Social media pricing report: Here’s how much agencies and freelancers charge for social media management in 2024

"How much should I charge for social media management?" 

If you work at an agency or as a freelancer, you've probably asked yourself that question a few times. (Or a bajillion times, and that's OK too.) 

Pricing your social media management services can be one of the toughest parts of the job. Are you undercharging? Overcharging? Will clients accept your prices? And what exactly are other social media managers charging their clients? Ahhh, it's a lot. 

We're here to pull back the curtain on social media management rates. We surveyed 100+ agency and freelance social media managers to discover the average rates for social media services, in USD. Use these findings to inform your pricing structure – and earn for your hard work! 

How to price social media management services in 2024

Before we dive into the survey results, let's explore different approaches to pricing. There are 3 main ways agencies and freelancers can charge for their social media management services:

• Hourly rate: You bill clients based on how much time you spend working on the task.
• Project rate: You bill clients a fixed fee for completing specific projects or deliverables. 
• Retainer rate: You receive a predetermined, regular payment from a client to secure your availability and services over a specified period.

If you’re a freelancer managing multiple clients, you might use a combination of these approaches to price your services. According to our survey results, 48% of freelance social media managers offer multiple pricing options. Freelancers are also more likely than agencies to charge per hour.

If you’re a social media manager at a marketing agency, you may favour the retainer rate. 72% of agencies only have one pricing method, which is, in most cases, a retainer pricing structure.

With that in mind, let's take a look at how much social media managers charge in 2024. 

How much do social media managers charge per hour in 2024?

We’ll get straight to the answer you’re looking for: $66.96 USD. That’s how much social media managers charge per hour, on average. 

Want to know how that number changes based on a social media manager’s role (agency or freelance) and years of experience? Here’s the nitty-gritty. 

How much do freelance social media managers charge per hour in 2024?

On average, freelance social media managers bill their clients the following hourly rates:

• Freelancers with less than a year of experience charge $49.50 USD per hour
• Freelancers with 1–3 years of experience charge $46.71 USD per hour
• Freelancers with 4–6 years of experience charge $57.84 per hour
• Freelancers with 7+ years of experience charge $92.23 per hour

How much do social media agencies charge per hour in 2024?

When social media agencies do use an hourly rate, here’s what it looks like:

• Agencies with 1–3 years of experience charge $50.00 USD per hour
• Agencies with 4–6 years of experience charge $74.86 USD per hour
• Agencies with 7+ years of experience charge $85.33 USD per hour

How much do social media managers charge per project in 2024?

The scope of a social media manager's responsibilities can vary significantly from one project to the next. So, to make sure our survey respondents had the same project in mind, we gave them the following project description:

"Instagram management project: Project deliverables include Instagram account setup, Instagram content strategy, and 10 client-approved Instagram posts." 

On average, social media managers said they would charge $1,509.62 USD for the one-time Instagram project. 

Of course, that amount varied depending on the social media manager's role and years of experience. So, let’s break it down further.

How much do freelance social media managers charge per project in 2024?

Here’s how the cost of the one-time Instagram project changes based on years of social media management experience:

• Freelancers with less than a year of experience said they would charge $1,357.14 USD
• Freelancers with 1–3 years of experience said they would charge $1,227.27 USD
• Freelancers with 4–6 years of experience said they would charge $1,431.82 USD
• Freelancers with 7+ years of experience said they would charge $1,880.95 USD

How much do social media agencies charge per project in 2024?

Here’s how much agencies said they would charge for the same one-time Instagram management project:

• Agencies with 1–3 years of experience said they would charge $1,833.33 USD
• Agencies with 4–6 years of experience said they would charge $1,150.00 USD
• Agencies with 7+ years of experience said they would charge $1,666.67 USD

Here, we see that agencies with less experience charge the highest project rate. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it leaves us with 2 questions:

Are agencies with more experience simply more knowledgeable about market rates? Or are they undercharging for their services?

We’ll cover pricing changes in a bit. But here's a teaser for now: about half of social media managers have changed their rates in the past year.

How much do social media managers charge as a monthly retainer in 2024?

We wanted to find out the average price of a social media manager’s monthly retainer. So we gave our survey respondents the following monthly deliverables:

“Ongoing social media management services: Manage LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook for 1 client. Weekly deliverables include 3 client-approved posts per platform, 5–10 hours of community management, and in-depth reporting.”

Here’s what we found out!

The average price of a monthly social media management retainer in 2024 is $2,107.14 USD. 

The highest retainer price was reported by freelancers with 7+ years of experience. And the lowest retainer price was reported by freelancers with 1–3 years of experience.

How much do freelance social media managers charge as a monthly retainer in 2024?

Here’s what freelance social media managers said they would charge as a monthly retainer for the above social media management services:

• Freelancers with less than a year of experience said they would charge a $2,000.00 USD retainer
• Freelancers with 1–3 years of experience said they would charge a $1,750.00 USD retainer
• Freelancers with 4–6 years of experience said they would charge a $1,900.00 USD retainer
• Freelancers with 7+ years of experience said they would charge a $2,764.71 USD retainer

How much do social media agencies charge as a monthly retainer in 2024?

Our survey revealed that agencies almost exclusively price their services using a retainer approach. Here’s how the cost of the same services changes with experience: 

• Agencies with 1–3 years of experience said they would charge a $1,833.33 USD retainer
• Agencies with 4–6 years of experience said they would charge a $2,000.00 USD retainer
• Agencies with 7+ years of experience said they would charge a $2,277.78 USD retainer

Why have social media managers changed their prices in 2024? 

First, let’s recap! On average, social media managers charge $66.96 USD per hour, $1,509.62 USD per project, and $2,107.14 USD as a monthly retainer. 

49.5% of social media managers report changing their rates in the past year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest factor driving these pricing changes is inflation. Of those who adjusted their prices, 32.69% did so due to the rising cost of living. 

Other factors that influence pricing changes are experience, scope creep (including research and unforeseen client communication), and the increased complexity of social media projects due to platform changes and the rise of video content. 

What factors should social media managers consider when determining rates?

There are tons of things to keep in mind when you’re setting your social media management prices. Here are the top 3 factors, according to social media managers:

• 93% of social media managers say scope of work is one of the most important pricing factors. 
• 68% of social media managers say the number of social platforms is one of the most important pricing factors. 
• 52% of social media managers say their level of experience is one of the most important pricing factors. 

What are the biggest challenges social media managers face when setting prices in 2024? 

Our survey respondents identified 3 main challenges they face when pricing their social media management services:

1. Helping clients understand the value of social media. 

Yep, it can be a tough one (even if you’ve done everything right to attract perfect-fit clients!). Some clients may see social media as an avenue for broadcasting promotional messages rather than a place to grow engaged, loyal communities. 

Our best tip for helping your client see the value of social? Prove it with case studies. If you don’t yet have metrics or results to show, create spec work (or speculative work): self-initiated, unpaid projects you’ve completed purely for the purposes of displaying in your portfolio. Just be sure to give these projects a “spec work” label in your portfolio.  

2. Quantifying your work as a social media manager. 

Raise your hand if you’ve ever estimated how long a project or task will take only to find out you were . . . waaaaay off? (We’re all raising a hand, right?) One way to get better at estimating project timelines is to track your time using a program like Harvest or Toggl. 

You might also want to create a process for when clients underestimate their needs. When a client comes to you with an urgent, last-minute request, you may consider charging a rush fee – an extra amount your client pays you to complete a task in a shorter-than-usual timeframe. If you go this route, ensure your client knows about your rush fee policy during the client onboarding process. Over-communicating is one of the best ways to build a strong relationship with your client. 

3. Worrying about overcharging or undercharging. 

Remaining competitive, earning what you deserve, and retaining clients – it’s a lot to balance! That’s why we encourage social media managers to consult pricing resources like this one. Understanding what other social media managers charge for similar projects can help you set your rates accordingly. And once you’ve set your prices, there’s just one thing left to do: impress your clients! 

But remember: just because other agencies or freelancers charge a certain amount doesn’t mean you have to match it. Your price should reflect your unique expertise, experience, and interests. And it’s more than OK to be picky about what clients you bring on! 

Summary 

We hope we’ve answered your burning questions about social media pricing! If you like industry insights like these, subscribe to our free daily social media newsletter, the HeyOrca Brief. We’ll send you social media news, resources, templates, and more. In the meantime, best fishes on pricing your social media services!