What a digital marketing agency costs per month in India

At Brand E5, monthly packages start from ₹12,000 for social media, ₹15,000 for SEO and ₹15,000 for paid ads. That is our service fee. Your ad spend is separate and goes straight to Google or Meta. For paid ads we recommend at least ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 a month on Google Ads, or ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 on Meta Ads, on top of the fee.

The rest of this post explains what moves a quote up, why the fee and the ad budget are two different things, and what to check in the contract before you sign.

What sets the price

The starting price covers the basics of each digital marketing service. Anything beyond that is an add on, and add ons are what push a quote higher.

• Paid ads: the basic package runs at least two campaigns. More campaigns, more platforms or more locations add work.
• SEO: the basic package works towards better rankings, but at that budget you may not reach the best rank possible for your keywords. Competitive keywords need more effort, so they cost more.
• Website work: a basic build covers the main site plus three to four additional pages. More pages or features raise the price.

So when two agencies quote very different numbers, the first question to ask is not “why so expensive?” but “what exactly is included?”

Agency fee versus ad spend

This is where most owners get confused, so it is worth being clear.

The agency fee pays for the work: planning, setting up campaigns, writing ads, managing and reporting. The ad spend is the money that Google or Meta charge you for showing your ads. It goes to them, not to the agency.

Some agencies offer one bundled package and quietly take a cut of 15 to 20% of your ad spend. You never see how much actually reached Google. We do it the other way: we tell you our fee, we tell you the ad budget we recommend, and we tell you exactly what we will do for it. The fee can be negotiated up or down depending on how much effort your campaigns need.

Why a very small budget rarely works

You can run Google or Meta ads on ₹5,000 a month. But at that level, lead quality and results are usually poor, and you may not get even one qualified lead.

That is why we recommend a minimum of ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 a month for Google Ads and ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 for Meta Ads. That budget gives enough data to see how your audience responds. In the following month we use that data to refine the targeting and bring in more leads. Our guide to what Google Ads actually costs a small business in India goes deeper into the numbers.

A worked example

Say you run a local business in Hyderabad and want enquiries from Google. A starting quote would look like this:

The fee buys at least two campaigns, set up and managed. The ad spend is billed by Google directly. To test your own numbers, try our free ad budget calculator.

Contract terms to check

Before you sign with any agency, ask these questions. Here is how we answer them.

• Is there a minimum commitment? Not with BE5. You can stop at any time.
• How long before I see results? Google Ads needs about three months. Websites and SEO usually take six to 12 months, so we ask clients to commit the time and budget those need. We agree the details together.
• How is payment taken? We generally take 50% of the agreed amount upfront.
• What if I am not happy? You can discontinue whenever you want. A full refund may not be possible, because by then the money has been spent on Google and Meta ads, website technology and SEO work.

When to wait before hiring an agency

We would not suggest running ads yourself without learning how first. Spending on Google or Facebook without the right setup usually means paying to reach a wide audience that never buys.

Our advice is simple. If your budget is small, start with a smaller SEO engagement and get the basics of being found right. If you have a bigger budget, run Google Ads with an agency that shows you the fee and the spend separately.

Want a quote for your business? Talk to Brand E5 and we will tell you the fee and the ad budget separately.