Managed marketing costs $319 to $2,700+ a month, plus a one-time website build from $5,000. Where you land in that range depends on how much you need done. Three levers move the price: how much of the marketing stack is covered, how much new content is created each month, and how much strategic ownership is included. Here’s exactly what each price point buys — and where the extras hide.
What does “managed marketing” actually mean — and why does pricing vary so much?
Before a price means anything, you need to know what’s being managed. Not every provider covers the same ground, and that’s the single biggest reason two “managed marketing” quotes can be $500/mo apart from each other.
At minimum, managed marketing covers:
- The website. Built, hosted, kept fast, and technically optimized for search.
- SEO/AEO. On-page and technical SEO, schema markup, and structuring content so AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews can find and cite it.
- Content. New pages, articles, or updates, researched and published on an ongoing basis.
- Strategy. Someone deciding what to prioritize next, not just executing a list.
Some services stop at the first item and call it “managed marketing.” Others go further and add campaigns, social, and email. The price scales with how many of those you’re actually buying — which is exactly why the number ranges so widely.
What are the three things that determine the price?
Three levers move the number, in order of impact.
1. How much of the stack is covered. A managed website (build, hosting, technical SEO, unlimited updates) is a narrower, cheaper service than a managed marketing function that also creates content and owns strategy. A $300/mo website-only plan isn’t a cheaper version of a $1,000/mo content-and-strategy plan — it’s a smaller purchase. Compare like with like.
2. How much new content is created each month. Content production is the single biggest cost driver above the website floor. Zero new content a month costs less than four articles a month, which costs less than ten. This is usually where the price steps between tiers happen.
3. How much strategic ownership is included. A standing monthly review call, competitor tracking, and quarterly planning all mean a real person is steering the account, not just filling a content calendar. That ownership layer is what separates a managed service from a subscription tool.
What do Gameplan’s three managed marketing tiers actually include?
Here’s what that looks like in practice, using our own pricing, because naming our own number is the whole point of writing this honestly.
Growth — $319/mo. The managed-website floor: a custom site, full technical SEO/AEO (on-page, schema, robots.txt, llm.txt), unlimited updates and new pages, managed hosting, and a monthly outcome report. You send new content; we review and optimize it. This is the website managed for you — not the content written for you.
Growth Plus — $945/mo (most common fit). Everything in Growth, plus up to 4 commercial-intent articles a month, researched, written, and published for you. We own the content calendar and SEO/AEO strategy, run ongoing keyword and content-gap research, track competitors monthly, and hold a monthly strategy call. This is where most businesses land — the point where the website stops being a static asset and starts actively bringing in traffic.
Scale — $2,700/mo. Everything in Growth Plus, plus up to 10 commercial-intent articles a month and quarterly planning. The full-stack tier for businesses pushing harder on organic growth across more ground at once.
All three tiers carry a one-time build from $5,000, paid upfront, and none of them lock you into a contract. Every plan is month-to-month; cancel any time.
What’s the part almost nobody separates out: are campaigns included?
This is where a lot of pricing pages get vague, so we’ll say it plainly: a marketing campaign is not included in any base tier. A subscription covers the website, SEO/AEO, and — on Growth Plus and Scale — ongoing content and strategy. Running an actual coordinated campaign (social, email, and a landing page built around one push) is a separate, paid add-on available on Growth Plus and Scale. We scope it to what the campaign actually needs and quote it up front before any work starts.
If a provider’s monthly price sounds low relative to what they’ve promised, this is the first thing to check: does that number include campaign work, or is it billed separately? Ask before you sign.
How does managed marketing compare to the alternatives?
Managed marketing isn’t the only route. Here’s where it sits against the alternatives so the number means something in context.
| Cost | Scope | Contract | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional agency | $3,000–$15,000+/mo per discipline | One channel per retainer | Often 6–12 month minimum |
| In-house hire | $130,000–$150,000+/yr all-in (Glassdoor, 2026) | One person, one skill set | Salary, benefits, equity |
| DIY tools | $0–$500/mo in software | You do all the work | None, but it costs your time |
| Managed service | $319–$2,700+/mo + one-time build | Full stack: website, content, strategy | Month-to-month, cancel any time |
A full-stack managed service sits at or below the bottom of the agency range, without the contract, while covering more of the stack than a single hire ever will.
How do you choose the right managed marketing tier?
Skip “which is cheapest” and ask these instead:
- Do I need a website managed, or a marketing function run? If it’s just the site — kept fast and technically sound — start at the website tier. If you need new content and someone owning strategy, you need at least the middle tier.
- How much new content can I realistically use each month? Four articles a month is a meaningful content engine for most small businesses. Ten is for a business actively pushing on multiple fronts.
- Do I want a campaign, or ongoing content? A campaign is a scoped, time-boxed push; ongoing content and SEO is the always-on subscription. Don’t buy one expecting the other.
- What’s my real budget over 12 months, not just the sticker price? Add the one-time build to twelve months of the subscription before you compare across providers. Check whether a lower monthly number comes with a contract that removes your ability to walk away.
Related reading: What a managed marketing service includes | How much it costs to outsource your marketing
Gameplan is a managed marketing service built for small businesses without a marketing team. We build and manage your website, SEO/AEO, content, and strategy for a flat monthly fee — from $319/mo plus a one-time build, month-to-month, cancel any time. Talk to us and we’ll honestly tell you if we’re the right fit.