By Caitlin Proctor Huston, On-Page SEO and Content Marketing Expert
Last Updated: May 9, 2025
Have you been looking to invest in SEO but wondering how much SEO costs? This article will tell you everything you need to know about common SEO pricing models, rates, and business structures for search engine optimization services in 2025.
In 2025, Google captures nearly 90% of all search traffic. However, those search engine results are changing, and SEO has become hyper-competitive. To improve your visibility, you now have to compete with AI Overviews in addition to paid ads, competitors, and generated content. You have to have a defined SEO plan to stay relevant and ranked.
Happily, there are experienced SEO professionals for virtually every budget, need, and niche. An expert consultant can help you plan your overall SEO strategy, while an SEO agency can help you finish a new SEO project. Read on for general information about he cost of SEO, the latest specific SEO pricing benchmarks, and a case study that shows the ROI of SEO.
How much does SEO cost? Well, search engine optimization is a strategy, not a product or line item. This makes pricing SEO services tricky. SEO pricing varies widely based on factors like the scope of services, location, years of experience, and the size of your website.
When you compare SEO companies, you’ll find three main pricing models: retainers, hourly rates, and project-based pricing. There isn’t a single best choice that will apply to everyone. Below, there’s a description of each model, as well as a benchmark figure from Ahrefs’ poll on SEO pricing and Backlinko’s 2025 SEO pricing survey. There’s a comparison chart at the end of the section.
This is the most popular SEO pricing model. According to Ahrefs, 78.2% of SEO service providers charge for monthly SEO services. A monthly retainer offers ongoing SEO, allowing digital marketing strategies to evolve with a predictable budget. This works well for long-term improvements to ensure consistent efforts.
Ahrefs’ skilled SEO professionals in the US and Canada report charging monthly retainers that range from under $50 to as high as $25,000 to $50,000. The most common price point, chosen by nearly 30% of respondents, is between $2,500 and $5,000 per month. Similarly, Backlinko’s survey shows that 34% of SEO providers in the US, UK, or Australia offer this “premium tier” of services in 2025.
Many business owners who need consultations or specific SEO services opt for hourly SEO pricing. Ahrefs’ poll data indicates that about one-third of SEOs offer hourly rates. This model works well for businesses with internal support to implement SEO recommendations.
Backlinko’s poll found the average of hourly SEO services to be $50 to $100 per hour, but was heavily influenced by the SEO’s years of experience and location. Experienced SEO providers with 7 or more years in SEO charge, on average, $180 per hour in the US, UK, and Australia. Ahrefs’ data backs this finding up, finding an average hourly rate of $111 for their group.
Ahrefs reported that per-project fees typically fall between $2,501 and $5,000, but can range from under $100 to as much as $75,000. Backlinko found similar numbers: $1,000 to $5,000. Technical overhauls and link-building campaigns cost the most, while an SEO audit or keyword research costs the least.
About half of the SEOs polled by Ahrefs offer project-based pricing. Meanwhile, Backlinko broke that statistic down further into regional differences. It reveals that project-based SEO pricing is most common in India and Latin America, with 68% of respondents offering it, while only 15% of US, UK, and Australia-based SEO professionals offer project-based pricing.
Project-based pricing is ideal for businesses that know what they need but need additional support or expertise to implement it.
Some digital marketing services offer SEO performance-based pricing, where fees are tied to results like rankings or traffic growth. However, this model is less common due to the unpredictable nature of SEO and potential risks, such as providers using black-hat tactics. Neither Ahrefs nor Backlinko mentioned this pricing model in their research reports.
Compare the most common types of SEO pricing by their typical ranges, ideal use cases, pros, and cons.
The average SEO costs vary widely based on a range of factors. Understanding these influences will help you choose a strategy that fits both your budget and growth plans. For small-to-medium businesses, you need to balance the cost with the required level of service to achieve sustainable results. Here are the main factors that will determine the price of your SEO investment.
The decision of what type of SEO support to hire often comes down to your budget and risk tolerance. Each option—freelancer, agency, consultant, or in-house—offers different levels of cost, control, and expertise.
Agencies and consultants are both popular alternatives to in-house hires. According to Ahrefs, their average monthly retainers are nearly identical: agencies charge $3,209 per month on average, while consultants charge $3,250. However, hourly rates differ significantly. Consultants have higher SEO costs with an average of $171.18 per hour, while agencies average $98.90. Consultants often bring many years of hands-on experience. Hiring the right SEO agency, on the other hand, should grant you access to a full team with specialized skills in areas like schema markup or local SEO—support that a single person may not be able to provide.
Freelancers generally have the most affordable SEO pricing. They’re typically easier and faster to hire, but come with more variability in availability, quality, and accountability. As independent contractors, freelancers set their own hours, rates, and standards of practice, which may not always align with your expectations.
Hiring an in-house SEO specialist typically costs between $50,000 and $150,000+ per year, plus benefits. This is often the most expensive and time-intensive option, but it gives you the greatest control over who you’re working with and how they operate.
All professional SEO hires come with some risk, some cost, and varying levels of expertise and flexibility
Larger businesses often require more extensive SEO services, resulting in higher SEO costs. Small businesses with fewer than five employees might budget around $500 to $2,000 per month, while enterprises can allocate significantly more to meet comprehensive SEO needs.
The complexity of your SEO strategy impacts costs. Larger-scale strategies, such as enterprise-level SEO campaigns, naturally come with higher expenses. Services like SEO copywriting, link building, technical SEO audits, and local SEO all influence pricing.
SEO costs vary by region. US-based agencies generally charge more than providers in developing countries due to higher labor costs. Ahrefs found that 85.7% of SEOs in India charge an hourly rate of $30 or less. In contrast, Ahrefs’ data for the US and Canada shows that 66.7% charge an hourly rate between $75 to $200.
Whether or not an SEO serves locally versus globally can also impact the cost of SEO: international SEO providers charge slightly more, according to Ahrefs. Local SEO is typically more affordable, averaging $1,557 per month. Backlinko supports this data, reporting that in 2025, agencies charge around $1,819, and freelancers charge about $1,150 for local SEO services.
Professional SEO services often include reports from tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Screaming Frog, which can add $100 to $1,000 per month to their operational costs.
When planning your SEO budget, keep in mind that your SEO investment will impact how much you can do and how quickly you can do it. Knowing what to expect at each budget level will help you make an informed decision on how to allocate resources for the best long-term growth.
At this level, your SEO strategy will primarily focus on basic on-page SEO optimizations, such as refining title tags, meta descriptions, and internal linking. If you need local vs national SEO, local SEO campaigns will take precedence, while content creation will be excluded or limited. This option is ideal if you’re just starting to build your organic search engine marketing plan.
Services most likely to be included:
With this budget, you’ll receive a more comprehensive SEO strategy with current SEO best practices, including regular content production to engage your audience and enhance keyword rankings. Ongoing link building will establish your site’s authority, and technical optimizations will ensure your website is optimized for search engine results pages.
This range is suitable for businesses looking to scale and refine their SEO efforts.
Services most likely to be included:
A higher budget allows for enterprise-level SEO strategies, which include extensive content marketing and custom outreach campaigns aimed at securing high-authority backlinks. You’ll gain access to advanced data analysis to measure and adjust your SEO campaigns for optimal results. This level of SEO pricing is typically reserved for businesses with more competitive industries or those looking to dominate their market and achieve sustained, long-term growth.
Services most likely to be included:
Any level of SEO support can help you improve your organic traffic.
SEO success doesn’t come from picking the cheapest service or from hiring the biggest agency—it comes from aligning your SEO partner with how your business actually operates. Here’s how to get realistic about the three most important considerations: your budget, your level of involvement, and your SEO needs.
While it’s common advice to spend five to 10% of your marketing budget on SEO, that only works when you’re spending either $0 or over $20,000 a month. If your marketing budget is somewhere between nothing and enterprise-level, SEO usually deserves a higher percentage because organic search is one of the most cost-efficient acquisition channels. Here’s a more nuanced SEO cost calculator:
No matter your budget, revisit your SEO ROI every quarter. Look at traffic trends, leads, and online sales and conversions to determine if your ongoing monthly SEO spend still makes sense.
Ask yourself: How much do I want to delegate, and how often do I want to review progress? Your answer will help you choose the best SEO business model for you.
Think about how much you want to be involved in the SEO process:
A large agency will set the strategy, chart the course, and take everything off your hands. Meanwhile, a smaller agency or consultant will likely collaborate with you on your goals and plan. For total control over what is done and how it’s completed, a freelancer or in-house hire is best: you guide the strategy, and they will carry it out.
Basic SEO can be satisfied by an hourly freelancer or a modest retainer for an agency or consultant. However, wide-scale projects with multiple areas of focus require cross-functional expertise and a longer timeline. Not everyone needs the highest level of support. Be realistic about your business needs and your SEO’s ability to deliver them.
Still not sure? Try to match your pricing model to your operational style preference.
To bring it all together, here are some examples of how to match up provider, SEO cost, and SEO project by business stage.
While it requires commitment and patience, yes, SEO is a worthwhile investment for most businesses. It can yield significant returns and long-term benefits. Unlike paid advertising, which stops producing leads as soon as you stop paying for them, SEO has compounding benefits six months to several years after your initial investment.
Consequently, neglecting SEO can cost you visibility, brand awareness, and credibility. If people can’t find your site, you lose business to your competitors. You may have to compensate for low organic traffic numbers by increasing your ad spend. Working with SEO companies or contractors can lower your advertising costs over time.
A B2B SaaS company in the project management space with under 20 employees and $3M in annual revenue.
The client had a technically sound website but was struggling with stagnant traffic and poor keyword visibility. Their blog lacked topical authority, and their domain had minimal backlinks compared to competitors.
They hired a boutique SEO agency on a $4,500 a month retainer over six months. The service package included:
Note: some information has been changed to preserve anonymity.
Now that you know what you need, make sure you evaluate each specific provider based on their proposals. Look for:
Reputable SEO professionals will present clear deliverables and realistic timelines, ensuring you know exactly what to expect. As SEO consultant Marcus Miller writes for Search Engine Land, “Remember, professionals have plans; with modern SEO, this is the difference between success and failure.” Their strategy should be data-driven and tailored to your business goals, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Want to see what that looks like? Get a free marketing plan from the SEO experts at ZenUp.
Too-good-to-be-true SEO pricing, guaranteed search engine rankings, and limited tracking with little to no explanation about what the metrics mean.
While lower prices might seem appealing, they often come with hidden risks. Be wary of providers that promise guaranteed rankings, as SEO results can never be guaranteed. Some cheap SEO offers may use black-hat tactics, like engaging in link farms or clickbait content, which could lead to penalties from search engines and long-term damage to your online presence. A lack of transparency in reporting should raise a red flag, as you should always be able to track the progress of your SEO efforts.
Small businesses typically spend between $500 and $2,000 per month, depending on goals and competition. Larger businesses may pay SEO companies $10,000 or more.
It depends on your needs. Monthly retainers work well for ongoing SEO, while project-based or hourly fees suit one-time optimizations.
Caitlin Proctor Huston is an on-page SEO and content marketing expert with a proven track record of driving millions of visitors to businesses. She specializes in SEO writing, content strategy, and conversion optimization, helping brands scale and grow their online presence effectively.
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