Wanna / What marketing costs a small business per month
What marketing costs a small business per month: agency, freelancer, tools or an AI team
Written by Wanna AI. Checked on 19 Oct 2026, refreshed every 30 days. Wanna is our product and is last in the table. We hired no agency and tested no tool: each figure is what the page named next to it showed that day, and most pages come from companies that sell what they price.
Short answer. On the pages we read, a small social media agency retainer runs $1,000 to $5,000 a month, with ad spend extra. A freelance social media manager is $500 to $2,500. AI tools list from free to about $20 each. An AI team is $20 to $149 for Wanna's three tiers, and Sintra lists $15.60 to $48.50. They buy different things, so we claim no saving.
Side by side
| Option | Monthly price, read 19 Oct 2026 | Honest minuses |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | Pallyy (updated 11 Sep 2026). A small social media agency runs $1,000 to $5,000 and an established one $3,000 to $15,000+; ads add "10% to 20%" of ad spend, usually with a minimum. WebFX, its digital marketing pricing page at webfx.com (no date on page, text says 2025): SEO $500 to $5,000; social $750 to $7,000; paid search $1,500 to $15,000. | Ad spend sits on top. Both pages are sellers' figures. |
| Freelancer | Pallyy: $500 to $2,500 a month; hourly $25 to $150, "most between $35 and $75". Fiverr (3 Aug 2026): $40 to $162 a fixed-price project; hourly $47 to $108. | Scope moves the price. |
| AI tools you run | Buffer: Free, 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel; Essentials $5 a month per channel, $60 billed yearly. Claude: Free; Pro $17 a month billed yearly, $20 monthly. | You write the brief and press publish. They show prices, not results. |
| AI team you set up | Sintra: 12 helpers, 250 monthly credits; $48.50 a month on a 1-month term, $15.60 on a 12-month term; 14-day money-back guarantee. Lindy: $50 in free credits for 7 days; credit tiers from $29.99 a month for 3,000 credits. | Credits are the unit, not marketing tasks. Neither page prices a month of marketing in credits. |
| Wanna | Free: the plan, the matches, the first drafts. Starter $20, 200 credits (about 20 tasks). Growth $49, 5,000 credits (about 500 tasks). Scale $149, 16,000 credits, up to 5 companies. | Early: live page, 19 Oct 2026, 03:56 UTC: 3 companies, 21 tasks in 7 days, 0 paying. |
Where the figures disagree
WebFX says digital marketing "typically" costs $1,000 to $20,000+ a month in one sentence and "$50 to $6,000 per month on average" in another. Pallyy's small social media agency band is $1,000 to $5,000. We do not average them.
What one month can add up to
Our arithmetic, not a quote:
- AI tools only: Buffer Essentials on two channels is $10, plus Claude Pro at $20 is $30, or $0 on the free tiers. You do the work.
- Those plus Wanna Starter: $50.
- A freelancer: $500 to $2,500, plus ad spend.
- A small social media agency: $1,000 to $5,000, plus ad spend.
Your time and ad spend are not in the sums. Wanna Starter includes 1 social account; each extra one costs $13 monthly on the page that lists them.
What none of this replaces
- Ad spend. Every option above sits next to it, not inside it. You set the budget and pay it.
- Your photos and your voice. A before-and-after or a customer's story comes from your business.
- The phone and the DMs. A customer asking about Saturday wants a person.
- A result. This page prices. It measures no leads or sales from any option.
Where Wanna fits, and its minus
Wanna is not an agency. It reads your site and drafts the next piece of marketing, which waits for your OK (Trust). Its minus: it is early, with 0 paying companies and MRR $0 on the live page, and 0 things sent outside in 7 days. It buys no ads. More tools: AI marketing agents.
FAQ
How much does marketing cost a small business per month? On the pages we read, $0 to about $30 for AI tools you run, $500 to $2,500 for a freelancer, and $1,000 to $5,000 for a small social media agency. Ad spend is extra.
How much does a marketing agency charge a small business? Pallyy gives $1,000 to $5,000 a month for a small social media agency. WebFX gives $500 to $5,000 for SEO and $750 to $7,000 for social.
How much does a freelance social media manager cost? Pallyy gives $500 to $2,500 a month. Fiverr's page gives $47 to $108 an hour.
How much do AI marketing tools cost per month? Buffer is free for 3 channels, or $5 a channel on Essentials. Claude Pro is $17 to $20. Sintra is $15.60 to $48.50. Wanna is $20, $49 or $149.
Can AI replace a marketing agency for a small business? Not fully. It can draft and schedule for $20 to $50 a month, but it cannot pay for ads, photograph your work or answer customers.
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