Last Updated on September 8, 2026
Two useful things are published in this sector and both are underused: what advice costs, from sources that disagree with each other, and what an enquiry costs, from one platform that publishes everything.
What advice costs, according to two sources that do not agree
| Item | Unbiased, updated 13 Aug 2026 | Which?, updated 10 Sep 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage of assets | 0.5 to 1 per cent, lower for larger assets | Initial advice averaging 2.4 per cent, attributed to the FCA |
| Ongoing | At least 1 per cent | 0.8 per cent a year, attributed to the FCA, or 1.9 per cent with underlying product and portfolio charges |
| Hourly rate | £100 to £350 | £30 to £250, averaging £196 in 2023, attributed to VouchedFor |
| Initial set-up, portfolio up to £100,000 | £2,000 to £3,000 | not stated |
| Defined benefit pension transfer | £8,550 | not stated |
| At-retirement advice, £500,000 pot | £6,700 | not stated |
| IHT planning, £1m estate | £8,995 | not stated |
| Investment ISA set-up, £20,000 | £995 | not stated |
Two cautions. The 2.4 per cent initial and 0.8 per cent ongoing figures are attributed to the FCA by Which?, and we did not open an FCA page publishing them, so cite them as Which?, citing the FCA. And the £8,550 defined benefit transfer fee is single-sourced; we found no second independent published UK figure.
The disagreement worth noticing is ongoing charges: at least 1 per cent against 0.8 per cent. On a £500,000 portfolio that is £1,000 a year of difference in what a prospective client thinks normal looks like.
The market is closing at the bottom
Which? publishes that 25 per cent of IFAs accept clients under £50,000, down from 53 per cent in 2019.
That is a significant shift and it argues strongly for publishing your minimum. A firm that does not state one spends time on enquiries it will decline, and turns away people who assumed they were too small when they were not.
It also explains why the platform-based routes below price by client asset band.
The one platform that publishes everything
VouchedFor publishes a full membership price list and a full enquiry rate card. This is unusual for the sector and makes it the only real benchmark available.
| Membership plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Verified, financial, mortgage or equity release adviser | £60 plus VAT monthly, or £720 plus VAT annually |
| Verified, protection-only adviser | £26 plus VAT monthly, or £312 annually |
| Verified, financial coach | £25 plus VAT monthly, or £300 annually |
| Kickstarter, adviser, up to 2 years | £30 plus VAT monthly |
| Verified Plus, adviser | £90 plus VAT monthly, or £1,080 annually |
| Elevation, firm level, per adviser | £45 plus VAT monthly |
| Unlimited | £96 plus VAT monthly, or £1,152 annually |
| Unlimited plus Verified Plus | £126 plus VAT monthly, or £1,512 annually |
And the cost per enquiry, effective 1 October 2026, excluding VAT, for Unlimited plan subscribers:
| Enquiry type | Any level | £50k plus | £100k plus | £250k plus | £500k plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial advice | £71 | £129 | £189 | £239 | £319 |
| Mortgage | £49 | £69 | £95 | £119 | £139 |
| Equity release | £49 | £69 | £95 | £119 | £139 |
| Insurance and protection | £75 at all levels |
That rate card is worth studying even if you never use the platform, because it is the clearest published statement of what an enquiry in this sector is worth. £319 for a £500,000-plus financial advice enquiry tells you what the market believes the conversion economics are.
Unbiased, by contrast, publishes no subscription or per-lead price. Its pro pricing page states that pricing is custom and scales with your firm’s growth, and the only figures published are additional location add-ons at £71 plus VAT for financial advisers, £61 for mortgage advisers and £65 for accountants and bookkeepers.
Beyond VouchedFor we found no independent lead generator publishing a rate card, and no UK financial services marketing agency publishing one either.
Doing the arithmetic once
Take the £189 enquiry at the £100,000-plus band. If one in five becomes a client, the acquisition cost is £945. If one in ten, £1,890.
Against Unbiased’s published initial set-up range of £2,000 to £3,000 for a portfolio up to £100,000, and an ongoing charge of around 1 per cent, that is a workable but not generous position, and it depends entirely on a conversion rate most firms do not measure.
Which is the actual recommendation here. Before buying enquiries at a published rate, know your own conversion from enquiry to client over the last twelve months. Without that number the rate card is just a price.
What to publish
- Your initial charge, as a percentage and as a pounds example.
- Your ongoing charge, and what it includes, annually.
- Your minimum: portfolio size, or minimum fee, or both.
- One worked example end to end for a named scenario.
- What is not included: product charges, platform fees, fund costs.
- How you charge if the recommendation is to do nothing.
The last one is the differentiator. Every prospective client wonders whether the advice will conveniently recommend a product, and almost no firm addresses it directly. A clear answer is worth more than another paragraph about whole of market.
Common questions
How much does financial advice cost in the UK?
Published sources disagree. Unbiased publishes 0.5 to 1 per cent of assets, ongoing of at least 1 per cent and hourly rates of £100 to £350. Which?, citing the FCA, publishes initial advice averaging 2.4 per cent and ongoing at 0.8 per cent a year, and citing VouchedFor, hourly rates of £30 to £250 averaging £196.
What does a financial advice lead cost?
VouchedFor publishes £71 for an enquiry at any asset level, rising to £129 at £50,000 plus, £189 at £100,000 plus, £239 at £250,000 plus and £319 at £500,000 plus, all excluding VAT and effective 1 October 2026. Unbiased publishes no subscription or per-lead price.
Should I publish a minimum?
Yes. Which? publishes that only 25 per cent of IFAs now accept clients under £50,000, down from 53 per cent in 2019, so the expectation is already there and stating it saves everyone a wasted conversation.
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