the short answer
Most UK small businesses spend between £500 and £2,000 a month on marketing. A full-time marketing manager costs around £45,000–£55,000 a year once you add National Insurance, pension and tools. A typical agency retainer runs £2,000–£5,000 a month on a 6–12 month contract. Outsourced, modular support starts far lower — from around £99 a month for a single discipline.
What does a marketing manager actually cost?
The salary is never the real number. A marketing manager in the UK sits somewhere around £38,000–£45,000 depending on region and experience. By the time you add employer's National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday cover, a laptop and the software they will immediately ask for, you are realistically committing £50,000+ a year.
That is a serious commitment for a business turning over a few hundred thousand. It is also a single point of failure: one person cannot be a strong designer, a strong copywriter, a paid ads specialist and a developer. You end up hiring for one skill and quietly outsourcing the rest anyway.
What do marketing agencies charge in the UK?
Traditional agency retainers for small and mid-sized businesses generally land between £2,000 and £5,000 a month, usually on a six or twelve month contract. Larger full-service agencies start higher. Project work — a website, a rebrand — is typically quoted separately on top.
The contract is the part that catches people out. If the work is not landing in month three, you are often still paying in month nine. Ask about notice periods before you sign anything, and ask who actually does the work day to day.
What should a small business budget for marketing?
A common rule of thumb is 5–10% of revenue for an established business, rising to 10–20% if you are actively trying to grow or launch something new. For a business turning over £250,000, that is roughly £1,000–£2,000 a month.
The rule matters less than the discipline. It is better to spend £300 a month consistently on one channel that works than £2,000 for two months and then stop. Marketing compounds; stop-start spending throws away most of what you have paid for.
- Under £250k turnover: £300–£800/month, one or two channels done properly
- £250k–£1m: £800–£2,500/month, a build plus a demand channel
- £1m+: £2,500+/month, multi-channel with proper attribution
Is cheap marketing worth it?
Cheap and modular is not the same as cheap and thin. A £99/month social plan that consistently publishes decent content for a local business is worth far more than a £2,000 retainer producing reports nobody reads.
What you should refuse to compromise on is ownership and transparency. You should own your ad accounts, your domain, your website and your data. You should be able to see what was spent and what came back. If a provider will not give you that, the price is irrelevant.
What does doing nothing cost?
This is the number nobody puts on a spreadsheet. If a competitor down the road is publishing weekly, ranking for the searches your customers make and following up on enquiries within the hour, they are compounding while you are static.
Doing nothing has no invoice, which is exactly why it feels safe. It is usually the most expensive option on the list.
common questions
How much does marketing cost for a small business in the UK?
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Most UK small businesses spend £500–£2,000 per month. Entry-level outsourced support starts around £99 per month for a single discipline such as social media, while agency retainers typically run £2,000–£5,000 per month.
Is it cheaper to hire a marketer or use an agency?
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For most small businesses an outsourced team is cheaper. A full-time marketing manager costs £50,000+ a year all-in, whereas modular outsourced support can be scaled up or down monthly with no employment liability.
What percentage of revenue should go on marketing?
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5–10% of revenue is typical for an established business, rising to 10–20% during a growth push or a launch.
Can you do marketing for under £100 a month?
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Yes, for a single focused discipline. A starter social media plan or a basic reporting setup can sit around £99 per month. It will not cover multi-channel work, but it is enough to stop being invisible.
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