Pricing
How much does social media management cost for small businesses in the UK?
Most UK small businesses pay somewhere between £150 and £1,500 a month for managed social media, depending on who does it and how much they do. A simple four-channel service usually lands between about £300 and £800. Here's what actually moves that number, and how to tell whether a quote is fair.
The ranges below are indicative, based on quotes we see in the market and what business owners tell us. They are not a survey and not a promise. Use them to sanity-check your own quotes, not as a price list.
The short answer
There's no single going rate, because "social media management" can mean anything from one post a week written by a cousin to a five-person team running paid campaigns. What matters is what you're buying, not the label on the invoice.
Roughly, here is the spread you'll see in the UK:
| Who does it | Indicative price | What you usually get |
|---|---|---|
| Doing it yourself | £0–£30 a month for a scheduling tool | Your own time, two to four hours a month, and a page that slips when you're busy |
| Software or AI posting tool | £20–£150 a month | Posts scheduled in advance, templates, no real writing or replies |
| Freelancer | £150–£500 a month | Eight to twelve posts, one or two channels, some replies |
| Small local agency | £500–£1,500 a month | Three or four channels, a written plan, reporting, sometimes ad management |
| Larger agency | £1,500 a month upwards | A named team, campaigns, video, paid media, brand work |
Steady Social is a flat £200 a month for four channels. That's deliberately at the simpler end of that table.
What you're actually paying for
A post is not just a photo and a caption. A decent one involves choosing the photo, cropping it for each platform, writing something that sounds like you, adding the right hashtags, scheduling it for a sensible time, and answering whatever it prompts.
Multiply that across a month. Three posts a week on Facebook and Instagram, one or two TikToks, two Google Business Profile updates. That's around eighteen to twenty pieces of content a month, plus the replying. In our experience, done properly, it's roughly six to ten hours of work before you've written a single report.
So when someone quotes you £100 a month for four channels, ask what happens in hour seven. Something is being skipped, and it's usually the writing or the replies.
What pushes the price up
The number of channels
One channel is not a third of three channels. Each platform has its own format, its own length and its own etiquette. TikTok alone can take as long as the other three combined if you're editing video.
Video
Short video is where most of the cost sits. Photos can be turned around in minutes; a clip needs trimming, captions, cover frames and a hook in the first second. If your quote includes TikToks, that's usually why it's higher.
Who writes it
A junior following a template writes quickly and sounds like it. Someone who has bothered to learn your trade (the difference between a combi boiler and a system boiler) takes longer and reads better.
Whether replies are included
Replying to comments is the part most services quietly leave out. It's also the part customers notice. Ask directly: who answers, and how quickly?
Ad management
Running paid campaigns is a different job with a different skill set, so it's priced separately almost everywhere. The advertising budget itself always sits with you, in your own account.
Contract length
Annual contracts are often cheaper per month because they're worth more in total. If you're testing whether a service suits you, shorter is safer.
What's usually not included
Even at the top end, these are typically extra:
- the advertising budget itself: always your cost, never the agency's fee;
- photo and video shoots, and the travel to get to them;
- website design or changes;
- answering the phone, taking bookings or quoting jobs;
- graphic design for print, menus or signage.
None of this is dodgy if it's said upfront. It's only a problem when it appears on the first invoice.
Where £200 a month sits
Honestly: near the bottom for four channels. There are cheaper options (software, a student, a friend who's good at Instagram), and some of them are perfectly sensible. Much more expensive ones are worth it if you need campaigns, video and a senior strategist.
We can charge £200 because we run a single plan, work remotely, and don't carry account managers or an office. What you get in return is a fixed rhythm, captions written for your trade, replies to comments, a small monthly reach boost and a short monthly report.
What you don't get: a bespoke brand strategy, weekly photo shoots, daily Stories, or large paid campaigns. If you need those, we'll say so and point you elsewhere. Read the full plan and what's not included.
How to compare quotes properly
Monthly totals are hard to compare, because everyone counts differently. Break them down:
- Divide the fee by the number of posts. That gives a per-post cost. It's crude, but it exposes the outliers fast.
- Ask what counts as a post. A photo reposted with three words is not the same as a written post with a call to action.
- Ask who writes. Then ask them one question about your trade and listen to the answer.
- Ask about replies. Who answers comments, in what tone, and how quickly?
- Ask about notice. Thirty days is fair. Three months is a trap if the work turns out to be poor.
- Look at their own pages. If a social media manager can't post on their own account, that tells you something.
Six questions worth asking before you sign
- How many posts a month, on which channels, and what if there are five weeks in the month?
- What happens if I don't send photos? Is the page left empty?
- Who owns the accounts, and how is access given?
- Are replies to comments included, and what happens with a complaint?
- What exactly is in the monthly report?
- Can I see two recent examples of captions you've written for a business like mine?
Any decent provider will answer all six without flinching. Vague answers on the first and last are the ones to worry about. See our guide to outsourcing your social media for the red flags in detail.
The honest summary
Budget somewhere between £150 and £800 a month for a small business with three or four channels, and decide what you're buying before you compare totals. Cheap is fine if the work is real; expensive is fine if you're getting something you actually need.
And whatever you spend, check the page in a month. If it's still quiet, the price was never the problem.
Want a second opinion on your pages?
We'll look at your Facebook, Instagram or Google profile and tell you what we'd change. Free, and without a sales pitch.
Quick questions
Is £200 a month cheap for social media management?
It sits towards the lower end for four channels, which is deliberate. We keep one simple plan, work remotely and don't employ account managers, so we can charge less without dropping the rhythm. It isn't the cheapest option available. Software-only tools cost less, because you still do the writing.
Is the advertising budget included?
No. Advertising spend is a platform cost, paid by you in your own ad account. Our monthly reach boost on at least one post is included in the management fee, but the money that goes to the platforms is not.
Should I pay monthly or sign an annual contract?
Shorter is safer while you're testing whether a service suits you. A 30-day notice period gives you a way out. Long contracts can be cheaper per month, but only if the work is genuinely good.
What's a fair price for twelve posts a month?
It depends what counts as a post. Twelve written, scheduled posts with replies handled is a reasonable month's work at a few hundred pounds. Twelve photos reposted with three words and an emoji is not, at any price.