Short answer
Four real price points: $0 with a free guided service, $99–$199 online, $300–$1,000+ with an attorney, or $0–$30 for a DIY template you'll likely regret. For most adults, a paid online will is the sweet spot — same legal weight as an attorney's, a fraction of the price, finished in under an hour.
Free works if your life is simple. Attorney is worth it if it's genuinely complex. Online is the right answer for almost everyone in between.
A note on the ranges below: prices vary by state, by complexity (a single home vs. a business and rental property), and by whether you actually need a trust on top of the will. Use the numbers as honest market ranges, not quotes.
The four real options at a glance
| Option | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free online (FreeWill) | $0 | Simple situations, no real estate to plan around |
| Online will service | $99–$199 | Most adults — best balance of cost, quality, and speed |
| Estate-planning attorney | $300–$1,000+ | Blended families, business owners, $1M+ estates |
| DIY (template / handwritten) | $0–$30 | Emergency stopgap only — high error risk |
Free online (FreeWill)
Cost: $0
Best for: Simple situations, no real estate to plan around
Online will service
Cost: $99–$199
Best for: Most adults — best balance of cost, quality, and speed
Estate-planning attorney
Cost: $300–$1,000+
Best for: Blended families, business owners, $1M+ estates
DIY (template / handwritten)
Cost: $0–$30
Best for: Emergency stopgap only — high error risk
Spending more on a will doesn't make it more valid — it buys you advice. The right question isn't "how cheap can I go?" It's "how much complexity am I actually planning around?" The four sections below answer that path by path.
Free — $0
Free online wills are real wills. Done correctly, they're as legally valid as anything an attorney drafts. The trade-off is breadth — most free options give you the will and not much else.
Best for
Adults with a straightforward situation who want a legally valid will today and zero out-of-pocket cost.
Skip if
You also need a power of attorney, advance directive, or anything more layered than a basic will.
Upside: Real, state-specific document. Guided questions reduce the chance of mistakes a paper template would let through.
Downside: Limited extras. Updates and add-ons usually require upgrading to a paid product.
False economy when: You skip a will entirely because "free isn't enough" and end up with nothing for years.
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Online will service — $99–$199
This tier exists because most adults don't need a custom-drafted will — they need a competent one, finished. For $99–$199, you get a state-specific will (usually bundled with a power of attorney and living will), guided questions that catch common mistakes, and a finished plan in 30–60 minutes. Court treats it the same as an attorney's. What you're not buying is judgment for an unusual situation — and most situations aren't unusual.
What this typically includes
- State-specific last will and testament
- Durable financial power of attorney
- Healthcare directive / living will
- Guardian designation for minor children
- State-specific signing instructions
What it doesn't include
- Personalized legal advice for your situation
- Trusts (usually a separate, higher tier)
- Tax planning or business succession strategy
- Lifetime free updates (some services charge yearly)
Best for
Most adults with a standard family, a home, and assets under roughly $500K who want one clear, finished plan this week.
Skip if
You own a business, have a blended family, expect contests, or have a $1M+ estate. Spend the extra $500–$1,000 on an attorney.
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Estate-planning attorney — $300–$1,000+
What you're actually buying with an attorney isn't a more legitimate will — it's judgment. A good estate lawyer catches issues you didn't know to ask about, drafts custom clauses for unusual situations, and gives you a person to call when life changes.
Worth the money if
- You own a business or rental property
- Blended family or remarriage with children from a prior marriage
- Estate is worth $1M+ or has tax exposure
- Special-needs beneficiary or asset-protection planning
- Property in multiple states
- You expect the will to be contested
Probably overkill if
- Standard family, married or single
- One home, one set of accounts, no business
- Total assets under about $500K
- No realistic risk of contest
The rule of thumb: match the tool to the job. A $99 site is plenty for a standard family. A $1,000 attorney is cheap insurance once a business, blended family, or seven-figure estate enters the picture.
DIY template or handwritten — $0–$30
A printed template or a handwritten ("holographic") will is technically the cheapest option. It's also the easiest one to get wrong. The most common reason wills fail in court isn't fraud or contest — it's improper signing of DIY documents.
Best for
A short-term placeholder while you set up something better — or a true emergency where nothing else is reachable.
Skip if
A free guided online will is available to you. It's state-specific, walks you through signing rules, and removes most of the risk.
If you genuinely want paper in hand, our free will template is there. But if a guided service is an option, use it — and this guide walks through the without-a-lawyer path step by step.
What it actually costs to skip the will
The honest comparison isn't $0 vs. $99. It's "spend a little now" vs. "your family pays a lot later." Without a will, probate is slower, more expensive, and decided by a judge using your state's default rules — not yours.
| Scenario | Typical cost to the estate |
|---|---|
| Make a will online today | $0–$199 (one-time) |
| Probate with a valid will | $3,000–$8,000 |
| Probate without a will (intestate) | $5,000–$15,000+ |
| No executor named — court appoints one | +$500–$5,000 (bond) |
| Custody dispute, no guardian named | $10,000–$50,000 in legal fees |
| Family dispute over assets | $5,000–$20,000+ in legal fees |
These aren't worst-case numbers — they're the bills probate offices and family lawyers send in ordinary cases. A finished will doesn't erase every cost, but it removes the two most expensive ones: ambiguity and disputes.
When to upgrade from a will to a trust
A trust isn't a status symbol — it's a probate-avoidance tool. Online: roughly $279–$599. Attorney-drafted: $1,500–$3,000+. The real test isn't your net worth, it's whether avoiding probate, keeping things private, or planning for incapacity is worth that extra setup.
A will is enough if
- You rent or own a single, modest home
- Total assets under roughly $100K–$200K
- Your main goal is naming a guardian for kids
- Probate timing and privacy aren't real concerns
A trust starts to earn its cost if
- You own a home and want to spare your heirs probate
- Property in more than one state
- You want privacy — probate is public, trusts aren't
- You want incapacity protection built in, not just death planning
If you're unsure, start with the will. It's the foundation either way, and a trust can be layered on later. Full will vs. trust comparison · Do I need a will? · How to make a will