UK CV writing services range from roughly £75 for a basic rewrite to over £549 for an executive package. The price gap is huge and the marketing makes it hard to tell what you are actually buying. Here is the real picture, with a table you can scan in 20 seconds.
We checked the public pricing for seven UK CV services in June 2026. TopCV and StandOut CV publish full price lists. The rest require a quote or bury pricing behind contact forms, so those figures are approximate based on commonly quoted rates. All prices are one-off unless noted. Sausage Dog is included at the bottom for completeness. We are a CV tailoring tool, not a writing service, and the trade-offs are different.
UK CV writing service prices, 2026
| Service | Entry | Mid | Executive | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TopCV (UK) | £99 | £159 | £549 | 5 to 7 days |
| StandOut CV | £2.70 / 14 days | £16.95 / 4 wks | £74.95 / year | Self-serve |
| Purple CV | ~£150 | ~£250 | ~£500+ | 5 to 7 days |
| The CV House | ~£99 | ~£199 | ~£399 | 5 to 10 days |
| CV Knowhow | ~£75 | ~£165 | ~£295 | 7 to 10 days |
| CV Wow | ~£79 | ~£169 | ~£249 | 5 to 7 days |
| Sausage Dog | £0 | £9.99 / month | £9.99 / month | Under 60 seconds |
TopCV and StandOut CV prices verified from public pages, June 2026. Prices marked ~ are approximate (services do not publish full price lists publicly). Add-ons (LinkedIn rewrite, cover letter, expedited turnaround) typically add £50 to £150.
What each tier actually buys you
Entry (£75 to £179)
A template-led rewrite. A writer takes your existing CV, runs it through a house template, tightens the bullet points, and returns a polished version. Most services at this tier do not customise per role. You get a generic strong CV that you then tailor yourself per advert. Good for people who have a poorly structured first draft and need a clean restart.
Mid (£165 to £289)
Adds an intake call or detailed questionnaire, more rounds of revision, a cover letter template, and usually one round of LinkedIn rewriting. This is the most common tier UK candidates buy. Worth it if you are mid-career and your CV genuinely needs restructuring (long tenure at one employer, sector switch, returning to work after a break).
Executive (£295 to £600 plus)
Senior-tier wording, longer narrative, board-level framing, leadership-impact language. Most include LinkedIn, cover letter, sometimes interview prep notes. For roles at £60k plus, the maths usually justifies it. Below that, the gap between mid-tier and executive output is harder to see in a blind read.
Where the value drops off
One-off services have a quiet problem: a CV is only good for one job application. The moment you apply for a second role with different requirements, the carefully written CV is back to being generic. The most common pattern we hear from people who paid £150 plus is they used the new CV for 5 to 10 applications and then stopped tailoring because rewriting felt like undoing expensive work.
The honest decision tree:
- Your CV structure is broken. A one-off service is genuinely useful. Pick a mid-tier service (£150 to £250), use the output as your master CV, then tailor per application yourself.
- You are applying to lots of different roles. A tailoring tool is better value. Most monthly tools cost less than one mid-tier rewrite and re-tailor per advert.
- You are senior (£60k+) or in a niche sector. An executive service pays back the fastest. Wording at that level genuinely changes who reads the CV.
What none of these services include
Three things UK CV services rarely flag:
- ATS compatibility audits. Most templates are visually appealing but use multi-column layouts that confuse applicant tracking systems. Ask before you pay.
- Role-specific keyword research. A CV writer cannot know the 200 most common phrases in UK plumber adverts or NHS Band 6 job descriptions. The output uses generic professional language. We read 131 UK plumber adverts and the most-screened phrases were not what writers default to.
- Updates as your job changes. The CV writer disappears after delivery. Six months later when you take on a new responsibility, you are back to editing yourself.
Sausage Dog is £9.99 per month. It takes your existing CV and re-tailors it for every job advert you paste in. The free tier covers 3 tailors per day.
Try Sausage Dog freeHow to choose
Three questions:
- Is your CV structurally broken, or just generic? Structural problems benefit from a human writer. Generic problems benefit from a tailoring tool.
- Are you applying to one role type, or many? One role type fits a one-off service. Many types need re-tailoring.
- Is the role above or below £50k? Above, executive services pay back. Below, the gap closes fast.
If you only remember one thing: the headline price is rarely what you end up paying. Cover letters, LinkedIn, expedited turnarounds, and add-ons typically push a £150 quote to £250 to £300 at checkout. Read the upsells before you click buy.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a professional CV writer cost in the UK?
Most UK CV writing services charge between £99 and £499 for a one-off CV rewrite. Entry-level services start around £75 and £99. Mid-tier sits at £150 to £250. Executive and senior packages reach £400 to £600 plus.
Are UK CV writing services worth the money?
For senior or career-change CVs where the wording is the bottleneck, a one-off £150 to £250 service can pay back in a single interview. For everyday job searches where you need to tailor the same CV to dozens of adverts, a tool that re-tailors per role is usually better value.
What is the cheapest way to get a good UK CV?
A free template plus careful self-editing is the cheapest. Next is a CV tailoring tool at around £10 per month, which keeps the CV editable and re-tailors it per job. Paid one-off services start at £75 and rise quickly.
Do UK CV writing services guarantee interviews?
Most do not. A handful offer a rewrite if you do not get an interview within 30 to 60 days, but the bar for triggering that guarantee is usually high. No service can guarantee interviews because that depends on the role, the market, and competing applicants.
How long does a CV writing service take?
Most UK services quote 5 to 10 working days from intake to first draft. Expedited turnarounds of 48 to 72 hours typically cost £50 to £100 more.