SEO agency · pricing and costs
SEO agency pricing: what serious SEO costs per month
SEO agency pricing is the amount an SEO agency charges to run the search engine optimization of a site, by the month, by the project or by the hour.
$3,209
per month, SEO agency average
Ahrefs, 439 SEO providers, 2024
$2,000 to $20,000
per month, typical agency fee
Clutch, September 21, 2026
$100 to $149
per hour, most US SEO agencies
Clutch, US rates, 2026
Free SEO & GEO audit of your domain
The free audit tells you which plan fits your site. Delivered within minutes, $0.
Free patent-backed SEO & GEO audit on your domain. No commitment.
Our prices: SEO Consulting $99, Growth $1,389 per month, Scale from $3,289 per month. See the plans
Prices in USD. No VAT added (French micro-enterprise VAT exemption, art. 293 B of the French tax code).
This price reads in four steps: the level of the US market and its monthly equivalent, the way SEO agencies bill, the factors that move it, then what a serious budget must pay for. Then come comparing two quotes, the risk of cheap SEO and the published prices of The SEO Papers. Let's start with the amount.
How much does an SEO agency cost?
An SEO agency costs $3,209 per month on average, according to the Ahrefs survey of 439 SEO service providers, updated on August 15, 2024.
The following table places an SEO agency budget among the published benchmarks.
| Benchmark | Amount | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Usual range of SEO costs | $250 to $10,000 per month | Ahrefs, 439 SEO providers, August 15, 2024 |
| What most businesses (63%) spend on SEO | $500 to $5,000 per month | Ahrefs, August 15, 2024 |
| Most popular monthly retainer (20.4% of SEO providers) | $501 to $1,000 | Ahrefs, August 15, 2024 |
| Average monthly cost, all SEO providers | $2,917 | Ahrefs, August 15, 2024 |
| Average monthly retainer of an SEO agency | $3,209 | Ahrefs, August 15, 2024 |
| Average monthly cost of SEO projects reviewed on Clutch | $3,199.19 | Clutch, September 21, 2026 |
Ahrefs computes its averages from the top of each price tier, so they read as upper estimates. The core of SEO agency budgets therefore sits between $500 and $5,000 per month, and the monthly fee of an agency needs its own reading.
How much does an SEO agency cost per month?
An SEO agency costs $2,000 to $20,000 per month in typical fees, according to the Clutch SEO agency pricing guide updated on September 21, 2026, backed by 65,550 SEO companies and their client project reviews.
In the Ahrefs survey, the most common monthly retainer of an SEO agency is $500 to $1,000, and 57.4% of SEO agencies charge $1,001 or more per month. In the U.S. and Canada, 79.1% of SEO providers charge at least $1,001 per month. An SEO package is this monthly retainer, which is only one of the billing models of SEO agencies.
One-off SEO project
$ per project
- Market: under $10,000, the usual cost of SEO projects reviewed on Clutch
- Market: $2,501 to $5,000, the most popular per-project fee and the most common for SEO agencies
- The SEO Papers: free SEO & GEO audit ($0), SEO Consulting $99 for 45 min.
Source: Clutch, September 21, 2026; Ahrefs, 439 SEO providers, August 15, 2024
Monthly SEO retainer
$ per month
- Market: $250 to $10,000 per month, the usual range of SEO costs
- Market: $500 to $5,000 per month, what most businesses (63%) spend
- Benchmark: SEO agency average, $3,209
- The SEO Papers: Growth $1,389 per month, Scale from $3,289 per month.
Source: Ahrefs, 439 SEO providers, August 15, 2024
Hourly SEO rate
$ per hour
- Market: $75 to $200 per hour, what 47% of SEO providers charge
- Market: $100 to $149 per hour, the rate of most US SEO agencies on Clutch
- Benchmark: freelancer average, $71.59
- Benchmark: SEO agency average, $98.90
- The SEO Papers does not bill by the hour: SEO Consulting is one 45-minute session for $99.
Source: Clutch, September 21, 2026; Ahrefs, 439 SEO providers, August 15, 2024
SEO agency project (total budget)
$ per project
- Market: under $10,000, the usual cost of SEO projects reviewed on Clutch
- Benchmark: average SEO agency project on Clutch, $37,158.66, usually over 12 months
- The SEO Papers: 12 months of Growth = 12 × $1,389 = $16,668, before the GROWTH50 code ($14,584.50 with it).
Source: Clutch, client project reviews, September 21, 2026
See these ranges as a table
| Service | Market | The SEO Papers |
|---|---|---|
| One-off SEO project ($ per project) | under $10,000, the usual cost of SEO projects reviewed on Clutch; $2,501 to $5,000, the most popular per-project fee and the most common for SEO agencies | free SEO & GEO audit ($0), SEO Consulting $99 for 45 min. |
| Monthly SEO retainer ($ per month) | $250 to $10,000 per month, the usual range of SEO costs; $500 to $5,000 per month, what most businesses (63%) spend; SEO agency average, $3,209 | Growth $1,389 per month, Scale from $3,289 per month. |
| Hourly SEO rate ($ per hour) | $75 to $200 per hour, what 47% of SEO providers charge; $100 to $149 per hour, the rate of most US SEO agencies on Clutch; freelancer average, $71.59; SEO agency average, $98.90 | The SEO Papers does not bill by the hour: SEO Consulting is one 45-minute session for $99. |
| SEO agency project (total budget) ($ per project) | under $10,000, the usual cost of SEO projects reviewed on Clutch; average SEO agency project on Clutch, $37,158.66, usually over 12 months | 12 months of Growth = 12 × $1,389 = $16,668, before the GROWTH50 code ($14,584.50 with it). |
Prices in USD. No VAT added (French micro-enterprise VAT exemption, art. 293 B of the French tax code).
How do SEO agencies bill for SEO?
SEO agencies bill for SEO in 3 main models, led by the monthly retainer that 78.2% of SEO providers use, according to Ahrefs.
The following table gives the share of SEO providers, agencies included, that use each model.
| Billing model | Share of SEO providers that use it |
|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | 78.2% |
| Per-project fee | 48.9% |
| Hourly rate | 34.8% |
SEO agencies combine several models, so the total exceeds 100%. By the hour, most US SEO agencies on Clutch charge $100 to $149, and the average SEO agency rate in the Ahrefs survey is $98.90 per hour. Whatever the model, the amount then depends on the project itself.
What changes the price of an SEO agency?
The price of an SEO agency changes with 5 factors: the type of provider, experience, the market served, the country and the scope of work, which Ahrefs measures as average fees.
Each factor moves an SEO agency budget from a low step to a high step.
- Type of provider: the retainer of an SEO agency averages $3,209 per month, a consultancy $3,250 and a freelancer $1,348.63.
- Experience: the average SEO retainer is $1,540.52 per month for providers in business for two years or less, $2,023.13 after 2 years and $3,648.28 for 5 to 10 years.
- Market served: SEO providers serving a local market charge $1,557.08 per month on average, against $3,473.74 for those serving the worldwide market.
- Country: in the U.S. and Canada, 79.1% of SEO providers charge at least $1,001 per month, while 76% of India-based SEOs charge $1,000 or less.
- Scope: local SEO averages $1,557 per month, $1,819 at an SEO agency, while the most common per-project fee of an SEO agency is $2,501 to $5,000.
The five factors stack, so two SEO agency quotes for the same site can differ several times over: Ahrefs finds that agencies charge 138% more than freelancers. What remains is what that budget must pay for.
What SEO agency budget should you plan for your site?
The SEO agency budget to plan for your site follows these five factors: the calculator below shows, for your profile, the averages our sources publish and the plan of The SEO Papers that matches your need.
SEO agency budget calculator
How the calculator decides
- Several markets or languages: Scale. Scale includes “Multi-market / international SEO & GEO (hreflang, local entities)”.
- High-volume content: Scale. Scale includes “High-velocity content operations and editorial QA”.
- Time with the founder: Scale. Scale includes “Dedicated founder strategy time and priority SLA”.
- Ongoing execution or regular content: Growth retainer. Growth includes “Ongoing SEO & GEO execution on your roadmap” and content briefs.
- Diagnosis only: SEO Consulting. SEO Consulting: “Patent-backed audit on your domain, then a focused working session on your priorities”.
The first matching rule wins. The total uses only our own prices; market benchmarks are published averages and ranges, shown as is, with no calculation. Hourly, for comparison: freelancers $71.59, agencies $98.90 and consultants $171.18 on average (Ahrefs, 439 providers).
Recommended plan
Growth retainer
$1,389 per month, no commitment
Rule: Ongoing execution or regular content. Growth includes “Ongoing SEO & GEO execution on your roadmap” and content briefs.
Total over 6 months
$6,250.50
3 × $694.50 (code GROWTH50, 50% off the first 3 months) + 3 × $1,389
Prices in USD. No VAT added (French micro-enterprise VAT exemption, art. 293 B of the French tax code).
Monthly SEO retainer
Market: SEO usually costs $250 to $10,000 per month, 63% of businesses spend $500 to $5,000, and agencies average $3,209 (Ahrefs, 439 providers); SEO agencies on Clutch typically charge $2,000 to $20,000 per month (Clutch, September 2026).
Average monthly retainer for your profile: SEO agencies $3,209 per month; local SEO $1,557 per month ($1,819 at an agency). Ahrefs survey of 439 SEO providers, updated August 15, 2024.
A guide only: the free audit tells you which plan fits your site.
Get the free auditWhat should a serious SEO agency price include?
A serious SEO agency price must include 5 work streams, from the audit to the measurement, and no payment to Google. Google writes it in its Search Central documentation: “Google doesn't accept payment to crawl a site more frequently, or rank it higher.”
A serious SEO agency budget pays for the following five work streams.
- Costed audit: according to Google, an SEO audit “should be about giving you realistic estimates of improvement, and an estimate of the work involved.”
- Strategy: the map of the site's topics, the priorities and the publishing calendar.
- Production: content, on-page SEO and technical SEO.
- Authority: mentions and links earned without buying links.
- Measurement: tracking in Search Console, first with read access only as Google advises, and reporting tied to leads or revenue.
These five streams cover the three pillars of search engine optimization: technical, content and authority. An SEO agency quote is therefore compared stream by stream.
How do you compare two SEO agency quotes?
Comparing two SEO agency quotes means checking 5 points in the same order, on the same brief.
The following five checks make two SEO agency quotes comparable.
- Send the same brief to each SEO agency: site, goals, markets and budget range.
- Ask for the detailed scope: the deliverables of each month and the number of pieces of content, pages or links.
- Ask how results are measured and when: Google suggests asking “What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?”
- Check references: Google suggests asking “Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?” and whether the provider follows the Google Search Essentials.
- Place the retainer on the market: the most common SEO agency retainer is $500 to $1,000 per month, while the SEO agency average is $3,209, according to Ahrefs.
Clutch adds that all SEO engagements “should start with a comprehensive SEO audit”, which is what lets an SEO agency price a retainer precisely. A quote far below these benchmarks raises another question, the one of cheap SEO.
Comparing two SEO agencies? Ask them these 11 questions
- 1. Ask each agency the questions.
- 2. Check the box when the answer is clear and in writing.
- 3. Compare the scores.
Questions taken from Google Search Central's “Do you need an SEO?” page. Under each question, our own answer.
Question 1: “Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?”
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:Yes: for a D2C sneaker brand, our method produced 123K organic clicks in 13 months, verified in Search Console.
Question 2: “Do you follow the Google Search Essentials (previously known as Webmaster Guidelines)?”
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:Every recommendation rests on Google's patents and official documentation, and our guarantee excludes any link buying.
Question 3: “What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?”
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:+33% non-brand Google clicks in 3 months, measured in your own Search Console; otherwise we refund the gap.
Question 4: “What's your experience in my industry?”
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:We work with e-commerce, SaaS and content-driven sites; our case studies cover e-commerce and recruiting.
Question 5: “What's your experience in my country/city?”
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:We work in French and in English, from Paris to anywhere in the world.
Question 6: “What's your experience developing international sites?”(if you target several markets)
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:No international project delivered yet: our Scale plan covers multi-market SEO (hreflang, local entities).
Question 7: “How long have you been in business?”
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:The founder has 9+ years in SEO, and you work with him directly.
Question 8: “How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site […]?”
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:Transparent monthly reporting tied to revenue and leads, and recommendations backed by Google's patents and documentation.
Question 9: Does the audit they offer give you “realistic estimates of improvement, and an estimate of the work involved”?
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:Our free audit ranks semantic gaps, technical issues and GEO visibility by impact; SEO Consulting ranks the top actions by impact and effort.
Question 10: Will the provider work with read access only? Google says to “only grant read access to Search Console”.
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:Yes: we only ask for read-only access to your Search Console.
Question 11: Does the quote avoid promising the top spot? “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.”
The SEO Papers: answers, see belowOur answer:Our guarantee covers non-brand Google clicks, not a ranking. If we don't believe we can hit the target, we tell you and don't sign.
Your comparison
Agency 1: 0 out of 11. Agency 2: 0 out of 11. Check each agency's clear, written answers. The SEO Papers answers 11 of 11 questions in writing, above.
The proof: our case studies, our guarantee and our method.
Why does a cheap SEO agency often cost more?
A cheap SEO agency often costs more because it relies on bought or automated links that Google treats as link spam, at the risk of a demoted site.
Google's spam policies define link spam as “the practice of creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings” and list “Buying or selling links for ranking purposes” and “Using automated programs or services to create links to your site”. Techniques that violate these policies, Google writes about SEOs, “may result in a negative adjustment of your site's presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index.” The detection of these networks by computation is described in a Google patent on link farms and rings. Clutch warns against firms that brand themselves as “cheap SEO” services, which “may participate in black hat SEO practices”. A serious SEO agency promises no position: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google,” Google states. Published prices let you make this sort before the first call.
What does The SEO Papers charge as an SEO agency?
As an SEO agency, The SEO Papers charges from $0 for the free audit to $3,289 per month and up for the Scale plan, with no hourly billing.
The following table lists the 4 offers published on the page of our SEO agency on October 25, 2026.
| Offer | Price | What the price includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free SEO & GEO audit | $0 | SEO & GEO audit of your domain, delivered within minutes |
| SEO Consulting | $99 for 45 min | Patent-backed audit on your domain, 45-min live walkthrough of findings and roadmap, top actions ranked by impact and effort, recording and written summary; $99 credited toward your first retainer month |
| Growth retainer | $1,389/mo, no commitment; $694.50/mo for the first 3 months with code GROWTH50 | Ongoing SEO & GEO execution on your roadmap, topical maps, content briefs, on-page and technical SEO, monthly reporting tied to revenue and leads; cancel anytime |
| Scale | From $3,289/mo | Everything in the Growth retainer, multi-market and international SEO & GEO, high-velocity content operations and editorial QA, dedicated founder strategy time and priority SLA; pricing scoped on your audit call |
The GROWTH50 code takes 50% off the first 3 months of the Growth retainer, a saving of $2,083.50, then the retainer returns to $1,389 per month. This monthly price sits inside the $500 to $5,000 per month that 63% of businesses spend on SEO, according to Ahrefs. The details of each offer are on the page of our SEO & GEO agency.
Prices in USD. No VAT added (French micro-enterprise VAT exemption, art. 293 B of the French tax code).
What you get each month for $1,389 from our SEO agency
Each month, for $1,389, the Growth retainer of our SEO agency gives you ongoing SEO & GEO execution on your roadmap and monthly reporting tied to revenue and leads, in the order of our published method.
Before the first month
Free audit
A patent-backed SEO & GEO audit delivered within minutes, then a 30-minute call to walk through the findings live.
Source: Method, step 01, our SEO agency page
At kickoff
Semantic strategy
Your topical map, with the entities and topics that move rankings and AI citations, prioritized.
Source: Method, step 02, our SEO agency page
Every month
Execution and reporting
Ongoing SEO & GEO execution on your roadmap: topical maps, content briefs, on-page and technical SEO, content architecture. Then monthly reporting tied to revenue and leads.
Source: Growth plan; method, step 03, our SEO agency page
At month 3
Guarantee check
Your non-brand Google clicks compared with the same 3 months last year: +33%, or we refund the gap, under 4 conditions.
Source: Guarantee, our SEO agency page
Then, month over month
Measure and scale
We measure what works, double down on it, and expand your topical authority across the niche. No commitment, cancel anytime.
Source: Method, step 04; Growth plan, our SEO agency page
What does our SEO agency guarantee for this price?
For this price, our SEO agency guarantees in writing +33% non-brand Google clicks in 3 months, or we refund the gap, with the refund capped at the fees paid.
The measurement reads in the client's own Search Console. In the published example of a Growth retainer at $1,389 a month for 3 months, traffic up 22% at month 3 means $2,778 paid and $1,389 refunded. The guarantee holds under 4 conditions.
- The site is validated at the audit: no penalty, niche accepted.
- The client stays 3 months and applies our recommendations on time.
- No link buying or off-scope site changes on the client's side.
- Measurement on non-brand clicks against the same 3 months last year.
This guarantee covers measured traffic, not a position, which Google says no one can guarantee. An SEO agency that refunds against a verifiable number puts its fees on that number. Our case studies detail the organic clicks earned for our clients, verified in Search Console.
// investment
Start where you are. Scale when the ROI is clear.
Begin with a consulting session and free audit. Move to a retainer when the business case is proven. No mystery packages.
SEO Consulting
Patent-backed audit on your domain, then a focused working session on your priorities.
- Free SEO & GEO audit on your domain (delivered within minutes)
- 45-min live walkthrough of findings and roadmap
- Top actions ranked by impact and effort
- Recording + written summary
- $99 credited toward your first retainer month
Growth retainer
You save $2,083.50 · then $1,389/mo · code GROWTH50
Hands-on execution for brands ready to grow organic revenue. Leave anytime.
- Ongoing SEO & GEO execution on your roadmap
- Topical maps, content briefs, on-page + technical SEO
- Monthly reporting tied to revenue & leads
- No commitment, cancel anytime
Scale
Expanded scope for multi-market brands, high-velocity content, and dedicated founder time.
- Everything in Growth retainer
- Multi-market / international SEO & GEO (hreflang, local entities)
- High-velocity content operations and editorial QA
- Dedicated founder strategy time and priority SLA
Consulting fee is credited toward your first retainer month. Growth: no commitment, cancel anytime. Enter code GROWTH50 at checkout for 50% off your first 3 months. Scale pricing is scoped on your audit call.
Prices in USD. No VAT added (French micro-enterprise VAT exemption, art. 293 B of the French tax code).
// the falsifiable guarantee
A guru never guarantees anything. A method does.
Our strategy traces to patents and published research, so we put our fee on a number you check yourself in Search Console. You pay for the share of the target we reach, and we refund the rest.
+33% non-brand Google clicks in 3 months. Or we refund the gap.
// simulate your refund
Example: Growth plan, $1,389 a month for 3 months
You pay
$2,778
We refund
$1,389
// 4 conditions, that's all
- Your site is validated at the audit: no penalty, niche accepted.
- You stay 3 months and apply our recommendations on time.
- No link buying or off-scope site changes on your side.
- Measured on non-brand clicks vs. the same 3 months last year.
Refund capped at the fees paid. Everything is written into your contract.
123K organic clicks in 13 months
D2C sneakers SEO
3.64K organic clicks in 16 months
Paris BTP recruiter SEO
46.1K organic clicks in 12 months
Smartwatch ecommerce SEO
Trustpilot: 4.2 · Great · 6 reviews
See our case studies// faq
How much do the alternatives to an SEO agency cost?
Next to an SEO agency, three other options have their own price: the SEO freelancer, paid by the hour or the month, the one-off SEO audit, paid once, and Google Ads, which bills each click. Organic ranking on Google itself is not paid to Google.
| Option | Cost | Time to results | What's included | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEO agency | $3,209 per month on average (Ahrefs); typical fees of $2,000 to $20,000 per month (Clutch). | About 12 months: “the timeline for SEO projects, according to verified client testimonials, is 12 months”. | Strategy, content, technical work and links, billed as a monthly retainer by 78.2% of SEO providers. | Source: Ahrefs, August 15, 2024; Clutch, September 21, 2026 |
| SEO freelancer | $1,348.63 per month or $71.59 per hour on average (Ahrefs); $15 to $35 per hour on Upwork, from contracts worldwide. | Several months, like any search engine optimization work. | A narrower scope: the most common per-project fee of a freelancer is $101 to $250. | Source: Ahrefs, August 15, 2024; Upwork |
| In-house SEO | Salary of an SEO specialist in the US: $82,409 a year on average (Indeed, 901 job postings) or $60,355 (Payscale), before benefits and tools. | Several months, like any search engine optimization work. | One full-time person: salary, benefits and tools; no published figure for the full cost. | Source: Indeed, October 17, 2026; Payscale, September 8, 2026 |
| Google Ads | $5.42 per click and $66.69 per lead on average across industries in 2026. | Immediate traffic, which stops when the budget stops. | Ad clicks for as long as you pay; no lasting asset. | Source: LocaliQ search advertising benchmarks, June 1, 2026 |
The SEO Papers is an SEO & GEO agency: Growth at $1,389 per month, no commitment. Prices in USD. No VAT added (French micro-enterprise VAT exemption, art. 293 B of the French tax code).
How much does an SEO freelancer charge compared with an SEO agency?
An SEO freelancer charges $71.59 per hour on average, against $98.90 for an SEO agency, according to the Ahrefs survey of 439 SEO providers.
By the month, freelancers average $1,348.63, against $3,209 for SEO agencies and $3,250 for consultancies, and Ahrefs finds that agencies charge 138% more than freelancers. On Upwork, SEO experts cost $15 to $35 per hour, a range the platform draws from historical contracts worldwide. A freelancer bills time; an SEO agency more often bills a month or a project.
How much does an SEO agency charge for an SEO audit?
An SEO agency charges for an SEO audit as a one-off project, and the most common per-project fee of an SEO agency is $2,501 to $5,000, according to Ahrefs; no source we fetched publishes a US price for an audit alone.
At The SEO Papers, the free SEO & GEO audit costs $0 and SEO Consulting $99. Clutch recommends that every SEO engagement start with a comprehensive audit, one that reviews what keeps a site from capturing organic traffic.
How does the price of an SEO agency compare with Google Ads?
The price of an SEO agency compares with Google Ads as a monthly fee for work against a price per click: SEO agencies average $3,209 per month according to Ahrefs, while search ads cost $5.42 per click and $66.69 per lead on average across industries in 2026, according to the LocaliQ search advertising benchmarks.
Organic SEO builds a lasting asset, whose traffic continues after the spend stops; Google Ads remains a recurring cost, paid for as long as the ads run. An SEO agency therefore bills work whose effect lasts, when advertising stops with the budget.
Does Google charge for the rankings an SEO agency earns?
No, Google does not charge for the organic rankings an SEO agency earns: “Google never accepts money to include or rank sites in our search results, and it costs nothing to appear in our organic search results,” Google writes in its Search Central documentation.
The price of an SEO agency therefore pays for the work done on the site, and the price of Google Ads pays for ads, a product separate from organic results.