Short answer: In our experience, an SEO agency typically costs around €1,500 to €3,000 a month for a small business, €3,000 to €7,000 for a mid-sized site or online store with regular content, and €7,000 to €15,000 or more for large, international or highly competitive sites. Projects such as audits are priced separately, and hourly rates usually sit around €80 to €180.
Key takeaways
- Most SEO agencies sell monthly retainers. For small and mid-sized businesses in Europe, they typically start around €1,500 to €3,000 a month.
- Site size, competition, how much content you need, link building and the number of markets drive the price more than anything else.
- Audits, migrations and one-off clean-ups are usually priced as projects, and hourly or day rates suit narrow questions.
- Check whether content writing and implementation are inside the fee. They are the most common reason two quotes cannot be compared.
- A very cheap retainer that promises lots of links or pages is a warning sign, not a bargain.
SEO pricing is hard to compare because "SEO" covers very different amounts of work. One agency may quote for a monthly check of Search Console and a few title tag changes, another for technical fixes, four new pages a month and digital PR. Both call it an SEO retainer.
The figures below are typical market ranges we see in Western Europe and the UK, not quotes and not our prices. US agencies quoting in dollars tend to land in similar or somewhat higher bands.
How much does an SEO agency typically cost per month?
Most ongoing SEO work falls into three retainer bands, set mainly by the size of the site and how much content and link work the plan needs.
| Retainer level | Typical monthly fee | Typical client |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level | Around €1,500 to €3,000 | Small business or local service, a site of up to a few hundred pages, one market |
| Growth | Around €3,000 to €7,000 | Mid-sized site or online store, regular new or rewritten pages, some link building |
| Large or competitive | €7,000 to €15,000 or more | Large catalogues, several languages or markets, competitive categories, digital PR |
Below about €1,500 a month you rarely get senior agency attention. That is the point where a freelancer or a one-off project often gives better value; our comparison of an SEO agency vs a freelancer covers that choice.
Retainers also run for a while. SEO usually takes months to show results, so most agencies ask for a minimum term, often three to six months. Budget for the whole period, not one month.
How much do SEO projects and hourly work cost?
Work with a clear start and end is usually priced as a fixed project, and narrow questions are often billed by the hour or day.
- SEO audits typically run from around €1,500 to €5,000 for a small to mid-sized site and more for large ones. Our guide on how much an SEO audit costs breaks that down.
- Migrations and replatforms are priced by the number of URLs and templates, from the low thousands for a small site to well into five figures for a large store.
- Content bought on its own typically costs a few hundred euros per well-researched page or article, more for specialist topics or several languages.
- Hourly and day rates commonly sit around €80 to €180 an hour, or roughly €600 to €1,200 a day, depending on seniority and city.
Hourly work suits a specific question, such as reviewing a developer's redirect plan. For ongoing growth, a retainer with a written plan is usually easier to manage and budget.
What drives the price of an SEO agency?
The price follows the hours the plan needs. Five factors account for most of the difference.
Site size and platform
A 40-page service site and a 15,000-product store are different jobs. Large catalogues bring faceted navigation, duplicate URLs and indexing problems that take ongoing technical time. Custom platforms and heavy JavaScript add more.
Competition
Ranking for "plumber in Leipzig" takes less work than ranking for "running shoes" in Germany. In competitive categories, you need more and better content and stronger links to move, so the retainer is higher and results take longer.
Content volume
Content is usually the biggest variable cost. A plan that rewrites four category pages and publishes four guides a month needs writers, editors and subject input. Some retainers include it; others expect you to write and only provide briefs.
Link building and digital PR
Earning real editorial links takes research, outreach and assets worth linking to, so it costs time. Agencies that include it charge more than agencies that leave authority to chance.
Markets and languages
Each extra market needs its own keyword research, localised pages and often its own links. Two languages is rarely double the work, but it is never the same as one.
An SEO agency that shows you the hours behind the fee
We scope every retainer around your site, market and content needs, and write down what is included before you sign. If a project or a freelancer suits you better, we will tell you.
See how our SEO agency worksWhat should you get at each price level?
As a rule of thumb, more budget should buy more output and more senior judgement, not more report pages.
Around €1,500 to €3,000
A prioritised plan, technical fixes on the main templates, title and on-page work, one or two new or rewritten pages a month, local SEO where relevant, and a monthly report with a short call. Good SEO services for small businesses look like this.
Around €3,000 to €7,000
Everything above, plus a steady content programme of several pages a month, internal linking, regular technical monitoring and some link building or digital PR.
€7,000 and above
A team across technical, content and authority, several markets or languages, larger content volumes, ongoing digital PR and close work with your developers.
Whatever the level, ask for the plan for the first three months in writing. Ongoing SEO management services should tell you what will be done, by whom, and how you will know if it is working.
When is a cheap SEO agency a warning sign?
A low price is fine for an honest, narrow scope. It is a warning sign when it comes with big promises.
Clearing up after spammy links or thousands of thin pages takes time, and so does recovering lost rankings. In our experience that clean-up often costs more than doing the work properly would have in the first place.
The opposite mistake exists too: a €10,000 retainer for a 30-page local site is oversized. Pay for the scope your site and market need.
Frequently asked questions
Because SEO is ongoing work. Content, technical monitoring and link building build on each other over months, and competitors keep moving. A one-off project can fix a specific problem, but growth usually needs steady work.
Sometimes. Some agencies include a set number of pages a month, others supply briefs and expect you to write, and some bill content separately. Ask how many pages are included and who writes them before you compare quotes.
Usually, because a single-location business with a small site needs less work. Local retainers often sit at the lower end of the entry band. Many locations or several cities push the price up, because each needs its own pages, profile and reviews.
Not necessarily. It lowers what you pay before results appear, but providers price in their risk, so good months often cost more. We cover the trade-offs in is pay-for-performance SEO worth it.
It depends. Some agencies make changes directly in your CMS, others write tickets for your developers. If your team has no developer time, ask for implementation in the quote, or budget for it separately.
What to do next
Before you compare quotes, get clear on what your site needs, so every agency prices the same job.
- Write down your site size, your markets and how much content you can produce in-house.
- Ask each agency for its monthly fee, minimum term, what is included (content, links, implementation) and roughly how many hours that buys. Our SEO services page shows how we scope ours.
- If you want to know where your site stands first, ask for a free written SEO audit. We send it within 48 hours, with the top issues ranked by impact.