Dataset reviewed 23 August 2026
US SEO agency pricing report 2026
What published minimum monthly retainers look like across the US directory, including quartiles and service-level context.
US companies analysed
399
52 publish or disclose an entry floor
Median retainer floor
$1.5k/mo
Middle published minimum, not average client spend
Middle 50%
$850/mo–$3k/mo
Lower to upper quartile
Observed range
$297/mo–$8k/mo
Entry floors in the reviewed directory
Pricing model distribution
The commercial model stated on each US company profile.
Delivery-team size
Team-size bands provide context for the published entry floors.
Median entry floor by service
Only service groups with at least five priced records are shown.
| Service | Sample | Middle 50% | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content Marketing | 52 | $850/mo–$3k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Analytics | 51 | $850/mo–$4k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Technical SEO | 50 | $850/mo–$3k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Local SEO | 45 | $800/mo–$2.5k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Paid Media | 42 | $850/mo–$3k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Web Development | 42 | $800/mo–$2.5k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Conversion Optimization | 37 | $1k/mo–$3k/mo | $1.8k/mo |
| Link Building | 36 | $750/mo–$2.5k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Enterprise SEO | 17 | $1.5k/mo–$5k/mo | $3k/mo |
| Ecommerce SEO | 14 | $1k/mo–$5k/mo | $1.8k/mo |
| Digital PR | 8 | $697/mo–$5k/mo | $2.4k/mo |
Median entry floor by industry
Industry experience is documented on the underlying company profiles.
| Industry | Sample | Middle 50% | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 38 | $950/mo–$2.5k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Home Services | 33 | $697/mo–$2k/mo | $1k/mo |
| Ecommerce | 31 | $800/mo–$3k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Manufacturing & B2B | 29 | $1k/mo–$4k/mo | $1.8k/mo |
| Legal | 22 | $1k/mo–$2k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| SaaS & Technology | 20 | $1.8k/mo–$5k/mo | $4k/mo |
| Hospitality & Travel | 15 | $997/mo–$3k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Financial Services | 13 | $1.5k/mo–$5k/mo | $2k/mo |
| Real Estate | 12 | $997/mo–$2.4k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Education | 9 | $800/mo–$5k/mo | $2k/mo |
| Automotive | 7 | $997/mo–$3k/mo | $1.5k/mo |
| Nonprofit | 7 | $600/mo–$3k/mo | $2k/mo |
How to interpret the figures
A retainer floor is the smallest engagement a company says it will accept. It is not the mean or median amount its clients pay.
Service and industry tables overlap because one company can document several capabilities and verticals. They should not be added together.
Pricing was normalised to US dollars for US records. No estimated or scraped “typical package” prices were added where a profile lacked a stated floor.