We study the fine-grained complexity of NP-complete, infinite-domain constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) parameterised by a set of first-order definable relations (with equality). Such CSPs are of central importance since they form a subclass of any infinite-domain CSP parameterised by a set of first-order definable relations over a relational structure (possibly containing more than just equality). We prove that under the randomised exponential-time hypothesis it is not possible to find c>1 such that a CSP over an arbitrary finite equality language is solvable in O(cn) time (n is the number of variables). Stronger lower bounds are possible for infinite equality languages where we rule out the existence of 2o(nlog⁡n) time algorithms; a lower bound which also extends to satisfiability modulo theories solving for an arbitrary background theory. Despite these lower bounds we prove that for each c>1 there exists an NP-hard equality CSP solvable in O(cn) time. Lower bounds like these immediately ask for closely matching upper bounds, and we prove that a CSP over a finite equality language is always solvable in O(cn) time for a fixed c, and manage to extend this algorithm to the much broader class of CSPs where constraints are formed by first-order formulas over a unary structure.