What does a marketing agency actually cost?

Agency pricing ranges wildly and is often hidden. Here's a plain breakdown of what local businesses really pay and why.

Agency pricing is famously murky, and that's often deliberate. The honest answer is it ranges from a few hundred euro a month for basic local help to several thousand for full-service work. What you should care about isn't the headline number, it's what you get for it and whether it returns more than it costs. Here's how to read the price.

The common pricing models

• Monthly retainer: a set fee for ongoing work
• Project-based: a one-off price for a defined job
• Performance-based: tied partly to results
• Hourly: you pay for time, useful for small tasks

What drives the price up

Scope and seniority, mostly. A junior posting on social costs far less than a senior running ads and SEO across channels. Ad spend is usually on top of the fee, not included, so always ask what's bundled.

Cheap can be the most expensive

A very low monthly fee often means automated, generic work that does little. Paying a bit more for someone who actually moves the needle usually returns far more than the cheap option that quietly does nothing.

Judge it on return, not price

An agency that costs more but brings in more customers is cheaper in the only way that counts. We're transparent about price and what it returns, no mystery invoices. Want to know what your goals would realistically cost? Grab a free audit.