# How Much Does Social Media Marketing Cost in the UK? > Source: https://prontx.com/insights/how-much-does-social-media-marketing-cost-uk/ | Publisher: ProntX | Last updated: 2026-10-27 ## Summary Social media marketing in the UK typically costs £500 to £1,500 a month for managed work for a small business, more for specialist agencies, plus separate ad spend; an in-house manager earns about £25,000 to £50,000, and ProntX starts from £650 a month. **Social media marketing in the UK usually costs between £500 and £1,500 a month for a managed service for a small or medium business, with experienced freelancers from around £500 and specialist agencies running into several thousand pounds. Paid social ad spend sits on top, and an in-house social media manager earns roughly £25,000 to £50,000 a year.** Those ranges are wide because “social media marketing” covers very different jobs. Scheduling a few posts a week is one thing. Planning content, filming short-form video, replying to every comment and running Meta or LinkedIn ads is another. This article splits the cost into its parts, compares the three ways of resourcing it, and gives you a checklist for judging any quote you receive. Figures are as of October 2026. ## Key takeaways - Published UK estimates put a typical small business at £500 to £1,500 a month for managed social media, with premium and campaign-led work above that. - Content is the biggest cost driver, and short-form video costs the most to produce. - Ad spend is separate from any management fee. On LinkedIn the minimum daily budget is $10, or the local currency equivalent. - An in-house hire costs £25,000 at starter level and about £50,000 when experienced, according to the National Careers Service, before tools, training and cover. - Cheap packages often leave out community management, video editing or ad setup, so compare scope, not just the monthly figure. ## How much does social media marketing cost in the UK? Most UK businesses pay between £500 and £1,500 a month for social media that someone else manages, according to published estimates from Whito and Birdeye. Basic posting-only packages start lower, and full-service or campaign-led work for larger brands runs from about £1,500 to £10,000 or more a month. It is easier to understand a quote if you split it into four parts. Many prices you see online only describe one of them. | Cost component | What it covers | How it is usually charged | | Management | Strategy, content calendar, scheduling, reporting | Monthly retainer or hourly rate | | Content production | Graphics, copy, photography, short-form video | Included up to a set volume, or charged per graphic, per video or per shoot day | | Community management | Replying to comments and messages, moderating | Included in some retainers, an add-on in others | | Paid social | Ad spend on Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn or Pinterest, plus campaign management | Spend paid to the platform; management as a separate monthly fee | When two quotes look far apart, the difference is usually in the second and third rows. One supplier is pricing three branded graphics a week, the other is pricing filmed video and daily replies. ## What do freelancers and agencies charge for social media? Freelancers are generally the cheapest option and specialist agencies the most expensive, with small agencies in between. Whito’s 2026 research, which draws on published rate cards and freelancer platforms, gives these indicative UK ranges. | Provider | Typical monthly cost | Typical hourly rate | | Junior freelancer | £250 to £500 | £15 to £30 | | Experienced freelancer | £500 to £1,200 | £30 to £60 | | Small agency | £800 to £2,000 | Not usually quoted | | Mid-size agency | £2,000 to £5,000 | Not usually quoted | | Specialist social agency | £3,000 to £10,000+ | Not usually quoted | Treat these as a guide rather than a market average. The research does not publish sample sizes, and different sources draw the bands in different places. Birdeye, for example, puts small agencies at £500 to £1,500 and mid-size agencies at £1,500 to £3,000. What is consistent across sources is the order: freelancers, then small agencies, then larger and specialist firms. The hourly rate matters less than the hours. A freelancer at £40 an hour who spends 20 hours a month on your account costs £800, which is in the same range as a small agency retainer. ## What makes social media marketing more expensive? The number of platforms, the amount and type of content, and whether paid ads and community management are included are the main drivers of cost. Each one adds hours, and hours are what you are paying for. - **Number of platforms.** Each platform needs its own formats, captions and posting times. Whito lists platform add-ons from around £100 to £300 a month for Pinterest up to £300 to £800 for TikTok, reflecting how much video TikTok needs. - **Content type.** Static graphics are quick. Short-form video for Instagram Reels or TikTok takes planning, filming and editing. Birdeye quotes £50 to £150 per graphic and £300 to £2,000 per video when charged separately. - **Posting frequency.** Three posts a week and daily publishing are different jobs, even on one platform. - **Community management.** Replying to comments and direct messages every working day is ongoing work. Some packages include it; others charge extra or leave it to you. - **Paid social.** Running ads adds campaign setup, creative testing, tracking and reporting. Whito puts paid social management at an extra £300 to £1,500 a month, plus the ad spend itself. - **Reporting depth.** A basic monthly report is usually included. Custom dashboards tied to sales or leads can cost more. ## How much should you spend on social media ads? Ad spend is a separate budget from management, and it is paid to the platform, not to whoever runs your account. How much you need depends on the platform, the audience you target and how many results you need to judge whether a campaign is working. The platforms set floors, not recommendations. LinkedIn’s advertising guidance states that the minimum daily budget is $10 for any ad format, and a new campaign with a lifetime budget needs at least $100. LinkedIn suggests new advertisers start at around $25 a day, or the equivalent in other currencies. You can read the detail in [LinkedIn’s budget guidance for advertisers](https://business.linkedin.com/advertise/ads/best-practices/maximize-your-budget). A minimum budget keeps a campaign running, but it rarely buys enough clicks to learn much. We suggest working backwards: decide what a lead or sale is worth to you, estimate how many you need in a month to see a pattern, and set spend from that. If you are weighing social ads against search ads, our guide to [what PPC costs in the UK](/insights/how-much-does-ppc-cost-uk/) covers how Google Ads budgets work, and our [paid social management](/social-media-marketing/paid-social/) page explains how we structure campaigns and creative testing. One more cost to plan for if you pay creators or influencers: their posts are adverts, and they must be clearly labelled. The ASA and the Competition and Markets Authority published the fourth edition of their Influencers’ Guide in 2026, which explains when disclosure is needed. Build that into your briefs and contracts from the start. ## Is it cheaper to hire a social media manager in-house? Hiring in-house is usually only cheaper once you need close to a full-time person. The National Careers Service lists a social media manager salary of about £25,000 at starter level and about £50,000 when experienced, for a typical 38 to 45 hour week. The salary is not the whole cost. You also pay employer National Insurance and pension contributions, scheduling and design software, a phone or camera kit for video, training, and cover for holidays and sickness. One person is also one skill set. A strong content creator may not be a confident ads buyer, and the reverse is common too. The [National Careers Service job profile](https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/social-media-manager) lists the day-to-day tasks: building campaigns, scheduling posts, making content including short-form video, replying to comments, reviewing data and writing reports. If your business only needs part of that list, a freelancer or agency for the missing part is often the better fit. ## DIY, freelancer, agency or in-house: which should you choose? Choose based on how much content you need, whether you run ads, and how much of your own time you can give. This framework covers the common situations we see. | Your situation | Usually the best fit | Why | | Very small budget, one platform, owner has time | Do it yourself, with a clear plan | Cash cost is close to zero; the cost is your time | | One or two platforms, mainly organic posts | Experienced freelancer | Lower monthly cost for a defined, steady workload | | Several platforms, video and paid ads together | Agency | Strategy, content, community and ads under one plan, with cover built in | | Daily publishing and a large volume of content | In-house hire, often plus specialist support | Full-time workload justifies a salary; ads or video can stay outsourced | Whichever you choose, start from a plan. Our [guide to building a social media marketing strategy](/insights/social-media-marketing-strategy/) walks through choosing platforms and goals before you spend anything. ## What does ProntX charge for social media marketing? ProntX social media marketing starts from £650 a month plus VAT, on a rolling monthly contract with no lock-in. Paid social ad spend is extra and goes straight to Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn or Pinterest, so you keep ownership of your ad accounts and see exactly what was spent. The starting package covers two platforms, a monthly content plan with around three posts a week, weekday community management and a monthly report. Larger scopes add more platforms, more video and paid campaigns, and the final price depends on platforms, content volume and how much filming is involved. You can see every channel side by side on our [pricing page](/pricing/). ## How do you judge a social media marketing quote? Compare quotes on exactly what is delivered each month, not on the headline price. Use this checklist before you sign anything. - Which platforms are included, and how many posts per platform per week? - How many of those posts are video, and who films and edits them? - Are comments and direct messages answered, on which days, and how quickly? - Is ad spend included in the price or billed separately, and who owns the ad account? - Are ad setup, creative testing and tracking (such as the Meta Pixel) in scope? - What does the monthly report show: likes and reach only, or enquiries and sales? - How many rounds of revisions are included before extra charges apply? - What is the notice period, and do you keep the content and accounts if you leave? - Does the price include VAT? A quote that cannot answer most of these clearly is hard to compare and easy to outgrow. ## Is social media marketing worth the cost? It is worth it when the cost is measured against enquiries or sales, rather than followers. Social works best for businesses whose customers already spend time on a platform and respond to visual content, such as retail, hospitality, beauty and many B2B firms on LinkedIn. Set a measurable goal before you start, give it at least a few months of consistent activity, and review what each platform actually brings in. If one channel produces nothing after a fair test, move that budget to the one that works. If you would like a second opinion on what you are spending now, or a scoped quote for your own platforms, have a look at [how ProntX runs social media marketing](/social-media-marketing/) or ask us for a [free growth audit](/free-audit/). We reply within one working day. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is social media marketing cheaper than Google Ads? Not necessarily. Organic social has no media cost but needs steady time for content and replies, while Google Ads charges for every click on top of any management fee. Paid social and search ads both depend on your audience and competition. Many businesses run both: search ads catch people already looking, and social builds demand among people who are not searching yet. ### Does ad spend usually come out of the agency fee? It should not. Ad spend and management are normally separate: the fee pays for the work, and the spend goes to Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn or Pinterest. Ask any supplier to confirm this in writing and to run ads through an account in your business's name, so you can see every invoice from the platform. ### How many posts a week should a social media package include? There is no single right number. A consistent three posts a week on the platforms your customers use is often more useful than daily posts spread thinly across five channels. Ask what each post is for, and check the package includes replying to comments and messages, which is where many enquiries actually happen. ### Can I pay for social media marketing by the hour? Yes, freelancers often charge by the hour. Whito's 2026 research puts junior freelancers at around £15 to £30 an hour and experienced freelancers at £30 to £60. Hourly billing suits ad hoc work. For ongoing management, a monthly retainer with an agreed scope is usually easier to budget for and to hold to account. ### Do social media marketing prices include VAT? Not always, so check. Agencies and freelancers who are VAT registered usually quote prices excluding VAT and add it to the invoice. Ad platforms bill separately and show tax on their own invoices. When you compare quotes, put them all on the same basis, either all including or all excluding VAT. ### How long before social media marketing shows results? Expect to give it a few months of consistent activity before judging it. Early weeks are spent learning which content and formats your audience responds to. Paid social can produce enquiries faster, but campaigns still need time and enough spend to gather data. Agree in advance which numbers count as success, such as enquiries or sales. ### What is usually missing from cheap social media packages? The common gaps are community management, video filming or editing, ad campaign setup and extra revision rounds. A low monthly price may cover scheduling a set number of graphics and little else. Ask for the scope in writing, including what is charged as an extra, before comparing it with a fuller package. ## Contact Free growth audit: https://prontx.com/free-audit/ | Phone: 020 3048 4022 | Email: info@prontx.com