Fixed fee vs hourly conveyancing: which actually costs less?

Fixed fee conveyancing is now the default for most residential transactions in the UK. Hourly billing still exists, mostly at traditional high street firms and for unusual matters, but the modern conveyancing market runs on fixed fees. Understanding the difference is the simplest way to avoid overpaying.

This guide explains how each model works, why fixed fee won the market, what a genuine fixed fee should include, and the warning signs that a quote will quietly grow once you sign the client care letter.

How hourly conveyancing billing used to work. Twenty years ago, almost every conveyancing solicitor in the UK billed by the hour. You instructed the firm, they opened a file, they recorded every six minute unit of work against your case, and a bill came at the end. Estimates were given at instruction stage but they were exactly that, estimates. A complex case could run an extra three or four hours of partner time at £250 to £400 an hour and add £1,000 to the bill. There was nothing dishonest about it. The work had been done. But the client carried the risk of every inefficiency.

Why the market moved to fixed fee conveyancing. Two things happened. First, the internet made it easy for buyers and sellers to compare conveyancing fees across firms in a way they could not before. Hourly estimates were unfavourable in those comparisons because the headline was open ended. A fixed fee firm could quote a single number that beat the estimate every time. Second, panel relationships with mortgage lenders and aggregator sites made fixed fee quoting a commercial requirement. Firms that wanted volume work needed to commit to a single number, in advance, that they could not raise later. The whole industry moved.

What fixed fee conveyancing means today. A genuine fixed fee is a single legal fee that the firm commits to in advance for the standard scope of work. The firm carries the inefficiency risk. If your case takes them ten hours, you pay the fixed fee. If it takes them thirty, you still pay the fixed fee. That is the whole point. Fixed fee firms therefore have a commercial incentive to run efficient cases, which usually means digital portals, standardised processes, and named conveyancers who manage their workload.

The standard scope a fixed fee should cover. A residential purchase fixed fee should include all of the following: - Opening the file and running anti money laundering checks - Reviewing the contract pack from the seller's solicitor - Reviewing title, leasehold documents where relevant, and searches - Raising pre contract enquiries and reviewing replies - Reviewing the mortgage offer and lender requirements - Acting for the mortgage lender alongside acting for you - Reporting to you with the report on title - Exchanging contracts and arranging completion - Filing the Stamp Duty return - Submitting the Land Registry application

Anything in the list above that a firm tries to charge as an extra is not a fixed fee. It is an hourly quote with a low headline number.

Disbursements are not extras. Worth saying clearly. Disbursements are third party costs the firm pays on your behalf, like search fees and Land Registry fees. A fixed fee quote shows these separately because they vary case by case. A firm that adds disbursements is not breaking its fixed fee. A firm that adds extra legal fees is.

Hourly billing has not disappeared. Some traditional firms still quote on an hourly basis for residential conveyancing, particularly in central London and in firms that also do contentious work. The clue is usually language like "estimated fees" or "based on partner time of around X hours". You can still use these firms perfectly safely, but you carry the cost of any inefficiency. If you choose hourly billing, ask for: - A written cap on total fees - A clear statement of the hourly rate for every person who might work on the file - A commitment to flag any approach to the cap before further work is done - A breakdown by activity rather than a single bill at the end

A cap protects you. Without one, hourly billing is open ended.

The warning signs of a fixed fee that is not really fixed. Online conveyancing quote comparisons are a minefield because the headline numbers are not directly comparable. Look for these red flags before instructing: - A "leasehold supplement" added only after you confirm the property is leasehold - A "Help to Buy supplement", "Shared Ownership supplement", or "newbuild supplement" not shown in the headline - Separate line items for "case management", "file maintenance", or "post completion handling" - A "Stamp Duty filing fee" charged as a separate legal fee line - An "anti money laundering surcharge" beyond a standard checking fee - Mention of "additional fees for complex transactions" without naming what counts as complex - A vague catch all clause about "fees may increase if the matter requires additional work"

Each of these is a sign that the headline number is the floor, not the total. A trustworthy fixed fee quote either names the supplements in advance or rolls them into one figure.

How fixed fee conveyancing affects the timeline. Fixed fee firms tend to be faster because their financial model rewards efficiency. The economics flip. An hourly firm has no commercial pressure to close a file quickly. A fixed fee firm has every commercial pressure to close it quickly. In practice this means faster turnaround on enquiries, faster file opening, and a lower rate of cases that stall in the middle.

The Home Panel goes further by preparing your file before instruction. Your solicitor receives a pack containing ID verification, searches ordered, and the standard pre contract questions ready to send the moment you instruct. This is only possible because every panel firm operates on fixed fees and an aligned process.

The total cost picture. When you compare conveyancing fees in the UK, total cost matters more than the headline figure. Add up: - Legal fee plus VAT - All disbursements - Any property specific supplements - Stamp Duty payable to HMRC

Compare two firms on the same property and the same circumstances. A fixed fee from a regulated panel firm with a slightly higher legal fee but no supplements often beats a low headline online conveyancing quote with five supplements added on instruction. Look at the total.

Should you ever pay hourly? Yes, in unusual cases. If your transaction is genuinely complex, for example a leasehold with a defective lease, a contested title, or a property in trust, the work is unpredictable and fixed fee firms will either refuse the case or set the fee high enough to cover the worst outcome. An hourly quote with a cap can be cheaper. For the vast majority of standard residential purchases and sales, fixed fee is the right model.

What The Home Panel offers. Every panel firm on The Home Panel offers a fixed fee committed at quote stage. The fee covers the standard scope above. Disbursements and Stamp Duty are shown but separate. Supplements are included in the headline figure where they apply to your specific case, not added later. You see the full picture in three minutes, not three weeks.

The short version. Fixed fee conveyancing is the simpler, faster, and usually cheaper model for a standard residential transaction in the UK. Hourly billing has a place for complex matters but is rare in residential work today. When comparing quotes, look at the total cost including supplements and disbursements, and only trust a fixed fee if the firm has named every item in writing. A clean fixed fee from a regulated firm is the right answer for almost every UK buyer or seller in 2026.