How much does SEO cost? Market rates and what moves the price

In Ahrefs' survey of 439 SEO providers, the most common monthly retainer was $501–$1,000 (20.4% of respondents). 42.8% charged between $501 and $2,000 a month, and 31.2% charged more than $2,000. The most common hourly rate was $75–$100, and the most common one-off project fee was $2,501–$5,000. The page was last updated 15 August 2024 and doesn’t say when the survey was run.

These figures show what providers said they charge, not what your SEO should cost. A software company ran the survey, providers chose to take part, the figures are in US dollars across many countries, and it doesn’t say what each fee covers.

The same words can describe very different amounts of effort. "SEO for a ten-page site" might mean a healthy site, or one with a broken migration, three languages and a CMS nobody can update.

Each supplier prices the scope it assumed, and the cheapest quote usually assumed the least. Turning every quote into days per discipline is the only fair way to compare them.

Our platform plans have published prices: Local at $149 per month and Growth at $399 per month. Prices are in USD, before any applicable tax. Pay monthly, with no minimum term, or pay for the year upfront and get 1 month free. Each plan covers one website with every feature included, and is sized by how many pages, locations and searches it covers and how many new pages it writes each month; the pricing page lists the limits.

National and Managed by BOOSTD works differently. Our specialists run your SEO with you, and we agree the scope per account (locations, content, outreach and how much specialist time you need), so we quote it after a scoping call. Compare software with software, and a managed service with an agency retainer.

Turn both into days per discipline. Ask each supplier how many days a month go on technical fixes, content, links or digital PR, analytics and account management, and who does each part. Compare those numbers before the headline price.

A quote you can’t break down this way is just a price. When two proposals differ, the gap nearly always comes from scope and seniority, rarely profit margin.

Yes, sometimes, for a narrow job. A small local business that needs its business profile fixed and a handful of pages written can get good value from a modest, clearly scoped package.

It stops being worth it when the price is low because the tasks are automated, outsourced without checks, or just reports on things that would have happened anyway. Ask exactly what you will get in month three; a vague answer is the warning sign.

The one that matches the job. A defined job with a clear end, such as an audit, a migration or a site restructure, suits a fixed-price project. Ongoing SEO suits a retainer. Occasional advice suits hourly billing.

Be careful with performance-based pricing. It sounds fair, but it tends to reward whatever is easiest to take credit for, often demand you already had.

Your site's current state, how well funded your competitors are, and how many markets or languages you need. Cost also rises when changes are hard to make, when you need links and press coverage, and when you want it done fast.

People underestimate speed the most. Squeezing twelve months of SEO into six costs more than twice as much, because you need more people working at once and more coordination.

Only if the scope grows. Pricing tied to your revenue, with no link to the effort involved, is common and hard to justify: you pay more for the same days.

Costs can fairly rise when scope expands, with more markets, more pages or more channels to coordinate. Before you accept an increase, ask which of those changed.