10 EFL Championship clubs with the smallest wage bills (Ranked) | OneFootball

Which clubs have the smallest wage bills in the Championship ahead of the 2026/27 campaign? Football League World takes a look

Exactly how much a club spends on wages often correlates with on-pitch success, which invariably serves as frustration to those incapable of matching the expenditure shelled out by certain more-fortunate divisional counterparts.

There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, and every so often, we'll witness an EFL side upset the odds and contradict the norm by going above and beyond to ruffle feathers at the top of their respective league despite their spending only paling in comparison against bigger clubs.

During the 2025/26 campaign, for example, Michael Skubala's Lincoln City romped to the League One title with an almighty points haul of 103 - some 12 clear of second-placed Cardiff City, a behemoth by third-tier standards - with what was confirmed to be only the 18th-highest wage bill in the entire division.

Others, by contrast, see their salary spending reflected more accurately in the league table, but as the new Championship campaign swiftly approaches, FLW has decided to take a look at the tenth-lowest wage bills at this moment in time and what those figures potentially tell us about expectations and fortune.

10 ? ? Millwall

Getting the ball rolling is Millwall, who represent a strong contradiction to the typical correlation between wage bill and divisional success by having made it all the way to the Championship play-off semi-finals last season.

The Lions have taken real strides in recent years to adopt a more ambitious and youth-centred approach to recruitment, much of which tends to take place on the continent these days, and they haven't refrained from shelling out some handsome fees when required.

That has culminated in a positive direction of travel for the Lions, who are proving that clubs can compete right at the top-end of the Championship without always having to fork out monster wages.

It helps, of course, but Alex Neil's side finished just one point shy of automatic promotion in third-place before losing to eventual play-off winners Hull City over two legs, despite having what Capology estimates to be the tenth-lowest second-tier annual wage bill at £13.6 million (£262,500 weekly) heading into the 2026/27 season.

9 ? ? QPR

Long gone are the days when QPR were, much to their detriment, offering blockbuster contracts during their free-spending days under Tony Fernandes, which never came to fruition and now means that the West Londoners' spending is much more modest.

When it comes to player salaries, the Hoops are spending marginally less than Millwall across the other side of London, with the wage bill at Loftus Road estimated to sit at £13.35 million on a yearly basis - or £256,823 each week.

QPR will, however, want to see a greater return on investment in the coming seasons under Julien Stephan following a litany of mid-table finishes.

8 ? ? Swansea City

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Much like QPR, Swansea City's spending has drastically reduced in recent campaigns following relegation from the Premier League and a subsequent inability to capitalise upon parachute payments and return there, although recent efforts in this summer's window suggest a turning of the tide that could soon see the Welsh side's wage bill increase by some margin.

Swansea cashed in on Ethan Galbraith to Stoke City and have used such funds to acquire wing pair Elijah Just and Joseph Opoku for respective £5 million and £6 million sums - two deals which underline the club's strengthened financial muscles and ambition ahead of the new season.

For the moment, with the estimated salaries of the Swans' latest recruits not yet accounted for, they are believed to have one of the division's lower wage bills, which sees Vitor Matos' side spending an annual figure of £13.31 million on player salaries.

7 ? ? Derby County

Another outlier when it comes to teams punching above their wage-bill weight, Derby County narrowly missed out on a play-off finish in what was just their second season back in the Championship last time out and are well-poised to stake their claim for promotion in the new campaign, helped by the expansion to a top-eight.

Derby, much like others on this list, have dug into their pockets to fork out some decent outlays on direct transfer fees, which we've already seen this summer with the £6 million acquisition of Bobby Clark following the midfielder's successful loan spell at Pride Park in 25/26.

The contracts that are being handed out, though, remain much more modest, and even though Capology estimates that five players (Carlton Morris, Rhian Brewster, Matt Clarke, Derry Murkin and Lewis Travis) are earning weekly wages of £20,000 or more, the Rams' wage bill hardly jumps off the page.

It's said that Derby's annual salary expenditure works out to a sum of £12.89 million, which is more than just six clubs across the entire division in spite of the club's upwards trajectory and increased transfer outlays in recent times.

6 ? ? Preston North End

Preston North End have never been big spenders, and that has been a bone of intensifying contention among disgruntled Deepdale-goers over the years, yet that too could be subject to change.

Talk of a takeover from US-born Saudi businessman Amr Zedan is continuing to rumble on behind the scenes and, as Preston fans continue to pray for that deal to go through, the club have completed the blockbuster £6 million club-record signing of Alfie Devine from Tottenham Hotspur after the playmaker's strong loan campaign with the Lilywhites last term.

Should Zedan assume control of Preston, an almighty cash injection would surely be in order and that could see some much-larger contracts dished out to new signings than what we typically see.

At the moment, Preston's wage expenditure is rather low at just £12.84 million annually, but if everything goes to plan, that perhaps will not remain the case for too much longer.

5 ? ? Bristol City

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When it comes to Bristol City, one must only wonder what the Robins could achieve if their transfer and wage spending was a touch more ambitious, with the West Country outfit possessing many of the fundamentals and no shortage of overall potential to compete even higher up the Championship ladder.

That's what tends to frustrate supporters, with the current level of on-pitch investment proving restrictive to the club's overarching ambitions, and the perenially-mid-table Robins are actually overperforming by measure of their wage bill.

Just four Championship clubs are spending less on wages than City, who are estimated to be shelling out an annual figure of £12.5 million - or £241,085 on a week-by-week basis.

4 ? ? Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic will be bidding to prove the doubters wrong and weather the storm to establish themselves in the club's second season back at Championship level after dodging the drop under Nathan Jones, who perhaps has much to answer for in terms of player recruitment.

The Addicks have spent heavily relative to historic expenditure levels on transfer fees alone, forking out up to £11.9 million last season according to Transfermarkt.

It is, of course, wages we're focusing on here, though, and on that front, Charlton's spending has been much lighter. As per Capology estimates, the south-east Londoners' annual wage bill of just £10.3 million ranks as the Championship's fourth-lowest - which may have to improve alongside smarter spending in the market if Charlton are to survive once again.

3

Portsmouth are preparing for their third season back in the Championship under John Mousinho, who has managed to stabilise and establish the south coast outfit with limited financial resources at his disposal.

Indeed, it has been an often-voiced point of concern towards owner Michael Eisner from the Fratton Park faithful, although the tide could just be starting to turn after the eye-catching £3 million+ addition of Serbian striker Marko Milovanovic earlier this summer.

Portsmouth will need to continue to up the ante on the investment front, though, if they are to elevate from battling against relegation towards mid-table security and beyond, be that through deeper pockets on Eisner's watch or perhaps a big-money sale - with talented 21-year-old Croatian attacking midfielder Adrian Segecic representing the most likely contender in the coming years.

For now, moderated financial muscle means that Portsmouth's annual wage bill of £9.4 million (£182,500 weekly) ranks among the lowest in the Championship next season, even if it is considerably higher than that of the final two clubs.

2 ? ? Bolton Wanderers

Coming up next is Bolton Wanderers, who are back in the Championship after advancing past Bradford City and Stockport County to win the League One play-offs and end a seven-year absence from the second-tier.

Bolton haven't been shy about spending when necessary, but overall, their spending has also been rather modest in recent years and that's why they are estimated to have the division's second-lowest wage bill, with Capology believing that the Trotters are spending £6.2 million on wages each year and £120,050 on a weekly basis.

Bolton are undertaking a busy summer as Steven Schumacher looks to rebuild and revamp his squad and a number of stalwarts have already departed the Toughsheet Community Stadium, while many of those to have arrived have done so on free or loan transfers.

That doesn't mean that Bolton aren't handing out handsome contracts, but their spending power is also limited in comparison to the majority of the Championship.

1 ? ? Lincoln City

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Fittingly - and rather unsurprisingly, you've got to say, it's Lincoln who finish off rolling with the Championship's lowest wage bill ahead of their return to the second-tier for the first time since 1961.

The Imps are an extremely modest outfit in terms of club stature and their recent rise has been to the credit of shrewd and savvy player recruitment and a clear overarching identity as opposed to splashing the cash in a desperate pursuit of promotion.

Many League One clubs spent much more on wages than Lincoln despite failing to match Skubala's men on the pitch, although their estimated annual wage bill of just £5.8 million - or £112,000 - accurately reflects where Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen's side are at compared to their Championship rivals.

The second-tier is a different kettle of fish altogether, and with the impending departure of Jack Moylan to Cardiff compounding Lincoln's woes after Skubala left for Bristol City earlier this summer, they may need to work some magic in the market in order to survive while operating on a limited budget.