How much should SEO cost per month?

Monthly SEO costs can range widely, but most small to mid-sized businesses invest roughly $1,000 to $5,000 per month on quality SEO. 

What you should spend depends on your goals, competition, and the scope of work needed.

In general, you’ll want to budget at least four figures monthly for a serious SEO effort – think of it as hiring a part-time growth engine for your business.

Let’s break down typical SEO pricing and what factors influence the cost.

Typical SEO Pricing Models

SEO services come in a few pricing flavors:

• Monthly Retainer: The most common model, where you pay a fixed amount each month (e.g. $2,000/month) for ongoing SEO work. This is ideal for continuous content creation, link building, and optimization.
• Project-Based: A flat cost for a specific project, like a site audit or a 3-month content overhaul. These can range from a few thousand dollars for a small site audit to tens of thousands for large projects.
• Hourly Consulting: Some SEO experts charge hourly (often $75–$150/hour, depending on expertise). This might be for ad-hoc advice or smaller tasks, but it can add up if you need many hours.
• Performance-based or commission: Rarely, agencies might tie fees to results (like a bonus for hitting certain targets), but upfront costs still apply in most cases.

For most SaaS companies and serious businesses, the monthly retainer model is prevalent, because SEO is ongoing. And within that model, costs usually fall into a few tiers:

• Entry-level SEO ($500–$1,000/month): This might suit a very small business or local operation. At this budget, expect limited hours spent on your account – maybe focusing on just a couple of priority keywords, doing basic on-page fixes, and a small amount of content. It’s a slow burn approach, and you should be cautious that at the very bottom of this range, quality could suffer.
• SMB and Growth Stage SEO ($1,000–$3,000/month): This is the sweet spot for many small-to-medium businesses or funded startups. In this range, an agency can usually provide a more comprehensive service: regular content creation (say 2-4 optimized blog posts a month), ongoing technical optimizations, and a proactive link building/outreach effort. You’re paying for a part-time team’s attention. Most reputable agencies catering to startups will have packages starting around here.
• High-End or Enterprise SEO ($5,000+/month): Larger companies or those in ultra-competitive niches may spend $5k, $10k or far beyond per month. With that comes a dedicated team, possibly including technical SEO developers, content strategists producing lots of content, digital PR campaigns for backlinks, etc. Essentially, you’re funding significant labor and expertise to dominate tough keywords. Enterprise SEO contracts can even reach five figures per month when the stakes are high (think national e-commerce sites, major SaaS with aggressive growth goals, etc.).

It’s worth noting that these ranges are not rigid.

SEO pricing isn’t standardized across the board. Some boutique agencies may charge more even for smaller scopes if they specialize deeply (for instance, an agency known for technical SEO audits might charge $5k just for an audit). 

However, as a rule of thumb, the most common retainer range we see is around $1k-$5k per month for quality services.

Factors That Influence Cost

Why does SEO cost $X for one business and $Y for another? A few key factors drive the price:

Scope of Work

The more extensive your SEO needs, the higher the cost. If you have a brand new site with no content or backlinks, you’ll need a lot more work (content writing, link outreach, technical setup) than an established site that just needs refinement. 

For example, a local bakery might only need local SEO tweaks and a few pages optimized, which is a smaller scope. A SaaS targeting global keywords will need continuous blog content, link acquisition, and maybe technical consulting – a much larger scope.

Competition Level

If you’re in a competitive industry (like project management software or fintech), winning in SEO is harder and requires more resources. More competition means you need to produce higher-quality content and acquire better backlinks to outrank others. 

That often translates to more hours and effort (hence higher cost). In contrast, a niche product with very specific keywords might rank with less effort, possibly costing less.

Included Services

Always clarify what’s bundled in the monthly fee. SEO can include various services – keyword research, on-page optimization, content creation, link building, reporting, technical audits, etc. Some agencies offer a full package (they’ll write content for you, build links, optimize your site, and give you reports).

 Others might charge content creation separately, for instance. If an agency is doing content writing and SEO strategy together, expect the cost to be higher (though it usually delivers more value since content is fuel for SEO). 

An agency just providing consulting (telling you what to do, but not doing it) might cost less, but then you have to execute.

Agency Expertise and Reputation

Established agencies with a strong track record often charge more – and often they’re worth it, because they bring years of experience and proven strategies. You’re paying for people who have done it before successfully. 

A top-tier agency might have higher hourly rates or require a higher minimum retainer. On the flip side, a newer or less proven agency might offer lower prices to attract clients. 

Just remember, price doesn’t always guarantee quality, but very low prices can be a warning sign. It’s about value: a $3k/month agency that delivers great results is far better than a $1k/month one that does nothing impactful.

Geographic Location and Overhead

If you hire an SEO provider in North America or Western Europe, costs tend to be higher than hiring someone overseas, simply due to labor rates and overhead. However, the remote work boom has evened this out a bit – many agencies have distributed teams. 

Still, if you come across a quote that’s much lower, check if language/time-zone barriers might be in play. Many companies are willing to pay a bit more for an agency they can easily communicate with during their business hours.

ROI Consideration: Cost vs. Return

A smart way to frame your budget is to consider the potential ROI. SEO is an investment that, when successful, can return multiples of what you spend. 

For example, if you spend $2,000/month (so $24k/year) on SEO, how many new customers would need to come from that investment to break even? If you’re a SaaS with a customer lifetime value of $5,000, then just 5 new customers in the year pays for itself – and anything above that is gravy. 

Good SEO can easily drive dozens or hundreds of new sign-ups if done right, which is why companies are willing to spend in the thousands per month. It builds an asset (organic traffic) that keeps giving.

Of course, you might not see that return immediately (SEO typically ramps up over months), but over a year or two, the returns often far outpace the costs. 

When budgeting, ensure you can sustain at least 6-12 months of investment; a common mistake is to spend for 2-3 months and expect the moon. It’s better to plan a realistic monthly spend that you can maintain consistently, as consistency is key in SEO.

So, What Should You Spend on SEO?

If you’re just starting out or testing the waters, you might start on the lower end (say $1k-$2k/month) and see some initial traction, then scale up. 

Many businesses actually increase SEO spend once they see it working – it’s one of the few channels where results often improve over time as you build momentum.

 On the other hand, if you know your space is competitive and you have aggressive growth targets, invest as much as you reasonably can. 

A good agency will help you allocate that budget effectively (for instance, advising whether to invest more in content vs. link building given your scenario).

One tip: discuss with potential agencies what they recommend given your goals. A credible agency will give you an honest ballpark. They might say, “Given your situation, we think a $2,500/month plan makes sense and here’s what we’d do…” 

If your budget is lower than what they suggest is needed, they should also be honest about what results you can (and cannot) expect at that level.

In summary, monthly SEO costs usually mirror the level of effort and expertise required. 

Expect to invest at least around $1,000 a month for meaningful results, with many growing companies spending a few grand monthly. 

Always consider the value you’re getting: a well-executed SEO strategy can become a primary growth driver for a cost that’s often much less than, say, hiring a full-time marketing employee or pouring the same budget into paid ads. 

When you find the right balance of cost and return, SEO becomes not an expense, but a revenue-generating asset.