How much does a will cost in the UK? 2026 prices compared

What a will costs in 2026

The cheapest online will in the UK costs 29 pounds and a simple will from a high street solicitor costs 150 to 400 pounds. That is the span of the market in England and Wales as of 23 September 2026. The price ladder starts with SimpleLPA at 29 pounds for a standard will, per its press fact sheet dated 18 September 2026. Farewill charges 100 pounds for a single online will and 160 pounds for couples, per its own website checked 23 September 2026. Co-op Legal Services charges from 150 pounds for a single will, 245 pounds for mirror wills and 399 pounds for trust wills, prices including VAT, per its own pricing page checked 23 September 2026. Octopus Legacy charges 150 pounds for a simple will, 250 pounds for a couple and 450 pounds for a will with a trust, the same price online, by video or in person, per its own website checked 23 September 2026.

At the upper end, a simple will through a high street solicitor typically costs 150 to 400 pounds, and a complex will involving trusts or business assets can run from 500 pounds to several thousand. Those figures are ranges rather than fixed quotes, because a solicitor may charge a fixed fee or an hourly rate. The gap between 29 pounds and several thousand pounds is not explained by drafting time alone. It reflects who is regulated, what is included, and how much work the estate needs. Every price in this guide is attributed to the provider's own published figure and dated, so the comparison is like for like on the headline number only. The rest of the article explains what sits behind each figure.

Online will services

SimpleLPA published pricing on its press fact sheet dated 18 September 2026: standard will 29 pounds, crypto will 39 pounds, mirror wills from 49 pounds, trust will 149 pounds. SimpleLPA is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. That single fact changes what the 29 pounds buys. The drafting may be competent and the process quick, but the provider sits outside the SRA framework, so the complaint and compensation routes that apply to regulated firms do not apply here. The crypto will at 39 pounds and the trust will at 149 pounds show that even a low cost provider charges more as complexity rises. Mirror wills from 49 pounds cover two people, which is often the cheapest way for a couple to get matching documents.

Farewill charges 100 pounds for a single online will and 160 pounds for couples, per its own website checked 23 September 2026. Farewill is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The 100 pounds single price and the 160 pounds couples price sit above the SimpleLPA headline but below most solicitor quotes. The regulation point is the main difference at this level: a Farewill customer has a regulator to approach, while a SimpleLPA customer does not. Neither price includes storage, later amendments or probate. A trust will costs more again, and the online providers that offer one price it separately from a simple will. Couples should compare the mirror or couples price rather than doubling the single price, because the two person products are usually discounted against two single wills.

Solicitors and hybrid services

Co-op Legal Services charges from 150 pounds for a single will, 245 pounds for mirror wills and 399 pounds for trust wills, prices including VAT, per its own pricing page checked 23 September 2026. Co-op Legal Services is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The 150 pounds starting point is a fixed fee, which means the headline number is the number paid for the work described. The 245 pounds mirror price and the 399 pounds trust price follow the same pattern. For a straightforward estate, a fixed fee removes the uncertainty of an hourly rate. For a complex estate, the opposite can be true: a fixed fee may exclude the very work the estate needs, and an hourly rate can end up cheaper than a fixed quote that has to be extended.

Octopus Legacy charges 150 pounds for a simple will, 250 pounds for a couple and 450 pounds for a will with a trust, the same price online, by video or in person, per its own website checked 23 September 2026. The service is supervised by an SRA regulated solicitor. That is a hybrid model: the price matches a solicitor starting point, and the channel does not change the fee. A simple will through a high street solicitor typically costs 150 to 400 pounds, and a complex will involving trusts or business assets can run from 500 pounds to several thousand. High street firms often quote a range because the final fee depends on the estate. Where trusts, business assets or foreign property are involved, an hourly rate can be a better deal than a fixed fee, because the work is unpredictable and a fixed quote may either overcharge for a simple matter or exclude the difficult parts.

Free and low cost routes

Free Wills Month runs in March and October each year and offers a simple will free of charge to people aged 55 or over through participating solicitors in selected areas. Appointments are limited. The scheme is genuinely free at the point of drafting, but it is not available to everyone: the age threshold, the selected areas and the limited appointments all restrict access. A simple will is what is offered, so a trust or a complex estate falls outside the scheme. The participating solicitor may invite a donation or may hope to win other work, but the will itself carries no fee under the scheme. Anyone outside the age threshold or the selected areas cannot use it, and anyone whose estate needs more than a simple will should expect to pay elsewhere.

Will Aid runs in November, when participating solicitors waive their fee in return for a voluntary donation shared between partner charities. The donation is voluntary rather than a fixed price, and the solicitor gives time without charging a fee. Charity schemes follow a similar pattern: a free or low cost will in return for a suggested donation to the charity involved. These routes suit a simple estate and a person who is willing to wait for the scheme window. They do not suit a complex estate, and they do not remove the separate costs of storage, later amendments, executor services or probate. A free will is still a will, and it must be signed in the presence of two independent witnesses to be valid, whoever drafted it.

Regulation, and why the cheapest is not always right

Will writing is not a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007 in England and Wales, so an unregulated provider may legally write a will. That is why a 29 pounds online will can exist alongside a 400 pounds solicitor will. The consequence is that customers of an unregulated provider have no route to the Legal Ombudsman or the SRA Compensation Fund. If the will is drafted badly, or the provider disappears, there is no regulator to complain to and no fund to claim from. A regulated firm, by contrast, brings a complaint route and, where applicable, access to the compensation fund. The price difference between the cheapest and the mid market often reflects that protection rather than the drafting itself.

Solicitor designed is a phrase that needs care. It can mean a solicitor drafted the document, or it can mean a solicitor supervised a process that a customer completed. Octopus Legacy, for example, is supervised by an SRA regulated solicitor, which is a different arrangement from a firm where a solicitor personally takes instructions and signs the document. Neither arrangement is automatically better, but they are not the same thing, and the price may not reveal which one applies. The cheapest option is not automatically the right one because the headline fee says nothing about regulation, complexity or what the fee leaves out. A 29 pounds will and a 400 pounds will can both be valid if signed correctly, but only one of them comes with a regulator behind it.

What the price does not include

Storage, later amendments, executor services and probate are normally charged separately from the price of drafting the will. A 29 pounds online will, a 100 pounds Farewill will, a 150 pounds Co-op will and a 150 pounds Octopus Legacy will all leave those items out unless the provider says otherwise. Storage matters because a will that cannot be found may as well not exist. Amendments and codicils matter because a will written at 40 may not fit an estate at 70, and each change can carry a new fee. Executor services matter because the person named as executor may need professional help, and that help is charged separately. Probate is a separate process with its own costs, and it is often the largest single expense in an estate, far above the cost of drafting the will itself.

The practical effect is that the headline price is the start of the cost, not the whole of it. A cheap will that is stored badly, never updated and followed by an expensive probate process can cost more overall than a mid priced will with storage and a review included. A will in England and Wales must be signed in the presence of two independent witnesses to be valid, whoever drafted it, and that requirement applies equally to a 29 pounds document and a 400 pounds document. Buyers comparing prices should ask what happens after signing: where the will is kept, what an update costs, whether executor fees are separate, and what probate is likely to cost later. Those questions, not the headline figure, determine the real price of a will in 2026.

Source: GOV.UK: Make a will.

Related coverage on Kael Tripton: Will Writing Cost UK 2026, How to Make a Will Online UK 2026 - Costs, Legal Requirements and What to Include, Make a Will Online UK Review 2026: Solicitor-Checked Wills from £39.99, Free Wills Month: who qualifies, what is free and what is not, Writing life insurance in trust: how it avoids inheritance tax and probate delays.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest will in the UK in 2026?

SimpleLPA published a standard will at 29 pounds on its press fact sheet dated 18 September 2026. SimpleLPA is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, so the 29 pounds does not include a regulator complaint route or access to the SRA Compensation Fund.

How much does a solicitor charge for a will?

A simple will through a high street solicitor typically costs 150 to 400 pounds, and a complex will involving trusts or business assets can run from 500 pounds to several thousand. Co-op Legal Services charges from 150 pounds for a single will, 245 pounds for mirror wills and 399 pounds for trust wills, including VAT, per its pricing page checked 23 September 2026.

How much does Farewill charge?

Farewill charges 100 pounds for a single online will and 160 pounds for couples, per its own website checked 23 September 2026. Farewill is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

How much does Octopus Legacy charge?

Octopus Legacy charges 150 pounds for a simple will, 250 pounds for a couple and 450 pounds for a will with a trust, the same price online, by video or in person, per its own website checked 23 September 2026. The service is supervised by an SRA regulated solicitor.

Is a free will really free?

Free Wills Month runs in March and October each year and offers a simple will free of charge to people aged 55 or over through participating solicitors in selected areas, with limited appointments. Will Aid runs in November, when participating solicitors waive their fee in return for a voluntary donation shared between partner charities. Both schemes cover a simple will, and storage, updates, executor services and probate are normally charged separately.