FreeWill
FreeWill is a New York-based public benefit corporation offering a free online estate planning platform for U.S. individuals, supported by 2,400+ nonprofit partners who benefit from user bequests, with B2B SaaS tools for nonprofits and financial advisors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What FreeWill does
FreeWill Co. is a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation headquartered in New York that operates a free, online self-service estate planning platform serving U.S. consumers across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Its core technology is a guided questionnaire that generates legally valid estate documents — wills, revocable living trusts (California), advance healthcare directives, durable financial powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations — reviewed by estate planning attorneys, with bank-grade encryption and SOC 2 Type 2 (AICPA) compliance. The consumer product is free to end users with no credit card required; users can revisit and revise documents indefinitely. The platform additionally offers a nonprofit suite (Planned Giving Suite, Smart Giving Suite covering stock and crypto gifts, Planned Giving Microsites, Featureships, and the acquired Grant Assistant AI grant workflow tool), and an enterprise platform for financial advisors called Estately launched in October 2024 with Mercer.
FreeWill's revenue model is freemium and structurally underpinned by a two-sided flywheel with more than 2,400 nonprofit and charity partners. Consumers do not pay; instead, nonprofit partners pay for B2B SaaS that helps them capture bequests, planned gifts, and tax-advantaged donations from platform users. Approximately one in six users include a charitable gift in their will, contributing to a stated $14.2B+ in cumulative bequest commitments routed through 1.5M+ wills created on the platform. Distribution is dominated by nonprofit partner referrals, content marketing and SEO, and earned media placement (NYT, Forbes, USA Today, AARP, Good Housekeeping), supplemented by direct B2B sales into nonprofits and, more recently, into financial advisor enterprises via Estately. The company has raised approximately $30 million in a 2022 securities offering led by Bain Capital Double Impact Fund, completed acquisitions of Cocatalyst.org (2021) and Grant Assistant (October 2024), and operates as a for-profit public benefit corporation with 101-250 employees.
FreeWill firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FreeWill
- Legal name
- FreeWill Co.
- Website
- https://freewill.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- FreeWill is a New York-based public benefit corporation offering a free online estate planning platform for U.S. individuals, supported by 2,400+ nonprofit partners who benefit from user bequests, with B2B SaaS tools for nonprofits and financial advisors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FreeWill industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Estate Planning Software
- NAICS
- Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Estate & Legacy Planning Advisory (FSAEAAAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Estate Planning & Trust Structuring Advisory (FSAEAKAC), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH), Trust & Estate Tax Planning & Compliance (FSAEAKAE)
Keywords
Where FreeWill is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
FreeWill business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Nonprofit Partnership Revenue Model: FreeWill provides free estate planning tools to users, funded entirely by nonprofit organizations. Over 2,400 nonprofits partner with FreeWill, and one in six users include a charitable gift in their will. When users make bequests to charity through the platform, nonprofits receive those donations, which funds FreeWill's operations. This creates a sustainable model where the service remains free for users while generating charitable donations for partner nonprofits.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Individual Estate Planning - All products including will, trust, healthcare directive, and power of attorney are completely free |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
FreeWill product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FreeWill operates a free online platform that enables individuals to create estate planning documents — wills, trusts, healthcare directives, and powers of attorney — and connects users with more than 2,400 nonprofit partners for charitable bequests. The company additionally provides planned-giving and fundraising SaaS tools (Planned Giving Suite, Smart Giving Suite, Microsites) to nonprofits and financial advisors, and has extended into adjacent offerings such as charitable stock and crypto gifts, grant writing (Grant Assistant), and property-transfer tools (Estately).
Product overview
FreeWill is a free online estate planning platform offering a suite of tools for individuals, nonprofits, and financial professionals. For individuals, the core products include Last Will & Testament, Revocable Living Trust (California only), Advance Healthcare Directive, Durable Financial Power of Attorney, and Beneficiary Designations, all provided at no cost. The nonprofit suite includes Fundraising Solutions, Planned Giving Suite, Smart Giving Suite (featuring Charitable Stock Gifts and Charitable Crypto Gifts), Planned Giving Microsites, Featureships, and the acquired Grant Assistant platform. For financial professionals, FreeWill offers Estately, an estate planning platform developed with Mercer. The company is headquartered in NYC as a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation and is supported by over 2,400 nonprofit partners who help fund the free services while receiving bequest donations from users.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Grant Assistant: AI-driven platform that streamlines grant proposal workflows for nonprofits and international development organizations
- Estately
- FreeWill Fellows
Products and services
- FreeWill Wills
- FreeWill Trusts
Quantifiable outcome
- 1.5M+ wills created through the platform
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use FreeWill
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
FreeWill technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
FreeWill partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- MercercoreFreeWill launched Estately, an estate planning platform for financial advisors, in partnership with Mercer. The collaboration enables financial advisors to offer expanded estate services to their clients through FreeWill's technology.
- Grant AssistantcoreFreeWill acquired Grant Assistant, an AI-driven platform that streamlines grant proposal workflows for nonprofits and international development organizations. The acquisition expands FreeWill's employee footprint beyond the US and aims to enhance nonprofit funding efforts. Grant Assistant had operations in Washington, DC and Lahore, Pakistan.
- Second Harvest Food BankminorJoint campaign offering free wills to food bank supporters, expanding access to estate planning while raising awareness for both organizations.
- United Church of ChristminorParticipated in Make-A-Will Month campaign, offering free will-writing tool to UCC members and supporters.
- Arkansas Catholic OrganizationsminorDiocese and parishes partnered with FreeWill to offer estate planning services to Catholic congregants in Arkansas.
- Case Western Reserve UniversityminorOffice of Strategic Giving partnered with FreeWill to help university supporters create free wills.
- Seoul Saetbyeol SchoolminorFree support provided for AI math tool School Flat at Seoul Saetbyeol School in South Korea, eliminating educational blind spots.
- 2,400+ Nonprofit PartnerscoreOver 2,400 nonprofits partner with FreeWill to ensure estate planning tools are free for everyone. These partners include religious organizations, educational institutions, community organizations, and charities across various causes including animals, arts, civil rights, community, education, environment, health, humanitarian, and human rights.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
FreeWill competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Trust & Will: Direct competitor offering online will-making and estate planning services to consumers. Closely comparable business model with paid tiers, state-specific documents, and a similar target customer base of individuals seeking DIY estate planning.
- Farewill: UK-based free online will-writing platform with a near-identical model: free to users, funded by charity partnerships, and a high conversion rate of users including charitable gifts. The closest international analog to FreeWill's freemium charity-funded model.
Emerging players
- GoodTrust: Digital estate planning platform offering wills, healthcare directives, and digital asset management. Targets a similar consumer segment as FreeWill with comparable online self-service estate planning tools.
- Cake: End-of-life planning platform offering wills, advance directives, and funeral planning. Overlaps with FreeWill on estate planning documents but differentiates with a stronger end-of-life and funeral planning focus.
- Everplans: End-of-life planning platform with wills, advance directives, and legacy planning tools. Adjacent competitor in the consumer estate planning category with a more curated approach to organizing end-of-life documents and information.
- Wealth.com: Estate planning platform specifically designed for financial advisors, directly comparable to FreeWill's Estately product. Serves the same enterprise advisor channel with technology-enabled estate planning solutions for client relationships.
- Vanilla: Estate planning software built for financial advisors and RIAs, with similar enterprise B2B positioning to FreeWill's Estately. Targets the same advisor market seeking to add estate planning capabilities to their service offerings.
Broad incumbents
- Rocket Lawyer: Subscription-based legal services platform with estate planning documents as part of a broader legal product portfolio. Competes with FreeWill on will creation but bundles it with ongoing legal counsel, business formation, and other legal services.
- LegalZoom: Established legal technology platform offering wills, trusts, and a wide portfolio of legal services. Competes with FreeWill in the estate planning category but as part of a much broader legal services suite, with significantly larger brand recognition and customer base.
Others
- Givinga: Planned giving and donor-advised fund technology platform for nonprofits. Comparable to FreeWill's nonprofit-facing planned giving suite and Smart Giving products but focuses more on DAF infrastructure than estate planning tools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
FreeWill social profiles
Digital presenceFreeWill compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
FreeWill financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FreeWill leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
FreeWill subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
FreeWill funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FreeWill M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FreeWill
What does FreeWill do?
FreeWill operates a free online platform that enables individuals to create estate planning documents — wills, trusts, healthcare directives, and powers of attorney — and connects users with more than 2,400 nonprofit partners for charitable bequests. The company additionally provides planned-giving and fundraising SaaS tools (Planned Giving Suite, Smart Giving Suite, Microsites) to nonprofits and financial advisors, and has extended into adjacent offerings such as charitable stock and crypto gifts, grant writing (Grant Assistant), and property-transfer tools (Estately).
Is FreeWill a public or private company?
FreeWill is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was FreeWill founded?
FreeWill was founded in 2016. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is FreeWill based?
FreeWill is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does FreeWill make money?
One revenue line is on record: nonprofit Partnership Revenue Model.
Who are FreeWill's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Trust & Will and Farewill. Emerging players are GoodTrust, Cake, Everplans, Wealth.com and Vanilla. Broad incumbents are Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom. Givinga is listed as an others.
Does FreeWill have an API?
No public API is recorded for FreeWill.
What industry is FreeWill in?
FreeWill's product category is Estate Planning Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEAAAG, Estate & Legacy Planning Advisory, with a secondary code of FSAEAKAC, Estate Planning & Trust Structuring Advisory. Its NAICS code is 525.