How much does a ghostwriter cost?
Ghostwriting has no government wage code, and rates swing widely by the kind of project. The most honest cost guide is what ghostwriters report charging, published in the Editorial Freelancers Association 2026 Rate Chart. The table below breaks the reported rates down by project type so you can price the work you actually need.
The short answer
There is no official government salary for this work. Freelancers report charging$70 to $188 per hour, with per-word and per-page rates that swing by project type. The reported rates are broken down below.
Source: Editorial Freelancers Association Rates charged during the 2025 calendar year, reported by over 1,100 EFA members (more than a third of EFA membership); published as the EFA 2026 Rate Chart.
Reported rates by project type
Median rate ranges reported by Editorial Freelancers Association members. A page is 250 words. Rates vary widely by project, which is why they are shown by type rather than as a single number.
Ghostwriting
| Project type | Per word | Per hour | Per page (250w) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articles/essays | 15¢ to 30¢ | $75 to $100 | $37.50 to $75 |
| Blog posts | 25¢ to 40¢ | $75 to $100 | $62.50 to $100 |
| Business/marketing | 50¢ to $1.00 | $87.50 to $125 | $125 to $250 |
| Fiction, full-length | 25¢ to 50¢ | $80 to $100 | $62.50 to $125 |
| Graphic novels | 0.5¢ to 1¢ | $75 to $100 | $1.25 to $2.50 |
| Journalism | 23¢ to 29.5¢ | $87.50 to $163 | $57.50 to $73.75 |
| Legal | n/a | $75 to $126 | n/a |
| Medical | $1.00 to $1.50 | $100 to $126 | $250 to $375 |
| Medicolegal | n/a | $75 to $126 | n/a |
| Memoir | 50¢ to $1.00 | $80 to $100 | $125 to $250 |
| Nonfiction, full-length | 33¢ to 50¢ | $85 to $100 | $82.50 to $125 |
| Nonfiction, short-form | 27.5¢ to 50¢ | $70 to $75 | $68.75 to $125 |
| Scientific | 50¢ to 50¢ | $72.50 to $188 | $125 to $125 |
| Short story | 3¢ to 4¢ | $75 to $100 | $7.50 to $10 |
| Technical | 87.5¢ to $1.08 | $75 to $126 | $218.75 to $268.75 |
| Other | 50¢ to $1.25 | $77.50 to $100 | $125 to $312.50 |
Methodology
Data: Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) Rates - 2026 Rate Chart (Rates charged during the 2025 calendar year, reported by over 1,100 EFA members (more than a third of EFA membership); published as the EFA 2026 Rate Chart.), retrieved 2026-07-13. The caveats that travel with every figure:
- Hourly and per-word figures are the EFA's reported median rate ranges.
- A page is defined by the EFA as 250 words.
- The EFA neither sets rates nor advises members on what rates to charge.
Thinking about the career itself? See how to become a ghostwriter.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a ghostwriter cost?
There is no government salary for this work, so the honest benchmark is the reported freelance rate: $70 to $188 per hour across the project types in the Editorial Freelancers Association 2026 Rate Chart, with per-word and per-page rates varying by project. See the table below for the breakdown.
Why is the price range for a ghostwriter so wide?
Ghostwriting covers everything from a short blog post to a full-length memoir or a specialist medical manuscript, and each commands a different rate. The per-project-type table is the honest way to read it; a single average would hide the difference.
Is a ghostwriter paid per word, per hour or per project?
All three are common, and the reported figures are shown per word, per hour and per 250-word page so you can match whichever basis a ghostwriter quotes you.
The writer's edit
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