How Much Does SEO Cost Per Month?
It depends on what you buy, who delivers it, your market and how competitive your searches are. There is no single correct monthly price.
The most useful public survey is SE Ranking's study of 260 agencies, first published in December 2024. The most common monthly retainer was $500 to $1,000, the most common hourly rate $50 to $100 and the most common project fee $500 to $2,000. North American agencies charged more than European ones: 40% of agencies in the US and Canada charged over $125 an hour, against 6% in Europe.
Treat those figures as context, not a target. The survey asks agencies what they charge; 78% of respondents were agencies with fewer than 10 people. It does not tell you what your site needs. That is what the calculator is for: it adds up the work you actually plan to pay for.
How Does This SEO Cost Calculator Work?
It adds specialist hours, content, tools and link placements as monthly costs, multiplies them by the campaign length, then adds any one-off audit once.
- Monthly recurring cost = (hours × hourly rate) + (pages × cost per page) + software + (guest posts × (placement price + separate writing cost)) + (link insertions × insertion price)
- Month 1 budget = monthly recurring cost + one-off audit
- Full campaign cost = monthly recurring cost × months + one-off audit
Worked Example
These are illustrative inputs, not recommended prices: 10 specialist hours at $100, 4 pages at $150, $200 of software, 2 guest posts at $250 with writing included, 2 link insertions at $150, a $1,500 audit and a 6-month campaign.
- Specialist work: 10 × $100 = $1,000
- Content: 4 × $150 = $600
- Software: $200
- Guest posts: 2 × $250 = $500
- Link insertions: 2 × $150 = $300
- Monthly recurring cost: $2,600
- Month 1 budget: $2,600 + $1,500 = $4,100
- Full campaign cost: $2,600 × 6 + $1,500 = $17,100
The link-building allocation is $800 a month across 4 placements, so the budgeted acquisition cost per placement is $200. That figure divides only the link-building lines by the number of links. Dividing the whole SEO budget by the number of links would make each link look far more expensive than it is.
How Should You Split an SEO Budget?
Put the money where the bottleneck is. There is no universal percentage split that suits every site.
- Technical problems first: if pages are not being crawled or indexed, more content or links will not fix that. Weight the budget towards specialist hours.
- Thin or missing pages: if you have no page that answers what your customers search for, content usually comes before links.
- Established site, competitive searches: if your pages are sound but stuck behind stronger competitors, link building often takes a bigger share.
Change one group at a time in the calculator and watch the breakdown. If one line takes most of the budget, ask whether that matches your actual problem.
How Much Should You Budget for Link Building?
Budget guest posts and link insertions as separate lines, and check what each price includes. Studies give different averages because they measure different things.
- Guest post: a new article published on another site with your link in it. Writing may or may not be included in the placement price.
- Link insertion: your link added to an article that already exists on the site.
Three 2026 datasets show why one "average backlink price" misleads. BuzzStream reports a $295 average for a guest post bought direct from the site and $461 through a vendor, with link insertions averaging $179. Adsy reports listed marketplace prices averaging $459 for a guest post and $225 for an insertion. PressWhizz, looking at 22,703 completed orders on its own marketplace, found a median of $112 and an average of $161. Asking prices, vendor prices and completed orders are different things, so do not blend them into one number.
Backlink Management sells one-time guest post placements through its marketplace. It does not sell link insertions, so budget for those with whoever supplies them.
If writing is included in a placement quote, enter 0 for the separate writing cost so you do not pay for the article twice. To find which sites to target, the free backlink gap analysis tool lists referring domains that link to competitors but not to you. When you are ready to compare real placement prices, a guest post marketplace shows each publisher's price before you order.
From Allowance to Options
Turn Your Link Budget Into Real Options
Compare available guest post websites, their displayed metrics and placement prices. You choose the publisher and order individually.
Sign Up to Compare ListingsHow Do SEO Retainers, Projects and Hourly Rates Compare?
A retainer buys ongoing monthly work, a project buys a defined piece of work, and hourly consulting buys time.
- Monthly retainer: an agreed amount each month for ongoing work. In SE Ranking's survey, 53% of agencies preferred this model.
- Project fee: a fixed price for a defined job, such as an audit or a site migration.
- Hourly consulting: you pay for time, which suits advice and reviews more than ongoing delivery.
This calculator models recurring monthly activity plus one optional one-off cost. Its result is a planning figure, not a binding quote from any agency.
How Should You Compare Two SEO Quotes?
Compare what each quote delivers, not just the total. Rebuild each quote in the calculator, line by line, then check what is missing.
- Hours: how many specialist hours a month, and who does the work?
- Content: how many pages, of what length, and who writes them?
- Links: how many placements, of which type, on which sites, and is writing included?
- Tools and reporting: are software and reports included or billed separately?
- Management: is account management charged as its own line?
- Terms: minimum contract length, notice period and payment terms.
A cheap quote with undefined deliverables is not a bargain. Google's own guidance on hiring an SEO warns that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking, so treat any ranking guarantee in a quote as a warning sign. For agencies pricing work across several clients, our guide to backlink management for agencies covers how to keep each client's links organised. If delivery speed matters to you, check each supplier's guest post turnaround time before you sign.
What Happens After You Set Your SEO Budget?
Take the link-building allocation into publisher selection, then keep a record of every placement you buy.
Before paying for a specific link, the backlink value calculator helps you test whether it is likely to pay back on your own traffic and conversion numbers.
In Backlink Management, the marketplace offers one-time guest post orders and can be browsed after you create an account. Separately, the backlink management software keeps your backlink records alongside connected Google Search Console data. It does not store a cost for each placement, keep an audit history or re-check links automatically, so keep your budget sheet or this calculator's CSV as your spending record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the SEO cost calculator free?
Yes. You can calculate, download the CSV and print the summary without creating an account.
Does it give me an agency quote?
No. It adds up the inputs you enter. It is a planning figure, not a price from any agency or from Backlink Management.
Does it predict rankings, traffic or ROI?
No. It only calculates cost. To test whether a single paid link may pay back, use the backlink value calculator with your own traffic and conversion numbers.
Does it work for local, SaaS and ecommerce sites?
Yes, because every input is yours. A local business and an international SaaS company will enter very different hours, content and link numbers.
Is writing included in a guest post price?
Sometimes. Ask the supplier. If the placement price already includes the article, enter 0 for the separate writing cost.
How do I avoid double-counting costs?
Enter each cost once. Common overlaps are guest post writing that is already in the placement price, and software that is already part of an agency retainer.
Why is the cost per placement lower than total budget divided by links?
Because it divides only the link-building lines by the number of placements. Specialist hours, content and software are not link costs.
Does Backlink Management sell SEO retainers?
No. Backlink Management sells one-time guest post placements through its marketplace and provides backlink management software. It does not sell monthly SEO services or link insertions.
Are my numbers saved or sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs in your browser. It does not upload or store what you enter, and refreshing the page clears it.
Bottom line: an SEO budget is the sum of the work you buy, so build it line by line. Use the calculator to see where the money goes, rebuild any quote you receive the same way, and keep link-building costs separate so you can judge each placement on its own price.
Next Step
Budget Set? Start With the Publishers You Want.
Browse one-time guest post opportunities through Backlink Management, then manage your orders and keep backlink records alongside connected Google Search Console data.
Explore Guest Post PlacementsSources
- SE Ranking, SEO pricing survey (published 13 December 2024, 260 agencies) (read 13 November 2026)
- BuzzStream, Link Building Pricing and Costs (updated 20 October 2026) (read 13 November 2026)
- Adsy, Link Building Pricing in 2026 (52,671 websites) (read 13 November 2026)
- PressWhizz, Link Building Pricing Report 2026 (22,703 orders) (read 13 November 2026)
- Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO? (read 13 November 2026)