How Much Does It Cost to Draft an NDA or Non-Compete in 2026?

What’s included in NDA and non-compete drafting cost

Enforceability is the entire point of an NDA or non-compete — a document that won’t hold up in court is worth nothing, and in some states an overbroad non-compete will be thrown out entirely rather than judicially narrowed. What attorney drafting provides, beyond the words on the page, is a document calibrated to the enforceability standards of the relevant jurisdiction, with defined terms precise enough to be useful in a dispute and scope narrow enough to survive challenge.

An NDA at the $200-$600 level typically covers the definition of confidential information (what is and isn’t protected, and how it’s marked), the obligations of the receiving party (how they can and cannot use the information), the exclusions from confidentiality (information that is already public, independently developed, or received from a third party without restriction), the term of the obligation (two to five years is common for business NDAs; some trade secret protections are indefinite), and the permitted disclosures (to employees and contractors who need access, to attorneys, pursuant to court order).

A non-compete at the $500-$2,000 level covers the geographic scope of the restriction (the region, state, or market where the employee cannot compete), the duration (typically 6-24 months post-employment in enforcing states), the scope of prohibited activities (competing employment vs. soliciting specific customers vs. starting a competing business), any carve-outs for activities the employer is willing to allow, the consideration supporting the restriction (required in many states), and dispute resolution provisions.

The $200-$2,000 range covers attorney drafting of the agreement itself. Review of an existing NDA or non-compete proposed by another party is a separate engagement, typically priced at $300-$800 depending on complexity. See our contract review guide for that breakdown.

When you’ll pay more than average

The $800 average assumes a mid-complexity employment or business NDA for a single jurisdiction with an attorney drafting from a strong template. Costs climb when the agreement must address multiple states with divergent enforceability standards, when the subject matter involves genuinely complex intellectual property (pharmaceutical formulations, semiconductor architectures, proprietary financial models), or when back-and-forth negotiation with the counterparty is required.

Executive non-competes are the most expensive category in this space. An executive’s non-compete is often negotiated as part of a compensation package — tied to an equity grant, signing bonus, or departure severance — and may include carve-outs for specific clients the executive intends to serve independently, specific industries, or specific geographies. Both the company and the executive typically retain separate counsel, and negotiations can run through multiple drafts over weeks. Attorney fees of $2,000-$5,000 on each side are realistic for senior executive agreements. The executive’s attorney in particular is scrutinizing the agreement’s enforceability in their home state and negotiating for limits that would allow the executive to work in their field if the employment relationship ends.

Industry-specific NDAs for complex technical information require attorneys who understand the subject matter well enough to draft definitions that are actually enforceable. A generic “confidential information” definition won’t distinguish between publicly filed patent information and proprietary process improvements in a manufacturing context. Specialized drafting in pharma, defense, and finance typically commands a rate premium of $100-$200/hr above general business rates.

When you’ll pay less

For a standard mutual NDA between two established businesses exploring a potential transaction or partnership — the most common NDA use case — a well-constructed template from a reputable source is legally sound and costs nothing to $50. The National Venture Capital Association’s model mutual NDA, the Bonterms open-source NDA, and several state bar association model forms are widely accepted in their respective contexts and have been reviewed by experienced attorneys. Two sophisticated businesses with legal departments using one of these forms for a preliminary conversation are in a reasonable position.

A flat-fee online legal service ($150-$400) can take a standard template and customize it for your specific use case and jurisdiction with attorney review — a middle ground between bare template and full custom drafting. These services are appropriate for straightforward mutual NDAs and simple employee confidentiality agreements where the subject matter is not unusually sensitive.

The cost of a template NDA versus a custom-drafted one becomes meaningful when the information being protected is genuinely core to your business model and the counterparty is a potential competitor. In that scenario, an ill-defined confidential information clause or an exclusion that inadvertently permits disclosure of your key trade secrets is a much more expensive problem than the $500-$1,000 in extra attorney fees that precise drafting costs.

Non-disclosure agreements should be reviewed periodically as the relationship between the parties evolves. An NDA signed at the beginning of a vendor relationship covers disclosures made during the evaluation period; it may not clearly cover information exchanged after the parties enter a deeper commercial relationship. If the scope of shared information expands significantly — say, a vendor who initially received general business information and now receives detailed customer data and proprietary algorithms — the original NDA may not adequately protect the new category of information. A periodic legal review of whether existing NDAs cover current disclosure practices costs $300-$600 and is worth scheduling every few years for active business relationships.

One increasingly important aspect of NDA drafting is the intersection with state trade secret law. Both federal law (the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016) and state trade secret statutes (most states follow the Uniform Trade Secrets Act) provide independent protections for confidential business information that are separate from your NDA. An NDA gives you a contract right to sue for breach; trade secret law gives you a right to sue for misappropriation even without a contract. For core trade secrets — formulas, processes, customer lists, business plans — documenting that you take reasonable measures to protect the information (through NDAs, access controls, and employee training) is what qualifies the information for trade secret protection under both federal and state law. An attorney who understands both the contract and the trade secret dimensions of confidentiality protection can make your NDA work as part of a broader protection strategy rather than as a standalone document.

This page is informational and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.