A prenup costs $599 on an online platform (about $649 with e-signature and notarization), $1,000-$3,000 as an attorney flat fee for a simple agreement, and $5,000-$20,000+ when a business or family money is in play — a family-law survey puts the average attorney-drafted prenup near $8,000 per couple. The line most quotes skip: the other spouse's independent review, commonly $500-$1,500.
Not legal advice. This guide prices a legal service from published rates and surveys. Whether a prenup fits your situation — and whether it would hold up where you live — is a question for a family law attorney in your state.
Prenup pricing is really three markets stacked on top of each other. Knowing which one you're in explains almost every quote you'll collect.
| Path | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Online platform (self-guided) | $649 | $599 base + $50 notarization |
| Online + attorney review, both partners | $2,247 | $1,649-$3,649 |
| Attorney flat fee — simple | $2,000 | $1,000-$3,000 |
| Attorney flat fee — moderate | $4,000 | $2,500-$6,000 |
| Attorney flat fee — complex | $8,000 | $5,000-$20,000+ |
| Attorney hourly | $300/hr | $150-$500/hr |
HelloPrenup anchors the online lane: $599 per couple, $50 for e-signature and notarization, $799 per partner for attorney review, and $2,197 for full attorney representation through the platform. Traditional attorneys anchor the rest, at $150-$500 an hour or flat fees scaled to complexity. Both markets are bidding on the same searches, which is why comparison content dominates the SERP.
Complexity, roughly in this order:
A two-income couple renting an apartment with no business and no trust money sits in the simple band. Every box you tick moves you one band up. A moderate case — say, a rental property plus spousal support terms — prices at about $4,000 typical from a flat-fee attorney, plus $799 for the other spouse's review: $4,799 all-in, with an honest range of $3,000-$7,500.
Tick what the prenup covers, pick a path, and see low, typical, and high totals — with a postnup mode included.
Open the Prenup Cost Calculator →Most states don't strictly require independent counsel for a prenup to be valid, but many weigh it heavily when a spousal-support waiver is involved, and nearly every family lawyer recommends it. Practically, the drafting attorney works for one spouse; the other spouse hires a review attorney, commonly at a flat $500-$1,500 or hourly. That's why real totals run about double the headline quote: the $2,000 flat fee becomes $2,800 once the other side is represented. Skipping the review saves $799 on a platform prenup and gives a future challenger its easiest argument.
Prenups get challenged on process more than substance. The recurring vulnerabilities: incomplete financial disclosure, signing under deadline pressure (wedding-week signings are a cliché for a reason), and terms a judge reads as unconscionable. Some states codify timing — California gives parties at least seven calendar days between receiving the agreement and signing. A majority of states follow the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act or its 2012 revision; the rest apply their own case law. The takeaway for budgeting: paying for unhurried process is part of what makes the document durable.
Same document category, negotiated after the wedding instead of before. Postnups are commonly quoted at or above prenup rates — the drafting is similar, but finances are already commingled, which adds negotiation time. If you're pricing both, run the same complexity checklist and add a premium at the typical-to-high end.
A $649 online prenup costs less than most wedding cakes; a $4,799 attorney prenup costs about a mid-tier photography package. For the money questions that surround it, the engagement ring budget calculator handles the ring, and if you're stress-testing the other side of the ledger, the divorce cost calculator and alimony calculator price what a prenup is often designed to contain.
Online platforms charge $599 per couple flat (about $649 with e-signature and notarization), with full attorney representation through the platform at $2,197. Attorney flat fees run $1,000-$3,000 for simple agreements, $2,500-$6,000 at moderate complexity, and $5,000-$20,000+ for complex ones; a family-law survey puts the average attorney-drafted prenup near $8,000 per couple. Hourly billing runs $150-$500 an hour depending on market.
Different products. Online prenups are genuine state-specific legal documents and cost a fraction of attorney fees, but enforceability turns on voluntariness, full financial disclosure, and fairness — and an agreement neither spouse had reviewed by independent counsel is easier to challenge. Platforms sell attorney review at $799 per partner for this reason. If a business, equity compensation, trusts, or contested terms are involved, attorney-drafted is the safer money.
Disclosure and negotiation, not the paperwork. Both sides document assets, debts, and income; attorneys negotiate terms; revisions follow. Business valuations and stock-option schedules add hours fast, which is why complex prenups reach $5,000-$20,000+. The other spouse's independent review commonly runs $500-$1,500 on top of the drafting fee.
Postnups are commonly quoted at or above prenup rates. The legal work is similar, but postnups are negotiated after marriage, when finances are already commingled — that tends to add negotiation time rather than drafting time. Expect pricing in the same bands as prenups, with a premium at the typical-to-high end in most markets.
Yes, and the reasons are procedural more than substantive: incomplete financial disclosure, signs of pressure or rushed signing (California, for example, requires at least seven calendar days between presentation and signature), terms a judge finds unconscionable, and missing independent counsel where a state weighs it heavily. A majority of states follow the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act or its 2012 revision; the rest apply case law. This is general information, not legal advice.