Pricing
PPC management pricing in the UK: what it costs and how I charge
Before any number, the model matters more than the rate: it decides whose interests the advice serves. This page sets out how UK consultancies and agencies charge, what management tends to cost at each spend level, the costs that sit on top of any fee, and exactly how I price.
Three ways UK consultancies and agencies charge
A share of your spend
Commonly 10% to 20% of monthly media, often with a floor. Simple to budget for, but the fee climbs every time the budget does, which is an uncomfortable position for anyone who ought to be telling you to spend less.
A flat monthly retainer
One fee each month, whatever the spend. The incentives are cleaner. The thing to check is what sits outside it: when landing pages and tracking are extras, the fixes that matter most have a habit of staying on the to-do list.
Days or hours
Senior UK freelancers commonly quote a few hundred pounds a day. Sensible for an audit, training or a second opinion. Awkward for running an account week to week, because every question starts to feel billable, and that is when accounts drift.
Whatever the model, ask who owns the accounts. If the campaigns, conversion actions and tags sit in the supplier's accounts rather than yours, leaving costs you the history, and that is the most expensive line in any contract.
What UK PPC management tends to cost
Indicative ranges for context, not a quote. Independent consultants usually come in under agency fees at the same spend because there is no account team, office or margin layered on top; experienced independents sit at the upper end and overlap with small agencies.
| Monthly media spend | Independent consultant | Small agency | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below £2,000 | A one-off setup or audit | Often under the minimum | A monthly retainer rarely pays for itself |
| £2,000 to £10,000 | Flat retainer in the low thousands | A minimum fee or 15% to 20% | The band where one senior person makes most difference |
| £10,000 to £40,000 | Flat retainer sized to the scope | Around 10% to 15% | Percentage fees begin to outgrow the work |
| Above £40,000 | Flat retainer, part-time head of paid media | Bespoke, often 8% to 12% | Structure and measurement outweigh bid tweaks |
Costs that sit on top of any fee
- Media. Billed to you directly by Google, Microsoft, Meta or LinkedIn from your own billing profile. It never passes through me.
- Google's 2% UK surcharge. Google adds a 2% charge to invoices for ads shown in the UK, listed as a separate line and linked to the UK Digital Services Tax. A £10,000 month is therefore invoiced as £10,200 before VAT. It applies whoever runs the account, so I build it into the budget plan rather than let it surprise you.
- Creative at volume. For Meta-heavy accounts, regular creative production comes from your designer or a studio and is billed by them.
- Paid tools. Rarely needed beyond what the platforms provide, and always agreed with you first.
How I price
Every engagement is quoted in pounds, ex VAT, after the form tells me the spend band, the platforms, and whether landing pages or tracking need rebuilding. The model below is fixed before any quote.
| Engagement | How it is charged | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| PPC audit | One fixed fee, agreed in advance | A written report with fixes in order of impact and a walkthrough call. The fee is deducted from the first month if management follows. |
| Management, media up to around £10,000 a month | Flat monthly fee | Weekly work in the accounts, tracking kept healthy, landing page fixes and a written monthly report. Month to month. |
| Management, £10,000 to £40,000 a month | Flat monthly fee sized to the scope | The same service across more campaigns, platforms or markets. |
| Management, above £40,000 a month | Flat monthly fee quoted per account | Several platforms, a weekly call, and the role of a part-time head of paid media rather than an operator. |
| Landing pages | Included in management, or a fixed project fee | A page per search intent: copy, build, tracking and a test plan. |
| Conversion tracking | Fixed project fee | GA4, Tag Manager, Consent Mode v2, enhanced and offline conversions, and a reconciliation against your CRM. |
| Advice for in-house teams | Day rate, or a fixed fee per piece of work | Strategy, second opinions and regular review sessions. |
No line on this page is a percentage of your media, so telling you to cut budget costs me nothing. Adding Microsoft Advertising to a Google account is a small increase; adding Meta with ongoing creative testing is a bigger one, agreed before it starts. Send the form and a range comes back the same day; a firm figure needs a look at the accounts.
Questions people ask before hiring
Do you charge VAT?
Quotes are always ex VAT. I supply services to UK businesses from outside the UK, so the reverse charge normally applies: you account for the VAT in your own return, and your accountant will recognise the treatment on the invoice.
Is there a setup fee or a minimum term?
Neither. New accounts begin with the fixed-fee audit, which is deducted from the first month of management, and management runs month to month with a notice period.
Why not charge a percentage of spend like most agencies?
Because it pays the supplier for spending more rather than for results. With a flat fee, the advice to cut a campaign or pause a platform costs me nothing, so you get it when you need it.
Does Google's 2% UK surcharge change your fee?
No. Google charges it on the media, not me, and it is the same whoever runs the account. I include it in the budget plan so the invoice matches the forecast.
Can I get a price without a call?
Yes. The form asks for spend band, platforms and what needs fixing, and a range comes back by email. A firm number needs read-only access or a short call.
Related services
Tell me about the account
Spend band, site and what is not working. You get a straight answer on whether I can help, what I would do first and a price range. No proposal deck, no sales follow-up sequence.