Key takeaways
- **White Label SEO Pricing:** Use this guide to decide what to fix first, what can wait, and how the work should support more trust, stronger mentions, and better visibility.
White label SEO costs agencies 300 to 3,000 dollars per client per month in 2026, depending on the plan tier and market. Most small and mid-size agencies pay 500 to 1,500 wholesale and resell at a 40 to 60 percent markup. This guide breaks down the pricing models, what each tier includes, and how to set your retail number.
For the full model behind these numbers, see our white label SEO hub. Below, the actual figures.
The three pricing models
Providers structure wholesale pricing in three ways. Each suits a different agency profile.
- Flat monthly retainer: one price per client per tier. Predictable, easy to resell, most common for ongoing SEO.
- Hourly or project: you buy blocks of time or one-off deliverables like an audit or a migration. Fits agencies with irregular needs.
- A la carte: you buy links, content, or audits individually. Fits agencies that only need to fill specific gaps.
The retainer model dominates because it maps cleanly to how you bill clients. You charge a monthly retainer; the provider charges a monthly wholesale fee; the gap is your margin.
Hourly pricing runs 75 to 150 dollars per hour at wholesale for most providers, which makes it expensive for ongoing work but sensible for a defined project like a site migration or a one-time technical cleanup. A la carte pricing gives you the most control and the least predictability, so agencies tend to use it as a supplement rather than a base.
What each tier costs
Pricing scales with deliverable volume and account support. The table below reflects common 2026 wholesale ranges across the market.
| Tier | Wholesale cost / month | Included work | Typical resale price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 300 to 600 | Audit, on-page, 2 to 4 content pieces, 3 to 5 links | 800 to 1,400 |
| Growth | 700 to 1,200 | Above plus 5 to 8 content pieces, 8 to 15 links, local SEO | 1,600 to 2,800 |
| Premium | 1,500 to 3,000 | Dedicated strategist, 10+ content pieces, digital PR, ecommerce | 3,500 to 6,500 |
| A la carte link | 100 to 500 per link | Single placement by domain authority | 250 to 900 per link |
| A la carte content | 80 to 300 per piece | Single article by word count | 200 to 600 per piece |
Starter tiers suit local service businesses. Growth tiers suit competitive local and regional markets. Premium tiers suit ecommerce and national campaigns where the client can fund the spend.
What drives the wholesale number
Two clients on the same tier can cost you different amounts. The variables:
- Link volume and quality: a placement on a domain rating 60 site costs 3 to 5 times one on a domain rating 20 site.
- Content depth: a 2,000-word researched article costs more than a 600-word post.
- Market competitiveness: national terms need more links and more content than a single-city service business.
- Account support: a dedicated strategist adds 300 to 800 per month over a shared-queue plan.
When a provider quotes a flat tier, they are averaging these variables. Ask what happens when a client needs more links than the tier includes, because overage pricing is where surprise costs live.
How to set your retail price
Your retail number covers three things: the wholesale cost, your account management time, and your margin. Work it in that order.
- Start with wholesale. Say the Growth tier costs you 900 per month.
- Add your management cost. Two hours per month at a 100 dollar internal rate adds 200.
- Apply your target margin. A 50 percent margin on the 1,100 loaded cost sets retail at 2,200.
That 2,200 sits inside the typical resale band for the tier, so the market supports it. If your loaded cost plus target margin lands above what the market pays, either trim management time or move the client to a lower tier.
Avoid pricing off wholesale alone. Agencies that mark up wholesale by a flat percentage and ignore management time lose margin on high-touch accounts.
Markup benchmarks by market
What clients will pay depends on their market. Rough retail bands:
- Local service business: 800 to 2,000 per month
- Regional or multi-location: 2,000 to 4,000 per month
- Ecommerce or national brand: 4,000 to 10,000 per month
Your wholesale cost tends to run 35 to 55 percent of these retail figures. If your wholesale share creeps above 60 percent, your margin is thin enough that one difficult client erases the account's profit.
What your retail price should include
Clients compare quotes on the number, not the fine print, so define what the retainer buys before they ask. A clear retail package covers:
- A set number of content pieces per month, stated in word count
- A link target with a floor on domain rating, not just a count
- Monthly reporting on rankings, traffic, and conversions
- A named point of contact and a stated response time
- A quarterly strategy review to reset targets
Spelling this out does two things. It justifies your price against a cheaper competitor whose quote hides thinner deliverables, and it protects you when a client expects more than the plan includes. Put the scope in the proposal so month 4 does not turn into a dispute over what was promised.
Contract terms that affect cost
Price is not only the monthly number. Watch:
- Minimum term: many providers require 3 to 6 months. SEO needs that runway, but it locks you in before you can judge quality.
- Onboarding fees: some charge 200 to 500 upfront per client for the initial audit.
- Cancellation notice: 30-day notice is standard; 60-day notice ties up cash if a client churns.
- Volume discounts: providers often cut 10 to 20 percent once you cross 10 or 20 active clients.
Negotiate the volume discount early even if you start small. Get the tier written into the contract so it triggers automatically when you scale.
When cheaper costs more
A 300 dollar plan looks attractive until you see the links. Cut-rate providers hit link quotas with low-quality placements that can trigger penalties. A penalty recovery costs more than the savings ever returned, and it lands on an account with your name on it.
Price the risk, not only the invoice. A mid-tier plan with white-hat links and inspectable placements is cheaper over 24 months than a bargain plan that forces a cleanup. Our guide to the best white label SEO companies covers how to screen for this before you buy.
A worked example from wholesale to profit
Numbers make the model concrete. Take a regional HVAC client on a Growth tier.
- Wholesale cost: the provider charges you 900 dollars per month for the tier.
- Management time: you spend roughly two hours a month on reporting and client calls. At a 100 dollar internal rate, that is 200 dollars of loaded cost.
- Loaded cost: 1,100 dollars.
- Retail price: you set 2,200 dollars, a 50 percent margin on the loaded cost. That sits inside the typical Growth resale band, so the market supports it.
- Monthly margin: 1,100 dollars per client, before your fixed overhead.
Scale that to five similar clients and you carry 5,500 dollars in monthly gross margin with no SEO salary on payroll. The figure holds only if you priced management time in. An agency that marked up the 900 wholesale by a flat 50 percent would charge 1,350, skip the management cost, and watch a single high-touch client turn the account unprofitable.
Run this calculation per client rather than across your book. Averaging hides the accounts where management time eats the spread unnoticed.
What tends to raise your bill mid-contract
The quoted tier is a starting point, not a ceiling. Costs climb when:
- A client needs more links than the tier includes, and overage links bill at the a la carte rate.
- A competitive market forces deeper content than the tier's standard word counts.
- The client adds locations, each needing its own local SEO setup.
Ask for overage pricing in writing before you sign. The surprise is never the base tier; it is the month a client's ambition outgrows it and you absorb the gap you did not quote.
Related terms
You may see this topic described with related searches like how much does white label seo cost, local seo white label pricing, seo reseller pricing, white label local seo pricing, and white label seo cost. Those phrases are useful when they clarify what the reader needs next, but they should still point back to one clear plan.
Related searches such as white label seo pricing models are useful when they clarify what the reader needs next. They should support the same plan rather than pulling the page in several directions at once.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I mark up white label SEO?
A 40 to 60 percent margin is standard. Calculate your loaded cost first, which is wholesale plus your account management time, then apply the margin to that number rather than to the wholesale figure alone. High-touch clients need a wider markup to stay profitable.
Do providers charge setup fees?
Many do, usually 200 to 500 per client for the initial audit and onboarding. Factor this into your first-month client price or absorb it as a client acquisition cost. Some providers waive it above a certain client volume.
Can I mix tiers across clients?
Yes, and you should. Match each client to the tier their market needs. A single-city plumber does not need the same plan as a regional ecommerce brand. Mixing tiers keeps your wholesale spend aligned with what each client can fund.
Is monthly retainer better than a la carte?
For ongoing SEO, retainers are cleaner and usually cheaper per unit of work. A la carte fits agencies that only need to fill a specific gap, such as a batch of links or a one-off audit. Most agencies run retainers for active clients and use a la carte for extras.
How do I handle a price increase with an existing client?
Tie the increase to added scope or demonstrated results, not to your rising costs. If a client's market got more competitive and now needs more links, present the higher tier as the reason. Give 30 to 60 days notice and show the results the current spend has produced. Clients accept increases they can connect to value.
Should I charge for the initial audit separately?
You can either fold it into the first month or bill it as a standalone 500 to 1,500 dollar engagement. A paid standalone audit qualifies the client, since a prospect willing to pay for the audit is usually willing to fund the campaign. It also gives you a low-commitment entry point that can convert into a retainer.
How much does a good SEO cost?
White label SEO pricing usually depends on the wholesale deliverables, reporting level, content volume, link quality, and how much account support your agency needs. Compare the wholesale cost against the retail retainer you can confidently sell and service.
Getting help
To model your own margins against these figures, start at the white label SEO hub, or read what is white label SEO first if you are still deciding whether the model fits your agency.