UK website copywriter prices 2026 – complete guide
- Mike Peake
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Wondering how much does it cost to write a website when hiring a freelance copywriter? Here's the lowdown...
UPDATED FOR 2026!
You're a business owner who needs a new website. Or maybe a comprehensive refresh.
Or perhaps you're a marketing manager who needs a total website overhaul.
Your choices include:
Writing it yourself.
Using AI.
Hiring a freelance website copywriter.
Using an agency that offers a full service (web copy, SEO, design, development, etc.)
In this post, I'll take a look at all four of these, weigh up their pros and cons, and give you an idea of the costs involved.
And if you suddenly feel the urge to book me in and write your copy for you, hit the green 'Contact me' button at the top, or this nice blue button here:
Background – the 2026 outlook
Freelance website copywriter rates have generally been rising at the top end of the market. This is backed up by the latest ProCopywriters survey results – as well as my own findings.
While bottom-of-the-market copywriting work has all but disappeared thanks to AI, demand appears to be growing for senior copywriters with years of experience.
In some cases, clients accept – and want – copywriters to employ AI assistance during the assignment, as it can help speed up and sharpen certain things.
Other clients, cautious about potential long-term infringement issues, are demanding 100% original work that harks back to pre-AI days.
This is a stark contrast to late 2024, when many marketers appeared to be pulling back from using freelance web copywriters in favour of AI-generated content.
Let's look at the options available to you today when considering how deep you need to dig to have your website written.
Option 1: Writing the website yourself
Total cost: £0
The cheapest way to create a new website is to scribble the words yourself. There are plenty of free tools to help you get started (including my free homepage checklist), and once you have a plan you can pretty much just go for it.
Make sure you thoroughly proofread any copy before going live. And, if you can, show it to a few people to make sure they think it all makes sense.
Pros
Cheap.
No briefing of copywriters required.
Cons
Time-consuming (potentially VERY time-consuming).
You may make a complete balls of it!
You'll need to fully manage whatever happens next (designers, etc.).
You probably won't be up-to-speed on SEO, so you'll need to learn – or hire someone.
You probably don't know what 'good' looks like and may end up creating something seriously sub-par.
Option 2: Getting AI to write your website
Total cost: £0 (potentially)
AI tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity are getting better all the time, and their ability to craft very readable copy is undeniable.
The correct way to begin is by making sure you have a crystal clear prompt for whatever generative AI software you are using. You must also thoroughly 'rinse' it at the end so that it doesn't sound like it has been written by a computer.
You also need to run it through a tool like Grammarly Pro to ensure that there is no plagiarism.
Pros
Fast – you'll see copy within seconds.
Cheap (premium versions of most AI models only cost around £20 a month)
Cons
Google has explicitly stated it is downgrading unpolished, spammy AI content at scale. While that may not be applicable if you've only got a five-page website, you still run the risk of Google turning its nose up at you at some point in the future.
You may suddenly find yourself in hot water months or years down the line, when you get a letter from a lawyer in Delaware or Melbourne who claims your copy borrows too heavily from their client's (copyrighted) content. Basically, AI has not given you what's known as 'non-infringing copy'.
AI-generated copy may be pretty good, but you'll still need to tweak and polish it. AI copy editors (people, not bots) can weed out AI quirks and generally add some personality that more closely resembles your brand.
You'll still have to manage everything that comes next, including designers and developers.
Option 3: Hiring a freelance website copywriter to write your copy
Cost: from around £1,500 for a five-page site
I spent a good few hours figuring out what a wide range of reasonably high-ranking freelance website copywriters charge to write a website.
As you will appreciate, there is no clear fixed fee because every website is different. For that reason, most website copywriters (myself included) will quote on a project-by-project basis.
Remember, a five-page website may run to a total of 1,000 words and take a copywriter 3-4 days to finish. Equally, a five-page website may be 5,000 words long, require shedloads of research, and take three weeks to finish.
Based on my own copywriting rates and my research, I'd put the ballpark figure for copywriting a five-page website at between £1,500 and £3,500 in the UK in 2025. It's considerable more in the US.
For that fee (especially at the higher end), your copywriter will almost certainly have some SEO skills and will ensure that your pages are optimised.
If you're thinking these fees seem expensive, take a look at my post about how long it takes a copywriter to write a website. It is quite a process!
Pros
You are (hopefully) dealing with somebody who does this all the time and knows what they are doing.
A good copywriter will thoroughly grill you about your business and goals so they clearly understand what you need before they start writing.
SEO work and customer/competitor research are likely to be included in the fee.
Some freelance copywriters, myself included, give you more than just a Word document at the end. For example, I give clients a set of rough designs that clearly explain what should go where and why. This speeds up the next part of the process when you hand the words over to the designer.
Most copywriters will include at least one round of revisions in their quotes – so you can be sure you get what you need.
Compared to an agency, freelance website copywriters are generally quite affordable.
If you make a connection with a good freelance website copywriter, you'll have a business ally for life. As they get to know how you operate, they will become increasingly adept at providing great copy on an ad-hoc basis – and may do so quickly and affordably because they now understand your business inside out.
Cons
It's more expensive than going down the AI or DIY route.
You'll still need to brief designers once you have the copy and see the project through to completion (unless your copywriter offers this as an option – hint: I do!)
You may not like the copywriter's style. However, you can get off on the right foot by asking your a copywriter to create a short test piece in your style.
Option 4: Use an agency for your website
Price: £6k+
Agencies will typically handle your entire website copywriting project from start to finish. They may offer:
Branding
Tone of voice
Customer research
Copywriting
SEO
Website design
Development
Ongoing aftercare service
The big attraction, of course, is that you have somebody taking care of the whole website project. Choose a good agency, and you will get a great website that reads well and is fully functional with minimal involvement from you.
Note: cheaper prices are available if the agency is using website templates and offers fixed-fee packages. There are certainly some who can bring in a finished 5-page site on the cheap – but they can't possibly be using seasoned creative copywriters.
They will also be cutting corners on designers/developers and may even be using AI for the copy.
Pros
Handle the process from start to finish.
You know what you'll be paying once you agree terms.
Potentially an easy fast-track to a great website.
Cons
Can be very expensive.
May try to lock you into ongoing services that you don't really need.
Often a pretty long and drawn-out process.
You have no idea about the talent they are using. Stories abound of flashy agencies charging six figure sums and then farming the work out to India where they pay freelancers next to nothing.
Fees could be significantly more than £6k if using a well-known agency – as much as £20k-£50k if they're a big hitter and everything from market research to branding and technical SEO are thrown in.
Why you need to consider more than just website copywriter rates
There are basically four elements to a website: the copy, SEO, design and development. Development is the bit that turns your beautiful design into a live website.
Sticking with a five-page website, here are my ballpark figures for what you should expect to pay if you're happy to oversee the project and use freelancers from start to finish.
Copywriter: £1,500+ (£2,700 is closer to the average for a good, experienced website copywriter)
SEO expert: £1,000+ (your website copywriter may include SEO work as part of their services). SEOs like to work on a retainer, making regular tweaks. This can cost from £200 a month.
Designer: £1,000+ (or as little as a few hundred if using a template)
Developer: £1,000+ (£2,000-£3,000 being a more realistic sweet spot for a custom WordPress site)
These figures can rise dramatically if you are using more experienced professionals who bring extra skills – and a certain creative flair – to the party.
All in, I'd say you should budget £2,000 for a 5-page site (very low end) to £15,000 (high end) if using freelancers. Bigger or more complex sites will naturally add to the cost.
You could try getting one of the many AI web creation tools to build and write one for you, but – I shit you not – every time I've tried this (just to check how capable AI is) the results are laughably bad.
In fact, I'm planning to do a post on this soon.
Top tips for getting a good deal on website copywriting prices
I've been writing digital copy for well over a decade and specialising in web copy for at least the past five years. Like many copywriters, I don't have fixed-fee packages; my quotes reflect my interpretation of the work involved. Here's how to work things in your favour when choosing a web copy pro.
Start with a clear, strong brief. If you have a good idea of what you want, there'll be less need for your copywriter to build a 'safety net' into the quote.
Be flexible – if you tell your copywriter they can work on your project around other assignments and take as long as they need, you might be able to negotiate a better rate.
Consider asking about day rates. Do you feel you can trust your writer? Ask about their day rate (be warned: the UK average is currently £480/day and many copywriters charge more). This can work out cheaper than a fixed-fee engagement because, as with point 1, no safety net needs to be factored in.
Limit the number of revisions you want. The more revisions included in the quote, the more time the writer is expecting to put in. If you like their other work (I'm guessing you do, otherwise why get in touch?), consider agreeing to a single round of amendments.
Appeal to their better nature. If you're a micro-business on a limited budget, explain your situation, tell the writer why you'd like to work with them – and ask what they could do for a specific fee. I also offer a free homepage mini audit to point you in the right direction. I have a highly effective 48hr Web Sprint package that many businesses find affordable, too.
Written by Mike Peake, UK website copywriter and all-round freelance copywriting guy.
T: +44 (0)208 133 4306
Need help with your web copy? Get in touch for a friendly chat or a free quote. And head here if you're looking for a freelance copywriter with good reviews in the UK.
