Website copywriter rates are like furniture — how much space do you have to fill, do you care about who the designer is, and what options fit your style? Do you prefer something more DIY like Ikea, or handmade, built-for-you furniture that makes you feel wined and dined with experience to lean on?

You can spend as little as $100 per page, but the average for quality copy from experienced writers is $650 to $1,000 per page.

As you can see, you’ll find a wide range of price points. The goal? Help you fill in the blanks when it comes to your website’s headlines, paragraphs, buttons and don’t forget — SEO keywords. But more importantly — stand out and hit your goals, be it increased website traffic, better inquiries or more positive boundaries so red flag clients go another way.

When to hire a copywriter

In short — the ideal is BEFORE you start the web design.

Believe us, it’s incredibly hard to know how to change the layout, or to identify which photos are best if you don’t even know what you want to say — or how to say it. (This is why our top referral source outside of past clients is web designers. They love having the copy ready before the design so they aren’t just creating something based on a concept, but rather, on the actual content the layout needs to fit.)

This is why our entire company exists. We write the words that creative entrepreneurs need to fill in the blank yes, but to stand out, rank, set boundaries and run a successful business.

That being said, it’s very common to buy a template or hire a designer, just to end up face to face with a blank page and a copywriting deadline, but nothing to share. Most copywriters will be transparent with timelines and turnarounds so you can plan accordingly for your ideal website launch.

So, the costs. 

Website copywriting prices

As with most queries for questions like this, the answer is: it varies.

We’ll give you that range, but we’ll also share a guide of what to look for so you know what kind of copywriter you need, and how much copy you should be investing in. (We have another post all about how to hire a copywriter if you need it!)

How much does copywriting cost?

• Low-end: $500 for 5 pages of copy
• Middle: $3,000 for 5 pages of copy
• High-end: $10,000 for 5 pages (upwards of $20k but that’s not applicable to most businesses)

Depending on the factors of your copywriting project, expect anywhere from $100 per page to about $7,000 total for a standard, well-thought-out website (complete with copy for your home, about, services, portfolio, contact, etc.). 

Upwork’s median for a copywriting freelancer is (as of November 2024) $30 per hour. This could be anyone, anywhere, though.

For us (copywriters for creative entrepreneurs like photographers and interior designers), a 5-page package costs between $6 and 7k.

We’re based in the US with two writers, working for clients from California to the Amalfi Coast. When we had college-level experience and a limited client portfolio, we charged $100 per page. Yes, that’s it. Now, our website copywriter rates are $5-7k for a 5-page website, but we’ve also built a global portfolio, expanded our team and improved our packages to reflect that value. (See the full list of website copywriting services and what’s included.)

What to look for when comparing website copywriter rates

Start with this question: how much copy (and research, SEO work, revisions, strategy) do you need? And who do you want to work with? There are freelancers, agencies, new copywriters and five-star copywriters with SEO, messaging guides and the works.

The more established your business is, the more likely you’ll need research to tap into past customer experience and to differentiate yourself from competitors that continue to pop up.

Factors to consider for website copywriter rates

• How much copy you need 
• Where the copy will be used — essential pages like home and services, or long-form content like sales pages?
• Whether or not you need SEO
• Experience of the copywriter (the more seasoned, the more expensive, but there are usually proven results to go with this like a full portfolio of samples or even better — case studies)
• Niche (is this a topic anyone can write about, or is it specialized?)
• Research needed (will you need surveys, customer interviews or in-depth market research?)
• How new your business is (we recommend waiting to hire a top-end copywriter until you’ve got some proof in the pudding; you’ll usually learn what you want to focus on, and what’s important about your approach and can then hire an advanced copywriter once you’ve gotten your footing and have better funds available)

The difference between copywriting fees: per word, per project, per hour

Copywriting per word rate

Wow, it has been a long time since we’ve thought about the per-word approach but it is real! Many copywriters (we used to do this too) charge per word. The more content you need, the more you pay, but if you only need a short page or paragraph, then you’re all set. The difficulty with this fee is that it doesn’t account for the time the copywriter spends researching, editing and revising. They could start with a 500-word draft that gets narrowed down to 300 words, but the per-word rate won’t always pay them for the work put in.

We don’t recommend this is you’re hoping to work with a copywriter who provides research, SEO and one-on-one strategy calls.

Per project

This is our preference, and our recommendation, as this avoids a lot of hiccups in pricing. Copywriters won’t be tempted to over-write because they want to get paid for every last word and will write way more than you need, and clients won’t be tempted to say “less is more” even when that’s not always the case.

This also (ideally) means that you’re paying the copywriter for a more well-rounded experience. You can usually expect this price to cover the strategy calls, research, outline, writing, revisions and maybe even SEO if your copywriter specializes in that. 

As you dive into this, you’ll probably realize that you need more than just “any” writer who can fill in the blank — you need someone who can understand your story, your background and the message your ideal client needs to hear. The per project rate is best aligned with that approach.

Hourly rate for copywriting

This is another copywriting package type that can get lost in the weeds. If you ask a writer, “How long does it take to write a page?” or “How long does it take to write a tagline,” there is never one precise number they’ll hit every time. It varies widely depending on the research, familiarity with the client, revisions and so forth.

We only recommend this option if you’ve exceeded your included package revisions, or if you’ve worked with the copywriter before and it’s a small project.

From a client perspective, if you proceed with this route, make sure you and your copywriter are on the same page for the budget. What is the minimum and maximum hours expected, and what are the planned deliverables? What happens if the copywriter takes all 5 paid hours, but the project still isn’t done? These are good questions to ask, but the more experience your copywriter, the better an idea they’ll have of their typical time needs, and the kind of guarantees they can make. Your contract will also provide a base point.

VIP day

The bonus option — and one that has become a trend in recent years — is the copywriting VIP day or day rate. This is similar to hourly, given that there will be a certain number of hours dedicated to the project, but the difference is that this is limited to one single day. This is great if you’re on a tight deadline or hate back-and-forth communication. It’ll usually be charged “per project” or “per day” with a set price that states what’s included, how much copy you’ll get, and what time the day starts and ends.

We offer this too, but usually for repeat clients as it’s easier to jump into a familiar tone of voice and business model, versus learning an entirely new approach just to write it all with limited time.

We’ve seen a range of $400 to $3,000 for VIP Days. Our studio currently charges $1,200 to repeat clients and just over $2k for new clients.

A summary: website copywriter rates

At the end of the day, it’s up to you and what your business needs. We’ve had clients with brand new businesses pay $5k+ for website copywriting because they wanted to get it done right from the get-go. Others have gone the Fiverr or Upwork route, working with a low-end freelancer until they’re ready to put the time and costs into professional copywriting (or the few who hire a freelancer, don’t like what they see, and then invest in the full shebang).

Find the budget that makes sense for you, and then find the person within that range that has a portfolio aligned with your vision. Hiring a bold, quirky, emoji-filled writer for a luxury brand is going to be tough.

Made your hire already? Read our tips for successfully working with a copywriter.

And if you’re a copywriter looking to better present your own pricing, we suggest using Dubsado for proposals. More on that here.