How much to charge for freelance social media

Juggling algorithms, crafting viral content and keeping the content calendar ticking can all be a regular day’s work as a social media freelancer. But what about the trickiest metric of all: your own price tag?

This guide gives you all you need to nail your rates for freelance social media. We’ve discussed pricing models, outlined a handy rate card you can take away with you, and detailed how Wise Business can help you get paid by clients all over the world as if you were a local in their country.

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Hourly Rate vs. Daily Rate vs Monthly Retainer vs Packages

First things first: how will clients actually pay you? Your pricing model is the foundation of your freelance business - so it’s vital to get it right.

With freelance social media, you can either price by time or by the scope of services.

Pricing by time:

Hourly rate: If you’re just starting out, you might want to begin with an hourly rate. This can be useful for billing smaller clients with a low budget, who only need a light-touch approach to social media management.

Daily rate: In some cases, freelance social media managers charge daily rates or operate on a per-project basis. This is more common in social media freelancing than you think, due to the 24-hour nature of social media and the need to constantly check multiple platforms to stay on top of notifications, comments, replies, and the like.

Monthly retainer: This involves charging for a set number of hours and services within a month. It gives you the freedom to fix your price in advance, provided you agree on the scope as well to prevent clients from getting carried away with how much they ask of you in exchange.

Project-based Pricing

The alternative to time-based pricing is to charge by project scope, which essentially means charging by the number of services you’ll provide.

A basic service provision would cover the management of just 1-2 platforms, along with a limited number of posts per week, basic community engagement, and a monthly report on results.

As the number of platforms and posts increases, so does the need for more in-depth, more frequent reporting. This increases the scope - and with that, you can command higher package rates.

Here’s an example of how to charge for full-scope social media freelancing:

Scenario: A client wants a full social media audit carried out or to run a particularly intensive ad campaign. They want content creation (producing a video or a package of graphics to support a particular campaign), advanced analytics, paid advertising management and strategy meetings.

How you charge in this scenario: For this kind of work, you can charge a one-time base project fee and list add-ons for all the scopes. Itemise this in an invoice so the client is aware of what they’re paying for and give them the option to select the services they want, which will help you calculate your final fee.

What's the Average Going Rate for Social Media Managers?

The average hourly rate for a social media manager is anywhere between £20 and £150¹. This is dependent on experience and location.

Monthly retainer packages can be anywhere between £300 and £3,000 per month¹.

However, a typical monthly price for managing a small business social media account is usually around £450 to £800².

As for per-project, it very much depends on the project, but brands are typically spending between £500 and £5,000 in one-off social media management project fees¹.

Things to keep in mind:

You don’t have to set your prices in a vacuum. A savvy social media freelancer knows their market and can scope out what others in this niche are charging.

Be honest with your experience level and past results. It's advisable to focus on social media freelancers with the same level of experience as you - and who work in a similar geographical market and niche. This also means taking stock of how successful your strategies have been in the past. The better your track record, the more confident you should be about charging a premium.

Calculating Your Social Media Freelancing Rate

The first step is to decide on a pricing model. Research the average hourly or monthly rates for professionals in your niche and with your level of experience.

Once you know how you will charge, the next step is to define your service scope. Today’s social media managers do far more than just schedule posts. The job now involves specialist skills such as community management, strategy development, content creation, and in-depth analytics and reporting.

For every additional skill or service you offer, your rate should increase.

After that, review your client’s size, prestige, and industry. Always remember that you can set different rates for different clients.

This means an affordable fee for startups, community organisations, or social enterprises, and a higher fee for large or luxury brands, which typically have a larger marketing budget to spend.

Finally, take stock of your niche within social media. If you’re an expert in a specialised niche, such as TikTok strategy for B2B Software as a Service (SaaS) companies, for example, this requires premium pricing. If you have sought-after expertise, you should really be charging more.

Finalising Your Social Media Freelancing Rate Card

Your final social media rate card should look something like this:

Package/service	Includes	Fee
Basic social media management	1 platform Around 5 posts a week Basic engagement Monthly reporting	£300 to £1,000 per month
Standard social media management	2-3 platforms Around 10 posts a week Daily community management Content creation Basic analytics Bi-weekly reporting	£250 to £5,000 per month
Content creation	Creating graphics or videos	£50 to £500 per piece
Social media advertising management	Creating and managing ad campaigns	Around 10% to 30% of ad spend

Basic social media management

Most social media managers offer a basic package, aimed at smaller clients who want 1-2 platforms managed with regular posts, some community engagement, and some reports and insights.

It’s up to you what you include in your package, but the typical rate is around £300 to £1,000 per month¹.

Standard/premium social media management

For more comprehensive social media management packages, rates range from £250 per month all the way up to £5,000 or more¹.

You’ll need to create your own range of tiered options, gearing each towards a particular business size, industry, or need.

Remember that the more services you add in - from content creation to analytics and paid ads management - you’ll need to be charging more.

Content creation

For a one-off asset rather than ongoing management, you can charge a set price. This may vary depending on what it is, whether it’s a simple graphic, a full video with editing, or a complete suite of assets.

But on average, prices for content creation range from £50 to £500 a piece¹.

Social media advertising management

To create and manage social media ad campaigns, you can charge according to the total spend - rather than a fixed or hourly/daily/monthly rate.

A typical charge for this kind of work - which can include strategy development, content creation, and campaign optimisation - is around 10% to 30% of total ad spend¹.

Manage your freelance social media earnings more effectively with Wise Business

The best social media freelancers inevitably attract global clients - it’s part and parcel of their success. And with that global expansion comes the need for a global business account.

Enter Wise Business - a convenient and cost-effective way to get paid in multiple currencies. Once you've opened a Wise Business account, you can get local account details in 8+ currencies, so that clients can pay you in their own currency.

You can also manage 40+ currencies all in one place, converting between them whenever you need to for low fees and at the mid-market exchange rate. (the one you see on Google).

What’s more, you can receive money seamlessly by sending an invoice with your Wise Business account, or even by sending your client a QR code or payment link.

For easy, quick and secure payments for freelancers, think Wise Business.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

FAQs

Should I charge more as a social media manager in London?

The short answer is yes. London commands its own rates, given the higher prices and the general cost of living there compared to the rest of the UK.

Just bear in mind that clients may not necessarily want to pay London prices if they themselves are based in a cheaper part of the country.

Are social media management rates negotiable?

Yes - and it is something you should definitely entertain as a social media freelancer, especially if you’re pricing based on project scope.

This isn’t to say you should shortchange yourself. It’s important to set yourself a minimum rate, which is what you need in order to cover your expenses and earn a living.

But above this, you can discuss rates with the client and find an acceptable compromise. This may be a tailored package, a one-off project price, or an hourly rate - whatever works best for you both.

Sources:

1. Nexus Data Systems - How much does it cost to have someone manage my social media?
2. Bark - How much does social media management cost in 2025?
3. Upwork - Freelance rate calculator

Sources last checked on September 16th, 2025