Free SEO Cost Calculator
Estimate your monthly SEO budget: content, tools, link building and your own time, and compare an agency, a freelancer and doing it in-house.
Runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
| Option | Typical monthly cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Your plan above | $2,950 | 8 articles, plus tools, links and your time |
| SEO agency (small business) | $1,500–$10,000 | Strategy, content, technical work and reporting |
| Freelance SEO | $500–$3,000 | Varies widely; content often extra |
| Rankfly | $66 | Keyword research, 30 articles a month, images and auto-publishing |
How to use the free SEO cost calculator
- 01
Enter how many articles a month you want and what you'd pay per article.
- 02
Add tools, link building and your own hours.
- 03
Compare the total with typical agency and freelancer pricing.
What SEO really costs
SEO costs come from four places: content (writers usually charge $100–$500 per article), tools (keyword research and rank tracking, $100–$500/month), links and outreach, and someone's time to plan and publish. Agencies bundle these, typically at $1,500–$10,000 a month for small businesses.
The biggest variable is content volume. Consistent publishing, an article every day or two, is what builds traffic for most sites, and it's the part that's hardest to afford.
Tips for using the SEO cost calculator
Price content per article
Content is usually the largest cost. Count articles per month, not hours.
Count your own time
Planning, editing and publishing take hours every month. Give your time a value.
Compare to the return
Estimate what the traffic is worth with the SEO ROI calculator.
Automate the repetitive parts
Keyword research, writing and publishing are what Rankfly automates for $66 a month.
Skip the manual work: get an article published to your site every day.
Rankfly finds the keywords your site can actually win, writes a full SEO article for each one, adds images, and publishes it to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix and more. Enter your website to see your free 30-day content plan.
3-day free trial · $66/month for 30 articles
SEO Cost Calculator FAQ
How much should a small business spend on SEO?
Commonly $500–$5,000 a month. What matters is consistency over at least 6–12 months.
Where does Rankfly fit?
Rankfly does keyword research, writing and publishing for $66/month for 30 articles, which covers the content side at a fraction of writer costs.
Is anything saved?
No. It's calculated in your browser.
How much does SEO cost per month?
For small businesses, commonly $500–$5,000, depending on how much content and link building is included.
How much does an SEO article cost?
Freelance writers typically charge $100–$500 per article; agencies charge more.
Is cheap SEO worth it?
Be wary of very cheap link packages. Cheap, consistent, good content is a different story; that's the bet Rankfly makes.
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Estimate what SEO could return: from target keyword volume and rankings to visits, leads, customers and revenue, against what you spend.
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Work through the essentials of SEO for 2026, from setup to AI search. Tick items off as you go; your progress is saved in this browser.
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Let Rankfly do your SEO for you.
Enter your website for a free 30-day content plan: the keywords your site can win and the articles Rankfly would write and publish. About three minutes.
3-day free trial · $66/month after · Cancel anytime