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A prospect asks what you charge for social media management. Picture two agencies down the road: one quotes ₹15,000, the other ₹80,000, and both call it "social media management". The number only means something once you know what it covers and what it costs you to deliver.
In our conversations with agencies, retainers run from about ₹35,000 to ₹1.5 lakh per client per month. That is what we have heard, not an India-wide benchmark, and the range is wide because scope is wide. The rest of this post shows how to work out where your own price should sit.
The variables that move the price
Two retainers at the same price can cover very different work. Before you compare numbers, compare these:
- Platforms. Each extra platform adds production, scheduling and monitoring time.
- Post volume. Eight posts a month on one platform is a different job from 25 posts across three.
- Whether you create the content, or the client sends finished assets and you schedule, collect approval and report.
- Revision rounds. Four rounds on every post is unpaid time unless the retainer prices it in.
- Community management. Replying to comments and DMs every day takes hours that rarely appear in a quote.
- Reporting depth. A short monthly summary and a full report with recommendations are different deliverables.
When a client compares your quote with a cheaper one, go through this list with them line by line, so you are both comparing the same scope.
Build the price from hours
Market rates tell you what others charge. They do not tell you whether you make money on a client. Start from your own costs.
The figures below are an example. Replace them with your own salaries and hours.
| Work for one client, per month | Hours |
|---|---|
| Content for 20 posts across 2 platforms (copy and design) | 30 |
| Revisions (two rounds per post) | 5 |
| Scheduling and collecting approvals | 6 |
| Community management | 8 |
| Monthly report | 4 |
| Client calls | 3 |
| Total | 56 |
Say a content manager costs ₹40,000 a month. Of their 160 working hours, about 120 go on client work; the rest is internal meetings, admin and pitches. That makes each client hour cost about ₹333 in salary, and 56 hours comes to about ₹18,700.
Salary is not your full cost. Rent, tools, software and your own time sit on top. If those add half again, delivering this client costs about ₹28,000 a month. That is your break-even: quote below it and the client is costing you money, however good the account looks.
Break-even is not the price. To keep a 40% margin, divide by 0.6: the retainer comes to about ₹46,700 a month for this scope.
Price the revision rounds
Revision rounds are the line item most agencies leave out. If the retainer says nothing about rounds, every post can go through as many as the client wants, and the hours above stop being true.
Write a number into the retainer. Two rounds per post is a sensible place to start: one for direction and copy, one for final changes. Adjust it per client once you see how they work. Say what does not use a round (fixing your own mistakes) and what extra rounds cost.
A limit only holds if both sides can see the count. Our post on revision limits and agency margins covers how to set the number per client and what to do when a client asks for "one small change" after the last round.
Add the tool cost per client
Your scheduling and approval tool is a cost of delivering the retainer, so it belongs in the price.
Pricing models differ a lot. Some tools charge per client workspace. Planable, for example, lists its Pro plan at $59 per workspace per month on monthly billing, or $49 a month on annual billing (planable.io/pricing, checked 3 November 2026). With one workspace per client, 10 clients on monthly billing cost $590 a month. Assuming ₹85 to the dollar, that is about ₹50,150. Planable offers a volume discount from five workspaces, so ask them for a quote before you plan around list prices.
Poststack charges by social accounts and people, not by client. The Agency plan is ₹8,000 a month exclusive of GST for 30 social accounts and 5 people. With 10 clients on 3 accounts each, that works out to ₹800 per client per month, exclusive of GST. Clients who review posts never count as people.
Package it so clients can compare
Once you know your floor, turn it into two or three packages. Each package should state:
- platforms and posts per month
- who creates the content
- revision rounds per post, and the price of extra rounds
- whether community management is included, and for how many hours
- the report the client gets each month
Clients then compare packages by what they get, not by the headline number alone. It also makes the conversation about upgrades easier: a client who keeps asking for more posts moves up a package rather than getting free work.
Signs your price is too low
- You turn down new clients because the team is full. Raise the price for new clients first, then at renewal.
- Clients regularly go past the revision rounds in the retainer, and you absorb the extra work.
- Your tool or team costs went up and your retainers did not.
When you raise a price, tell the client three things: the new fee, what it includes, and the date it starts.
For the tools that fit Indian agency budgets, see the best social media scheduler for Indian agencies.
Set feedback rounds per client so the rounds you priced are the rounds you deliver. Start a 7-day free trial, no card needed.
Frequently asked questions
How much does social media management cost in India? In our conversations with agencies, retainers run from about ₹35,000 to ₹1.5 lakh per client per month. That is what we have heard, not a market survey. The price depends on platforms, post volume, whether content creation is included, revision rounds, community management and reporting.
How do I work out what to charge a client? Add up the hours the client takes each month, including revisions, and multiply by what an hour of client work costs you. Add your overheads to get break-even, then add your margin to get the price. Market rates tell you whether clients will accept it, not whether you make money.
Should a social media retainer include revision rounds? Yes, and the number should be written down. Two rounds per post is a sensible starting point. State what does not use a round and what extra rounds cost.
What should a social media package include? Platforms and posts per month, who creates the content, revision rounds per post and the price of extra rounds, community management hours, and the monthly report. Writing all five down lets the client compare packages by scope.
Should tool costs be part of the retainer? Yes. Divide your monthly tool cost by the number of clients it serves and include that share in each retainer. A tool priced per client workspace raises this share every time you add a client.
