Agency pricing surveys put the most common starting fee for managing paid ads at $1,000 to $3,000 a month for a small or mid-size business, usually for one or two channels. Ad spend is paid on top, and many agencies add a one-time setup fee. Two quotes at the same price can cover very different work, so compare what each fee includes before you compare totals.
What agencies charge per month
The most common monthly minimum for paid media management sits between $1,000 and $3,000. In Credo’s survey of PPC providers, 50.97% set their retainer minimum in that range and 26% set it below $1,000.
Agency size moves the number. SE Ranking’s survey of marketing and SEO agencies found that only 19% charged more than $3,000 a month, and 5% more than $5,000.
Worth knowing: these figures are self-reported by agencies and the samples are modest. Treat them as ranges, not a price list. The useful question is what sits behind the number.
What drives the price
Scope drives the price: how many channels, how much ad spend, how much new creative, how much tracking work, and how often you hear from the people running the account.
| Price driver | Why it moves the fee | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Number of channels | Each platform has its own structure, audiences and testing | Which channels are included, and what does one more cost? |
| Monthly ad spend | More spend means more campaigns, more tests and more risk to watch | At what spend does the fee change? |
| Creative volume | New ads take writing, design and sizing for every placement | How many new ads or ad sets per month? |
| Tracking and measurement | Conversion tracking and analytics take build and upkeep time | Is tracking set up, checked, or both? |
| Reporting and calls | Weekly calls and detailed reports take senior hours | How often, and with whom? |
Two further factors rarely show up on the quote. The first is testing pace: an account that runs four or more structured tests a month needs more hands than one adjusted weekly.
The second is who does the work. A senior strategist costs more per hour than a junior buyer working from a template, and the difference shows in the decisions.
What the fee should include, and what is billed separately
The management fee should pay for strategy and hands-on account work. Ad spend always sits outside it, and creative production and software often do too.
Usually in the fee
- Campaign strategy and account structure
- Regular optimisation, with a stated frequency (weekly, twice weekly)
- A set number of new ads or ad sets each month
- Tests with a kill-or-scale threshold agreed before they start
- Reporting, ideally with live dashboard access
- A regular call with the person who makes decisions on the account
Usually billed separately
- Ad spend, paid to the platforms, never part of the fee
- Creative production beyond the agreed count: video shoots, UGC-style ads, large refresh batches
- Landing pages and conversion work after the click
- Software: reporting tools, call tracking, feed tools
- One-time builds: tracking setup, account restructures, new analytics configuration
Platform rules help here: Google’s transparency requirements for third parties say an agency charging a management fee must tell new customers in writing before the first purchase and show the fee on every invoice. Shared cost data must be “the exact amount charged by Google, exclusive of any fees that you charge.”
In our own work, ad spend is separate from the fee and never marked up. Clients pay the platforms directly, or we handle the billing, and the platform invoices are visible either way.
Software subscriptions sit in the client’s own accounts by default, or we hold and manage them on request. The number of new ads each month is written into the agreement, and larger creative needs sit under performance creative rather than inside the media fee.
One-time setup versus monthly management
Setup pays for work done once before launch; the monthly fee pays for running and improving the account after that. Credo puts typical setup fees at $1,000 to $2,500, covering research, auditing and initial ad copy.
Ask for setup as its own figure. Some agencies fold it into a higher first month or a longer minimum term, which is fine, but it changes the comparison.
A setup fee is worth paying when it produces something you can check. Good setup work usually includes:
- An audit of the existing accounts, with a list of what changes and why
- Conversion tracking installed and tested, including server-side events where the platform supports them
- Analytics goals that match what the business counts as a lead or a sale
- A first campaign structure, documented
- A written record of what is tracked and how it was verified
On our media buying page, account and tracking setup is a one-time fee listed separately, and it ends with a written tracking verification report.
A quote is a price for a scope. Without the scope in writing, there is nothing to judge the price against.
Flat fee, percentage of spend or performance-based
Agencies price paid media in three main ways, and many combine them.
Flat fee
The fee stays the same whatever you spend, for a defined scope.
- Moves with
- Changes in scope
Percentage of spend
The fee rises and falls with your ad budget.
- Moves with
- Your monthly spend
Performance-based
Some or all of the fee is tied to an agreed result, such as qualified leads or sales.
- Moves with
- The agreed result
Hybrids are common. The structure Credo describes pairs a base fee per channel with 15% of spend above $10,000 a month. Each model shifts incentives in its own way, and that comparison deserves its own guide; for comparing quotes, the total at your planned spend matters more than the model.
How to compare agency quotes like for like
Put every quote on one sheet, at the same ad spend, over the same 12 months. Then compare the work, not just the totals.
- Fix your inputs first Decide your planned monthly ad spend and which channels you want before asking for quotes, and give every agency the same figures.
- Convert each quote to a first-year total Setup, plus 12 months of fees at your spend, plus any per-channel add-ons.
- Count the deliverables New ads per month, tests per month, how often the account is optimised, how often you meet.
- List the exclusions Creative production, landing pages, software and tracking work. Price what you would need to buy elsewhere.
- Read the terms Minimum term, notice period, and who owns the ad accounts, pixels, audiences and creative if you part ways.
- Ask who runs the account The person on the sales call and the person making daily decisions are not always the same.
- Agree the judging number in advance Set the figure you will use to judge the work, taken from your own orders or CRM, before launch.
Step four is where quotes most often look cheaper than they are. At $10,000 of monthly spend, a $1,400 fee with no new creative can cost more over a year than a $1,800 fee that includes four new ads a month, once you price those ads separately.
Quote comparison calculator
Enter two quotes, plus the monthly cost of anything each one leaves out. The defaults price four ads at $150 each, an illustrative figure rather than a market rate, with the same illustrative setup on both.
Illustrative defaults. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
See what your spend needs before you sign anything
Our strategy session is a working review of your accounts, tracking and spend, and you leave with a written action plan you keep either way. It costs $95, credited in full against your first invoice.
When a higher fee is worth it
A higher fee is worth it when it buys work your account needs now, and not when it buys scope your budget cannot use.
Tends to pay back when
- Creative fatigue is limiting results, so more new ads address the actual constraint
- Spend is high enough that faster testing produces readable results within weeks
- Tracking is unreliable, so a proper build protects every dollar spent after it
Tends not to pay back when
- Spend is too small to give tests enough data
- The problem sits after the click, on a landing page that does not convert
A page that does not convert will waste a premium media fee as quickly as a cheap one, which is why we start from the constraint, not the channel. Our services page shows how the pieces fit and which to fix first.
At smaller budgets, one channel run properly usually beats three run thinly. Adding channels once the first produces customers you can count keeps the fee in line with what the account can support.
In short
- Common starting fees sit at $1,000 to $3,000 a month for one or two channels, with ad spend on top.
- Scope sets the price: channels, spend, creative volume, tracking and reporting.
- Ask for setup, monthly fee and exclusions as separate figures.
- Compare first-year totals at the same spend, then compare the work.
What business owners ask about agency fees
Do marketing agencies mark up ad spend?
Some do, and some take a margin on media bought through their own accounts. Ask whether every dollar of ad spend reaches the platform, and ask to see the platform invoices.
Can I pay the ad platforms directly?
Yes. Many businesses keep their own card or invoicing on the ad accounts and pay the agency only for its fee, which keeps spend and fee clearly apart.
Why do agencies ask for a minimum contract term?
The first weeks of an engagement go on setup, tracking and early tests, so results take a few months to read reliably. Minimums vary widely: in Credo’s survey, 30.52% of PPC providers set a minimum of 6 to 12 months, while 26.3% set none.
Is a low monthly fee a warning sign?
Not on its own. A low fee can be fair for one channel at modest spend; it becomes a concern when the quote does not say how often the account is worked on or how many new ads are included.
Who should own the ad accounts and tracking?
The business should. Ad accounts, pixels, audiences and creative held in your name mean nothing has to be rebuilt if you change agencies.
How long before I can judge whether the fee is worth it?
Judge after a full optimisation cycle, usually a few months, against a number you set before launch from your own orders or CRM. Early weeks show direction, not a settled answer.