A decent blog post of 1,000 to 1,500 words costs $150 to $600 when a skilled human writes it, according to Lilach Bullock's 2026 breakdown. The same page puts content mills at $10 to $50 for a 1,000-word post and agencies at $500 to $1,500 plus per post. Bullock sells content writing services, so read her ranges as one informed view. Other sources below give different numbers, and we show where they disagree.
Quick version
- Cheap mills: $10 to $50 per 1,000 words. Expect to rewrite.
- Competent freelancer: $100 to $400 for 1,000 words, or $250 to $450 on the Editorial Freelancers Association rate chart.
- Agency: $250 to $1,000 per post or $500 to $1,500 plus, depending on the source.
- Small business budget for four posts a month: $600 to $2,000.
- AI-assisted with a human edit: $75 to $150 per post in one source, $25 to $80 all-in in another.
- DIY is not free. Your time has a price, covered below.
Blog post prices by quality level
The table lists what each source says for each tier. Prices are per post unless noted. Every source here sells something related to blogging, so none is neutral.
| Tier | Typical price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Content mill | $0.01 to $0.05 a word, so $10 to $50 for 1,000 words | Lilach Bullock |
| Entry-level writer | $0.05 to $0.10 a word, or $75 to $150 for 1,500 words | Blazly AI |
| Marketplace freelancer | $0.10 to $0.30 a word, or $100 to $450 for a standard post | Lilach Bullock |
| Experienced generalist | $0.15 to $0.30 a word, or $225 to $450 for 1,500 words | Blazly AI |
| Competent freelancer | $100 to $400 for 1,000 words | Lilach Bullock |
| EFA survey rate | 25 to 45 cents a word, or $250 to $450 for 1,000 words | Obrari |
| Content marketing agency | $250 to $1,000 per post | Marketing Insider Group |
| Agency or named ghostwriter | $500 to $1,500 plus | Lilach Bullock |
Why do the numbers disagree? Partly because "freelancer" covers very different people. A survey of 500 freelance writers in January 2026 found an average of $0.42 per word. At that rate a 1,000-word post comes to 1,000 times $0.42, or $420. Blazly sells an AI writing platform, and its page includes some illustrative figures, so treat it as a rough guide.
The Editorial Freelancers Association 2026 Rate Chart is the most formal benchmark here. It surveyed over 1,100 respondents from November 2025 through mid-January 2026. Obrari, the page that reports it, sells AI-written posts.
At the top end, expert writers can charge $1,000 to $2,000 per post, but only about 8% of freelance writers charge $1,000 or more. Marketing Insider Group is a content agency, so its high figures may lean toward its own services.
Prices by post type: SEO, promotional, newsletter
None of the sources we found prices these three types separately. Here is what they do give.
SEO articles. SEO articles average around $0.35 per word, ranging from $0.15 to $0.60. For 1,000 words, that is 1,000 times $0.35, or $350 at the average. At the ends of the range it is 1,000 times $0.15, or $150, and 1,000 times $0.60, or $600. Specialist topics cost more: B2B SaaS specialists typically charge $300 to $800 per article.
Promotional posts. No source gives a separate price. They tend to be shorter, so word count drives the cost. The EFA rate chart puts a 500-word post at $125 to $225. This is our judgment, not a sourced fact: price follows length, research and expertise more than the label "promotional."
Newsletters. No source we found prices newsletters. Ask for a per-issue quote and compare it with the per-word rates above.
Length matters too. Average blog post length tends to run 1,000 to 1,350 words, and 2,000-word posts run around $300 on average. Content Powered is a content agency, so its figures come from a seller's point of view.
What a small business should budget each month
One post rarely does much. Four posts a month is a reasonable minimum for SEO traction, and most SEO practitioners recommend four to eight a month. Paying for that volume looks like this:
- Freelancers and basic strategy: $600 to $2,000 a month for four solid posts.
- Small business agencies: $1,500 to $3,000 a month for 4 to 8 posts. One Blog a Day sells AI blogging tools, so it is not a neutral party.
- Larger agency retainers: $2,000 to $6,000 a month for four posts.
- Full spread: $0 for DIY to $5,000 or more a month for an agency.
Our view: most small sites should not start at the agency end. A freelancer or a lower-cost workflow, run for several months, tells you more than a big retainer.
Costs people forget
Revisions. Add 15 to 20 percent for revisions when working with a new writer. Here is a made-up example, not real data: a new writer quotes $300. Fifteen percent is $300 times 0.15, or $45. Twenty percent is $300 times 0.20, or $60. The real cost is $345 to $360.
Your management time. Managing a freelancer-based blog takes 4 to 6 hours a month.
Updates. Posts typically need an audit and rewrite every 12 to 18 months.
Tools. Ahrefs or Semrush run $100 to $200 a month. Marketmuse or Clearscope run $80 to $180 a month. You may not need them if your writer covers research.
Waiting. Most new posts take three to six months to reach the first page of Google. Budget for that stretch before judging results.
What DIY really costs
DIY has no invoice, but it has a price. One Blog a Day cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to say a small business owner's effective hourly value often exceeds $50 an hour. It concludes that ten hours of DIY writing carries a real cost of $500 or more, which is ten hours times $50.
The hours add up quickly. One Content Powered author reports that a single long article took over 16 hours to create, including about 6 hours of writing for close to 3,000 words and about 3 hours of research. That is one writer's account, not an average. DIY makes sense if you enjoy writing and have the hours. It is costly if you are really trading away sales time.
AI-only and AI-assisted posts
AI posts are cheaper, but the numbers depend on how much editing you pay for.
- $75 to $150 for an AI-assisted post with a genuine human edit.
- Roughly $25 to $80 per published article with a subscription and editing. Blazly sells an AI platform, so that low figure comes from a seller.
- AI platforms typically run $50 to $500 a month.
- Editing is the hidden part: budget 20 to 40 minutes of skilled editing per AI draft. At an $85 hourly loaded rate, 30 minutes of editing costs about $43.
- A subscription pays off when you publish eight or more pieces a month.
Our view: an unedited AI draft is cheap because someone else, usually the site owner, still has to check it. The savings are real only if the facts get verified before publishing.
Where Paperboy fits
We sell this, so weigh it accordingly. Paperboy's plans are Starter at $49 a month for 3 articles a week, about $3.77 an article. Growth is $99 a month for 7 articles a week, about $3.26 an article. Pro is $179 a month for 14 articles a week, about $2.95 an article.
That is not the same product as a $150 post from a skilled human writer. Paperboy picks topics from your site's own Google Search Console data, then researches, writes, fact-checks and publishes. Articles that fail the fact check are held, not published. Our view: it suits owners who need steady volume and cannot write or manage a freelancer. If a post needs your personal experience or an interview, a human writer is still the better choice. Details on how plans work are on the help page, and more cost breakdowns are on our blog.
How to choose
- Decide how many posts a month you can pay for. Four is the sourced minimum for traction.
- Match the tier to the job. Mills for filler at your own risk, freelancers for most posts, agencies when you need strategy.
- Add 15 to 20 percent for revisions with any new writer.
- Count your own hours, whether you write, edit or manage.
- Commit for three to six months before judging results.
Frequently asked questions
Is $100 a realistic price for a blog post?
It is a commonly quoted baseline, per Content Powered, a content agency. Competent freelancers run $100 to $400 for 1,000 words in another source, so $100 is the low end for human-written work.
How many blog posts a month do I need?
Four posts a month is a reasonable minimum for SEO traction, and most SEO practitioners recommend four to eight. Both sources sell content services.
How long until a new blog post ranks?
Most new posts take three to six months to reach the first page of Google. Plan your budget around that delay, not around one post.
Is AI cheaper than a freelance writer?
Usually, yes. One source puts an AI-assisted post with a human edit at $75 to $150, against $100 to $400 for 1,000 words from a competent freelancer. The edit still takes 20 to 40 minutes per draft.
What does a blog post cost in the UK?
One source says UK specialist writers charge roughly £0.20 to £0.50 per word, or £250 to £650 per post. It does not give figures for other writer tiers there.