Paper 1: Score 89.3 out of 100 pts. Document formatting is very good, but there is room for improvement. Document formatting issues: horizontal spacing. |Observations:| {Integrity}: 100%. {Length}: Just a tiny bit short (98%)—quote a bit less or write a bit more. {Mechanics:} 92% (spelling 87%, grammar 100%, punctuation 100%, word choice 79%). {Citation formatting:} ungraded. {Reasoning, logic:} 85% (efficiency 100%, acuity 88%, clarity 94%, objectivity 58%).

Paper 2: SCORE: 68.1 out of 100 pts. Document formatting is fair, with room for improvement. Document formatting issues: vertical spacing; horizontal spacing; body header; section headers; font control; page breaks. |Observations:| {Integrity}: 100%. {Length}: A little bit short (93%)—quote somewhat less or write somewhat more. {Mechanics:} 93% (spelling 97%, grammar 93%, punctuation 96%, word choice 86%). {Citation Formatting:} 50%. Reference formatting: main problem area—titles (article, journal); most frequent error types—element miscapitalized, element misitalicized, element missing. In-text cite grade: seriously deficient (in-text cites misformatted). {Reasoning, logic:} 94% (efficiency 88%, acuity 97%, clarity 89%, objectivity 100%).

Average paper score: 78.7

ParameterPaper 1. Personal Essay (2 pages)Paper 2. Business Memo (4 pages)
Paper score89.3/10068.1/100
Paper price$43.20$65
Completion time2.4 hr6 days 15 h

PapersOwl’s Value Review: Value for Money — 20/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Value for money is traditionally defined as the most advantageous combination of cost, quality, and ability of the company or service to meet consumer requirements. In our reviews, the value for money ratio is one of the three components of the A*Help score and the benchmark of success for all essay writing providers. During our mystery shopping, we simulate different situations and problems that customers may encounter while dealing with the service and check how professionally it responds to them. 

Charging policy of an essay company is among the things we always pay a close attention to. Price is not always a decisive factor, but still important and it shouldn’t be overlooked. We paid $43.20 for the personal essay and $65 for the business memo. The essay is more than competitively priced. At the same time, the memo fits perfectly in the mid-range category, and the quality of both papers is discussed further in this review. 

A screenshot of order form at papersowl
Order form at PapersOwl.com (click to see a large picture)

Homework help websites should focus on their punctuality as well. Can you imagine Harry’s owl Hedwig being late with any letter from Hogwarts? Luckily, PapersOwl closely considers the established deadlines. Our first paper was done in 3.3 hours, and the memo task came into the inbox just after 9 hours. So, if you were looking for an urgent essay writing service, this platform is your guy.

A screenshot of our orders at papersowl
Our orders at PapersOwl.com (click to see a large picture)

PapersOwl doesn’t offer much special in terms of discounts. The service will save 10% off the following order for those users who leave reviews about the company on popular customer feedback resources like trustpilot.com or reviews.io. Also, remember to check your inbox for new  promo codes and discount arrivals. According to the referral program, customers can also receive $35 on their PaperOwl’s balance if they share the invitation link with friends. Those who like participating in various loyalty programs will be disappointed – none is available as of this writing. 

The additional services selection includes the possibility of working with a “perfect writer” for an extra $9.99 and feeling VIP client support for an additional $12.99. The abstract page will be crafted for another $24. 

Of course, PapersOwl doesn’t dazzle with the value-for-money performance, but the service has enough tricks in its hat to become a solid competition to its rivals in this aspect.    

3/3
Deadline & Terms
7/7
Free services
5/7
Additional services
3/4 
Average paper price
2/4
Discounts

Our user experience with PapersOwl. Overall experience – 23/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

People often use the term “magical experience” to describe something that goes beyond their initial expectations to the point that they can’t even believe it’s possible. There is nothing supernatural about providing outstanding customer service. “Magic” happens whenever a service is determined to satisfy its clients, and we always check how “magical” an essay writing company is.  

Our interaction with the website’s help desk was a blast. They responded to all our requests promptly and professionally, which smoothly moved us along our customer journey. A*Help’s expert challenged the support specialist with various requests, such as changing the order on the fly and asking for additional revisions. Neither of our whims was able to surprise them. Overall, you should expect to be welcomed at the website and receive exceptional assistance from PapersOwl’s representatives.

The privacy policy is clearly explained and available for all users to view. The document clarifies what personal data is collected and how it is used by the website. Registration is similar to that of most other services and all companies that operate online. Users can log in with their email address or a Facebook, Google, or Apple account. 

A screenshot of our transactions at papersowl
Our transactions at PapersOwl.com (click to see a large picture)

PapersOwl doesn’t impress with its arsenal of payment methods. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express credit card holders shouldn’t have difficulties processing their transactions, while those with other paying preferences will feel left out. PayPal and Google Pay aren’t supported at all, and Apple Pay is available with an odd restriction – a customer must use a Safari browser to complete a payment with this method.  

As we close this section of our review, we shouldn’t forget that despite this service’s excellent overall experience, the lack of payment options is its vulnerability.

7/7
Support
4/4
Security & Privacy
5/7
Payment Methods
7/7
Communication

Conclusion

In Rowling’s fascinating franchise, the young wizard could instantly get whatever was out of reach, and had the power to illuminate the darkness, revealing the hidden threats and driving them away. Unlike Harry Potter, you can’t rely on magic spells. But you have the tools to do exactly the same things. PapersOwl can become your Accio charm, and the essay you desperately need will be in your hands. This service deserves a high A*Help score of 82.3 pts. No magic wand required.

Negativity rank – 15.06%

The A*Help team’s mission is to become a loyal associate to all those seeking professional academic assistance. Although our comprehensive reviews are a credible source of information about writing services, they will appear more factual if we include other people’s opinions, experiences, and assumptions. With that in mind, we collected and interpreted customer feedback from various review websites, including Sitejabber, Trustpilot, Reviews.io, and even Reddit. The comments were carefully sorted out so that all presumably paid ones wouldn’t impact our negativity formula. 

The PapersOwl’s negativity rank is 15.06%. The authors of negative comments mainly complain about grammar errors in essays, outdated references, ignored instructions or guidelines, and inadequate level of papers’ complexity. With such a low negativity rank, these cases cannot be attributed to a PapersOwl tendency but rather to occasional occurrences. 

PapersOwl.com Exclusive Promo Codes and Coupons

Customers can get individual PaperOwl promo codes and coupons. Be sure to check the email to get your personalized offer.

FAQ

Is PapersOwl a legit website?

Yes, PapersOwl is a legit website. After completing the mystery shopping experiment, our team can safely say that the platform is legitimate and safe to use for students.

How much does PapersOwl cost?

The minimum price per page on PapersOwl is $13.50. However, keep in mind that the overall sum depends on your preferred deadline and other specifics. We paid $43.20 and $65 for an essay and a memo to the CEO.

What is the alternative to PapersOwl?

One of the alternatives to PapersOwl is EssayShark. There are also websites such as SpeedyPaper, CustomWritings, and Textero which has an additional research assistant.

How does PapersOwl work?

PapersOwl works by having users place an order with their requirements, type of paper, deadline, and so on. After you pay for the assignment and figure out all additional questions if you have any, the writer will execute your paper. You can ask for revisions, if you are certain that the quality is not what you exactly wanted.

Is PapersOwl trustworthy?

Yes, PapersOwl is a trustworthy website. The site delivered two papers we ordered in the right time.

PapersOwl Specs

Minimum deadline3 hours
Maximum deadline62 days
Min price per page$13.50
Standard Page275 words
AVERAGE paper price (acc. to our mystery shopping)$54.10
Free services: 
– Revisions 
– Formatting styles 
– Qty of used sources 
– Title page 
– In-text citations
Additional services: 
– Abstract Page1-Page Abstract $24.00
– Early Draft+15% to the price
– VIP Support$12.99
– Perfect writer$9.99
Payment Methods 
– PaypalNo
– Google payNo
– Apple payOnly in Safari
– VisaYes
– MastercardYes
– American ExpressYes
– DiscoverNo
– CryptoNo
Discounts 
CouponsIndividual (via email or offers on the website)
Loyalty ProgramNo
Referral ProgramYou can get $35.00 on your PapersOwl balance for every friend you refer
Security & Privacy 
Need a phone number to registerNo
Need an email to registerYes
Security payment SSLYes

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