How much does social media management cost in 2026?
Real numbers for social media management in 2026: freelancer, agency, in-house and done-for-you video. What each actually costs a small business, and what you get for it.
On this page
- A freelancer runs about $500 to $1,500 a month, an agency $2,000 to $8,000, and a full-time hire $45,000 to $70,000 a year before overheads.
- Most quotes exclude the thing that actually costs you: your own time producing the raw material.
- Video is where the price jumps, because someone has to be on camera every week.
- Ask for the price per published piece, not the retainer. It is the only number that compares across providers.
Almost nobody publishes this number, which is exactly why it is worth writing down. Here is what social media management actually costs a small business in 2026, by route, with what each price does and does not include.
The short answer
| Route | Typical monthly cost | What you usually get |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | $500 – $1,500 | 8–16 posts, one or two channels, you supply most material |
| Small agency | $2,000 – $5,000 | Strategy, content, scheduling, reporting, a named account manager |
| Full agency | $5,000 – $8,000+ | The above plus paid social, creative production, multiple channels |
| In-house hire | $3,750 – $5,800 | A full-time salary of $45k–$70k a year, before tools and overheads |
| Productized done-for-you | $200 – $1,200 | A fixed number of published pieces at a fixed price |
Ranges are wider than most articles admit because "social media management" is not one service. A freelancer scheduling stills you send them and an agency running paid video creative are both sold under that name.
What the quote usually leaves out
Your time. This is the big one. Most retainers assume you supply the raw material: the photos, the clips, the "can you send me something from this week?" message every Tuesday. That is unpaid work you do, and it is the reason most social retainers quietly die around month four. Not because the agency stopped working, but because the owner stopped sending things.
If a proposal does not say who produces the raw material, assume it is you.
Video. Stills are cheap. Video is not, because someone has to be on camera. A freelance videographer is roughly $450–$650 for a half-day covering about four videos, plus around $40 a video for editing and captions. Twelve videos a month, produced conventionally, lands near $2,000 before anyone writes a strategy.
Revisions. "Unlimited revisions" usually means unlimited within a scope you have not seen yet. Two rounds per piece, stated plainly, is more honest and more useful.
The number that actually compares
Ask for price per published piece. It is the only figure that survives comparison across a freelancer, an agency and a subscription.
Run it on any quote you have:
- $1,200/month for 12 posts = $100 a post
- $3,500/month for 20 posts = $175 a post
- $600/month for 20 videos = $30 a video
Then ask the second question: is that a still, a written post, or a finished video? A $30 written post and a $30 finished video are not the same purchase, and most proposals blur the two.
What we charge, and why
We publish our prices, so it would be strange to write this and hide them.
| Plan | Price | Videos a month | Per video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presence | $200/mo | 12 | $16.67 |
| Growth | $600/mo | 20 | $30.00 |
| Authority | $1,200/mo | 30 | $40.00 |
Those are finished, captioned, branded videos published to your channels, not stills or drafts you have to finish.
It is cheaper than the conventional route for one structural reason: we film once instead of twelve times a month. You record for one hour, we build a model of your face and voice from that recording, and every video after that is produced without you being on camera. The cost was never the editing. It was your time, and we removed it.
Every script is approved by you in writing before anything is produced, and the clone is retired within 30 days if you cancel.
How to judge any quote
- Get the deliverable in numbers. How many pieces, which format, which channels.
- Ask who makes the raw material. If it is you, price your own hours in.
- Divide. Cost per published piece, not the headline retainer.
- Check the approval step. Who signs off before it goes out in your name?
- Check the exit. What is the minimum term, and what happens to your assets when you leave?
A provider who cannot answer those five in a sentence each is selling hours rather than outcomes. Hours are what make social media management expensive.
Frequently asked questions
One hour of your time. A year of content in your face.
You record once. We write, produce, caption and publish your videos from then on, and nothing goes out without your sign-off.