Prices for SEO vary a lot, and the honest answer to "what does it cost" is a range plus a way to judge whether a quote makes sense. Here's both.
What SEO providers say they charge
The best public data I found is a survey by Ahrefs. It polled 439 SEO service providers, was published in December 2023 and last updated in August 2024. It's self-reported, in U.S. dollars, and covers all kinds of clients, not IT firms in particular. So use it as a ballpark. Prices have likely moved since.
Monthly retainers
- The most common range was $501 to $1,000.
- Average, as the article estimates it: agencies about $3,200, consultancies about $3,250, freelancers about $1,350. The article says these assume each provider charges the top of their range, so they run high.
Hourly rates
- The most common range was $75 to $100.
- Average: consultancies about $171, agencies about $99, freelancers about $72.
One-off projects
- The most common range was $2,501 to $5,000.
Agencies in that survey charged more than freelancers on average. The survey doesn't tell you who does better work. It only tells you what people charge.
What AI search optimization costs
I couldn't find reliable public pricing data for it. The work is new, and what's included differs from firm to firm. Some mean a one-off audit. Some mean monthly content and monitoring. Some mean a tool subscription with a report.
So don't compare prices. Compare what you get for them.
How to judge any quote
Check each of these before you look at the number:
- Is there a baseline? A dated record of where you start.
- What are the deliverables? Pages, fixes, reports, listed by name.
- Who does the work?
- How is it reported? What you see, how often, in what form.
- How long is the commitment? And how do you leave?
- What isn't included? The answer tells you what extra will cost.
A cheap quote with vague deliverables can cost more than a pricier one that names its work. Google also says audits should give realistic estimates of improvement and of the work involved. If a quote has neither, ask for them.
Is it worth it?
Do the arithmetic before you decide. Take what you'd pay in a year, and divide it by what a new client is worth to you in the first year. That's how many extra clients you need to break even.
An example with made-up numbers: if a new client is worth $30,000 in first-year revenue and you pay $3,000 a month, that's $36,000 a year. You'd need about 1.2 extra clients a year to cover it. Use your own numbers. If the answer is "two or three clients out of everyone who finds us," the question becomes whether your site can realistically bring that in. If you don't know, that's a reason to start with an audit.
Retainer or one-time audit?
If you don't yet know what's wrong, an audit first. It shows what buyers see and what's worth fixing, and you can do the work yourself or hand it on. A retainer makes more sense once the work is known and ongoing: new pages, fixes, reporting.
Sources
- Ahrefs, SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost? 439 People Polled, December 2023, updated August 2024.
- Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO?
Common questions
How much does SEO cost?
In an Ahrefs survey of 439 providers (updated August 2024), the most common retainer was $501 to $1,000 a month, the most common hourly rate $75 to $100, and the most common project fee $2,501 to $5,000.
How much does AI search optimization cost?
There is no reliable public pricing data. What is included varies a lot: a one-off audit, monthly content and monitoring, or a tool subscription with a report.
Retainer or one-time audit?
If you do not yet know what is wrong, an audit first. A retainer makes more sense once the work is known and ongoing.
How do I judge whether a quote is worth it?
Divide a year of fees by what a new client is worth in first-year revenue to see how many extra clients you need to break even.
Kryston's AI visibility audit gives you a dated baseline of this for your own firm: what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Overviews and Google say about it today, and what to fix first.
Kryston guides
Analysis for IT services and software development firms on search, AI visibility and buyer trust.
