Commonly anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars a month, depending on who does it and how much they actually do. Here's how the pricing works — and the honest case for not paying anyone yet.
Freelancers commonly charge a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars a month for a small business, depending on how many platforms and posts. Hourly rates commonly run $15–$50+, with experienced specialists above that.
Agencies commonly start around $1,000–$3,000 a month and climb from there. Part of that pays for real strategy; part pays for the account manager layer between you and whoever writes the posts.
In-house means a salary — realistic for a business with constant content needs, overkill for most small businesses.
Posting is the visible part, and it's the least valuable. What matters is whether the person understands your business well enough to say something true in your voice — and whether the content answers questions your actual customers ask, instead of filling a calendar with generic quotes and holiday graphics.
Ask any candidate one question: “what would your first five posts for my business say?” If the answer could apply to any business in your category, keep looking.
Honest answer: if your Google Business Profile is incomplete, your website doesn't answer basic customer questions, or you have fewer than a handful of reviews — fix those first. They're free, and they do more for getting found than daily posting does. Social content amplifies a foundation; it doesn't replace one.
Content here is priced per project or per month based on what actually needs making — in English and Spanish, written the way your business talks. And if the honest answer is “you don't need a social manager yet, you need your foundation fixed,” that's what you'll hear, along with what Answer Optimization Audit found when it checked.
Only after the foundation is set — a complete Google Business Profile, a readable website, and real reviews. Those free assets do more for being found than daily posts. Once they're in place, a good content person amplifies everything; before that, you're paying to decorate an empty storefront.
For a small business doing it right — a few posts a week, replies, and monthly planning — commonly 3 to 8 hours weekly. Numbers far above that usually mean the scope includes ads management or content production, which are different services with different price tags. Ask what's actually included.
Yes, and many owners should, at least at first — nobody knows the business better. The real costs are consistency and judgment about what to say. A middle path that often works: pay for a one-time content plan and templates, then execute it yourself.
Posts in your real voice that answer real customer questions, replies handled within a business day, and a simple monthly note on what worked. Be suspicious of reports full of impressions and reach — the number that matters is whether customers mention seeing you.