SEO pricing most often falls between $500 and $5,000 a month for a retainer, $75 to $100 an hour for consulting and $2,500 to $5,000 for a one-off project, according to two published surveys of SEO providers. Where you land depends on the pricing model, the scope of the work and who provides it. Both surveys were answered by sellers, so read the figures as what providers say they charge, not as what every buyer pays. Before you agree to a fee, get the scope in writing and ask what costs extra.
How much does SEO cost?
Two surveys give the clearest published picture. Ahrefs polled 439 SEO service providers, split into agencies, freelancers and consultancies. Goodfirms surveyed more than 300 SEO agency professionals in April and May 2026 and describes its own results as directional market observations, not fixed benchmarks. The figures below are as those publishers report them.
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average monthly retainer, agencies | $3,209 | Ahrefs |
| Average monthly retainer, consultancies | $3,250 | Ahrefs |
| Average monthly retainer, freelancers | $1,349 | Ahrefs |
| Most common monthly band | $501 to $1,000 (20.4% of providers) | Ahrefs |
| Average local SEO retainer | $1,557 | Ahrefs |
| Average hourly rate: agencies, freelancers, consultancies | $99, $72, $171 | Ahrefs |
| Most common project fee | $2,501 to $5,000 (21.2% of providers) | Ahrefs |
| Agencies charging under $1,500 a month | 43.3% | Goodfirms |
| Agencies charging $1,500 to $5,000 a month | 48.0% | Goodfirms |
| Agencies charging over $5,000 a month | 5.5% | Goodfirms |
The average retainers sit well above the most common band. That gap suggests a smaller group of higher-priced providers pulls the averages up, so the common band is the better guide to what a typical small or midsize engagement costs.
Retainer prices by provider size
Goodfirms breaks monthly retainers down by the size of the agency:
- Solo consultant: $500 to $1,500.
- Boutique agency of 2 to 5 people: $1,500 to $3,500.
- Small agency of 6 to 15 people: $2,000 to $5,000.
- Mid-market agency of 16 to 50 people: $3,000 to $7,500.
- Enterprise agency of 50 or more people: $7,500 to $15,000 and up.
It also reports regional ranges. North America runs $2,500 to $10,000 or more a month, Western Europe $2,000 to $8,000 or more, Eastern Europe $600 to $7,000 or more, and South Asia and Southeast Asia $500 to $2,000 or more.
Hourly rates, audits and projects
Hourly billing is common but not universal. In the Goodfirms survey 29.9 percent of agencies do not bill hourly, 25.2 percent charge under $50, 26.0 percent charge $50 to $100, 12.6 percent charge $100 to $200 and 3.1 percent charge more than $200. Goodfirms puts a senior SEO consultant at $100 to $200 an hour. In the Ahrefs survey the most common hourly band is $75 to $100, and consultancies are the most expensive at an average of $171.
For one-off work, Goodfirms reports a full technical audit at $1,500 to $5,000 and project work such as migrations or penalty recovery at $2,500 to $20,000 or more. Ahrefs found an average project fee of $9,508 for agencies, $8,686 for consultancies and $2,349 for freelancers.
Common SEO pricing models
Most proposals fit one of four structures, and some providers mix them.
Monthly retainers
A retainer is a recurring fee for ongoing SEO. The question is what funds it: a set number of hours, a list of deliverables or a team's general attention. Monthly SEO fees only make sense when the deliverables are written down.
Project-based SEO
A project fee covers a defined piece of work, such as an SEO audit, a technical clean-up or a content plan. It does not cover maintenance afterwards, so ask what happens in month four, when the project ends and the site still needs attention.
Hourly SEO rates
Hourly pricing is common with a consultant or an individual specialist and suits advice, reviews and short jobs. The total depends on hours, so ask for an estimate and a cap before work starts.
Performance-based SEO
Performance-based pricing ties some or all of the fee to an agreed outcome. The contract has to define the outcome, how it is measured and who controls the tracking. Be careful with outcomes that are easy to hit without helping the business, such as ranking for a low-value keyword. Goodfirms advises avoiding this model.
What drives SEO cost
The same site can get very different quotes for the same goal. Each driver below can change a quote on its own:
- Scope. Technical SEO, content creation, link building and local SEO are separate kinds of work, and each adds time or third-party spend.
- Site size and condition. A large site with technical problems needs more work than a small, clean one.
- Competition. A keyword that many companies target usually needs more content and more links before a page ranks strongly.
- Provider type. Freelancers, consultants, agencies and an in-house team have different cost structures, as the survey averages above show.
- Location. Provider prices vary widely by region.
- Reporting and tools. Some fees include reporting and software and some do not.
Services that cost extra
Several services are usually priced separately from the core retainer. Goodfirms reports these ranges:
- Link building: $500 to $3,000 or more a month.
- Content creation: $100 to $500 or more per piece.
- Local SEO and Google Business Profile management: $200 to $800 a month.
- Digital PR and media link acquisition: $2,000 to $8,000 or more a month.
- AI and generative engine optimization: $900 to $2,500 a month as a standalone service.
If you buy link building, ask whether the fee pays for placements or only for outreach effort. Open Developer's link building agencies hub and the link building agencies roundup cover the providers we have reviewed. For AI search work, the definitions are at GEO and AEO. If you are weighing a separate GEO engagement, check whether the proposal repeats work already in your SEO plan, and see the GEO and AEO agencies hub and the generative engine optimization tools roundup.
What a realistic SEO budget looks like
Goodfirms puts a local business at $500 to $1,500 a month, growing companies at $1,500 to $5,000 and enterprises at $5,000 to $15,000 or more. Ahrefs puts the average local SEO retainer at $1,557. Taken together, a small business competing in one area should expect something in the range of $500 to $1,600 a month, and a national or competitive campaign needs a larger budget. Goodfirms treats anything under $300 a month as a red flag, because that amount rarely covers real ongoing work.
Software is a separate cost. Ask whether an agency's tools are included in its fee or billed on top, and whether you keep access to reports and accounts if you leave. Open Developer reviews of SEO software are in the AI SEO tools category.
Questions to ask before you set an SEO budget
Put the same questions to every provider so the quotes are comparable:
- What is in the fee: audit, keyword research, technical fixes, content, links, reporting?
- Who does the work, and how much is done by the person you meet in the sales call?
- What is the contract term, and how do you cancel?
- How will return on investment be measured, and by whom?
- What does the work deliver in the first three months?
- Does anyone guarantee a ranking? Treat a ranking guarantee as a reason to ask more questions, because search engines decide positions and no provider controls them.
- What costs fall outside the fee: tools, content, link placements, setup?
A cheap package is not automatically a poor choice, and an expensive one is not automatically good. The test is whether the written scope matches the problem you have.
Compare providers with a method
If you are shortlisting providers, a ranking built on stated criteria beats a list written by one of the entries. Open Developer's ranking weights pricing and value at 15 percent of each score, next to proof of results at 30 percent, and every sub-score is shown on the page. Start with the AI SEO agencies roundup or the category hub. The methodology explains how scores are built. Open Developer takes no payment or affiliate commission for coverage or placement.
How this guide was researched
This guide is desk research on two published surveys, the Ahrefs survey of 439 SEO service providers and the 2026 Goodfirms survey of more than 300 agency professionals. It reports their figures as published and names who answered them: sellers, not buyers. The Ahrefs figures were published in 2023 and updated since, so the Goodfirms figures are the more recent of the two. No agency was hired and no quote was requested. Last researched: October 28, 2026.