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Blog post cost calculator

Compare what a month of blog posts costs from a freelancer, an agency, an in-house writer, and AI.

Your blog
Rates
Blog post cost per article, per month, and per year
OptionPer articlePer month
Freelancer$459$1,837$22,042 / year
Agency$394$1,574$18,893 / year
In-house writer$2,339$9,356$112,277 / year
AI (Aranx)Lowest$25$99$1,188 / year

How this is calculated

  1. Freelancer: posts × words × rate per word. The default rate is 35¢, the midpoint of the EFA median range for blog posts.
  2. Agency: posts × words × rate per word. The default rate is 30¢: the WebFX midpoint of $375 for a 1,250-word post.
  3. In-house writer: the BLS median salary of $76,910, divided by 68.5% to add benefits and payroll taxes, divided by 12. You pay one full salary at any volume. A second writer is added when the posts need more than 173 hours a month at 3 hours 20 minutes per 1,312 words.
  4. AI: the Aranx Launch price of $99 a month, which covers up to 30 articles on one website. A second plan is added above 30 posts.
  5. Per article: the monthly cost divided by the posts per month.

The AI row uses the published Aranx Launch price. Replace it with any AI tool you are comparing.

Sources

  1. Editorial Freelancers Association: 2026 Editorial Rates chartBlog posts, work for hire: 25¢ to 45¢ per word (median range, 1,100+ members, rates charged in 2025). The calculator uses the midpoint, 35¢.
  2. WebFX: Content Marketing Pricing in 2026 (350 marketers surveyed)Agency blog posts: $150 to $600 per post of about 1,000 to 1,500 words. The midpoint, $375 for 1,250 words, is 30¢ per word.
  3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Writers and AuthorsMedian pay for writers and authors: $76,910 a year in May 2025.
  4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026For full-time private industry workers, wages are 68.5% of employer cost. Benefits and taxes add the other 31.5%.
  5. Orbit Media: Blogging Statistics 2026 (1,042 content marketers)The average blog post is 1,312 words and takes 3 hours 20 minutes to write.
  6. Aranx: PricingAranx Launch: $99 a month for up to one scheduled article per day on one website.
  7. Ahrefs: AI Content Is 4.7x Cheaper Than Human Content (879 marketers)Marketers pay an average of $611 for a human-written post and $131 for an AI-generated post. Used as a cross-check.

Sources checked on .

Cite this tool

Link

https://aranx.com/tools/blog-post-cost-calculator

HTML

<a href="https://aranx.com/tools/blog-post-cost-calculator">Blog post cost calculator</a> by Aranx

Questions

A 1,312-word post costs about $459 from a freelancer at the EFA midpoint of 35¢ per word and about $394 from an agency at the WebFX midpoint of 30¢ per word. In an Ahrefs survey of 879 marketers, a human-written post cost $611 on average and an AI-generated post cost $131.
You pay a full salary whether the writer delivers 4 posts or 40. At the BLS median salary plus benefits and taxes, one writer costs about $9,356 a month. That is $2,339 a post at 4 posts a month and $234 a post at 40.
No. The Aranx price covers research, writing, images, internal links, and publishing to your site. If you edit every draft, add the value of that time to the AI row.
Yes. Every rate is an input. Replace a default with a quote you received to compare real offers.

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