Cheap Wills Online: What Should You Look For?

A will's quality has nothing to do with how much it costs to produce and everything to do with three things: whether it is legally valid, whether it says clearly what you want, and whether your executors can actually carry it out. A well-drafted cheap will covers all three. A poorly drafted expensive one can fail on any of them.

When comparing services, look past the headline price to what you actually get: guided questions that make sure you appoint an executor and think about guardians for children, clear final wording rather than vague templates, and step-by-step instructions for signing and witnessing. These are the features that separate a genuinely useful cheap will from a false economy.

Some services advertise a low headline price then charge separately for the printed and bound document, for storage, or move you onto an annual subscription for updates you may never use. Read the pricing page carefully and check whether the quoted price is genuinely everything you need to end up with a signed, valid will in your hands.

Our pricing is a single one-off payment covering the whole will, with no ongoing subscription attached.

Under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, a will must be in writing, signed by the person making it (or by someone else in their presence and at their direction), with that signature made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses present at the same time, who then also sign in the testator's presence. Get this wrong and the will is invalid, no matter how good the drafting was.

Your witnesses must not be beneficiaries or married to a beneficiary, or that beneficiary loses their gift under section 15 of the Act. A cheap will service that gives clear, step-by-step signing instructions is doing the most important job it has; one that just hands you a PDF with no guidance is taking a real risk with your estate. See our guide on how to sign a will for the full process.

For most people with a straightforward estate, a spouse or civil partner, children, and no unusual assets, a well-drafted online will covers everything needed: appointing executors, gifts of specific items, who inherits the rest of the estate (the residue), and guardians for young children.

It becomes unsuitable once things get more complicated: business assets, trusts, overseas property, dependants who cannot manage money themselves, or a blended family where you need to balance a spouse and children from an earlier relationship. In those cases, paying more for a solicitor is not wasted money, it buys judgement and drafting that a fixed-question online form cannot replicate.

Is the price genuinely one-off, and does it include everything needed to finish the will? Does the service explain signing and witnessing clearly, in writing, rather than assuming you already know? Can you make free amendments within a reasonable period if you spot a mistake before signing? Is the wording specific to your answers, or a generic template with your name dropped in?

If a provider cannot answer these clearly, that is a red flag regardless of price. A genuinely cheap will should still be a genuinely good one.