How much do startup SEO packages cost in the UK?
Published UK guides put startup-level SEO packages at about £500 to £1,500 a month, with growth packages from £1,500 to £3,000. None is independent pricing data except Whito's, so the table lists each figure with what stands behind it.
| Source | Tier | Monthly price | Stated scope | Evidence behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehat SEO | Local or startup | £500 to £1,200 | 5 to 10 hours a month; local SEO basics, on-page work, Google Business Profile | Agency's own figures, no source, 13 April 2026 |
| Whitehat SEO | Growing SME | £1,500 to £3,000 | 15 to 30 hours a month; technical SEO, ongoing content, basic digital PR | As above |
| Visionary Marketing | Foundational | £750 to £1,500 | 3 to 6 senior hours a week; 1 to 2 articles; 1 to 3 links; basic audit; monthly reporting. Aimed at early-stage SaaS testing SEO | Agency's own figures, reviewed August 2026 |
| Visionary Marketing | Growth | £3,000 to £5,000 | 12 to 20 senior hours; 4 to 8 articles; full technical implementation | As above |
| Whito | Published UK prices | £99 to £300, £350 to £1,000 and £1,500 to £5,000 or more; median £799 | Varies | June 2026 file of 45 published prices |
| This site | Foundation | From £1,500 | Technical audit, up to 30 terms mapped, two pages a month, conversion tracking, monthly pipeline report | Listed on our pricing page |
| This site | Growth | From £3,000 | Up to 100 terms, four pages or articles a month, digital PR, CRM-matched reporting | As above |
Why does the same price buy different amounts?
The same price buys different amounts because sources count hours differently, price seniority differently and treat content differently. Whitehat SEO quotes hours per month, while Visionary Marketing quotes senior hours per week. A conversion helps: 3 to 6 hours a week is about 13 to 26 hours a month (our arithmetic, at 4.33 weeks).
Visionary Marketing's own rule of thumb is to divide the fee by £120 an hour, which gives about 6 hours at £750 and 12 to 13 hours at £1,500. Its tier hours are higher than that rule allows, so treat the hours in any package as a claim to verify. Whito adds that retainers usually exclude content production unless stated, and recommends checking what a low quote leaves out.
What does each budget tier buy a startup?
Each tier buys a different mix of audit, pages and senior time. The ranges below combine the sources above, and the last column is our reading, not a published standard.
| Monthly budget | Typical scope in the sources | Our reading for a startup |
|---|---|---|
| Under £750 | Little senior time; Whito flags prices under £300 and Whitehat SEO flags anything under £500 beyond basic local SEO | Treat as a tool or training budget, not a programme |
| £750 to £1,500 | A basic audit, one or two articles, a few links, monthly reporting | Enough to fix the basics and test a few pages |
| £1,500 to £3,000 | Technical work, ongoing content, reporting; Visionary Marketing's next tier adds light implementation | The usual range for a funded B2B startup that wants search to produce enquiries |
| £3,000 and above | Full implementation, more content and links, more frequent reporting | Consider once enquiries from search are proven |
Our Foundation package, from £1,500 a month, is built for companies with one product or service line that need the basics fixed and a first set of pages built for buyers. It is monthly rolling, as set out in our terms of business. For classic retainers at this level, see what a £1,500 SEO retainer buys.
Should a startup buy an audit or a retainer first?
Buy an audit first if you are unsure of your site's health or your baseline. An audit is a fixed-price project, and a retainer is a recurring commitment. Visionary Marketing gives an example of a £299 a month package that cost £2,392 over eight months and produced two pages and no ranking movement, and says a one-off senior sprint would have been better. That is a vendor anecdote, so use it as a prompt, not as proof.
Our free B2B SEO audit gives three specific opportunities, and a full technical and content audit is a paid option from £1,200. Our B2B SEO audit checklist shows what to expect.
Which package fits which startup stage?
Fit the package to the stage, not the label. The table is our judgement.
| Stage | What matters | What to buy |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-launch or minimum viable product | Crawlable site, tracking, a map of buyer searches | A one-off audit and a short page plan |
| First customers | Pages for the buyer tasks that already convert | A starter retainer, month to month |
| Product-market fit | Repeatable enquiries from search | A growth package with reporting tied to your CRM |
| Scaling | More markets and teams | A larger programme, reviewed quarterly |
Our guide to the first 90 days of startup SEO gives the order of work at the first two stages.
How do you compare startup SEO quotes?
Compare quotes on hours, deliverables and terms, not on the package name. Use these seven checks:
- Ask for the hours in writing, per month and by seniority.
- Divide the fee by the stated hours and check the implied hourly rate against the seniority promised.
- List the monthly deliverables, such as pages, links and reports.
- Ask what is excluded: content, links, tools, implementation and onboarding.
- Check the term and notice. Visionary Marketing's protective terms are a three-month minimum with 30-day rolling notice, work products transferring to you, a named senior owner, written reporting and your ownership of Search Console and Analytics.
- Reject guarantees, and any quote that cannot name who does the work.
- Record a baseline before work starts.
Our guide to B2B SEO agency contracts explains how to read the terms.
When is a startup not ready for an SEO package?
A startup is not ready when SEO cannot help yet or cannot be measured. Whito lists five cases: your website is broken, you need results this month, your market is too small to justify ongoing spend, you cannot commit for at least six months, or you have no tracking in place. In those cases, fix the basics first. When you are ready, our startup SEO page describes how we work, and the B2B SEO audit shows where to start.