Social Media Management Pricing Calculator: What to Charge per Month

What this tells you

Price social media management as a monthly retainer built from the hours it really takes: content creation for every post on every platform, daily community management, and monthly reporting, multiplied by your hourly rate, plus tool costs and a margin. Most freelance retainers for a small business land between $500 and $3,000 a month; the calculator shows where your scope falls.

Pricing · free tool

Social media management pricing calculator

3

Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, Facebook…

3

Feed posts, not stories

0.75 h

Writing, design, scheduling

3 h

Comments, DMs, engagement

4 h

Analytics report, strategy call

$50

From the freelance rate calculator

$60

Scheduler, design tools, stock

15%

On top of your hourly pay

At those numbers

Hours per month
46 h
Posts per month
39
Monthly retainer
$2,789
Works out per post
$72

This is arithmetic on the numbers you entered, nothing here is a forecast or a promise about results.

The formula

content hours = platforms × posts per week × hours per post × 4.33 · community hours = hours per week × 4.33 · total hours = content + community + reporting · retainer = (hours × rate + tools) ÷ (1 − margin)

How to read the result

  • Community management is the line most freelancers forget to price. Answering comments and DMs every day adds up to more hours than the posts themselves.
  • If the retainer looks too high for the client, cut platforms or posts per week, not your rate. Scope is the honest lever.
  • Put the number of posts and platforms in the contract. Scope creep is how a $1,000 retainer turns into a $15 hourly rate.
  • Use the freelance rate calculator first if you do not know your hourly rate.

Frequently asked questions

Add up content hours (platforms × posts × time per post), community management and reporting, multiply by your hourly rate, then add tools and a margin. A small business retainer commonly lands between $500 and $3,000 a month.

A monthly retainer with a fixed number of posts and platforms. Per-post pricing hides community management and reporting, which are often half the work.

For three platforms at three posts a week, expect roughly 30-45 hours a month once engagement and reporting are included.

Small business owners ask for help on Reddit and X every week. Our guide on how to get clients as a social media manager lists where they post and what to reply.

The leads are already on Reddit, X and Threads

Leadhoot watches Reddit, X and Threads, scores every new post for buyer intent and sends the high scorers to your email or Slack.

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