In November 2022, we polled members of the SEO industry to find out how much they charge for SEO services.
Here are the top 10 takeaways:
- 78.2% of SEOs charge monthly fees for some or all of their services.
- 54.5% of SEOs offer only one pricing model (for example, hourly, firm, or per project).
- $501–$1,000 is the most popular monthly retainer.
- $75–$100 is the most popular hourly rate.
- $2,501–$5,000 is the most popular per-project rate.
- Fewer than 1 in 10 SEOs (9.9%) charge more than $150 per hour.
- Agencies and consultants charge much more than freelancers.
- There is a clear positive correlation between experience and rates. (Surprising, right?)
- Local SEOs charge less than those with global clients.
- SEOs based in India, Central America and South America charge the minimum.
Let’s look at each pricing model in more detail.
Side note.
We received 439 applications in total. However, after reviewing them, we removed 89 of them, as they were duplicates or spam. For example, many respondents provided a website that they clearly didn’t own (for example, google.com) or had nothing to do with SEO. If a respondent’s site clearly didn’t offer SEO services, we removed them from our sample.
34.8% of those interviewed rate part or all of their work on an hourly basis.
We found $75–$100 per hour to be the most popular hourly rate for SEOs, with 24% of respondents charging this rate.
47% of respondents charge between $75 and $200 per hour.
90% charge $150/hour or less and only 4.1% charge an hourly rate of $201+.
Here is a breakdown of hourly rates by region:
There is a clear outlier here: India.
We found that 85.7% of India-based SEOs charge an hourly rate of $30 or less. The remaining 14.3% is between $51 and $60.
Side note.
We didn’t have much data for some regions, so take the results with a grain of salt. Also, the reason for lumping together Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain is that they are the only European countries (besides the UK) with a GDP of 1 trillion or more. I thought it would be interesting to see if the numbers for those countries differed from the rest of Europe.
Looking at isolated data from the US and Canada, 66.7% charge $75-200 per hour, over two-thirds!
Do SEO agencies charge more per hour than freelancers?
Yup.
58.7% and 58.8% of SEO agencies and consultants are getting $75+/hour, respectively, compared to just 36.6% of freelancers.
However, the most common hourly rate for SEO agencies and freelancers is the same: $75–100/hour.
For SEO consultants, it’s $100-150 per hour.
If we assume all surveyed SEOs charge at the higher end of their price tier (e.g. $150, $100 to $150), then take the average hourly rate for each subset (agency, freelance, consulting), here is what we get:
- Consulting: $171.18/hour, on average.
- Agencies: $98.90/hour, on average.
- Freelancers: $71.59/hour, on average.
According to these statistics, the hourly rate charged by SEO consultants is more than double that of SEO freelancers.
Do more experienced SEOs make much more per hour?
Yes they do it.
$73.05 is the average hourly rate for SEOs who have been in business for two years or less.
This rises to $97.11 for those who have been in business for 2-4 years, $102.03 for 5-10 years, and $118.35 for 10+ years.
So it seems that experience and track record play a huge role when it comes to hourly earnings.
Do those that service worldwide charge more per hour than those that serve local markets?
Yes, slightly.
On average, those serving locally earn $93.89/hour, while those serving the global market earn $106.69/hour.
That’s a 13.6% difference.
78.2% of respondents charge a monthly down payment for some or all of their work.
We found $501–$1,000 per month to be the most popular monthly rate for SEOs, with 20.4% of respondents charging this rate.
42.8% of respondents charge between $501 and $2,000 per month.
68.8% charge $2,000 a month or less, meaning only 31.2% hold the $2,001+ lead.
Here is a breakdown of monthly withholding rates by region:
Again, India is a clear outlier here.
76% of India-based SEOs charge $1,000 or less per month. The remaining 24% charge between $2,001 and $10,000.
Looking at data from the US and Canada in isolation, 79.1% charge at least $1,001 a month, some as much as $25,001–$50,000 a month!
Do SEO agencies charge more per month than freelancers?
Yup.
57.4% of SEO agencies make more than $1,001 a month, compared to just 32.2% of freelancers.
However, consultants make the most, with 70.6% commanding over $1,001 a month.
The most common monthly range for SEO agencies is $500–$1,000 per month. For consultants, it’s $2,501–$5,000.
For freelancers, it’s $251–$500 a month and $101–$500 a month.
If we assume all surveyed SEOs charge at the higher end of their price tier (e.g., $1,500, $1,001 to $1,500), and then take the average monthly hold rate for each subset (agency, freelance, consulting ), this is what we get:
- Agencies: $3,209 per month, on average.
- Consulting: $3,250 a month, on average.
- Freelancers: $1,348.63 per month, on average.
Based on these statistics, the monthly retention interval charged by SEO agencies and consultants is almost double that of SEO freelancers.
Do more experienced SEOs charge much more per month?
Yes they do it.
$1,540.52 is the average retention rate for SEOs who have been in business for two years or less.
This rises to $2,023.13 for those who have been in business for more than 2 years. That’s about 33% higher than those who have been in business for two years or less.
But the big leap comes after five years of activity. The average retention for those who have been in business for 5-10 years is $3,648.28, more than double the rate for those who have been in business for two years or less.
After that, things settle down a bit. Indeed, we have seen a decline in earnings for those who have been in the business for more than 10 years. However, this is probably because we don’t have much data for this subset.
Do those that service worldwide charge more per month than those that serve local markets?
Yup.
Those who offer their services locally charge an average of $1,557.08 per month. While those serving the world market earn $3,473.74 a month.
This is a significant difference of 123.1%.
48.9% of respondents charge a per-project fee for some or all of their work.
We found $2,501–$5,000 to be the most popular per-project rate, with 21.2% of respondents using this rate.
60.6% of respondents charge $1,001 or more.
50.6% charge $2,000 or less, which means less than half of respondents request per-project fees of $2,001+.
Here is a breakdown of project fees by region:
Yes, you guessed it: India is the outlier.
93.75% of India-based SEOs charge $1,500 or less. The remaining 6.25% charge between $2,001 and $2,500.
Looking at the US and Canada in isolation, 83.3% charge at least $1,001. Some even charge as much as $50,001–$75,000 per project.
Do SEO agencies charge more per project than freelancers?
Yup.
73.3% of SEO agencies command over $1,001 per project, compared to just 64% of consultants and 40.68% of freelancers.
The most common per-project fee for freelancers is $101–$250. For SEO agencies, it’s $2,501–$5,000. And for consultants, it’s $5,001–$10,000.
If we assume all surveyed SEOs charge at the upper end of their price tier (e.g. $1,500, $1,001 to $1,500), and then take the average per-project fee for each subset (agency, freelance, consulting) , here’s what we get:
- Agencies: $9,507.84 per month, on average.
- Consulting: $8,685.53 per month, on average.
- Freelancers: $2,348.63 per month, on average.
Based on these statistics, the per-project fee SEO agencies charge is on average more than 4 times that of SEO freelancers.
Do more experienced SEOs charge much more per project?
Yes they do it.
$1,881.73 is the average per-project fee charged by those who have been in business for two years or less.
This rises to $2,242.71 for those who have been in business for more than 2 years and then to $9,087.31 for those who have been in business for 5-10 years.
Do those that service worldwide charge more per project than those that serve local markets?
Yes, much more!
On average, those offering their services locally charge $5,723.53 per project, while those serving the worldwide market charge $8,056.56.
This is a significant difference of 40.80%.
Final thoughts
My hope is that this data helps SEOs stop undercharging their services. Yes, the economic outlook may look bleak right now, but know that SEO is a valuable skill. Don’t be afraid to charge what you’re worth.
Do you have questions? ping me on Twitter.
