How much does a freelance copywriter charge?

You might be exploring the world of freelance copywriting for the first time. This could be either as a business-owner looking to hire one or you’re looking to take the plunge and become a freelancer yourself. Either way, pricing can be a bit of a landmine. Some writers charge £30 for a blog post, while others charge £300, and it can snowball from there. For SMEs, founders and marketing teams, understanding why pricing varies (and what you’re actually paying for) is the key to making the right investment.

This article breaks down how much freelance copywriters charge, what affects copywriter fees and how to budget for high-quality content.

Typical freelance copywriter pricing (2026)

While prices vary widely by experience, region, and niche, here’s a realistic baseline of what freelance copywriters tend to charge today:

Blog posts

• Entry-level: £30–£80 per post

• Mid-level: £100–£250

• Senior/Expert: £250–£500+

  
  

Website copy

• Homepage: £200–£1,000

• Service pages: £150–£600 each

• Full website copy: £800–£5,000+

• Sales / landing pages: £300–£2,500+

  
  

Email copy

• Single marketing email: £50–£200

• Email sequences (3-7 emails): £250–£1,200

  
  

Hourly rates

• Junior writers: £20–£40/hour

• Mid-level writers: £45–£80/hour

• Senior or specialist writers: £80–£150+/hour

These numbers aren’t randomly plucked by the freelancer from nowhere. They follow clear patterns tied to experience and value delivered.

What determines copywriter fees?

There are several factors that can influence how much a copywriter charges.

1. Experience and expertise

Writers who specialise in a specific niche, like tech, SaaS, legal, finance or health, charge more because they bring subject knowledge, not just writing skill.

2. Project complexity

A homepage rewrite is more strategic than a product description. A sales page requires persuasion, research and testing.

Generally, the more complex something is, the more expensive it will be to write.

3. Research requirements

If a writer needs to interview your team, learn your product deeply, or conduct market research, the scope increases.

4. Turnaround time

Urgent jobs come with higher fees.

5. Usage rights

If you need full ownership, repurposing rights or commercial licensing, expect fees to reflect that.

6. Branding and strategy involvement

Writers who help develop tone of voice guidelines or messaging frameworks typically charge more because you’re buying strategic thinking, not just words.

Why cheap copywriting often costs more

It’s tempting to choose the lowest quote, especially if you simply ‘need some content.’ But cheap copy tends to:

• Attract fewer leads

• Rank poorly on search engines

• Sound generic

• Misrepresent your brand voice

• Require extensive editing (or rewriting later)

A low price may save money in the short term, but cost you conversions, credibility and consistency long-term.

Do higher copywriting fees mean better quality?

Not always, but usually, yes.

Higher-priced freelancers typically offer:

• More strategic input

• Stronger research

• Better brand voice alignment

• Higher readability and engagement

• SEO-optimised content

• Scalable content systems

• Revisions included

• Faster delivery

• Better communication

What you’re paying for isn’t just the words, it's the clarity, persuasion and confidence those words give your brand.

How SMEs can reduce content writing costs

Many businesses overspend on copywriting simply because they lack:

• Brand guidelines

• Clear briefs

• Tone of voice documents

• AI-ready prompts

• Content workflows

This leads to more back-and-forth, more revisions and higher fees.

This is exactly where AI and a solid content generation system play a crucial role. With the right tone of voice framework and prompt library, SMEs can use AI to create high-quality drafts, then only pay freelancers for high-stakes copy or brand-critical assets.

That’s why AI Copy Consultant exists. I’m here to help you lower copywriting costs without lowering quality for the long term.

So… how much should you expect to pay a copywriter?

If you're an SME, a reasonable content budget in 2026 looks like:

• £300–£1,000 for foundational website copy

• £100–£250 for strong, SEO-optimised blogs

• £250–£800 for sales-driven copy

• £400–£2,000 for tone of voice and messaging

Anything significantly cheaper often signals low quality. Anything significantly higher typically reflects specialist expertise or high ROI content.

Guidelines and prompts open you up to long-term, high-quality content

Freelance copywriter pricing varies, but it always comes down to value.

If you want stronger messaging, better customer engagement and conversion-focused content, investing in the right copywriter can absolutely be worth it. However, the time and money involved can be difficult to swallow.

If you want to reduce your ongoing copywriting spend, but not compromise on quality and output, utilising AI with a custom brand voice system is the smartest way to do just that. Contact me today and I’ll create a bespoke system that saves you time, money and effort but keeps output consistent.