A Guide To Social Media Management Pricing In 2024

We’ll head straight to what you (agencies and freelancers) should charge for social media management in 2024.

Agencies and freelancers typically charge $500 to $20,000 per month for comprehensive services, with hourly rates around $14–$35/hr. For one-off projects, costs can easily soar up to $50,000, depending on client requirements.

In this guide, we'll cover all aspects of social media management pricing: hiring social media managers, designing agency packages, freelance charges, costs for social media management tools, and more.

I have consulted with the internal team members of several reputed agencies and engaged with experienced freelancers to prepare a comprehensive breakdown of the factors influencing these prices, different pricing models, average costs, and how you can create your own social media packages.

What Are The Services Included Within Social Media Management?

There’s a lot included under the bigger umbrella, “social media management,” which is catered by both agencies and freelancers at their own scope. Both have their own perks/benefits/costing, and whether it's beneficial or not will depend on your specific requirements and whether you are choosing the correct option for the same.

Regardless of that, here is a full, detailed list of services typically included in social media management (both agencies and freelancers), along with the associated costs for the US locations.

Strategy Development

• Cost: $500-$1500+ USD. Pricing for a Premium Social Media Strategy ranges from $1500-$3500+ USD.

• Involves choosing the right platforms, setting goals, and planning content themes to ensure a cohesive brand message.

Content Creation and Curation

• Cost: For blogs, the cost of crafting a 1000-word blog typically ranges from $200 to $750. For web content creation, the cost is between $1500 and $4500. And for video content from $1,200 to $20,000.

• Includes creating engaging images, videos, infographics, and curated content to captivate the audience.

Publishing and Scheduling

• Cost: Included in content creation fees.

• Utilizing social media scheduling tools to maintain consistency and reach the audience at optimal times.

Engagement and Community Building

• Cost: Something around $70-100 per hour (can go up to $320 for top-rated agencies).

• Engaging with followers, responding to comments, and fostering community interaction to deepen brand loyalty.

Analytics and Reporting

• Cost: $500 - $5000 per hour for agencies

• Tracking engagement rates, follower growth, and content/team performance to refine strategies and improve effectiveness.

Advertising Management

• Cost: $5,000+ per month (depending on campaign specifics) for agencies and $20 to $150 per hour or $500 to $2,500 per project for freelancers (based on experience).

• Crafting and managing targeted ad campaigns to boost visibility and engagement, ensuring a good return on investment.

Crisis Management

• Cost: $40 - $160 per hour (can go up to $280 for top-rated agencies)

• Monitoring brand reputation and responding promptly to negative feedback to maintain a positive image.

Platform Management

• Cost: $500 - $5,000 per month

• Manage multiple social media profiles, handle inbound messages, and utilize social media management tools to streamline operations.

Campaign Management

• Cost: $70 - $190 per hour and between $1,500 and $10,000 per month as a flat-fee model for top-rated agencies.

• Planning and executing comprehensive social media campaigns, including strategy, content creation, community management, design, and reporting.

Whenever you take reference from this, remember choosing between package pricing and individual service pricing can impact both transparency and flexibility. Packages will offer clarity to your prospects but may not cover all eventualities, whereas individual pricing provides flexibility but may lead to confusion and potential tensions with clients.

Cost Of Social Media Management Tools And Software

Investing in a comprehensive social media management tool/software can be as wide as $0-$3,600+ monthly to cover end-to-end needs. This general pricing depends on the number of users and social channels you’re posting across.

Social media managers understand that using native platforms for publishing, scheduling, and reporting is inefficient and often unfeasible. Social media management tools and software streamline the demanding tasks of managing social channels, allowing you to concentrate on more important tasks. Plus, you will save on hiring costs as you won't need outsourcing.

To help you save time on research, I have curated a list of the top 6 social media management tools and their popular pricing plans, which vary depending on the number of social media profiles, team users, and platform functionality.

Features	Statusbrew (Standard)	Hootsuite (Team)	Sprout Social (Standard)	Agorapulse (Professional)	Buffer (Team)	Later (Advanced)
Model	Bundled	Bundled	Per user pricing	Per user pricing	Per profile pricing	Bundled
Price (yearly)	$129 / mo	$129 / mo	$199 per user/mo	$79 per user/mo	$10 per profile/mo	$53 / mo
Team Members	5 users Addon: $30/user	3 users (no user add-ons)	$249 per user	$99 per user	Unlimited	6 users Addon: $5/user
Social Profiles	10 profiles Addon: $10/profile	10 profiles (no profile add-ons)	5 profiles (no profile add-ons)	10 profiles Addon: $10/profile	$12 per profile	6 profiles per network (aka Social set)
Pricing (monthly)	$179 / mo	$169 / mo	$249 per user/mo	$99 per user/mo	$12 per profile/mo	$80 / mo
Trial	14-day free cardless	30-day free trial	30-day free trial	30-day-free cardless	14-day free	14-day free

Statusbrew

Try worthy in terms of automations, inbox management, approval workflows, and reporting, Statusbrew’s motto is to get more tasks done in less time.

Offering comprehensive solutions across multiple social media networks, Statusbrew allows you to do much more than community management, comment moderation, scheduling, or tracking performance.

Here’s an overview of how we categorize our services between different pricing tiers:

Standard

• $129 per month billed annually or $179.00 per month billed monthly
• Manage up to 10 social profiles with 5 user seats
• Access to social media reporting with 18 months of data backfill
• Integration with Google My Business
• Access to Rule Engine for automations
• Brewlink-in-bio
• Email and chat support

Premium

• $229 per month billed annually or $299 per month billed monthly
• Manage up to 15 social profiles with 8 user seats
• Access to AI sentiment analysis
• Employ custom workflows for multiple approvers and steps
• Find team and SLA reporting
• Take advantage of competitor analysis
• Identify if multiple users are working on similar tickets to prevent overlapping
• Priority email and chat support

Enterprise

• Custom pricing for organizations that need additional security, support, and integrations.
• Unlimited profiles and user seats
• Access to a dedicated account manager
• Integration with Salesforce and Hubspot
• Use API and Webhook support
• Receive single-sign-on support
• Stay organized with real-time team logging
• Take advantage of 1:1 onboarding and training support

To understand how we structure our feature availability under what pricing tier, check out our pricing page.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite lets you do all that is required to manage your social media accounts across various platforms. From Steams, bulk scheduling, content calendar, comprehensive analytics, and team collaboration, you can access a lot more as your requirements.

Here’s how they price their services:

Sprout Social

With Sprout Social, you can plan, create, publish, and schedule social media content across various platforms. Besides analyzing your content performance through its advanced analytics, you also get access to response management, review monitoring, etc.

Here’s how Sprout prices their services:

Agorapulse

Agorapulse will keep you covered for social media publishing, engaging, and reporting. It also offers collaboration workflows and automation for engagement. Although one might feel that Agorapulse isn’t very flexible, it is a good value for money.

Here’s how they price their services:

Buffer

Users like Buffer for its low starting price, individual tools, and clean and intuitive interface. It's a suitable option for small businesses to schedule posts, analyze the results, and engage with their customers.

Here’s how they price their services:

Later

If you're serious about boosting your brand on Instagram, check out Later. It's designed specifically for Instagram and offers a feed planner, scheduling, and automatic posting. Plus, it has link tools that are ideal for eCommerce. One of its best features is the content creation tools, which help streamline your process. There's also a media gallery to store all your images and videos.

Here’s how they price their services:

Cost Of Social Media Management Agency

Brands often turn to agencies either to supplement their in-house teams or to fully outsource their social media efforts. If you're considering this route, it's important to understand the cost parameters involved.

But first, agencies typically offer a range of services, including:

• Platform management
• Social strategy development
• Content creation
• Social media analytics
• Paid social campaigns
• Reputation management
• Influencer marketing
• Engagement and community management

The basic drill is that the scope of your needs will significantly influence the cost. Pricing varies based on the size of your business, the extent of the work required, specific goals, the duration of the service, and the number of tasks the agency handles.

Here's a general idea of what you can expect:

• Small businesses: $500 to $2,500 per month
• Medium-sized businesses: $2,500 to $7,500 per month
• Large corporations: $7,500 to $20,000+ per month

However, if we talk about typical pricing models that most agencies follow, here’s an overview of the same.

• Monthly Retainer: This common model involves a fixed monthly fee for a bundle of services. Prices can range from $1,000 to $20,000 per month, depending on the agency's reputation, the scope of work, and your specific needs.

• Project-Based Pricing: For distinct campaigns or projects, agencies might charge a flat fee ranging from $500 to $50,000, depending on the project's complexity.

• Performance-Based Pricing: Some agencies tie their fees to performance metrics, such as generating a certain number of leads, commission on sales, cost per lead (CPL) or acquisition, revenue sharing, etc.

Average Cost	Pros	Cons
$1,000 to $5,000 monthly, covering both organic and paid marketing.	Agencies offer expertise and optimize your presence better. You can access premium tools as a perk and track performance.	It can be expensive for small businesses or startups and might also potentially lead to communication issues or delays.

While hiring a social media management agency can be strategic support to boost your social media impact, weighing the costs and benefits to determine if it’s the right move for your brand is crucial. So take your call!

Cost Of Social Media Freelancer

Freelancers’ fees vary based on their experience and the project scope. Typically, you can expect to pay between $500 and $10,000 per month, though many freelancers also offer hourly rates.

First, outline your goals and budget, then find freelancers whose skills and rates align with your needs.

Average Cost	Pros	Cons
$500–$5,000 per month; many freelancers also offer hourly rates averaging $31.	Offer flexible schedules and cost-effective solutions, accommodate different time zones, and charge only for completed work.	Multiple client handling can affect availability and might have lower commitments than full-time employees.

As Freelancer rates depend on experience, task complexity, and location, you'll need to factor these costs into your budget when opting for one. According to Upwork, freelancers charge between $14 and $35 per hour.

Here's a closer look at costs for US-based intermediate freelancers for small businesses across various services:

Service	Average Project Price (Per Month)
Account Management (2 channels/all services)	$400-$2000
Account Management (Each Additional Channel)	$200-$1,500
Blogging w/ Social Shares	$400-$1,200
Influencer Targeting	$200-$1,000
Graphic Design	$200-$950
Customer Outreach	$200-$1,000

Upwork Data

Ultimately, the best approach is to calculate your costs, consider your skills, expertise, and the value you provide, and set your rates accordingly. Research industry standards, and be transparent with your clients about your pricing structure and the services included in your packages.

Cost Of In-House Social Media Manager

Being an in-house staff member myself, I know the advantages and perks associated with the same. It's always preferable to opt for an in-house social media manager rather than outsourcing, but only if you have the budget.

If you are considering hiring an in-house social media manager, the cost will follow thus:

• Entry-Level Manager: Starting from $52,000 annually in the US

• Experienced Managers: Salaries upwards of $90,125 /yr or more in competitive markets

Besides this, hiring an in-house manager comes with extra costs for onboarding, training, office space, and equipment, and the total cost will depend on the team size and the skills required to meet your social media management needs.

Average Cost	Pros	Cons
The average salary for a social media manager in the United States is $59,716 per year. The average additional cash compensation for a Social Media Manager in the United States is $4,994, with a range from $3,746 - $6,992.	In-house managers are better aligned with the internal depts. Have greater commitment and understanding of your business requirements due to greater control over daily activities.	Higher costs and investment in recruitment and ongoing professional development compared to outsourcing, including salary, benefits, and training.

Glassdoor data

How To Create Social Media Management Packages?

Creating pricing packages is a common practice among agencies for a good reason: it simplifies client interactions and clarifies the overall costs of social media management.

While 45% of businesses pay $100 – $5000 per month, and 30% pay $21 – $50 per hour for social media management from an agency, custom packages attract a diverse range of clients by allowing them to select services that are most relevant to their needs. Moreover, these packages standardize your offerings, making it easier to predict the necessary time and financial investments.

Another perk: Social media packages often enable you to secure contracts and request upfront payments.

Sounds great, right? But how do you actually create these packages?

Most agencies find the popular tiered pricing model useful mainly because it attracts new customers and helps retain existing ones.

Imagine setting up three tiers for your services:

• Basic Package: Great for bringing in new clients.

• Intermediate Package: Ideal for retaining customers.

• Advanced Package: Encourages current clients to upgrade and spend more.

Though it might seem straightforward, the idea for creating the tiered pricing structure can look something like this:

• Good: 12 social posts per week and a monthly report.

• Better: Manage 5 profiles with 20 posts per week.

• Best: Manage 15 profiles with 40 posts per week.

With this, you can include services such as strategy, monitoring, sponsored posts, reporting, community management for each social media account, and so on.

However, sooner or later, you will find clients who won’t like certain aspects of your packages and would like to include or exclude some services. In such cases, based on their preference, you need to keep the option of a custom package on your pricing page.

To build custom packages, start with a flat rate price sheet that lists monthly prices for each service you provide. This approach enables you to offer tailored quotes and design personalized packages for clients who need something different from your standard offerings.

Packages For Freelancers

Although 56% of businesses pay $1001 – $10,000 per month, and 50% pay $21 – $50 per hour for social media management services from a freelancer. For those who are currently starting out and struggling to understand where to start and need advice for creating pricing packages, I would recommend offering social media management package deals ranging from $15-$250 hr, varying depending on their experience level:

• Entry Level: $15-$50/hr

• Intermediate: $50 - $100/hr

• Advanced: $120-$250/hr

Besides this, after following various conversation threads on Reddit and talking to some freelancers with 5 to 8 years of experience, for more clarity, I would further recommend costing things up based on time. Give yourself an hourly rate, then try to work out how many hours you think you need a month. Then, add some insurance against mission/scope creep from the client. That's how an agency would do it.

When you think you have a price, pick a few people you trust to test this on. Hope that’s useful! That’s how I’d approach it, although it’s definitely not the only way!

Frequently Asked Questions