--- title: "How much does a will cost in the UK?" description: "UK will prices from free charity schemes to £300+ solicitors. SwiftWill is £35 once. Full 2026 provider table." url: "https://swiftwill.co.uk/will-cost/" author: "Marcus Kaiser" date_modified: "2026-08-22" --- # How much does a will cost in the UK? A will in England and Wales costs nothing (charity schemes, with restrictions) to £300 or more at a solicitor. Online services run from about £10 to £250. SwiftWill is £35 once with free updates for life. Skip the cheapest option if you need tailored tax or trust advice — that is solicitor territory, and we say so. > 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. ## How much does a will cost in the UK? From free charity schemes (with restrictions) to £300 or more at a solicitor. Online services run from about £10 to £250. SwiftWill is £35 once with free updates for life. Pay a solicitor instead if you need tax planning, trusts, foreign assets or expect a dispute. Prices in the tables were checked July 2026. | Option | Typical cost | Speed | The catch | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Charity free wills (Free Wills Month / Will Aid) | Free / donation | Weeks (appointment) | Over-55s or specific months only; legacy expected | | SwiftWill Best value | £35 once | Instant | None — free updates for life | | Make a Will Online | £60 + £10/yr updates | Fast, not instant | Update subscription | | Farewill | £100 + £10/yr updates | 3–5 days | Review-queue wait; subscription | | Co-op Legal Services | £150 | Days (call + draft) | Phone call required | | High-street solicitor | £300+ | Days–weeks | Right choice for complex estates | ## How do UK will-writing providers compare? Prices checked July 2026. "10-year cost" assumes one update a year where a subscription applies — the quiet maths most providers hope you won't do. | Provider | Single / couple | Delivery speed | Update fees | Trustpilot | True 10-year cost | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | SwiftWill | £35 / £55 | Instant download + email | Free for life | New — collecting | £35 | | Farewill | £100 / £160 (frequent 20–30% codes) | Specialist check, 3–5 days | £10/yr after year 1 | 4.9★, 18–20k+ | £190+ | | Octopus Legacy | £150 / £250 | Expert-reviewed then sent | £10/yr after year 1 | 4.6–4.7★, ~3,300 | £240+ | | Beyond | £90 / £135 | In-house check, pay at print | £10/yr incl. storage | Low footprint | £180+ | | LegalWills.co.uk | £49.95–£69.95 / ~£80–£99.95 | Questionnaire → PDF | £11.95/yr after year 1 | ~4.7★ (Canadian parent) | ~£157+ | | Make a Will Online | £60 / £90 | Emailed will → solicitor check | £10/yr after 28 days | 4.8★, 1,500+ | £150 | | Kwil | Free basic / £150 premium; couple £290 | Online portal, ~30 min | Unlimited free amendments | 4.3★, ~700 | £150 (premium) | | Which? Wills | £99–£169 / £156–£259 | Questionnaire + optional check | Pay-per-revision £39–£59 | 3.2–3.8★, ~400 | Varies | | Co-op Legal Services | £149–£150 / £245–£249 | Form → follow-up call → draft | Per-change charges | ~4.0★, 1,000+ | £150+ | | ActiveWills | Promos £19.99–£39 / £29.99–£59 | 10-min questionnaire → PDF | Storage free yr 1, then £10/yr auto-renew | Small | ~£130 | | wills.org.uk | £39 / £59 | Online | Not stated | Not findable | — | | Ten Minute Will | £29.90 | Online, basic | — | Not findable | — | | ProperWills | From £29 | Online | Free lifetime updates | Small | £29+ | | QuickWill | £89 / £139 | Instant | — | Small (on-site) | — | | FreeWills.co.uk | Free | Online wizard → PDF in ~15 min | Storage £25–50 | ~4.5★ | £0 (upsells apply) | | Bequeathed | Free via charities / £125–£165 advised | Form + 30-min solicitor call | — | Small | — | | WUHLD | £99.99 / £149.99–£179.98 | Instant download | Unlimited free updates | New service | £99.99 | | CheapWills | £9.99 / £14.99 | Instant | — | New | — | | ClearLegacy | £69 / £99 | PDF within 24h | — | New | — | | Irwin Mitchell (online) | £145 / £195 | Online + firm review | — | — | — | | Hugh James | £75 online / £110 couple | Online → solicitor firm | Free storage for life | — | — | | Saga Wills (50+) | From £99 / £186.25 | Solicitor-drafted | — | — | — | | WSL | £145 / £190 | Phone/online | — | — | — | | Will Drafters Ltd | £86 / £129 | Home visits + online | Free with WillPlus | — | — | | Charity schemes (Free Wills Month / Will Aid) | Free / suggested donation £120–£200 | Local solicitor, appointment | — | — | £0 (restricted) | ## What is the true 10-year cost of a will? A will is not a one-decade purchase — it is a lifetime document you should update after every big life change. Providers charging around £10 a year for updates turn a headline price into an annuity. Farewill at £100 plus nine years of £10 update fees is £190 or more over a decade; Make a Will Online at £60 plus nine years at £10 is £150. SwiftWill is £35, once, with free updates for life — the 10-year cost is £35. ## Are free will schemes actually free? Some are genuinely free but restricted by age, month or a charity-legacy expectation. Watch for executor upsells — MoneySavingExpert warns against professional executor fees that can run to thousands. FreeWills.co.uk is free year-round; Free Wills Month and Will Aid run in set months. - **Free Wills Month** runs in March and October for over-55s, through participating local solicitors; appointments go quickly and a charitable legacy is expected (though not obligatory). - **Will Aid** runs in November with a suggested donation of £120 for a single will or £200 for a pair of mirror wills. - **FreeWills.co.uk** is free year-round, funded by charity legacies — but read what you agree to: the service cross-sells a professional executor service (Kings Court Trust) whose fees can run into thousands of pounds, and MoneySavingExpert explicitly warns against that upsell. ## What drives the price of a will? Three things separate a £35 will from a £300 one. First, **who checks it**: solicitor-drafted wills include tailored advice and regulated recourse, which is where most of the fee goes. Second, **how fast it moves**: review queues add days and cost. Third, **the business model around the will**: update subscriptions, storage fees and executor cross-sells often cost more over a decade than the will itself. For a straightforward estate, a properly drafted online will signed correctly does the same legal job as an expensive one. ## When is a £150–£300 solicitor will money well spent? If your estate may owe inheritance tax, you need a trust, you own business or foreign assets, you are protecting children from a previous relationship, or you expect a dispute, a solicitor's fee is the cheap part of getting it right. Our [suitability check](/do-i-need-a-solicitor-for-a-will/) will tell you plainly if that is you — before you pay anything. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the cheapest way to make a will in the UK? Free options exist: Free Wills Month (March and October, for over-55s) and Will Aid (November, suggested donation of £120 for a single will) offer solicitor-drafted wills through participating firms, and FreeWills.co.uk offers a free online will funded by charity legacies. The trade-offs are eligibility windows, appointment waits, and — with some free services — pressure to appoint a paid professional executor. Paid online wills start at around £10. ### How much does a solicitor charge for a will? Typically £150 to £300 or more for a straightforward single will, and £245 to £500 or more for couples. Solicitor fees are worth paying if you need inheritance tax planning, trusts, advice about business or foreign assets, or expect your will to be contested. ### Why is SwiftWill only £35 when Farewill charges £100? Because we removed the two costs you should not have to pay for: a manual review queue (our rules engine validates your answers as you go, so delivery is instant) and the update subscription (updates are free for life, not £10 a year). Over ten years, Farewill costs £190 or more; SwiftWill costs £35. ### Is a £9.99 will safe to use? A will’s validity depends on its drafting and, above all, on how it is signed and witnessed — not on what you paid. The risk with ultra-cheap services is thinner support if something is unclear, and weaker accountability. Whoever you use, check for professional indemnity insurance, a money-back guarantee, independent reviews and clear signing instructions. ### Do I have to pay every year to update my will? With many providers, yes — Farewill, Make a Will Online, Beyond and ActiveWills all charge around £10 a year for updates or storage after the first year. SwiftWill charges nothing: your one-time payment includes free updates for life. ### Are free wills really free? Some are genuinely free but restricted (age limits, specific months, charity-legacy expectations). Watch for hidden costs elsewhere: some free services cross-sell professional executor services costing thousands of pounds — MoneySavingExpert explicitly warns against these — or charge for storage and updates later. ### How much do mirror wills cost? Across the market, £59 to £290 for a couple. SwiftWill mirror wills cost £55 — two reciprocal wills with free lifetime updates for both of you. Canonical HTML: https://swiftwill.co.uk/will-cost/ Markdown: https://swiftwill.co.uk/will-cost.md Last modified: 2026-08-22 Author: Marcus Kaiser (https://swiftwill.co.uk/author/marcus-kaiser/)