Most “what to charge” posts are one person’s guess frozen in time. This index is different: every month we re-read the public sources for each service — industry surveys, freelance marketplace listings, agency rate pages — record the going range for beginners and experienced providers, and log what moved. These are market rates we compile, not our own invoices, and not estimates.
Last checked October 01, 2026. Where a line can’t be sourced it says “not enough data” rather than a guess.
| Service | Beginner rate | Experienced rate | Monthly retainer | Reality check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small business website (3-5 pages)
Restaurants, salons, contractors
|
$500 – $1,500 | $2,500 – $5,000 | $50 – $150/mo (hosting + edits) | ~71% of working pros charge under $5,000 per site. Under $500 attracts the hardest clients. |
| Google Business Profile setup
Local shops with no listing or a broken one
|
$150 – $400 | $500 – $900 | — | Fastest first sale — it’s a visible fix the owner can verify the same day. |
| Google Business Profile management
Shops that want posts, photos, review replies handled
|
$200 – $400/mo | $500 – $1,000/mo | monthly by nature | The retainer is the real prize — one-off setups don’t compound. |
| Local SEO (ongoing)
Service businesses competing in one metro
|
$300 – $750/mo | $1,000 – $2,500/mo | monthly by nature | Requires reporting discipline; don’t sell it before you can show a monthly report. |
| Resume / cover letter writing
Job seekers, career changers
|
$75 – $200 | $300 – $700 | — | Volume business. Turnaround speed matters more than polish. |
| Social content package (12-16 posts/mo)
Local restaurants, gyms, salons
|
$300 – $600/mo | $800 – $2,000/mo | monthly by nature | Scope creep kills margin — cap revisions in writing. |
| Review response management
Any business with public reviews
|
$150 – $350/mo | $400 – $800/mo | monthly by nature | Easiest AI-assisted retainer to deliver consistently. |
| Product description writing (e-commerce)
Shopify / Etsy sellers
|
$15 – $40 per product | $50 – $120 per product | $300 – $900/mo for ongoing catalogs | Bill per product, never hourly — AI makes hourly a pay cut. |
| Menu / flyer design
Restaurants, local events
|
$75 – $250 | $300 – $600 | — | Good door-opener for a bigger website project. |
| Meeting notes / transcription service
Small firms, consultants
|
$0.75 – $1.50 per audio minute | $2 – $4 per audio minute | $200 – $600/mo | AI does the draft; you’re paid for accuracy and turnaround. |
How we build this index
Each month we re-read the public sources for every line — industry surveys, freelance marketplace listings, and agency rate pages — record the range, and diff it against last month’s snapshot. Nothing here is invented: if a line can’t be sourced, it says “not enough data” instead of a guess. See our editorial policy.
Sources, line by line
- Small business website (3-5 pages) — The Admin Bar ‘State of the WordPress Agency’ survey; Web Designer Academy respondent data
- Google Business Profile setup — Published agency service pages; local SEO provider rate cards
- Google Business Profile management — Local SEO agency published monthly packages
- Local SEO (ongoing) — Published agency pricing pages
- Resume / cover letter writing — Freelance platform gig pricing; professional resume writer rate pages
- Social content package (12-16 posts/mo) — Published social management packages for SMB
- Review response management — Reputation management provider pricing pages
- Product description writing (e-commerce) — Freelance platform gig pricing
- Menu / flyer design — Freelance platform gig pricing; local print shop design fees
- Meeting notes / transcription service — Transcription marketplace rates; AI transcription tool pricing pages