There’s not a set cost for an agency in the UK, which means you’re never sure what price tag to expect.
And, when you’re quoted a price it makes it harder to question if you’re overpaying for your service, or getting a bargain. It’s one that you can only really work out when the results start coming in, but even then it’s difficult knowing if you can get the same results for cheaper elsewhere.
Not knowing the price can also make it hard to factor into your budget when deciding whether or not it will be worth the cost for your business.
So, to make this easier, we’ve done the research and found the average cost of agencies in the UK, split into different services. This data was gathered from a range of freely available sources and online pricing information, as well as confidential submissions from various UK based agencies and clients.
Note: these are just averages and don’t take into account the hours or particular offerings that an agency might offer.
This is what we found (click the image for the full-sized version).
Click the arrow to reveal the full data table.
| Discipline | Cost per day | Cost per month (retainer) | Cost per project/campaign |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO | £394.75 | £901.50 | £1556.25 |
| Organic social media | £650.00 | £1,120.00 | £400.00 |
| Paid social media | £430.00 | £587.50 | £266.00 |
| Content marketing | £725.00 | £817.90 | £325.00 |
| PPC | £725.00 | £1040.90 | £1016.60 |
| Marketing strategy | £684.28 | £738.00 | £2412.50 |
| Website build | – | – | £5452.30 |
TD;LR: Monthly retainer rates are the equivalent of an average 1-3 days of work per month on a long-term ongoing basis. Per campaign/project refers to average pricing based on a single marketing campaign or goal that the agency undertakes for a one-time basis.
SEO
SEO (search engine optimisation) is all about getting your brand found on search engines, sending more organic traffic to your website. It includes services such as link building, technical SEO and on-page SEO, depending on each individual agency.
Our study found that the average prices for SEO are:
- £394.75 per day
- £901.50 monthly retainer
- £1556.25 per project
For specific SEO projects, local SEO came in the cheapest and eCommerce as the most expensive.
Looking for high-quality SEO agencies? Here are some of our top picks:
Organic social media
Organic social media services include managing the day-to-day running of social media platforms, social strategies and creating social media campaigns.
The average prices for this service are:
- £650 per day
- £1,120 monthly retainer
- £400 per campaign
Most agencies base this price per platform, so if you have more than one social channel that you want looking after, expect this figure to increase.
Paid social media
Paid social media services are all about building creatives and paid campaigns across social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more.
The average prices for this service are:
- £430 per day
- £587.50 monthly retainer
- £266 per campaign
Although these prices may seem cheaper than organic social media management, you need to factor in the cost of paid campaigns on top of this.
Some agencies will also charge extra per creative, so if you’ve got a whole library to create, expect £40+ per creative that’s needed.
If agencies operate using a % pricing model, expect to pay 15% of your advertising spend on fees.
Content marketing
In 2021, content is still king. If you want to engage your audience, build your brand reputation and increase your traffic, you need to be producing new, high-quality content.
If you want to outsource your content marketing to an agency, this is how much you can expect to pay.
- £725 per day
- £817.90 monthly retainer
- £325 per post
Some companies will also charge per 100 words if that’s all you want. However, you might find more luck with a freelancer for this service.
Ready to improve your visibility and brand authority? Check out StoryChief and FatJoe.
Here are our top content marketing agencies for you to choose from:
- StoryChief
- FatJoe
PPC
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) agencies will help manage and create paid advertising campaigns across Google, Microsoft and more, helping you achieve the best conversions or profits for your budget.
Average costs for PPC services come in at:
- £725 per day
- £1040.90 monthly retainer
- £1016.60 per project/campaign
Like paid social media services, some agencies will also adopt a % price model instead. The average fees for PPC services are 10-20% of your advertising spend.
In addition, PPC services also have the most restrictions in place for accepting a client. Nearly every agency has minimum advertising spend per client before they are onboarded.
This minimum advertising spend ranges from £400 per month to £10,000.
Website build
Need a new website to send your traffic to and help convert your leads?
The average cost of a website build in 2021 is £5452.30.
However, there are a lot of different factors that influence this figure. Generally, the more complex your website is, the more expensive it will be.
Simple, one-page websites are a lot cheaper to produce, with prices ranging from £350-£2,000. In contrast, multi-page eCommerce websites can cost as much as £30,000.
Marketing strategy
Marketing strategy is the vaguest service but encompasses anything from consulting, helping build strategies, campaigns and implementing all the elements involved. It’s often tied into other services such as SEO, PPC and more, but sold as one simple package.
The average prices for marketing strategy are:
- £684.28 per day
- £738 monthly retainer
- £2412.50 per project
Marketing strategies also have the biggest number of annual retainers, which range between £40,000-£250,000 depending on the level of work involved.
Why hire an agency?
If these costs look high, it’s worth remembering that you don’t need to hire an agency if you don’t want to. You could do all of this yourself and there’s no one going to stop you from that.
But you need to weigh up what you save in cost, versus the time and effort that you’ll spend doing this yourself. If you don’t have the skills, that also might mean hiring in or extra time spent on training and getting up to scratch. It all adds up.
Hiring an agency will save you this time.
As the picture below demonstrates, hiring an SEO agency can save your business a total of 29 hours a week. That’s just under 4 days that you could use to grow another part of your business. Now, that’s worth the cost.
TD;LR: See the full breakdown of how much time an agency can save your business here.
Find your next agency today
Ready to find your next agency?
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Read reviews, dig a little deeper if you need and when you’re ready, get in touch to seal the deal.
Methodology
Data collected from a range of freely available sources and online pricing information, as well as confidential submissions from various UK based agencies and clients.
A big thanks to Spread Like Wildfire Media, My Remote Partner Limited, Ecrubox, Impression, Distinction, Marketing Labs, Internet Sales Drive, Vitty, GM Marketing, Regent Branding, Alba SEO, Generate Leads Online, Pixated, Marble Agency, Plume, Rise Online, Social Thyme, Digital 22, Cabana, Andrew Laws Associates, Adao, Indigoextra, Tom Crowe Digital, HARO Helpers, IFax App, Studio 54, and Daniel Foley for their help and contribution for the article.
