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Published: Feb 25, 2025
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9 min. read
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Abbey StephanLead Editor
- Abbey is a digital marketer, copywriter, and lead editor. She has worked on over 200 client campaigns and WebFX, and she specializes in marketing strategy analysis and industry-specific digital marketing plans. Outside of writing and editing, you’ll likely find her taking pictures of her cat, making a new playlist, or tending to her houseplants.

How much does a marketing agency cost?
Marketing agency costs can range anywhere from $50 to $3,500 per month (59% of businesses) on average. How much you pay can vary widely, so when calculating marketing agency costs, various factors must be considered like services needed, agency experience, your goals, and more.
We surveyed over 1,000 businesses to learn how much they spend on marketing services from a digital marketing agency! From how much businesses pay per month, the average costs for different marketing strategies, and the factors that influence those costs, we’ve got everything covered when it comes to digital marketing agency pricing!
Just keep reading to uncover the marketing agency costs these businesses shared!
This post will break down the following topics:
- Digital marketing agency cost per month
- Digital marketing agency cost factors
- Digital marketing pricing models
- What is a marketing agency?
- What does a marketing agency do?
Watch: 5 Tips for Picking a Digital Marketing Agency

Methodology: We surveyed over 1,000 businesses to find out the cost of a marketing agency partnership.
How much do marketing agencies cost?
Marketing agencies can cost anywhere from $50 to $3,500 per month on average (59% of businesses) depending on your chosen agency and the strategies you invest in.
Digital marketing agency pricing will vary based on numerous factors, but it helps to know the averages of each service before you reach out. This way, you can make sure the company you choose falls within the typical range and get the services you need.
For example, the strategies you invest in, the scope of your project, and the agency you choose can affect how much you’ll pay. That’s why 12% of businesses pay between $15,001 – $30,000 per month for a marketing agency partnership, while 22% pay between $50 – $500 per month.
Depending on your contract and package, you might use one or more of the following tactics:
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Content marketing
This table breaks down the different prices for each method:
Service | Average cost per month with an agency |
Social media marketing | $100 – $5,000 |
Email marketing | $51 – $1,000 |
PPC | $501 – $3,000 |
SEO | $500 – $7,500 |
Content marketing | $5,001 – $10,000 |
Let’s dive into each one below.
Want to learn more about specific marketing agency costs? Break down the top digital marketing agencies and their prices with our team!
Social media
Social media marketing pricing can include everything from management to one-time projects. Businesses typically invest $100 – $5,000 per month on social media management (52% of businesses).
Some services you might get from outsourcing with a marketing agency include:
- Social media management
- Content creation
- Post scheduling
- Customer service via social media
Explore: Overview of Social Media Marketing Costs [Video]
Email marketing
Email marketing costs vary depending on what services you outsource. You can expect to spend $51 – $1,000 per month if working with an agency (60% of businesses).
Many companies write and send out newsletters in-house for free, but when you’re wrapped up in normal day-to-day business operations, that kind of in-house marketing can be challenging. If you want to upgrade your marketing emails, you might consider working with a team.
Some types of email services include:
- Email automation software
- Email monitoring and scheduling
- Content creation
That said, email marketing has a substantial return on investment (ROI) — companies earn $44 for every $1 spent.
PPC
PPC advertising averages at around $501 – $3,000 per month for management from an agency (36% of businesses). PPC ads also cost $0.11 – $0.50 per click and $0.51 – $1.00 per 1000 impressions. PPC is a type of advertising where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. You can run these ads on search engines, ecommerce sites, and even social media.
With PPC, you must plan a campaign, find your target audience, launch your ads, and track their progress at minimum. A lot of companies don’t have the time on their hands to keep up, so they rely on marketing agencies for help.
SEO
SEO services costs range from $500 – $7,500 per month to $51 – $100 per hour to $500 – $5,000 per project.
Focusing on SEO can help you boost your website rankings in the search engines. SEO is an ongoing process, so while you might pay more upfront to create campaigns and build your site, you will see more ROI down the road.
Explore: Overview of SEO Costs [Video]
Content marketing
Content marketing pricing can range anywhere from $5,001 – $10,000 per month on average (58% of businesses).
Content marketing is an important part of digital marketing that can positively impact other strategies, like social media, SEO, and email. In a nutshell, content marketing is all about building out your website with helpful content relevant to your audience and industry.
Some of the key services you’ll get when you enlist in content marketing services include:
- Copywriting
- Video marketing
- Content promotion
- Graphics creation
- And more!
Digital marketing agency cost factors
Multiple factors go into how much working with a digital marketing agency will cost. Understanding what goes into marketing agency pricing can help you look for an agency that gives you the most service for their price.
Here are some of the most common digital marketing agency cost factors:
Let’s dive into each below.
Digital marketing strategies
The strategies you choose is a prominent factor in how much your marketing agency experience costs. There are numerous ways to drive revenue with marketing, and each one has a different cost and timeline. You will pay less if you use a bare-bones strategy, but the results will have an impact.
For example, let’s say that you have a marketing team in-house that writes your email content and handles your social media. However, your SEO isn’t what it could be. If you partner with an agency, you can save on email and social media and focus your outsourced budget on SEO.
When you partner with an agency, they will determine what strategies your company could benefit most from while considering your budget.
Goals
Your goals and strategies are closely related. Depending on what you want to accomplish, you might use different strategies, which affect your budget.
Some example marketing goals include:
- Earning more social media impressions
- Getting more clicks on your paid ads
- Receiving more contact form submissions from your website
- More purchases from your ecommerce store
These are just a few goals that a marketing agency can help with. However, since each one may need a unique approach, they will affect your budget.
Agency experience
When you’re looking for an agency, you want to find one with some experience in marketing. Newer agencies might charge less, but they might not have the tools, software, or team to augment growth the way an established agency does.
Company size
If you work with a larger marketing firm, you might pay more for your services, but they will likely be backed by years of experience and a larger team of experts. A large company will have more resources and connections to help their clients.
Technology fees
Many marketing companies have their own software and technology to improve your experience, gather and store data, and collect analytics. If you want access to these technologies, you might have to pay a premium that covers their function.
Specializations
Agencies can adopt different specializations, like by:
- Industry (like an HVAC marketing agency)
- Tactic (like resolving Google penalties)
- Area served (like an agency that works nationally vs. internationally)
Depending on the specialization, the agency’s rates may be higher than more general competitors. How much the specialization matters will depend on your business and its goals.
Digital marketing agency pricing models
Digital marketing agency costs can vary depending on your agency’s pricing model.
Here are some common digital marketing agency pricing models you might encounter:
- Per hour: Your agency will bill you according to how many hours it takes to complete your project. You may pay hourly if you invest in marketing consulting or only need help with one project.
- Per month (Monthly retainer): Most businesses will pay their agency monthly on an ongoing retainer. This allows you to invest in ongoing digital marketing, including continuous strategy optimization.
- Per project: The agency will charge you for each project individually. If you’re investing in a single project, like a site redesign, you’ll likely pay on a per project basis.
- Performance-based: Your agency will charge you based on the performance and results you receive. For example, you may pay per 1,000 impressions or per lead generated.
- Tiered packages: Your agency offers multiple packages depending on the strategies you want to invest in. This pricing model enables you to pick a package that most suits your needs. Plus, many agencies will allow you to add on additional services to your package.
What is a marketing agency?
So, what is a marketing agency? A marketing agency is a company of trained individuals who create, plan, and execute advertising strategies and related content on behalf of businesses.
There are two types of marketing agencies — traditional and digital. Traditional marketing companies work with print media like magazines or newspapers, while digital marketing agencies work with online media like social media or email.
There are also hybrid agencies that work with both print and digital media.
What does a marketing agency do?
Marketing agencies also fulfill contract requirements that are based on the client’s goals. Before you work with a marketing agency, you outline your goals and work with them to determine the necessary steps to achieve them.
Some typical marketing agency responsibilities include:
- Brand management
- Market research
- Account planning
- Content marketing
- Social media management and marketing
- Email marketing
- Analytics tracking
- Web design
A marketing agency will handle all aspects of your marketing and advertising plans while removing the workload from your team.
WebFX has thousands of reviews praising our transparency, communication, and results.
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Learn more about marketing agency costs with WebFX
If you want to get the most out of every dollar spent on marketing services, WebFX can help. When you choose our digital marketing services, you get access to a range of services that help you achieve your marketing goals.
Our team will work with you to determine what service could benefit your company the most. Then, we build a plan that optimizes your budget to achieve your goals and drive more revenue. So far, we have driven $10,085,355,239+ for our clients — you could be next.
View our pricing page to get a look at our digital marketing prices by service, and contact us online to speak with a strategist about your goals!
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Abbey is a digital marketer, copywriter, and lead editor. She has worked on over 200 client campaigns and WebFX, and she specializes in marketing strategy analysis and industry-specific digital marketing plans. Outside of writing and editing, you’ll likely find her taking pictures of her cat, making a new playlist, or tending to her houseplants.
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