Website copywriting: costs and tips in the Netherlands

Summary: having website copy written

Having website copy written by a self-employed copywriter in the Netherlands usually costs €85 per hour excl. VAT. That is the most common hourly rate in 2025 according to the Tekstnet Rates Monitor, the Dutch professional association of copywriters. What you pay in total depends on the number of pages, the research up front and the number of revision rounds. Good web copy is short, scannable and answers your visitor’s question. At Game-changers, writing website copy falls under AI content creation, from €500 per month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.

• Hourly rate: €85 excl. VAT is the most common rate of self-employed Dutch copywriters; the average is €83.37.
• Pricing: 79% of copywriters have several hourly rates, 39% work with project prices and 27% with a fixed price.
• Reading: 79% of visitors scan a page, only 16% read word by word.
• Our advice: Have copy written that answers one question, measure the result and then improve.

What is website copy?

Website copy is all the text on your website: the homepage, service pages, product descriptions, the about page and blogs. Good web copy has two readers: your visitor and Google. According to Ahrefs, Dutch people search 900 times a month for “seo teksten laten schrijven” (having SEO copy written), 500 times for “webteksten laten schrijven” and 500 times for “website teksten laten schrijven”. You can have website copy made in three ways:

• Freelance copywriter: you pay per hour, per page or per project; you supply the input and put the copy online yourself.
• Copywriting or marketing agency: writes the copy and often links it to SEO, design and tracking.
• Write it yourself with AI: cheap and fast, but you have to check facts, tone and SEO yourself.

What does a copywriter cost?

The most common hourly rate of self-employed Dutch copywriters in 2025 was €85 excl. VAT, the same as in 2023 and 2024. The average rate fell for the first time in five years, by 3.4% to €83.37. That is the outcome of the Tekstnet Rates Monitor, a survey completed by 126 members. For comparison: the average hourly rate clients offered freelancers in 2025 was €86.36 across all fields, according to Freelance.nl.

Not every copywriter charges by the hour. Of the copywriters, 79% have several hourly rates, for example for large or long-running jobs. 39% work with project prices and 27% with a fixed price, for example per page. Discounts are becoming less common: 45% sometimes gave a discount in 2025, against 64% in 2023. The most common discount is 10%.

Sample sums: what does web copy cost?

What a page costs depends on how many hours the copywriter needs for research, writing and revisions. A short product page takes less time than a service page with keyword research. This is how to work it out at the most common rate of €85 per hour excl. VAT:

Always ask what the price includes. Is keyword research included? How many revision rounds do you get? Does the writer also put the copy online, with a good title and meta description? Want to know what SEO costs as a whole? Read what SEO costs.

What AI changes about web copy

AI is changing copywriters’ work fast. In 2024, 3% of Dutch copywriters saw a negative effect of AI on their revenue; in 2025 it was 18%, according to Tekstnet. At the same time almost 40% say AI brings different work, against 27% a year earlier. According to Google Search Central, Google rewards helpful content written for people, however it is made. AI copy without checks, own expertise and sources therefore adds little.

How visitors read your web copy

Visitors do not read, they scan. In the well-known study by Nielsen Norman Group, 79% of test users scanned every new page; only 16% read word by word. A concise version of the same text was 58% more usable, a scannable version with subheadings and bullets 47% more usable. The study dates from 1997, but the principle still stands.

Our research: what Google shows for “webteksten laten schrijven”

On 9 November 2026 we looked at the Dutch search results for “webteksten laten schrijven” (having website copy written) with DataForSEO. At the top is a Google AI answer, followed by 9 regular results. What stands out:

• 9 of 9: results are pages of parties that sell copywriting themselves.
• 2 of 9: show a price in the search result itself.
• 2 of 9: mention SEO in the title, although most web copy also needs to be found.

How to write good web copy in 4 steps

1. One goal per page

Choose one search question and one action per page. A page about having web copy written answers that question and leads to contact, not to five other services at once.

2. Answer first

Put the core in the first sentence. Visitors and AI search engines look for the answer at the top; the explanation and proof come after.

3. Make it scannable

Use subheadings, short paragraphs, bullets and bold keywords. That way the 79% who scan also find what they are looking for.

4. Proof and action

Show what you have achieved with figures and client results, and end with a clear button to contact. Our landing page checklist helps you check the whole page.

What it delivers

Good copy works best together with SEO and AEO (also called AI SEO) and conversion rate optimisation. Rug expertise centrum gained 40% more organic traffic with SEO and is mentioned 3.8 times more often in AI answers. Rug Expertise Shop went from under 2% to up to 8% conversion after a redesign, with 76% more profit.

“Good web copy does not start with nice sentences, it starts with your customer’s question. We put the answer at the top, make the page easy to scan and then measure whether visitors actually get in touch. AI helps us work faster, but a human checks every text.”

Annefleur van Osta

Online marketing strategist at Game-changers

Write it yourself, hire a freelancer or an agency?

At Game-changers AI content creation starts from €500 per month excl. VAT, for which we work at least 4 hours per month for you. Data and tracking is included as standard. There is no set-up fee. Request a free analysis. Combine it with SEO and AEO and it becomes cheaper. Still unsure whether to do it yourself? Read more about outsourcing marketing.

Frequently asked questions about website copywriting

What does a copywriter cost in the Netherlands?

A self-employed Dutch copywriter usually charges €85 per hour excl. VAT; that is the most common rate in 2025 according to Tekstnet. The average is €83.37. Many copywriters also work with project or page prices.

What is a copywriter’s hourly rate?

The most common hourly rate of self-employed Dutch copywriters is €85 excl. VAT, unchanged since 2023. Of the copywriters, 79% have several hourly rates, for example for large or long-running jobs.

What does web copy cost per page?

That depends on the time needed. At €85 per hour excl. VAT a 2-hour page costs €170 and a 4-hour page with keyword research €340. Always ask what the price includes.

What is web copy?

Web copy is text written specifically for a website, such as a homepage, service page or product description. It is short, scannable and written for both visitors and search engines.

What is SEO copy?

SEO copy is web copy written so that it is easily found in Google and AI search engines. It answers a search question, uses the searcher’s words and has a good title and meta description.

How do you write SEO copy?

Start with your customer’s search question and give the answer in the first sentence. Use the keywords naturally in headings and text, make the page scannable and link to other relevant pages on your site.

What does an SEO copywriter do?

An SEO copywriter writes copy that both convinces visitors and ranks well in search engines. They often also do keyword research and write the page title and meta description.

How do you write good web copy?

Choose one goal per page, put the answer at the top and make the text scannable with subheadings and bullets. End with proof, such as figures or client results, and a clear button to contact.

How long should web copy be?

As long as needed to answer your visitor’s question properly. Google has no preference for a particular word count. A product page can be short, an explanation of costs is usually longer.

What should web copy contain?

A clear headline, the answer to the visitor’s question, the benefits for the customer, proof and a next step. For Google it also needs a good title and meta description.

Which copywriter do I need?

That depends on your goal. For copy that needs to be found, choose someone with SEO knowledge. If you want copy to bring in leads too, choose someone who also measures what the page does.

Why have web copy rewritten?

Because old copy often no longer matches what customers search for or how they read. Rewriting can bring more visitors from Google and turn more visitors into customers.

Can you have web copy written with AI?

Yes, but always have a specialist check facts, tone and SEO. Google rewards helpful content for people however it is made; AI copy without own expertise adds little.

What else is a copywriter called?

A copywriter is also called a content writer or, when the focus is on search engines, an SEO copywriter. The terms are used interchangeably; look mainly at the work someone has done before.

What is the difference between a copywriter and a content writer?

In practice there is little difference. A copywriter often focuses more on persuasive copy such as ads and slogans, a content writer also on informative copy such as web pages and articles.

What does having web copy written cost at Game-changers?

From €500 per month excl. VAT, with at least 4 hours of work per month and data and tracking included as standard. There is no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.

Sources

Tekstnet, Rates Monitor 2025 (Dutch)

January 2026, viewed 9 November 2026

Tekstnet, What does a copywriter earn? (Dutch)

12 February 2026

Freelance.nl, Freelance hourly rates in 2025 (Dutch)

2025, viewed 9 November 2026

Nielsen Norman Group, How Users Read on the Web

30 September 1997

Google Search Central, Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content

viewed 9 November 2026

DataForSEO SERP API, own measurement Google Netherlands

9 November 2026

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Dutch search volume

9 November 2026