Copywriting rates

The relentlessly helpful® blog by John Espirian

12 August 2020
Copywriting rates survey results

Here are some results from the ProCopywriters survey since 2016.

Average day rate for copywriting.

I quote a day rate (currently £600) on my Pricing page as a guide, but my preference is to provide a flat project fee.

Good quality writing is hugely valuable. Pay your copywriter what they’re worth.

Year Day rate
2020 £379
2019 £349
2018 £342
2017 £339
2016 £337

Average annual earnings for freelance copywriters.

The typical freelance copywriter earns a decent salary but isn’t swimming in cash.

Year Annual earnings
2020 £42,792
2019 £37,585
2018 £45,757
2017 £36,012
2016 £39,883

Preferred pricing models.

Most copywriters prefer flat project fees. This is also my preferred pricing model. Learn more about pricing models

Year Flat fee Per day/hour Per word
2020 62% 35% 3%
2019 59% 40% 1%
2018 63% 36% 1%
2017 58% 41% 1%
2016 55% 43% 2%

Gender pay gap for copywriting.

This is the reported gender pay gap for freelance copywriters. Not very cool, especially as most of the best copywriters I know are women, though the gap is narrowing at last.

Year Men Women Gap
2020 £44,081 £42,265 4%
2019 £44,876 £34,310 30%
2018 £52,055 £41,248 21%
2017 £48,564 £34,803 28%
2016 £44,753 £34,865 22%

Full ProCopywriters survey results.

Download past survey results here:

More about copywriting prices.

 

 

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John Espirian

I’m the relentlessly helpful®️ LinkedIn nerd and author of Content DNA

I teach business owners how to be noticed, remembered and preferred.

Espresso+ is a safe space to learn how to ethically promote your business online and get better results on LinkedIn.

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