How much does social media management cost in the UK?
By the How Two Cut team · 15 September 2026 · 4 min read
The short answer. Published UK guides put managed social media at about £500 to £1,500 a month for two or three platforms, and £1,500 to £3,000 for full service with short-form video. Basic posting starts near £250 and campaign-led work reaches £10,000 or more. Ad spend is extra.
What does it cost, by who does the work?
These monthly ranges come from Whito's UK guide (early 2026, without ad spend):
- Virtual assistant, scheduling only: £150 to £400
- Junior freelancer: £250 to £500
- Experienced freelancer: £500 to £1,200
- Small agency: £800 to £2,000
- Mid-size agency: £2,000 to £5,000
- Specialist agency: £3,000 to £10,000+
What do you get at each level?
The same guide groups retainers into four tiers:
- Basic, £250 to £500: 1 to 2 platforms, 3 to 5 posts a week, no strategy
- Standard, £500 to £1,500: 2 to 3 platforms, 5 to 7 posts a week, basic strategy, custom graphics and replies to comments
- Premium, £1,500 to £3,000: 3 to 5 platforms, 7 to 10+ posts a week, full strategy, short-form video and detailed reporting
- Campaign-led, £3,000 to £10,000+: 4 to 6+ platforms, daily posting, paid social and professional production
What pushes the price up?
- The number of platforms
- The type of content: video costs the most, stock images the least
- How often you post
- Replying to comments and messages, which takes time every day
- Paid social management, usually £300 to £1,500 a month on top of the ad spend itself
Why does social media management cost this much?
Because it is mostly hours of skilled work, every week. The same UK guide prices a virtual assistant at £10 to £20 an hour, a junior freelancer at £15 to £30 and an experienced freelancer at £30 to £60. At the experienced rate, £1,500 a month buys roughly 25 to 50 hours: planning, making content, posting, replying and reporting. Premium packages, at £1,500 to £3,000, cover three to five platforms, seven or more posts a week and short-form video. Agencies bring a wider team, such as a strategist, designer, editor and community manager. Video costs the most because filming and editing take the most time.
Where does the content come from?
Content is a large part of the price: video costs the most and stock images the least. Some quotes assume you supply the photos and videos yourself, so check. A team that makes film, photography and design itself can plan a month of posts around a single shoot, which makes it easier to keep a feed full of original material.
What should you ask before you sign?
- Who makes the content, and is filming or photography charged separately?
- Exactly how many posts and platforms are included?
- Who replies to comments and messages, and how quickly?
- What will the reports show, and how often?
- Who owns the accounts and the content? It should be you.
- Does the price include managing ads, and does it include the ad spend?
Why not use AI to run our social media?
AI tools, at around £20 a month, can draft captions, suggest ideas and speed up scheduling and reporting. That is useful, and it can lower the cost of routine work. What it cannot do is:
- Know what happened in your business today, or what your customers are talking about
- Reply to a real customer in your brand's voice, with judgement
- Film your real team, product or premises
- Decide what not to post
Audiences and platforms are wary too. Kantar's 2024 study found 41% of consumers said AI-generated ads bother them. YouTube, TikTok and Meta each ask for labels on realistic AI-made content. If you run paid social, the ASA applies the same advertising rules whether or not AI made the ad.
The sensible split is AI for first drafts and routine tasks, and people for the voice, the replies and the filming.
Common questions
Is ad spend included?
No. Management of paid social is usually extra, and the ad budget is separate again.
Can we pay for less?
Yes. Fewer platforms or fewer posts lower the price, and fewer channels done well often beat many done thinly.
Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency?
In the guide, experienced freelancers run £500 to £1,200 a month against £800 to £2,000 for a small agency. The right fit depends on how much strategy and content you need.
How soon will we see results?
Judge it over a few months rather than a few weeks. We agree early on what to look at, such as saves, shares, replies and enquiries.
Sources
The figures and claims above come from these pages, as we found them in October 2026. Prices are from third-party UK guides, not How Two Cut quotes, and they change.
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