Should Financial Planners Publish Fees Online? A Pricing Transparency Guide

12 September 2026·5 min read

Quick answer: Mostly, yes — publishing an indicative starting price or fee range online tends to attract better-fit enquiries and filter out people who were never going to be a client, and it's increasingly what prospects expect before they'll pick up the phone. This is a marketing decision about what you show publicly, separate from your existing Fee Disclosure Statement obligations, which don't go away just because a number is on your website. Below is a decision framework, a copy formula, and three real-world setups. 📈

"Contact us for a quote" has quietly become the line that makes a prospect close the tab and try your competitor instead — most people now expect at least a ballpark before they'll spend twenty minutes filling in an enquiry form. The question isn't really "can we show a number," it's "what number, framed how, without it becoming a promise we can't keep." 💖

Please note: general information, not legal advice — check current official guidance before relying on it.

What most financial planning practices get wrong about pricing pages

Treating "publish fees" as all-or-nothing — it's not full price list vs. total silence; an indicative starting point covers most of the benefit.
Confusing marketing transparency with formal disclosure — showing an indicative price is a website decision; your Fee Disclosure Statement obligations are a separate, existing area with their own rules.
Assuming transparency scares clients off — in practice it's the opposite; vague "it depends" pages are what make people nervous.
Worrying a number "locks you in" — a well-worded indicative range is not a fixed quote, and can be framed that way.
Copying a competitor's exact structure — commission-based, fee-for-service and hybrid practices need genuinely different framing.

A decision framework, and a copy formula that won't over-promise

Start with the framework: is your fee structure simple enough to summarise in one sentence, would showing a number filter out a meaningful chunk of your current unqualified enquiries, and is your compliance team comfortable with the word "indicative" doing some load-bearing work? If all three land on yes, publish a range. If your model genuinely varies too much to summarise honestly, publish a starting point instead of nothing.

[Service] typically starts from [indicative figure or range], depending on [the main variable — complexity, ongoing vs one-off, product type]. Your exact [fee/cost] is confirmed in writing before we do any work, as part of [your formal disclosure step]. [One line inviting the enquiry].

That formula does three jobs at once: it gives a real anchor number, it explains why the number might move, and it points to the formal, written confirmation that actually governs what the client pays — which is where your existing disclosure obligations do their job, not the website.

Three fee models, three ways to say it

Fee-for-service financial planning practice: "Comprehensive advice plans typically start from $2,500, depending on the complexity of your situation. Your exact fee is confirmed in writing before any work begins. Book a free 20-minute call for a personalised estimate." Publishing this cut their "just checking prices" calls noticeably and lifted enquiry quality.

Commission-based mortgage broking practice: Rather than a dollar figure, their page explains plainly that in most cases their service is paid for by the lender, not the client, and links to where the specifics are set out for each loan. Being upfront that there's usually no direct client cost removed a common hesitation before first contact.

Hybrid advice and insurance practice: Their page separates the two clearly: an indicative starting fee for ongoing advice, and a note that insurance products may also involve commission, disclosed as part of the formal advice process. Splitting the two out stopped clients assuming one model when a blend applied.

How to put a number on the page without over-promising

Use "starts from," "typically" or "indicative" rather than a flat figure whenever the real fee varies — these words aren't hedging, they're accurate. Pair the number with the one or two variables that actually move it, so the prospect can roughly self-assess before enquiring. Then link straight to a booking step, so the page's job stays "get a conversation started," not "be the final word on price" — that still belongs to your formal disclosure process.

💡 Heads up: Fee Disclosure Statements and related obligations are a real, existing regulated area with their own requirements — publishing an indicative price on your website doesn't replace them, satisfy them, or change them. Have your compliance team review any pricing page before it goes live, and check current requirements rather than assuming a marketing page is covered by general advice like this.

Mistakes that undo a good pricing page

Publishing a figure that's rarely the real one — a "from" price most clients actually pay double for erodes trust fast once they get a real quote.
Skipping compliance review because "it's just marketing copy" — a pricing page needs a second set of eyes before publishing, same as any other.
Making the number the whole page — a figure with no context on what's included reads as a lure, not genuine transparency.
Never revisiting it — fees change; a stale number on a high-traffic page is worse than no number at all.

Frequently asked questions

Does publishing an indicative price online satisfy our disclosure obligations?

No — those are separate things. An indicative price on a marketing page sets expectations before someone enquires; your formal disclosure obligations are a distinct, existing requirement with their own rules that apply regardless of what's shown publicly. Check with your compliance team on what those require for your practice.

Will showing a price scare off higher-value clients?

Generally the opposite — clients who can afford comprehensive advice tend to want confirmation they're in the right range before investing time in a call. Vague pricing more often filters out good-fit prospects who assumed they couldn't afford you.

What if our fees genuinely vary too much to give a single figure?

Then publish a starting point rather than a range, and spend a sentence on the one or two things that move it most. "Starts from" plus one clear variable is honest and still far more useful to a prospect than "contact us for a quote."

Should mortgage brokers publish fees if the client usually isn't paying?

Yes, just frame it differently — the useful transparency there isn't a dollar figure, it's being upfront that the service is typically paid for by the lender, with specifics disclosed for each loan, so there's no assumption of a hidden client-side cost. 🌴

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Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

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