Hiring a Technical Writer: Costs, Roles, and Help Centers

Most companies do not document things until problems are no longer ignorable. Help content is often skipped out on early because the product is still changing. Over time, support tickets begin to accumulate, customers become frustrated, and important product knowledge resides only in people's heads, rather than in written guides. Studies have consistently shown that more than 69% of customers would prefer to resolve issues independently before reporting to support, but many teams fail to invest in documentation until they are already failing.

This delay is the cause of the "panic hire." A technical writer is brought in and expected to correct years of missing or out-of-date content. There are no systems, no clear ownership, and little context into how the product evolved. That situation is unjustified to the writer, and also hardly ever does a good job for the company.

If you have been considering hiring a technical writer, timing is everything. This guide details when you really do need one, technical writer costs, and hiring options. It also discusses how to interact with candidates, how to successfully onboard them, and when alternatives may make more sense.

Do You Actually Need a Technical Writer?

Before moving forward with hiring a technical writer, it is important to be clear about what this role is meant to solve. A technical writer is most effective with documentation problems, not the product itself.

Problems Technical Writers Address

A technical documentation writer helps reduce documentation debt by documenting features and workflows that were never properly explained before. They answer repetitive support inquiries by identifying common issues and creating easy-to-find help articles. A technical writer for help centers also assists with onboarding when customers have difficulty getting started. Internally, the documentation helps teams share a common understanding of how the product works. Over time, this results in more consistent and up-to-date help center documentation. If you're currently using tools like Zendesk or Intercom, a technical writer can help you get the most out of these platforms.

Problems Unsolved by Technical Writers

Technical writers do not correct poor product design. They cannot simplify confusing workflows or fix broken onboarding flows. For example, if users face difficulties because the product itself is unclear, adding documentation will not eliminate that friction. Missing core product clarity is a problem that has to be addressed by design and product decisions, not just by writing.

The Key Question to Ask

Before you hire a technical writer, ask yourself one honest question: Are you hiring someone to explain a clear product better, or are you hiding some deeper issues in your product? Documentation is supportive of good products. It does not fix bad ones.

When Hiring a Technical Writer Makes Sense

Your Product Is Stable Enough to Document

Hiring a technical writer is sensible when your basic product workflows change every week. Features may improve or degrade, but the primary user paths remain the same. At this point, documentation is a time-saving, rather than work-creating process.

Support Questions Repeat Predictably

When customers keep asking the same questions, over and over, documentation is lacking or unclear. A technical writer for help centers can turn those repeated questions into recognizable help center documentation, helping minimize support tickets.

Multiple Teams Contribute to the Product

As more teams start working on the product, there is a need for shared documentation. Written guides help product, support, and sales teams ensure everyone is on the same page and there are no misunderstandings.

Onboarding Can No Longer Be Manual

If you are not in a position to personally steer every new customer through the setup process, then documentation becomes critical. Clear onboarding content helps users get started without delay.

Documentation Affects Business Growth

At the growth and scale stages, documentation affects sales, retention, and expansion. Early-stage teams and companies tend to move too fast to keep documentation, and growth-stage companies benefit the most. Warning signs that you are not ready are constantly changing features, unclear ownership, and no documentation process in place.

What Technical Writers Cost

Below are current market ranges and practical cost guidance for hiring technical writers in the U.S. Use the table to set budget expectations, then read the notes for how to translate wages into true hiring costs.

Fully Loaded Cost

Employers should budget for ~25-40% above base salary to cover benefits, payroll taxes, equipment, and overhead. An $80,000 salary often costs $100,000+, including benefits and taxes. 1.25 to 1.4 x salary is the recommended range to consider for salary planning, according to the BLS and in their Human Resources guides.

Geographic & Remote Tradeoffs

Salaries trend at higher levels in major tech metros (SF, NYC) and lower levels in smaller cities. Remote hiring expands access to candidates and can save payroll costs, but pay expects to get offers close to prevailing rates in their region or in line with the company's pay policy. National medians (BLS, ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor) are good benchmarks when formulating offers.

When to Choose Each Option

Full-time – Select when documentation needs to be continually updated and is integral to product value.

Freelance – Best option for audits, migrations, or bursts of work (e.g., new feature launch). Upwork and platform freelancers are cheap for short projects.

Agency – Appropriate for large overhauls, compliance, or when you need speed, specialized processes; expect higher hourly/project fees.

Freelance Technical Writer Rates

Notes:

• Freelance rates also vary greatly between expertise, niche specialization, and platform.
• Mid-level rates are most common with help center documentation projects.
• Senior specialists in niche areas of expertise (e.g., API documentation or regulated industries) command the highest rates.

Full-Time vs Freelance vs Automation

Here's the decision matrix most teams overlook when choosing how to manage help center documentation.

Full-time makes sense when:

• You ship features very often
• Part of your product value is documentation
• You need to be long-term and consistent
• You have sufficient work for a dedicated role

Freelance makes sense when:

• You need a one-time documentation clean-up
• You need specialist skills (API, compliance)
• Want flexibility with no long-term commitment

Automation makes sense when:

• You are a small, growing team
• Your product changes often
• No special documentation for the owner
• Continuous maintenance is more important than continuous fresh writing

As AI is transforming customer service, many teams are discovering that automation can handle the bulk of documentation maintenance while humans focus on strategy.

The Reality for Most Teams

Most successful teams use a hybrid approach. Automation handles ongoing updates, freelancers fill short-term gaps, and the full-time writers focus on strategy and complex documentation.

Where to Look for Technical Writers

Finding the appropriate technical writer depends on where you look and what degree you pursue: the job's role definition.

Specialized Job Boards (Best in Quality)

Write the Docs Job Board has been labeled the gold standard for hiring technical writers. It appeals to experienced professionals who focus especially on documentation, leading to higher-quality candidates, though fewer applicants.

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) Job Bank is useful for companies seeking experienced or senior technical writers. Many candidates here have long-term careers in technical communication.

Technical Writer HQ offers a mix of documentation types, including SaaS, API, and enterprise. It is a good option for teams hiring writers who have experience in software documentation.

General Job Platforms (High Volume)

LinkedIn Jobs offers excellent filtering options, allowing teams to search for technical writers with specific tools, such as Markdown, Git, or API documentation. It is high volume, but critical to the screening.

Indeed is useful to reach a broad audience. While it produces a large number of applications, companies should anticipate spending more time weeding out to find relevant experience.

Hiring Platforms That Focus on Startups

Wellfound (formerly AngelList Talent) is great for SaaS and current startups. The writers here on this platform are often comfortable working in a fast-moving environment with evolving products.

Freelance Platforms

Upwork has the largest pool of freelance technical writers. Quality varies widely, but it can work for mid-level help center documentation as long as it's properly vetted.

Toptal gives access to pre-vetted senior writers. It is more expensive but more reliable for complex or high-stakes documentation projects.

Contently is a good choice for teams looking for experienced documentation specialists rather than general content writers.

Communities (Hidden Sources of Talent)

The Write the Docs Slack has a large number of experienced technical writers who participate and share work opportunities.

The r/technicalwriting subreddit is a good place to get advice and occasionally connect with writers.

Many technical writers can also be found on X (formerly Twitter) under hashtags such as #TechComm and #TechnicalWriting.

What to Look for in a Technical Writer

Must-Have Skills

A strong technical writer must be able to write in clear, simple words and explain complex things. Technical curiosity is critical, as good writers will ask questions until they have a full understanding of the product. Strong organization and process thinking are also necessary to maintain documentation, organization, and consistency as it is expanded.

Nice-to-Have Experience

Industry experience can reduce the onboarding process, although it is not required. Familiarity with documentation tools like GitBook or Document360, basic awareness of analytics, and experience with docs-as-code workflows are useful supplements, particularly helpful for software teams.

Red Flags to Watch For

Be wary of shallow portfolios, candidates who ask no product questions, or those who have a focus on the volume of output. If a writer is unable to explain technical ideas clearly in conversation, it often shows up in their documentation as well.

The Interview Process That Will Work

Portfolio Review

Start by reviewing examples of real writing. Request work related to your needs (for example, help center articles or product guides). Look for clarity, structure, and if the content actually helps users.

Screening Call

Use a short call to learn how the writer is learning about new products, ways to collaborate with teams, and how to give feedback. Ask about the tools they have used and how they approach unfamiliar topics.

Paid Writing Exercise

A little paid job demonstrates how the candidate works in actual conditions. Avoid unpaid tests. A good exercise involves learning the feature and writing a short help article. Evaluate clarity, questions asked, and decision-making.

Team Interview

Involve people from product, engineering, support, etc. Test how the writer deals with ambiguity, task prioritization, and working with busy people.

Reference Checks

Ask references about independence, communication, and how the writer dealt with complex documentation.

Incorporating the Role of a Technical Writer to Achieve Success

Product Immersion

Start with full product walkthroughs, access to support tickets, customer feedback, and meet-and-greets with key stakeholders. Context is more important than the quickness of the writer at this point.

Weeks 2–4: Early Wins

Have one's writer documentation. Establish feedback loops & come up with a (or adopt a) (documentation style) guide.

Months 2–3: System Building

Concentrate on documentation roadmaps, update workflows, change awareness process, and basic analytics on measuring the impact.

Common Onboarding Mistakes

Do not make the writer an island by allowing him or her to be a content factory or limiting access to product information.

Alternative Powered by Artificial Intelligence: 99helpers

Our AI assistant is there to be a junior technical writer. It helps teams to create and maintain help center documentation without needing to continually update documents manually. Instead of starting from scratch when something is changing, the system learns from what you have already (content/customer questions).

99helpers is intended for teams in which documentation needs to be useful as products are enlarged and changed.

Comparison of Cost and Scalability

The Caveat

AI is best used for help centers and customer-facing documentation. For complicated API references, legal content, or highly-regulated industries, however, a human expert is important.

The Practical Sweet Spot

For most teams, the best way forward will be that which works. AI handles first drafts, 24/7 maintenance, and identification of gaps in documentation. Human writers (both full-time and freelance) tend to work on strategy and complex subjects, and make the finishing touches.

Making the Decision

Employ a full-time technical writer if:

• Documentation is at the core of the value of your product.
• You ship features pretty much all the time.
• Well, you can carry with you a fully loaded $100k+ year role.
• There is steady work open to a dedicated owner.

Use freelancers if:

• You need a once-in-a-lifetime documentation clean-up.
• You have some special needs, like API or compliance docs.
• You want to be flexible without commitment, at least for the long term.

Use AI tools like 99helpers if:

• You are a small-sized or growing team.
• Your product changes often
• You do not have a designated documentation owner.
• You want the documentation to be automatically kept up to date.

Most of the successful teams are working on a hybrid model. The scale and maintenance sides are dealt with by automation. From men comes judgment and depth and overseeing.

Bottom Line

Technical writers are very valuable. When done well, documentation will help decrease support costs, increase customer success, and make products easier to adopt. Combined with AI chatbots that improve customer satisfaction, good documentation creates a powerful self-service experience for your users.

However, that hiring is not the only option anymore. Before signing up for a full-time job, it may be worth looking at whether AI-powered documentation can address your immediate problems, but at a much cheaper rate.

If you do hire, hire intelligently. Look for curiosity and knowledge of the technical, and not just polished samples. Lay writers have access to knowledge of products and systems that are bare. And measure success based on results and not word count.

In real-world scenarios, you would like to see how AI-powered documentation works, then start out with 99helpers and test out whether you need more headcount later on.