We compare online will services with a published scorecard. Every service in the field is scored the same way, whether or not it pays us, and the order on the page comes only from the score.
Who is included
- The main online will services available to people across the US: ten as of October 2026.
- We decide who is included by what a service does, not by whether it has a deal with us.
- A service that only stores documents, or only offers a will as a perk with another product, isn't included.
What we score
Each service gets 0 to 5 points on seven criteria. The criteria are weighted to a total out of 100.
| Criterion | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 20 | The cost of a basic will for one person and for a couple, counting any required subscription for the first year |
| Ongoing cost and lock-in | 15 | What changes cost later, and whether you keep your documents if you stop paying |
| Documents | 15 | Will, financial power of attorney, healthcare directive, living trust, guardianship for children, funeral wishes |
| State coverage and signing help | 15 | All states and DC, Louisiana, state-specific signing and witnessing instructions, electronic signing where state law allows |
| Help when you're stuck | 15 | Whether you can reach a person by phone or live chat, and whether a lawyer reviews or prepares documents, at what price |
| Privacy | 10 | Whether the service sells or shares your details for marketing, and whether whoever pays for a free tool is named plainly |
| Complaints and enforcement | 10 | Actions by the FTC, state attorneys general or courts in the last ten years |
What earns each score is set out below, under "How each criterion is scored".
Each service also shows the year it started, from its own pages or public records. We don't score it: a signed will stays valid if the company later closes, and whether you keep your documents is scored under lock-in.
What counts as a source
We use the company's own pages, terms and privacy policy, regulators, courts and state law. We don't use comparison sites, affiliate reviews or the Better Business Bureau.
Every fact we score has its source and the date we checked it. If a company doesn't publish something, that criterion scores zero and says "not published". We don't fill gaps from memory or from other websites.
How often we check
We re-check prices and terms every month, and each service shows the date we last checked it. A second person reviews every score before it goes live.
How we make money, and what it never changes
Some services pay us if you sign up or buy through our link. That payment never changes who is included, how a service is scored, or its place in the ranking.
Sponsored offers. One service may show a sponsored offer above the ranked list. It's labelled "Sponsored offer", it isn't part of the ranking, and it's never shown as first. The same service also keeps its own place in the list, wherever its score puts it.
What this page isn't
This is a comparison of services, not legal advice. Whether a will is right for you, and what it should say, depends on your situation and your state's law. Our law pages explain each state's rules with their statutes.
Burial and final-expense insurance
We're preparing a comparison of final-expense insurers. It isn't published yet. When it is:
- What we'll score: who can get a policy, what it pays if death comes in the first years, the policy terms, complaint records, and the information the insurer publishes.
- What we won't score:
- price, because insurers don't publish it without your contact details;
- financial strength ratings.
- We're not a licensed insurance producer, and we don't sell insurance or give personal coverage advice. We currently receive no payment from insurance links.
How each criterion is scored
Price (20 points)
- Basic will for one person:
- 5: free, with nothing to buy to sign a valid will;
- 4: up to $99;
- 3: $100 to $159;
- 2: $160 to $249;
- 1: $250 or more;
- 0: not published.
- A couple's price uses the same bands, doubled (up to $199, $200 to $319, $320 to $499, $500 or more). Where there's no couple's plan, two single plans count.
- The score is the average of the two. A half point rounds down.
- A required subscription counts at its first-year cost.
- Which price: the lowest price anyone can pay on the service's own site, including standing offers such as a discount for a partner. Codes for time-limited sales don't count.
Ongoing cost and lock-in (15 points)
- 5: unlimited changes included, and your documents are yours to download for good.
- 4: changes cost a small yearly fee, and your documents stay yours.
- 3: you need a subscription to make changes, but your downloads stay.
- 2: you lose access to your documents when a subscription ends.
- 0: not published.
Documents (15 points)
- One point each, up to 5, for:
- a will;
- a financial power of attorney;
- a healthcare directive or living will;
- a revocable living trust;
- a guardianship nomination for children;
- funeral or burial wishes.
State coverage and signing help (15 points)
- 2 points: available in all states and DC, Louisiana included. 1 point if all except Louisiana. A service that says "all 50 states" without mentioning DC keeps these points, unless it says it excludes DC.
- 1 point: handling Louisiana properly (it has its own form of will), or excluding it clearly.
- 1 point: state-specific signing and witnessing instructions, including a self-proving affidavit.
- 1 point: electronic signing where state law allows it.
Help when you're stuck (15 points)
- A person to ask (up to 2):
- 2: phone or live chat with a person, with the hours stated, open to anyone before buying;
- 1: phone or chat with no hours stated, or for members only; or email or a contact form only;
- 0: help articles or a chatbot only.
- Lawyer access (up to 3):
- 3: a lawyer reviews or prepares the will, included in the price;
- 2: a lawyer's review or consultation at a published price, including one that comes with a membership you need anyway;
- 1: a list of lawyers only, or a paid review by someone who isn't a lawyer;
- 0: none.
- We never name or rank lawyers here.
Privacy (10 points)
- 5: the service doesn't sell or share your details for others' marketing, and anyone who pays for a free tool is named on the product page.
- 3: it doesn't sell your details, but it names its funder only elsewhere, or uses your details for its own targeted ads.
- 1: it sells or shares your details for marketing.
- 0: not published.
- Sharing that happens only when you choose a recipient yourself, such as a charity you name, doesn't count against a service.
Complaints and enforcement (10 points)
- 5: no FTC, state attorney general or court action found in ten years. We record what we searched.
- 2 points off for each consent order, judgment or settlement, and 1 point off for each pending or dismissed case. The lowest score is 0.
- We count actions by regulators, and court cases brought by or for customers about the service, such as consumer, privacy or unauthorized-practice cases. Disputes between a company and its own owners or partners don't count.
- We don't use Better Business Bureau grades.
Changes to this method
October 27, 2026. "Lawyer access" became "Help when you're stuck" and now also counts whether you can reach a person by phone or live chat. It went from 10 to 15 points, and price from 25 to 20. We also set out which price we use and which court cases count, and we now show the year each service started, without scoring it. Every service was scored again under these rules.
Corrections
If a price or fact here is wrong, write to corrections@honestfarewell.org. We check every report and correct what's wrong, with the date.