Want to know what people ask me about more than almost anything? Outsourcing content.
It’s a major pain point for lots of marketers, and it’s one of the most difficult hurdles to jump when you start to scale a site seriously.
For most people, one of the most crucially important things to get right when building a content machine is finding a reliable source for content that allows you to scale.
While we always recommend building a team of in-house or freelance writers, content writing services can pick up some of the slack. They’re not all as reliable as they used to be, but they can come in handy for some people. That’s why we tested and analyzed the best content writing services money can buy.
1 WordAgents
When it works, it works really well
You get a project manager
They can handle large orders
Some clients complain about content quality
Output still needs to be edited
Bad brief = bad content
WordAgents is one of the few content agencies where you can get a dedicated project manager without insane, corporate-level prices. It’s a true consulting firm — only on a smaller scale that is accessible to independent site builders (like us!).
Orders are custom, content is custom, and your project manager will handle all the management from start to finish. That does not mean you don’t have to do anything. You still must submit a good brief and communicate with your project manager. Especially if you want to get high quality content.
But it also means that when you get to know each other, the process becomes almost completely hands-off.
Content Quality
WordAgents provides, in my opinion, the highest content quality out of all options on this list. It doesn’t mean it’s perfect, though! At times, we’ve even had some iffy articles delivered by them. But their sample post was the best out of all the content writing services we tried.
And our community members echoed the same thing we’ve seen in our collabs with WordAgents: It’s one of the only content writing agency you can count on.
Sure, you’ll always have to edit what you get from them. And they’re terrible at creating catchy intros. But overall, not too shabby. They even included internal links and outgoing product recommendations to our favorite affiliates, and used Grammarly Pro to optimize the content.
Although, like all entries on this list, WordAgents doesn’t use Surfer SEO for you. You’ll either have to do that yourself or pay extra for it.
Process And Delivery Time
WordAgents’ process is pretty streamlined. You set up an account, create an order and fill in a template for your content request. From what we can tell, they work with professional writers and whip up blog content in record time.
It is a longer, more tiresome process than most other content writing services… but that can also be a good thing. Yes, you’re forced to fill out a spreadsheet template. But that provides crucial information to the writers, which guarantees you’ll get a decent article back.
They also have a guaranteed 7 days delivery time maximum time frame for 10,000 words. We ordered a trial piece for this article. And we got a 1,400 words piece delivered in just under three days. Better than your average content writing company turnaround time.
Pricing
WordAgents has a medium price, compared to all other content writing services. It’s $0.11 per word if you just get one article. But for bulk orders, the price can get even better. $0.081/word is a decent price point for 10,000 words. And it can get as cheap as $0.57/word for bigger orders.
What People Are Saying About Them
WordAgents had its fair share of bad publicity. Like all content writing services, they don’t get it right 100% of the time. That being said, people usually praise WordAgents.
And even if people complain, it’s still the go-to for most site owners. In a recent poll on our AH Pro group, WordAgents got the most votes as people’s go-to content writing service.
Our Experience With WordAgents
We’ve worked with WordAgents a lot throughout the years. And we even ordered a trial piece while writing this article, so we can give you an informed take on their services.
You’ll catch the odd grammar mistake and find things you’ll want to reword. Nothing you can’t fix with Grammarly. And I think that’s a reasonable expectation when outsourcing your content writing.
For the most part, I think WordAgents offers the best content writing services. With a few revisions and a thorough check on your end, the content should be publish-ready in most cases. Some of that is even included in their offer – WordAgents gives you 3 days to order revisions on each submitted article. They then take 3 days to implement these revisions and send the article back to you. If you still don’t like it, you can order another round of revisions free of charge.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for the best content writing services, WordAgents is up a good pick. They have professional writers, a good turnaround, and helpful project managers.
You might have to edit their output a little bit, we think it’s worth the money.
2 IWriter
Super speedy
Simple order process
Adaptable standard for the price
BIG difference between quality levels
Sometimes fluffy or spammy
iWriter is a marketplace with a long history in the market. But that history is not always good. While it can help you find writers, the quality of the content writing services can vary
If you write a good brief, you can get decent content writing. Spinning and plagiarism are also much less of a problem than they used to be. But is iWriter still one of the best content writing services?
Content Quality
We used IWriter’s most expensive tier to test its content quality. And the sample wasn’t extraordinary. It had its moments – for example, it had decent internal links to other content on our site. It shows that the writer took time researching our platform, the niche, etc.
And it also had some good topic research.
But it also had A LOT of fluff.
And for 0.07 cents a word, that doesn’t cut it for us. iWriter could still be a good choice if you’re willing to order in bulk, as their rates get much better with a ton of content. But expect to do some heavy editing.
Process And Delivery Time
iWriter’s process and delivery time for blog articles saves it somewhat. Say what you will about their content writing services, at least they’re fast. You even get an outline to show you which stage your requested content is in.
iWriter is a big marketplace of content writers, so you usually get someone in charge of your order fast.
Pricing
I’m hesitant to call iWriter is one of the best content writing services on the market. That says a lot about the state of content writing agencies, seeing as we’re only at the second entry on our list.
What I can confidently say is that iWriter is one of the cheapest content writing companies. You can pay $46.50 dollars for 6,000 words with their standard plan. This comes down to less than 1 cent per word. But you can’t expect high quality at that price range. Honestly, you can’t expect any quality at that price range. It’s most likely 100% AI content.
You’ll need at least their Elite content plan if you want decent content. But don’t worry, that one is pretty affordable too. It can be as cheap as 2 cents per word or even less.
Its Elite Plus plan is more expensive, costing you 5-8 cents per word (depending on how much content you need). But it’s the best choice if you want to work with iWriter. I still wouldn’t call it high-quality content. But at least it was written by content writers, not an AI.
What People Are Saying About Them
iWriter has its fair share of unsatisfied fans out there. And allegations of AI Writing are more substantiated here (you can’t expect the best content writing services for less than 1 cent per word).
Reddit is not a big fan of it, either. Especially for content writers. Not really the warmest welcome from the online world.
Our Experience With IWriter
The Elite Plus article we got from IWriter was decent. What you would expect for the 6.4 cents/word that we paid. Sure, it needed some work. I didn’t like the intro, and there were some fluffy sections and grammar mistakes.
But except for Word Agents, that’s pretty much a problem with all content writing services. This means that iWriter is a good choice if you want speedy and cheap content. Just be prepared for poor quality content.
Conclusion
You can use iWriter for guest posts. It’s the best place to get acceptable content as fast as possible (and speed matters in outreach). Just don’t expect professional content writing services.
3 SEOButler
Pretty decent quality
All-in-one service
Native English speakers-based
Not the best turnaround time
Can’t establish a relationship with a writer
SEOButler is an all-in-one SEO growth service for sites and online businesses. They can get you content, social signals, and even guest posts. For this list we’ll only look at their content writing service.
Content Quality
SEOButler is a high-end agency. So their content quality is decent. But it’s not the best. A lot of it is fluffy. Check out the sample post here to see for yourself.
I’m not sure it’s the best pick for SEO. For starters, their pricing plan is a bit weird – they’ll price articles differently based on formatting, even if the amount of research/information is the same.
After ordering content from SEOButler, they got back with us saying they can’t process our article because it falls under a different category.
We chose not to pay more since we wanted to compare the results we get from different content creation services in the same price range.
But their approach is interesting. Having to send your own list of products helps you pick the ones you like, and work with the affiliate programs you want. On the other hand, you have to do some extra work to send this list. If that’s a good tradeoff for you, SEOButler might be a great content writing service.
And while the writing itself was engaging, it failed to go beyond general statements about dogs, instead of specific information about the breed nutrition guide we ordered. Not to mention, paying an extra 3.5 cents per word (on top of the already steep 10 cents per word starting price) to optimize content with Surfer – I don’t know if it’s worth it.
Process And Delivery Time
It’s really easy to order content through SEOButler. And for the most part, you’ll get a well-written article back in a few days.
However, we’ve had hiccups in our collaboration with the content writing agency. And I think it mostly boils down to a lack of clarity on their part – It’s not really evident what each content category entails.
To be fair, though, this should only be a problem the first few times ordering content from SEOButler. If you’re looking for a long-term partnership, you’ll learn the ropes and make it work without any hassle.
Pricing
Each different type of content you can get through SEOButler has its own pricing tier.
Website content, blog posts, product descriptions, and guest posts will set you back 0.07$/word. Reviews, buyers guides, and anything else cost you $0.10/word. Content optimized with SurferSEO will set you back $0.135/word.
That’s a bit of a high markup for using SurferSEO. Especially if they just fill in the keywords after the fact, not use it as an integral part of the writing process. All in all, SEOButler has an above-average price. And we’re not sure if it’s worth it.
What People Are Saying About Them
SEOButler has a pretty good reputation online. Reviews praise them, and we’ve seen mixed to positive comments about SEOButler in online discussions.
They’re not our go-to service. And our community doesn’t have too much experience with them either. You make the most of SEOButler when you order the whole package (writing, social media posts, content strategy, social signals, backlinks, web pages). But since we mostly take care of that in-house, we couldn’t try the whole range of SEOButler content marketing services.
Our Experience With SEOButler
I like SEOButler’s writing style. And honestly, it was one of the few samples I enjoyed going through. But the fluff, weird pricing, and expensive SEO optimization all make it a bad choice, at least for a blog.
Conclusion
SEOButler is a content writing agency that won’t charge you 5 figures for decent blog posts.
But it is pretty expensive. And unless you’re buying the highest tiers, you’re not getting competitive content for the SERP.
4 TextBroker
Large pool of writers
Easy submission process
Automatic Copyscape
No deadline guarantees
Content quality is hit-or-miss
Hard to coordinate with a specific writer
TextBroker is a content marketplace, which means you submit your article request to a pool of writers, and any writer who meets your qualifications can pick it up. We used to be big fans of TextBroker. For the longest time, it was actually this roundup’s top pick. But things changed a bit. Let’s see why.
Content Quality
The content you get from TextBroker is never outright bad… but the quality is inconsistent.
Anyone can pick up your content through TextBroker, so you never know exactly what writer you’ll be dealing with. There are some amazing writers on the platform. And sometimes, the content can be excellent. This is echoed by our AH Pro group, which voted for TextBroker as their second choice for the best content writing services:
But it’s a hit-or-miss, really. On top, the type of content you order will impact the quality of what you get back. if you buy their 2 cents-per-word package, don’t expect publish-ready orders.
Process And Delivery Time
TextBroker is a marketplace, so the submission process is essentially just choosing a quality level, uploading instructions, and waiting for a first draft. But honestly, it’s TextBroker’s biggest drawback. Here’s what you have to do to order content through TextBroker:
First, you pick an order type from the main dashboard:
If you want to work with a specific writer/team of writers, you can use their DirectOrder and TeamOrder packages, which is helpful.
After you choose an order type and value, you can fill in the brief about your article. And then wait for a first draft.
Just make sure you remember your account password. TextBroker has the most annoying logging system. You can only sign in through Gmail once. After that, you’ll need to input your credentials manually.
Curious about other problems with their platform? You can only pay through PayPal.
I know this may sound nit-picky, but it’s a real hassle to be limited in how you can pay. Especially if you want to order content as a company. And especially since you don’t know about this until you’ve filled out an order request.
Their delivery time can be good, but unless you’re buying their managed service (which takes care of your entire blog for at least $2,500/month) you don’t get deadline guarantees.
TextBroker could have the best content writing services on the market. Even then, the process would really hold it back.
Pricing
If you’re not picky about content quality, you can get their 3 stars, 2.3 cents/word package. But we don’t recommend that. You should at least get the 4-star package, which is 3.3-3.5 cents/word.
And if you want guaranteed high-quality, their 5-star plan will give you (supposedly) publish-ready content. But it’s going to cost you 9 cents/word.
You can also buy their managed service upsell if you want a set-it-and-forget-it model. For a minimum of $2,500/month, TextBroker will set up a team to care for your entire content needs.
What People Are Saying About Them
Like WordAgents (and all the other content creation services), some people online aren’t happy with TextBroker. In fact, some claim TextBroker content is just embellished AI writing.
And that might be true. Considering the vast amount of writers and the low price for their 4-star content, it’s possible that AI writing makes its way into your orders. But by and large, TextBroker doesn’t seem too far off from your average content creation service.
Our Experience With TextBroker
Bar from the hassle of using their platform, we’ve had good experiences with TextBroker.
In fact, when we first wrote this article and field-tested content writing services, TextBroker had the fastest turnaround time, the best quality, and all for one of the lowest prices on the market. So you can get lucky. But it’s not a guarantee.
Conclusion
TextBroker is best for large orders of highly systemized content that you don’t mind editing. What’s that mean? Large orders of similar articles that all have the same structure and for which you have a really, really good brief. Other than that, maybe try a different content creation service.
5 Verblio
A strong team of writers
When it works, it works well
Fast turnaround time
Upsells can eat at your wallet really fast
Pretty expensive to get started
Verblio is a network of writers focused on speed in delivery, as well as high-quality content. It really looks like the perfect package from the outside. Especially when you consider its quality guarantees and its outstanding pool of writers. However, all of this doesn’t come cheap.
Content Quality
The content you get from Verblio is high-quality. It’s all thanks to its valuable team of writers.
For some topics, you might even get actual authorities in that market to do the writing for you. If you pay extra, you also get images added and plenty of other bells and whistles.
If you don’t want to spend too much time editing work from a content service, Verblio’s a good pick.
Process And Delivery Time
Verblio has its own platform where customers sign in and submit content requests. The relevant writers can then pick up that content request and get articles back to the buyer. The process is streamlined. And it’s pretty fast, even if there are no deadline guarantees.
You can also pay to get Verblio’s managed service. This will help you more with onboarding, and setting up a content pipeline.
Pricing
Verblio is one of the more expensive content creation services. Verblio content will cost you an average of 0.11$/word, which is much higher than most content creation services.
Not to mention, good Verblio content can get more expensive than that. $0.11/word is the standard fee for a 1,000 words article. Sure, it can also be cheaper if you order a lot of content. But overall, an expensive service.
What People Are Saying About Them
Like all content creation services, you will find unhappy Verblio customers. It’s hard to operate a big service like that and don’t drop the ball on occasion. But compared to all other entries on this list, Verblio seems to have much fewer unhappy customers. Most people give it a positive review.
Conclusion
Verblio is pretty expensive. So it’s not suitable for new sites or bootstrapping online businesses.
If you can afford it, Verblio offers an optimized content workflow, a consistent stream of high-quality articles, and an overall well-rounded service.
6 WriterAccess
Good at helping you connect with writers
Direct access to writers
Strict collaboration guidelines
Can miss the mark sometimes
Writer Access might be the right network for you if you struggle to find writers that understand your niche, your needs, and your company tone.
Content Quality
Writer Access is not a premium content creation service. In fact, it’s adaptable to your budget, so you can find cheaper options on the network. But that also means content quality is not consistent.
With its AI and advanced search filtering options, you’re supposed to find the perfect fit for your content needs. So, in theory, you can find the perfect fit. But in practice, you need to get lucky. There just aren’t enough good writers on the platform to satisfy everyone’s needs.
Process And Delivery Time
Writer Access isn’t as focused on the writing process itself. Rather, it focuses on helping you find the perfect writer for your site. Someone that has experience writing in your niche, an affordable asking price, and easy to browse portfolio. You’ll have to negotiate all other details with the writer you find.
Pricing
What you see above is the price for just using WriterAccess. It includes searching and content management features. But it doesn’t include any content at all. The price of that is adaptable, depending on what you negotiate with the writer you find.
What People Are Saying About Them
Writer Access is not as well-liked on the net as something like Verblio. There are a lot of people complaining about the pool of writers, as well as WriterAccess itself. So the view on this tool is definitely mixed. But the people who found a good writer on the site praise it.
Conclusion
If you struggle to find the best writer for your site and you want an affordable content creation service, you can give WriterAccess a shot. They even have a 14-day free trial:
7 Content Cucumber
Responsive writers
Above-average content quality
Native English speakers
Clunky project management system
A bit expensive
ContentCucumber is a content writing agency helping established businesses improve their inbound marketing. Like Verblio, it’s a decent service. But it’s pretty expensive.
Content Quality
Content Cucumber offers a pretty decent content quality. But that’s in part because it also costs above the average. So sure, you won’t be disappointed by the articles you get. But they’re only a viable choice if you can afford the service.
Process And Delivery Time
When you sign-up for ContentCucumber, you get a specific writer to assist you and produce content for you in the upcoming month (or months if you like what you get). If you don’t like what you get, you have a 14-days refund guarantee. And a lightning-fast turnaround time.
Pricing
ContentCucumber has a flat monthly fee, for which you get a preset amount of words.
You can choose the Fun Size plan, which is capped at 4,000 words a month, or the On Demand plan, which will get you 8,000 words each month. Both of these plans have a dedicated writer and editor, images, and revisions.
Depending on the plan you choose, as well as the period you want to pay for (monthly, quarterly, or annually) you can pay anywhere in between $479-$950/month. This comes down to $0.09-0.15 per word. And it’s a bit above the market average.
What People Are Saying About Them
Content Cucumber is not as popular as some of the other entries on this list, so there isn’t a huge pool of opinions and reviews you can find online. However, the few discussions we did find generally put ContentCucumber in a good light.
Conclusion
ContentCucumber is a great choice for established businesses that want to make their move in the SEO and inbound marketing scene. However, it’s probably not the best content creation service if you want something cheaper, or if you’re just starting an affiliate site.
8 HothBlogger
Great service all around
Content can be pretty good
Low-maintenance process
Can get a bit expensive
We don’t have the best experience with them
We haven’t heard the best things about HothBlogger. From our experience, they’re REALLY good at marketing their own service. But the service itself is not the best. And that’s why they’re lower on our list.
Content Quality
HothBlogger’s output is not the worst on the planet. You can even get good content at times. The only problem is that it’s inconsistent. And in our view, the good content doesn’t make up for all the fluff you can expect.
Process And Delivery Time
The biggest perk of using HothBlogger is the managed blog service.
You give Hoth details about your content needs, settle on a plan, and then your blog is no longer your worry. If you value (and can afford) such a low-maintenance system, HothBlogger can be appealing. But then again, plenty of better agencies have their own managed service.
Pricing
HothBlogger’s pricing is extremely varied. It depends on the number of posts you want, the total amount of words, and what extra services you need. For blog posts, the pricing is pretty high, costing you $0.12-0.13/word.
For a single 1,500-word post, you’ll pay $190, which is $0.12/word. If you order 10 2,000 words posts, you’ll pay $2,600, which is $0.13/word. This makes HothBlogger one of the most expensive content creation services.
What People Are Saying About Them
HothBlogger has a pretty good reputation online. It’s one of the longest-lasting and most popular content creation (as well as link building) services online. So you’ll find a lot of happy customers if you browse online discussions.
There’s the odd disgruntled user here and there, but overall, the online world praises HothBlogger.
Conclusion
HothBlogger can get you decent articles. But they’ll cost you a lot. And you don’t have much in the way of quality assurance. If their marketing convinced you, though, you can get started today:
9 Content Development Pros
Very good pricing
A varied collection of content types
Quick turnaround time
Content is not high-quality
Mixed reputation online
Content Development Pros has varied content types and very cheap rates. If you’re not too picky about the content quality, and you need a lot of writing done fast, it can be a viable choice.
Content Quality
For $0,02/word, you can’t expect high quality. Considering how cheap it is, it’s very likely that the articles you’d get from Content Development Pros are AI-generated. So expect some inaccuracies and a lot of fluff.
Process And Delivery Time
Content Development Pros’ content pipeline is not too different from anything else you’ve seen on this list. They have a straightforward process and a very quick turnaround time. If you’re willing to put up with their outdated design, you’ll get plenty of articles in no time.
Pricing
If you work with Content Development Pros, you’ll pay for each page they write. For blog posts, it’s $11.95/page, which comes down to around $0.02/word. But it can get even cheaper. For example, eBooks only cost $9.95 per page.
What People Are Saying About Them
Content Development Pros have a mixed reputation online. You’ll find roundups and reviews that praise them without much second thought. But you’ll also find a lot of unhappy customers. I guess it depends on the expectation people have for $0.02 per word.
Conclusion
Content Development Pros has a lot of content types on offer. They can write blog posts, eBooks and even web copy. It’s dirt cheap too. Just don’t expect publish-ready content.
Should I Work With A Content Writing Agency?
Most likely not. You can find things to praise about most entries on this list. And in some cases, working with an agency can make financial sense.
But most likely… you’ll be better off hiring your own writers. They’re a bit more work in the beginning. But long term, there’s no better choice you can make. By hiring your own writers, you get:
- Cheaper rates for better content
- Consistent quality
- More control over editorial processes
- An involved writer that, when rewarded properly, has a vested interest in helping your company grow
Our group members agree:
Still think you can make it work with an agency? Ok, then let’s talk about finding the best agency for you.
How Did We Choose The Content Services Above?
No agency is perfect.
So in this article, we wanted to see which agency has the least drawbacks. For me, that means an agency that:
- Is easy and scalable;
- Is relatively cheap ($/article);
- Provides quality content; and
- Does well with suboptimal article briefs
Here’s another important thing to remember: Anyone reviewing content agencies might get preferential treatment. So it’s really useless to throw thousands of dollars at sample posts. We did that too, sure. But we can’t know if the samples we got are representative of what YOU might get.
So we tried to focus more on what people say about these content writing services. It’s more indicative of consistent quality than any sample we can commission.
Other Content Agencies You Can Try
If you aren’t happy with either of our picks, don’t worry. There’s no shortage of content agencies in the world. We just included the ones we had the most success with or the ones people usually recommend.
Here are a few more you can try:
Wrapping it up….
Content creation services are not the best investment from where we’re standing. You’d be much happier to find a few writers, train them over time, and create a stable content pipeline like that.
If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry. We have complete training on how to set up an editorial team, all the processes you need to master, and how to take your writers to the next level. Check it out here.
But if you need an agency for its improved scalability or low price, WordAgents is probably your best pick.
