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How Much Does SEO Cost Per Month? Real Prices for 2026
By Alyaman Alhayek3 min read
Most small businesses pay between $500 and $2,500 a month for SEO. In a survey of 439 SEO providers, the most common monthly price was $501 to $1,000, and a late-2025 survey of 300+ SEO professionals found $1,001 to $2,500 the most common range. Hourly SEO work usually runs $75 to $100 an hour.
SEO cost per month at a glance
Here is what SEO providers say they charge, from Ahrefs's survey of 439 SEO providers (updated August 2024) and Backlinko's survey of 300+ SEO professionals (updated December 2025).
| Pricing model | Typical price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer, most common | $501 to $1,000 a month (20.4% of providers) | Ahrefs |
| Monthly retainer, most common | $1,001 to $2,500 a month | Backlinko |
| Monthly retainer, average | $2,917 a month | Ahrefs |
| Freelancer, average | $1,349 a month | Ahrefs |
| Agency, average | $3,209 a month | Ahrefs |
| Consultancy, average | $3,250 a month | Ahrefs |
| Hourly, most common | $75 to $100 an hour (24% of providers) | Ahrefs |
| Hourly, average | $111 an hour | Ahrefs |
| One-time project, most common | $2,501 to $5,000 | Ahrefs |
The averages run higher than the most common prices because a few providers charge large companies $5,000 a month or more. For an established small business, the most common ranges are the better guide.
What drives the cost of SEO
Two businesses can get very different quotes for "SEO" because they need different amounts of work. These are the things that move the price the most:
How competitive your searches are
Ranking for a search where every result belongs to a national brand takes far more content and links than ranking for a narrower search. Competitive industries like law, finance, and health usually cost more.
The shape your website is in
A slow site, a confusing structure, or pages that say little about what you do all have to be fixed before new content can help. Some providers charge extra for that work, and some can't do it at all because they don't touch the website.
How much content you need
New pages and blog posts are usually the biggest part of the monthly work. More content means more research and writing hours.
Link building
Earning links from other websites takes outreach and time. Cheaper packages often leave it out.
Who does the work
In the Ahrefs survey, freelancers averaged $1,349 a month and agencies $3,209. Agencies cover account managers and teams; a freelancer or one-person business usually means you work with the person doing the work.
Monthly, hourly, or per project: which should you pick?
- Monthly retainer: best for ongoing growth. SEO keeps working when someone keeps publishing, fixing, and checking results every month.
- Hourly: good for a second opinion or a specific fix, like cleaning up page titles. It gets expensive for ongoing work.
- One-time project: good for a starting point, like keyword research or a site cleanup. Results fade if nobody keeps going after it's delivered.
For most small businesses that want more people finding them over time, a monthly plan is the one that keeps paying off.
What SEO prices usually leave out: your website
Most SEO-only agencies don't build or change your website. Most of the SEO agencies I compared start between $450 and $3,000 a month, for SEO alone. When their report says you need a faster site, a new service page, or a better structure, that work goes back to you or your web designer, and you pay for it separately.
Before you compare quotes, ask each provider: "If you find a problem on my site, do you fix it, or do I?" The answer changes what you're really paying.
Red flags when you compare SEO prices
- Guaranteed #1 rankings. Google's own guide says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. A guarantee tied to traffic you can check in Google Analytics is different from a promised ranking.
- Very cheap packages with no details. If a plan doesn't say what gets done each month, assume very little does.
- Long contracts up front. Some agencies ask for 6 months or more before you can leave. Ask what happens if you want to stop.
- Reports with no explanation. You should know what changed, why, and what happens next, in plain language.
What I charge for SEO
My SEO is part of the Website Subscription: $399 a month plus a one-time $399 setup fee. That covers ongoing SEO and content, and also your website, hosting, maintenance, and copywriting, so the fixes SEO calls for actually get made. There's no long-term contract.
It's backed by the 90-Day Performance Guarantee: more traffic within 90 days, measured in Google Analytics, or a 100% refund of everything except the setup fee. See what's included in my SEO services.
