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

A simple single will from a solicitor typically costs £150 to £400 plus VAT. Mirror wills (one for each spouse) cost £250 to £600 plus VAT. Online will services like Farewill cost £40 to £100. Free options include Will Aid (November, donation to charity), Free Wills Month (March and October, age 55+), and various charity will schemes. Complex wills with trusts, overseas assets, or business interests cost £500 to £2,000+ plus VAT.

Are free wills any good?

Yes, for simple estates. Will Aid (every November) pairs you with a participating solicitor who drafts a will in return for a charity donation (suggested £100 single, £180 mirror). Free Wills Month (March and October, age 55+) is run by participating charities. Both produce solicitor-drafted, professionally executed wills. The schemes are designed for simple wills; complex requirements may attract an additional fee on top of the suggested donation.

Should I use a will writer rather than a solicitor?

Will-writing companies (some are SRA-regulated, many are not) typically charge £80 to £250. The price difference versus a solicitor (£150 to £400) is small, and the regulatory protection is lower. Will writers are not regulated by the SRA unless they are also solicitors, so the consumer protections (compensation fund, complaints to the Legal Ombudsman) usually do not apply. For most consumer estates, a high-street solicitor is the safer choice at a modest price premium.

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Wills

Will Writing Cost UK 2026

£0 (Will Aid, Free Wills Month, DIY) up to £2,000+ (complex with trusts). Most simple wills sit in the £150 to £400 range from a solicitor. Updated May 2026.

Will cost by route

Route	Single will	Mirror wills
DIY (Will Pack / template)	£0 to £30	£0 to £60
Will Aid (November, suggested donation)	£100 (donation)	£180 (donation)
Free Wills Month (March, October; age 55+)	Free	Free
Online will service (Farewill, Beyond)	£40 to £100	£60 to £150
Will writer (often not SRA-regulated)	£80 to £250	£140 to £400
Solicitor (simple will)	£150 to £400 + VAT	£250 to £600 + VAT
Solicitor (complex: trusts, business, overseas)	£500 to £2,000+ + VAT	£800 to £3,500+ + VAT

Free routes

Three established UK schemes produce a professionally drafted will at no out-of-pocket cost (or charity donation only):

Will Aid (November). Run by Will Aid charity. You see a participating solicitor in November who drafts your will. You make a suggested donation to charity (£100 single, £180 mirror). The solicitor receives no fee. Find a participating firm at willaid.org.uk.
Free Wills Month (March and October). Run by participating charities. Age 55+ residents in selected UK cities get a free, professionally drafted will from a participating solicitor. The charity hopes you may consider a legacy in your will (you are not obligated). Find dates and firms at freewillsmonth.org.uk.
Charity-specific will schemes. Charities including Cancer Research UK, RSPB, and the NSPCC operate their own free-will programmes year-round via partnerships with online and high-street firms.

When DIY is appropriate

A homemade will (using a will pack from W H Smith or a free template) is legally valid in England and Wales if it is signed in front of two adult witnesses who also sign it. DIY is appropriate where:

You have a single beneficiary structure (e.g. everything to spouse, then everything to children).
The estate is straightforward (UK-based, no business, no trusts needed).
You are confident the will is unlikely to be challenged.

The risk with DIY is execution errors (incorrect witnessing being the most common) that render the will invalid. The £150 to £400 solicitor fee for a simple will buys you certainty on execution and a professional opinion on whether the structure achieves what you want.

When you should not DIY

You have a blended family (children from a previous relationship, stepchildren).
You want to leave assets in trust (e.g. for a minor child, a vulnerable person, or an estate above the IHT nil-rate band).
You own a business or business shares.
You have overseas property or non-UK domicile considerations.
Your estate is likely to attract IHT (over £325,000 single, over £1m couple at the joint NRB+RNRB threshold).
You anticipate a challenge from a family member you are excluding.

Mirror wills

Mirror wills are two near-identical wills made by a couple, typically leaving everything to each other and then to their children. Because most of the drafting work is duplicated, mirror wills usually cost around 70 to 90 per cent more than a single will rather than double. Each will is a separate legal document; couples should consider the implications carefully if the survivor may want to remarry or change beneficiaries.

Storage

Most solicitors will store your original will free of charge. Some charge a one-off fee of £20 to £50. The Probate Service operates a will-deposit scheme (£20 one-off) and there are commercial storage options at £40 to £100 per year. Whatever you choose, tell your executors where the will is. A lost original will is treated as if revoked by destruction unless a properly executed copy exists.