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NUJ Rate for the Job:
Words, per 1000 / online
Updated: 2025-07-09
These rates have been reported by members of the National Union of Journalists and others, and printed in the Freelance, newsletter of London Freelance Branch. They are sorted by publisher/publication, then by date (most recent first). TIP: Use the "Find in page" command under your browser's "Edit" or "Search" menu to be sure of finding all occurrences of a publication/publisher. AND do note the year in which the rate was reported! See also the Freelance Fees Guide, which gives general recommendations. And read the disclaimer and the key to exactly what the entries mean.
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In August 2012 we moved rates for online editions of newspapers and magazines into the 'news' or 'mags' listings, as newspapers and magazines integrate print and online. These should be rates for purely-digital publications. If you are interested, the archived rates are here. | ||||||
Tell us what you've been paid for Words, per 1000 / online |
Freelance Fees Guide
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| Publication / Programme - details & terms | Group | Year |  |
Total paid | GR |
XXXX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeon (digital) Feature article. 1600 words - @ £250: no pics required; helpful editor Creative Commons licence to the world... | 2017 |  |
160.00 | |||
| ARTnews art review outside UK + 1 edit and a couple of emails - all rights to publisher | _Advance | 2019 |  |
150.00 | ||
| Bandcamp Daily 800-word interview @ $400 | 2016 | |
500.00 | O | ||
| Byline Times scoop and writing up 800-word story @ £100 | 2019 | |
125.00 | X | ||
| Cycling News turned down due to poor rate , terms - online use only | _Future | 2025 | |
100.00 | XXX | |
| Cycling Weekly offered for online feature requiring specialist knowledge - rejected due to poor rate | _Future | 2025 | |
150.00 | GR | XX |
| Cycling Weekly Online Writing day, exes £60/day subsistence + £250 max travel all rights | _AOLTW | 2016 | |
150.00 | GR | XX |
| Cyclist website features , terms - Online use only | 2025 | |
200.00 | GR | ||
| D&I Leaders articles 1000 to 1200 words - lot of research and quote-finding needed; pay within 2 days of invoicing | 2024 | |
180.00 | XX | ||
| Daily Mail travel article | _Assoc | 2023 | |
1550.00 | O | |
| Devex Q and A session | 2016 | |
225.00 | GR | X | |
| Eurogamer (Gamer Network) 2000-word feature @ £120 Web use only | 2014 | |
60.00 | XX | ||
| Eurogamer (Gamer Network) 2000-word feature @ £120 Web use only | 2014 | |
60.00 | XX | ||
| Guardian online 800 words comment on specialist subject @ £100 = | _GMG | 2019 | |
125.00 | XXX | |
| Guardian online feature/reporting; terms 'not discussed' | _GMG | 2015 | |
310.00 | GR | XX |
| Health Service Journal 800-word opinion piece no expenses either - they don't pay for opinion pieces. | 2017 | |
0.00 | XXX | ||
| Huck magazine Reporting: 840 words @ £50 + 10 photos | 2016 | |
59.00 | XXX | ||
| Hyphen Online reported feature | 2022 | |
500.00 | O | ||
| ICON feature (do not know what uses licensed) | 2022 | |
300.00 | GR | ||
| Independent feature - | _Lebedev | 2018 | |
100.00 | X | |
| New Scientist 600 word comment piece @ £250 = | _Assoc | 2025 | |
417.00 | ||
| New Statesman (online) Writing a blog / article for The Staggers - was £80 in 1990! | _Progres | 2016 | |
75.00 | GR | XXX |
| New Statesman online column - 600 words @ £ 75 terms 'not discussed' | _Progres | 2015 | |
125.00 | GR | X |
| One Shot TV Guide 2000-word interview @ £ 700 | _CBS | 2015 | |
350.00 | ||
| PlanetSki travel feature | 2016 | |
0.00 | X | ||
| Popular Mechanics according to whopayswriters.com | 2017 | |
200.00 | |||
| Positive News | 2014 | |
140.00 | X | ||
| Resident Advisor 3000-word feature incl. interviews and research @ £400 | 2017 | |
133.00 | |||
| SLATE magazine 1700 words @ £500 = | 2025 | |
294.00 | |||
| Stylist magazine (Online) 1200-word essay - was asked to provided 3 original photographs, but they didn't use all | 2017 | |
150.00 | |||
| Teen Vogue according to whopayswriters.com | _CondN | 2017 | |
150.00 | X | |
| The Register tech-related articles | 2016 | |
250.00 | GR | ||
| Vice online feature, 1800 words @ £180 = | _INM | 2016 | |
100.00 | XX | |
| VICE 1000 words kill fee (not sure what the £60 is for - ed) | 2015 | |
180.00 | GR | XX | |
| Vice Munchies 800 words @ £160 = | 2016 | |
200.00 | |||
| A sports federation (medium-status) commissioned 800-word feature including a couple of interviews @ £240 = | 2024 | |
400.00 | |||
| BBC Learning Fictional story non-exclusive | _BBC | 2016 | |
138.00 | GR | |
| BBC Online feature | _BBC | 2024 | |
355.00 | ||
| BBC Online feature | _BBC | 2015 | |
576.00 | O | |
| BBC worldwide 2000 word feature @ £700 | _BBC | 2015 | |
350.00 | GR | |
| BBC3 online BBC3 online short feature | _BBC | 2016 | |
187.50 | X | |
| CultureWhisper.com 500-word features @ £30, generally listicles or previews | 2014 | |
15.00 | GR | XXXX | |
| datacenterdynamics.com writeup of recorded interview - web and republishing in PDF magazine | 2023 | |
375.00 | HA | O | |
| Debut careers blog post 900 words @ £25 | 2019 | |
27.77 | XXX | ||
| Google Copywriting Google training content | _Google | 2020 | |
400.00 | ||
| Greener Copywriting agency blog/online article writing | 2015 | |
25.00 | XXXX | ||
| Human Resources magazine £180 per article of 800 to 1200 words; a lot of research and quote-finding needed for each up to | 2024 | |
225.00 | X | ||
| Hyundai Artlab on three artists | 2023 | |
2000.00 | O | ||
| jobs.ac.uk website 800 word articles for university @ £100 | 2014 | |
125.00 | |||
| Localised news website photos per job , prod/exes 20 | 2025 | |
100.00 | XXXX | ||
| londonr.com feature - 1000 words | 2016 | |
55.00 | XX | ||
| londonr.com feature - 700 words @ £35 = | 2016 | |
50.00 | XX | ||
| lonelyplanet.com 1000 word article £60 expenses for set of images to illustrate article , terms all rights | 2016 | |
180.00 | X | ||
| Netdoctor.co.uk researching and writing feature - 970 words @ £200 , terms All rights, everywhere, forever | _Hearst | 2016 | |
206.00 | GR | |
| News and feature writing News and features for McGraw , terms all rights, no expenses | _McGraw | 2016 | |
300.00 | GR | |
| Politics.co.uk Detailed article breaking down polling data - refused as too low | 2017 | |
50.00 | GR | XXX | |
| Professional association (high-status) 900-word reported feature including 3-4 interviews @ £225 = | 2024 | |
250.00 | |||
| Red Bull Music Academy 2200-word feature @ €400 all rights | 2016 |  |
180.00 | |||
| RT (Russia Today) op-ed (up to 1200 words) | 2022 | |
150.00 | XX | ||
| RT (Russia Today) op-ed (up to 1200 words) | 2022 | |
150.00 | XX | ||
| Space Arts website blog post 500 words @ £100 = | 2018 | |
200.00 | |||
| Specialist music mag Album reviews; terms not specified | 2016 | |
60.00 | GR | ||
| The Crime+Investigation Channel feature (via #FreelancerPayGap) | 2020 | |
100.00 | XX | ||
| Trade news service feature article with interviews ($0.75 per word) | 2017 | |
1125.00 | O | ||
| VICE News 18p per word plus £20 per photo for news feature | 2016 | |
180.00 | GR | ||
| Vice.com reporting job, photos included | 2015 | |
135.00 | |||
| Vice.com researching and writing feature inc interviews - offered £200 for 1800 words, asked for £350 , got £300 | 2015 | |
167.00 | |||
| Vice.com researching and writing feature inc interviews | 2015 | |
167.00 | |||
| Yahoo France feature | _Yahoo | 2014 | |
150.00 | X | |
| Yahoo France feature | _Yahoo | 2014 | |
150.00 | X | |
| Key to the rates, by column: |
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| 1 Publication / Programme, any details of work and licence | ||||||
| 2 Owner at the time the rate was reported, where known | Group | |||||
| 3 The year in which the rate was reported | Year |
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| 4 Currency: either or or (US) | |
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| 5 Amount paid (total of basic licence and extra licences for web use, database resale...) | Amount |
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| 7 "Going Rate" according to experienced NUJ members - do try to better it: | GR |
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| or Minimum rate set out in NUJ House Agreement: | HA |
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| 8 Underpaid, in the fallible opinion of the Freelance editor: | | 50.00 | X |
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| or Just sometimes we're pleasantly surprised: | | 1500.00 | O |
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Other rates:
| Type of work: | In the "sector": (click or tap below!) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Words, per 1000 | News | Local | Mag | online | Book | PR | Other |
| Words, other | News | Local | Mag | online | Book | PR | Other |
| Photography | News | Local | Mag | online | Book | PR | Other |
| Broadcasting | News | Local | Other including podcasting | ||||
| Shifts | News | Local | Mag | online | Book | PR | Other |
| Other: | Cartoons | Crosswords | Illustration | Punditry | Retainer | Teaching | Tip-off | Translation | ||||||
| Recently reported rates | all from the past few months |
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