Pricing
How much it costs to hire a Google Ads consultant or freelancer
The three ways this industry charges and where each one quietly works against you, what the market typically costs, and how I price audits, management and consulting.
The three models, and the catch in each
Percentage of ad spend
Typically 10% to 20% of monthly spend, often with a minimum. Easy to understand, and the incentive runs backwards: the consultant earns more when you spend more, not when you spend better. Watch what happens when the honest advice is to cut budget.
Flat monthly retainer
A fixed fee regardless of spend. Incentives are cleaner and budgeting is predictable. The risk is scope: if landing pages, tracking or reporting sit outside the retainer, the recommendations you need most never get implemented.
Hourly
Rates vary enormously with seniority and market. Fine for audits and advisory. Bad for ongoing management, because you start hesitating before asking a question, which is exactly when accounts drift.
The number nobody quotes: whatever the model, ask what happens to the account if you leave. If the campaigns, conversion actions and tags live in the vendor's accounts rather than yours, the real price is that you cannot go.
What freelance Google Ads management typically costs
Ranges observed across the US and UK markets, for context rather than as a quote. Freelancer rates cluster lower than agency rates for the same spend because there is no account manager, office or margin stack in between; senior freelancers sit at the top of the freelance range and overlap with small agencies.
| Monthly ad spend | Freelance specialist | Small agency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $3,000 | One-off setup or audit | Usually below minimums | A retainer rarely makes sense here |
| $3,000 – $10,000 | Flat retainer, set by scope | Minimum retainer or 15–20% of spend | Where the freelance model is strongest |
| $10,000 – $50,000 | Flat retainer, scaled by scope | 10–15% of spend | Percentage models start to overcharge here |
| Over $50,000 | Flat retainer, fractional lead | Custom, often 8–12% ($4,000–6,000+) | Structure and measurement matter more than bids |
Hourly consulting from senior practitioners runs from roughly $100 to $300 an hour depending on market; freelance marketplaces list much lower rates, mostly from people early in their careers or in lower-cost regions.
How I price
Every engagement is quoted from the form, in US dollars, pounds or euros, because the scope decides the number: monthly spend, number of platforms and markets, and whether tracking has to be rebuilt. What you can rely on before the call is the model. How a month with a freelance PPC consultant runs, compared with an agency retainer, is on its own page.
Landing pages, business websites and tracking setups are the exception: fixed price projects, quoted on request in US dollars, pounds or euros, with the scope in writing before any work starts, half on approval and half on delivery.
The fee is set for your account, not from a rate card: platforms, markets, campaigns and how much landing page and tracking work is included. A range comes by email from the form; a firm figure needs a look at the accounts.
| Engagement | Model | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads audit | Fixed price for your account, set from monthly spend, number of campaigns and platforms in scope | Written report, fixes ranked by impact, walkthrough call. The figure comes by email from the form within one working day and is credited in full against the first month if management follows. |
| Management, up to ~$10K/month spend | Flat monthly fee | Weekly work, tracking maintained, landing page fixes, written monthly report. Month to month. |
| Management, $10K to $50K/month spend | Flat monthly fee, scaled by scope | Same scope with more campaigns, markets or platforms. |
| Management, over $50K/month spend | Flat monthly fee, quoted per account | Multiple platforms and markets, weekly call, a fractional head of paid media rather than an operator. |
| Account setup | Fixed price | Structure, ads, negatives, tracking, launch and handover document. |
| Conversion tracking rebuild | Fixed price | GA4, Tag Manager, enhanced and offline conversions, reconciliation report. |
| Consulting and advisory | Hourly, or fixed price per deliverable | Strategy, second opinions and standing sessions with in-house teams. |
| White label, per client account | Flat monthly fee per account | Volume pricing for several accounts. Your brand, your template. |
None of these is a percentage of ad spend, so the advice to cut budget costs me nothing to give. Adding Microsoft Advertising to a Google retainer is a small increase; adding Meta with weekly creative testing is a larger one, agreed up front. The form asks for exactly that and you get a range back within one working day, often the same day; a firm number needs a look at the account.
What is not in the price
Ad spend is paid by you, directly to Google, Microsoft or Meta, from your own billing profile. Paid tools beyond what the platforms provide are rare and agreed first. Creative production at volume, for Meta-heavy accounts, is done with your designer or a studio and billed by them. Everything else that the account needs to perform, including tracking fixes and landing page changes I can make myself, is inside the retainer.
Questions people ask before hiring
Why not charge a percentage of ad spend like most agencies?
Because it pays the consultant to grow spend rather than results. A flat fee removes that conflict. When the right advice is to cut budget, I can give it without cutting my own income.
Is there a setup fee?
Starting management has no onboarding fee. Existing accounts start with an audit and new accounts with a setup; either one is a fixed price and is credited against the first month of management.
Is there a minimum contract length?
No. Management is month to month, with 30 days' notice either way. Accounts need a few months to show what a change did, and most clients stay well beyond that, but the choice is theirs each month.
Can either side end it?
Either side can end management with 30 days' written notice. Everything stays in your accounts, so nothing has to be migrated when it ends.
Do you charge more for multiple platforms?
Scope, not platform count, sets the fee. Adding Microsoft Advertising to a Google Ads account is a small increase; adding Meta with weekly creative testing is a larger one. It is agreed up front and revisited when scope changes.
Can I get a quote without a call?
Yes. The form asks for monthly spend, platforms and what you are trying to fix, and a range comes back by email. A firm price needs a look at the account, which is a short call or read-only access.
What if I only want a one-off fix, not management?
That is the audit, or a fixed-price project such as a setup or a tracking rebuild. Many engagements are exactly that and never become retainers.
Related services
Tell me about the account
Spend band, site and what is not working. You get a straight answer on whether I can help, what I would do first and a price range. No proposal deck, no sales follow-up sequence.