How Much Do Blog Writing Services Cost?

Most blog writing services charge per word, per post, by monthly retainer or by the hour. Per-word rates are the easiest to compare: ours is $12.95 per 100 words, so a typical 800 to 1,200 word post costs about $105 to $155. What moves the price up or down is the work behind the words: research depth, subject expertise, SEO work, revisions and anything done after the draft, such as images and uploading.

Two quotes for "a 1,000-word blog post" can differ by a factor of ten and both be fair, because they describe different jobs. One writer summarises the first page of search results; another interviews your sales team, checks every figure and hands over a post ready to publish. This guide explains the pricing models you will see, what each one hides, and how to tell a reasonable low price from a warning sign. It covers writing only. If you want someone to plan, publish and run the whole blog, that is priced differently; see what blog management services cost.

The Four Pricing Models

• Per word. The most common model and the easiest to compare. You know the cost before work starts, and a longer post costs proportionally more. The risk is that it rewards length, so agree a target word count in the brief rather than leaving it open.
• Per post. A flat fee per article, usually within a word range. Simple to budget, but check what the range is: a flat $150 for "up to 1,500 words" is a different deal from $150 for 600 words.
• Monthly retainer. A fixed fee for a set number of posts each month, sometimes with planning or keyword work included. Useful if you publish steadily, expensive in a month you do not need the posts. Look for the notice period and whether unused posts roll over.
• Hourly. Common with experienced freelancers and for work that is hard to scope, such as rewriting existing posts or technical subjects. Fair to both sides when the scope is uncertain, but ask for an estimate in hours before you agree, so the invoice is not a surprise.

For a sense of market rates, the Editorial Freelancers Association publishes rate ranges from its member survey. Its 2026 chart lists blog post ghostwriting at roughly 25 to 40 cents per word, or $75 to $100 an hour. Those are figures reported by professional freelance writers and editors, and the EFA is clear that it does not set rates, but they are a useful reference point when a quote looks very high or very low.

What Drives the Price

Whatever the model, the same factors push the cost up. When you compare quotes, compare these, not just the headline rate.

• Research depth. A post built from two or three search results is quick to write. A post that needs original sources, data, quotes from your team or a review of studies takes much longer. Orbit Media's annual blogger survey puts the average time to write a post at about three hours twenty minutes, and research-heavy posts sit well above that.
• Length. More words take more time, but not in a straight line: a long post needs more structure and more checking. Decide length by what the reader needs, not by a quota; how long a business blog post should be covers how to choose.
• Subject expertise and YMYL topics. Health, money, legal and safety content needs a writer who understands the subject and checks facts carefully. Google says its systems give more weight to trustworthy content on topics that could affect people's health, finances or safety. Expect to pay more for writers who can handle those topics properly, and be wary of anyone who charges the same for a tax guide as for a recipe post.
• SEO work. Some services include keyword research, a content brief, a meta title and description, and internal link suggestions. Others expect you to supply the keyword and brief. If you are supplying them, keyword research for blog posts explains what that involves.
• Revisions. Ask how many rounds are included and what counts as a revision. A capped number of rounds can mean paying again for a draft that never met the brief.
• Editing and fact-checking. A second pair of eyes before delivery costs the supplier time and is often what separates a usable draft from one you have to fix yourself.
• Images, formatting and uploading. Sourcing images, writing alt text, formatting in your CMS and scheduling the post are separate tasks. Some writers include them, most charge extra, and that is fair.
• Turnaround. Rush work usually costs more. A normal schedule is cheaper and tends to produce better posts.

What Our Pricing Looks Like

We charge $12.95 per 100 words for blog writing. The cost scales with the length you agree in the brief, so there is no guessing about what is included:

Every post through our blog writing service is written by our in-house team, never subcontracted, with revisions until the brief is met. Typical turnaround is about two business days, and there is no lock-in on standard services, so you can order a single post before deciding on more.

Why Very Cheap Blog Writing Costs More

A price far below the market is not automatically a scam, but it has to come from somewhere. Usually it comes from skipping research, skipping editing, or producing posts in bulk with little human input. Signs to watch for:

• No questions before starting. A writer who does not ask about your audience, product or goal is going to write a generic post.
• Very fast delivery on any topic. Ten posts on ten unrelated subjects by tomorrow means none of them was researched.
• No sources. Statistics without links are often invented or out of date. Our guide to fact-checking blog content shows how to check a draft yourself.
• Unclear authorship. If the service cannot tell you who writes the posts, they are probably passed on to whoever is cheapest that week.
• Ranking promises. Nobody controls where Google places a post. A service that guarantees page one positions is selling something it cannot deliver.
• Unclear AI use. Google says appropriate use of AI is not against its guidelines, but using it mainly to churn out pages for rankings is. You should know how a post was produced, and a service charging a fraction of the market rate should be able to tell you.

How to Budget for Blog Writing

Start from how often you will realistically publish, not how often you would like to. One good post a month that you promote properly beats four thin ones; how often a small business should publish goes through the trade-offs. Then multiply your typical post length by the rate and add a margin for posts that need more research than usual.

Budget for at least six months before judging results. Blog posts rarely bring meaningful traffic in their first few weeks, and deciding too early wastes the posts you have already paid for. Set the budget, keep the publishing schedule steady, and review what is working at the end of the period.

Questions to Ask Before You Accept a Quote

1. Is the price per word, per post, per hour or per month, and what length does it assume?
2. What is included: keyword research, a brief, meta title and description, internal links, images, uploading?
3. How many revisions are included, and what counts as one?
4. Who writes the posts, and will the same writer stay on my account?
5. Are sources provided for facts and statistics?
6. Is there a minimum order, a contract term or a notice period?
7. Do I own the posts outright once I have paid?

If the answers are clear and in writing, you can compare quotes on the same basis. If you want to see how ours compares, our blog writing service page sets out what is included, and a single post is a reasonable way to test the fit before committing to more.