---
title: "SwiftWill vs FreeWills"
description: "FreeWills is genuinely free, funded by charity legacies, with an executor upsell MSE warns against. What £35 buys instead."
url: "https://swiftwill.co.uk/compare/swiftwill-vs-freewills/"
author: "Marcus Kaiser"
date_modified: "2026-08-12"
---

# SwiftWill vs FreeWills

FreeWills.co.uk is genuinely free, funded by charity legacies, with storage fees and an executor upsell MoneySavingExpert warns against. SwiftWill is £35 once with no upsells of any kind. Skip paying if you will read every executor clause and decline the extras; pay £35 if you want a service whose only revenue is the fee.

> SwiftWill provides legal information and software for England & Wales under Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. Figures are taken from gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk and HMCTS, checked 12 August 2026. We have not given you legal advice — this is general information.

FreeWills.co.uk does something genuinely good: free wills funded by charitable legacies, with over £200–300m pledged to more than 2,500 charities. If cost is your only constraint, it is a real option. This comparison is about understanding the model around the free will — checked July 2026.

## Where does FreeWills genuinely win?

- Genuinely free wills, available year-round — no eligibility windows, unlike Free Wills Month (over-55s, March/October) or Will Aid (November).
- A real charity legacy engine: hundreds of millions of pounds pledged to over 2,500 charities — using it and leaving a legacy does measurable good.
- A quick process: online wizard to PDF in about 15 minutes, broadly comparable to paid online services.

## How do SwiftWill and FreeWills compare?

|  | SwiftWill | FreeWills |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | £35 once | Free |
| How it makes money | The £35 fee — nothing else is ever sold | Charity legacies, storage (£25–50), advertising, cross-sells |
| Executor upsell | Never — we do not sell executor or probate services | Offers Kings Court Trust as professional executor — fees can reach thousands; MoneySavingExpert explicitly warns against this |
| Delivery | Instant — PDF in your inbox in seconds | Online wizard → PDF in ~15 minutes |
| Updates | Free for life | Check current terms; storage charges may apply |
| PI insurance | £2m | Not prominently stated |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days, no questions | N/A (free) |

## What is the 10-year cost of each option?

A free will costs £0 — unless the model around it costs your estate later. The material risk is the professional-executor appointment: fees for probate companies routinely run into thousands of pounds, deducted from what you leave behind. SwiftWill's position is policy: we never name ourselves executor and never sell executor or probate services. £35 once buys the document with no strings attached; the 10-year cost is £35.

Prices and terms checked July 2026 from published pricing.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is a free will from FreeWills legally valid?

Yes — like any will, if it is properly drafted for England and Wales and signed with two witnesses per section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. “Free” does not make a will invalid; the signing does that. The question is what sits around the document.

### What is wrong with appointing a professional executor?

Nothing inherently — but it is expensive, often a percentage of the estate, and hard for your family to unwind. MoneySavingExpert explicitly warns against executor upsells attached to free wills. A willing family member or friend, who can hire help for specific tasks at ordinary rates if needed, is usually far cheaper.

### Should I use FreeWills and just decline the extras?

That is a legitimate approach if you read everything carefully — especially anything appointing an executor or charging for storage. Paying £35 instead buys you a service whose only revenue is the fee: no ads, no legacy expectations, no cross-sells, £2m PI insurance and a 30-day guarantee.

### Does SwiftWill support leaving money to charity?

Yes — specific gifts to charities (with registered charity numbers) are built into the interview, and we never take a cut or steer the choice. Charity giving in a will should be your decision, not the business model.

Canonical HTML: https://swiftwill.co.uk/compare/swiftwill-vs-freewills/
Markdown: https://swiftwill.co.uk/compare/swiftwill-vs-freewills.md
Last modified: 2026-08-12
Author: Marcus Kaiser (https://swiftwill.co.uk/author/marcus-kaiser/)