If you’re considering investing in paid ads, one of the first questions you’ll have is how much it actually costs.
The short answer: it depends on your ad spend, the platform you choose, and whether you’re running campaigns yourself or working with an agency.
At a Glance: Paid Advertising Costs
| Ad Spend (per month) | Management Fee (per account) | Retainer Pricing (all inclusive) |
|---|---|---|
| Under $2.5k | $500 | Starts at $3k + GST per platform (includes Google, Meta, LinkedIn, etc.) |
| $2.5k – $6k | $1,000 | |
| $6k – $8k | $1,500 | |
| $8k – $10k | $2,000 | |
| $10k+ | Custom pricing |
These are typical management fees and retainers you can expect when working with us. Below, we’ll break down what drives these costs, how platforms like Google and Meta differ, and what kind of budget you should set aside.
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Typical Advertising Budgets
Monthly budgets for paid ads vary depending on your business size and marketing objectives. Here’s a rough breakdown:
- Small businesses: $500 to $9,000 per month
- Mid-sized companies: $10,000 to $50,000 per month
- Enterprises: $50K+ per month
Not sure what your budget should be? We break that down in our blog on setting the right budget for your ad campaigns.
Keep in mind that results aren’t always immediate. If you’re wondering how long it takes to see performance, check out how fast paid ads work.
CPC vs. CPM: What’s the Difference?
Two of the most common pricing models in digital advertising are:
- CPC (Cost Per Click):
You pay only when someone clicks your ad. This model is ideal if you’re looking to drive traffic, leads, or sales. - CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions):
You pay every time your ad is shown 1,000 times. CPM is better suited for brand awareness campaigns where visibility is the goal.
Want to understand how to measure success under either model? Read our article on measuring paid ad performance.
Average Costs by Platform
Every advertising platform has its own pricing model and cost range. Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect:
- Google Ads (Search Network):
CPC usually ranges between $1 and $2 for most industries. For highly competitive industries like law or finance, CPCs can soar to $30 or more. Learn more about choosing the right platform in this guide. - Facebook and Instagram Ads:
CPC typically falls between $0.50 and $12.50. CPM averages from $5 to $30. These platforms are great for visual storytelling and audience targeting, especially when you’re comparing paid search and paid social ads. - LinkedIn Ads:
With a B2B focus, CPC tends to be higher, usually $5 to $15. CPM is often between $30 and $65. This channel is best for businesses targeting professionals or companies. - YouTube Ads:
Cost per view (CPV) is often $0.10 to $0.30. CPM can range from $10 to $30 depending on your targeting and ad quality.
What About Agency Fees?
If you’re not managing your campaigns on your own, you’ll need to budget for agency support. Agencies typically charge using one of these pricing structures:
- Percentage of Ad Spend: Commonly 10 to 20 percent
- Flat Monthly Fee: Often ranges from $500 to $5,000
- Performance-Based Fee: Agencies earn more based on lead or sale generation
Agencies also bring the benefit of strategic guidance, testing, and optimisation. But is it better to do it yourself or get help? We explore both options in this post.
Curious about what kind of reporting agencies provide? Here’s a deeper look at how agencies report results to clients.
Ad Spend vs Agency Fees (They’re Not The Same Thing)
Ad spend is the money you pay directly to platforms like Meta or Google. Agency fees are what you pay for expert strategy, setup, monitoring and optimisation.
Why it’s important:
Some agencies will bundle the two, making it hard to see where your dollars are going. That’s like paying for a car without knowing if the petrol is included.
How to do it right:
Keep them separate. Track them both. Expect ad spend to start at $1,500/month minimum to gain traction. Agency fees? More on that below.
Our Service Fees
Management Pricing (per account)
- Under $2.5k ad spend: $500
- $2.5k – $6k ad spend: $1000
- $6k – $8k ad spend: $1,500
- $8k – $10k ad spend: $2,000
- $10k+ ad spend: custom pricing
Retainer Pricing: From $3K+ p/month (not fixed)
Our retainers start at $3,000/month, but they’re not one-size-fits-all.
Costs scale with:
- The complexity of your funnel
- Number of platforms (Google, Meta, TikTok etc.)
- Monthly ad spend
- Creative testing cycles
How we approach it:
More spend = more data = more strategic oversight.
So a business spending $10K/month on ads needs a different level of care than someone spending $2K.
We scale our retainer based on impact, platforms and ad spend. Some months you might need more testing, others just light optimisation. You’re not locked into cookie-cutter packages.
Our full-service retainer includes:
- Google, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok Ads management
- Ongoing optimisation, reporting and strategy built in
- Long term growth focus
- Competitor analysis & market research
- Graphic design
- Minor video editing
- Landing page CRO support
- Ad hoc support
Investment: Retainers start at $3k + GST per month, per platform and require a 3-month commitment.
Onboarding Fees: What’s Included and Why They’re Necessary
Spoiler: No cookie-cutter templates or AI-generated junk here.
Before ongoing campaign management begins, most agencies (including us) charge a one-time onboarding fee. This ensures your campaigns are built on a solid foundation rather than rushed into launch.
You get a deeply strategic setup phase designed to maximise ROI before you spend a cent on ads.
What’s included in onboarding:
- Business and audience discovery: Deep dive into your goals, offers, target market, competitors, and unique value proposition.
- Platform setup and integrations: Ensuring accounts (Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, your CRM etc.) are properly configured, tracking is installed, and pixels/conversions are firing correctly.
- Creative and copy development: Suggesting or creating ad graphics, video edits, and writing conversion-focused ad copy.
- Landing page optimisation: Reviewing or creating landing pages to maximise conversions from your ad traffic.
- Compliance checks: Making sure campaigns adhere to platform policies and industry regulations.
Why onboarding is important:
Think of onboarding as laying the groundwork before building a house. Without it, campaigns risk wasted ad spend, poor data tracking, and underwhelming results. A proper onboarding means your campaigns launch with clarity, precision, and the highest chance of delivering ROI from day one.
Throwing money at Meta without prep is like trying to run a marathon in thongs. You’ll burn out before you hit the first water station.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been burned by dodgy agencies or cheap ad managers who boosted a few posts and called it a strategy, we get it. But the truth is, paid ads work when the strategy works.
We won’t waste your time or budget. We’ll challenge your assumptions, tighten your funnel, and show you how to make paid media drive actual revenue, not just traffic.
Ready to Get Serious About Ads?
Let’s talk numbers, strategy and results.
Book a discovery call