The short answer: UK social media management runs from about £300 a month for basic scheduling on one or two platforms to £3,000 or more for full production with filming and community management, based on published 2026 UK agency pricing. Most small businesses land between £500 and £1,500 a month for a dependable service. We charge £249 a month, setup £149, for twelve posts across two platforms drafted from your real jobs and reviews. This article shows the maths behind all of it, including the option nobody quotes you: doing it yourself.
Key takeaways
- UK agency social media management: £300 to £3,000+ a month, most small businesses pay £500 to £1,500
- Doing it yourself: a 2026 survey of 200 small business owners found an average of 6.3 hours a week spent on social media
- Our price: £249 a month, setup £149, cancel any time
- The unit that matters is not "posts", it is finished ideas turned into platform-ready content
- Bundled with SEO, blogs and email in the Growth plan, it works out cheaper than buying social alone
What the market actually charges
Ampliflow, a UK agency that publishes its own rate card, sets out four planning bands for social media management in 2026: £300 to £600 a month for one or two platforms with supplied assets and light reporting, £600 to £1,500 for several platforms with stronger creative and a monthly review, £1,500 to £3,000 for original campaigns and active community work, and £3,000-plus once filming, daily engagement and paid media are involved. Their own packages run from £297 to £747 a month standard rate, before an introductory discount.
| What you're comparing | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Basic scheduling, 1 to 2 platforms | £300 to £600 a month |
| Managed service, several platforms, content planning | £600 to £1,500 a month |
| Full production, filming, community management | £1,500 to £3,000+ a month |
| Build My Digital: 12 posts, 2 platforms, drafted from your reviews | £249 a month |
We land under the entry band because we are not pricing in a discovery call, a strategy deck, or an account manager's time. You approve a batch of posts by replying to a message. That is the whole workflow.
The cost nobody puts in a quote: your own time
A 2026 survey of 200 small business owners across Europe found they spend an average of 6.3 hours a week on social media activity, posting, replying to comments, and checking analytics. Nearly a fifth of respondents were putting in 3 to 5 hours a week, and some far more.
That is not a wasted number if it produces bookings. But it is a real cost, whether you count it in your own hourly rate or in the evenings it eats. Before comparing agency prices, work out what your own time on the same job is actually worth.
What you're really paying for
Whatever you spend, a proper social media service covers the same ground:
- Direction. Which platforms, and what each one is actually for. Instagram for proof of work, Facebook for local trust, Google Business Profile for what is happening this week.
- Source material. Turning finished jobs, five-star reviews and seasonal offers into something worth posting. This is the part that stalls when you are doing it yourself, because the material lives in your head, not a shared folder.
- Creation. Copy and graphics built for each platform, not one caption pasted everywhere.
- Approval. You should see the batch before anything goes out. Nothing posts without your sign-off.
- Reporting. A monthly note on what actually got attention, not just a screen of impressions.
If a quote skips straight to "30 posts a month" without naming these parts, ask what a post actually is. Thirty identical captions sent to two platforms is not the same job as twelve ideas built properly for each one.
Where your reviews come in
Most local businesses we scan have hundreds of genuine five-star reviews and a social feed that has not posted in months, not because the business went quiet, but because nobody had a free evening to write captions. Your reviews, before-and-after photos and the questions customers ask you every week are the raw material. Our posts are drafted from exactly that, in your voice, so the batch you approve each month is built from things that actually happened rather than generic filler.
How to check what you have now
If you already run a Facebook or Instagram page, run your website through our free scanner at buildmydigital.co.uk/scan first. It checks whether your site actually links to your social profiles and whether your Google Business Profile is pulling its weight, alongside 36 other technical, SEO and trust checks. The report shows instantly, no email required.
Common questions
Do you write the posts, or do I?
We do. Each month's batch is drafted from your real jobs, reviews and offers, in your voice, and you approve it before anything publishes.
Which platforms do you cover?
Two of your choice. For most local businesses that is Instagram and Facebook; for B2B it is usually LinkedIn plus one other.
Is social media worth it if I only have an hour a week?
An hour a week is roughly a sixth of what the average small business owner actually spends, per the 2026 survey above, and most of that hour goes on the parts that stall a feed: deciding what to post and writing it. That is the exact job we take off your plate for £249 a month.
Is this cheaper inside a bundle?
Yes. The Growth plan at £449 a month includes social media alongside AI search visibility, blogs and email marketing for less than buying social on its own plus one other service. Full prices are on the pricing page.
Want the version of this with your name on it?
Run the free 38-check scan on your current site, or ask for the free homepage mockup. Both free, neither with any obligation.