Pricing, and what moves the number
Every price here is set 20% below what the largest SEO providers publish for the same scope, and the comparison is shown. The exact figure for your site comes from the audit.
The four stages, plus the standalone AI search programme
Audit, then a 90-day sprint, then a month-to-month retainer. The AI search layer (AEO, GEO, AIO, LLMO) is included in the programme or available on its own; SXO and AI SEO are priced as the programme. Link building is priced separately below. Migrations are quoted as a project.
| Stage | Price | Best for | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit fixed, two weeks; from $4,800 for sites over 1,000 indexable URLs | $2,800 | Anyone deciding whether and where to invest in SEO |
Not included: Implementation |
| 90-day sprint per month, three months | $4,800 to $7,400 | Companies ready to ship the roadmap with us |
Not included: Paid media, design, and development outside SEO scope |
| Retainer per month, 30 days notice | $2,300 to $4,900 | Continuing after the sprint on the next tranche of work |
Not included: Migrations (priced as a project) |
| AI search programme (standalone) per month, 3-month start then month to month | $1,200 to $4,000 | Companies whose SEO is sound and who want AEO, GEO, AIO, and LLMO work (citations, AI Overview inclusion, brand facts, model knowledge) tracked and grown on their own |
Not included: Technical fixes, SXO page work, and link building outside the AI search scope (sprint or retainer) |
Link building, per placement
Tiers are defined by the linking site's editorial standard and traffic, not by a domain metric. Every placement is disclosed with its method and whether a fee was involved.
| Tier | Price | Site criteria | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | $180 per placement | Topically relevant site with a named editor, real organic traffic, recent pages indexed (roughly DR 20 to 39) | Volume support for pages ranking in positions 6 to 15 |
| Tier 2 | $280 to $320 per placement | Established industry publication or resource with strong topical fit and consistent traffic (roughly DR 40 to 59) | Core commercial pages and pillar pages |
| Tier 3 | $480 to $720 per placement | National or major trade press, usually via digital PR (roughly DR 60+) | Brand and category authority. Digital PR campaigns from $1,200 per month, priced monthly because output depends on the story |
How we set these prices
Every figure on this page is 20% below the published price of the closest comparable service from a large, well-known provider, checked on 2 September 2026. We publish the comparison because a discount you cannot verify is just a number.
| Our service | Compared with | Their published price | Ours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit, site up to 1,000 URLs | Standard agency audit for a mid-size site (industry band across three 2026 pricing guides) | $2,000 to $5,000, centre $3,500 | $2,800 fixed |
| 90-day sprint | WebFX Gold to Diamond plans; Victorious recommended floor | $6,000 to $9,200 per month | $4,800 to $7,400 per month |
| Retainer | WebFX Silver to Gold plans | $2,900 to $6,150 per month | $2,300 to $4,900 per month |
| Link tier 1 | The HOTH Link Outreach DR 30+; uSERP DR 20 to 59 | $225 to $250 per link | $180 per placement |
| Link tier 2 | The HOTH Link Outreach DR 40+ and 50+; FATJOE DR 50+; uSERP DR 20 to 59 | $345 to $405 per link | $280 to $320 per placement |
| Link tier 3 | uSERP DR 60+ links; The HOTH Digital PR | $600 to $900 per link; $1,500 per month | $480 to $720 per placement; digital PR from $1,200 per month |
| AI search programme (standalone: AEO, GEO, AIO, LLMO) | The HOTH AI Discover tiers (Accelerate, Advance, Dominate) | $1,500, $2,500, $5,000 per month | $1,200 to $4,000 per month |
Prices are in US dollars and exclude any applicable taxes. The providers named publish these figures on their own pages: WebFX SEO pricing, Victorious on SEO cost, The HOTH link outreach and managed services, FATJOE blogger outreach, and uSERP pricing; if they change them, ours move with them at the next quarterly review. What they include differs from what we include (several bundle dashboards and tools, most require 6 to 12 month terms), so read the tables above for scope before comparing the totals.
What we do not charge for
Reporting, meetings, and the tools we use are included in every stage. We do not charge for the readout call, for re-running part of the audit after an algorithm update, or for replacing links lost within the replacement window. Migrations are the exception: they are quoted as a project because the work is concentrated and the risk is high, and the SEO services page explains why they sit outside the retainer.
If your situation does not fit these stages, contact us about a custom scope. For a longer explanation of how agencies price this work in general, and how to compare quotes, read what drives SEO agency pricing. The methodology page explains what happens at each stage, and the link building page explains what each link tier means in practice.
Questions buyers ask
How much should I expect to pay for SEO?
In 2026 the large agencies publish $2,900 to $9,200 a month for ongoing SEO and recommend budgeting at least $6,000 a month for a serious programme; a mid-size audit is $2,000 to $5,000. Small businesses are usually quoted $1,500 to $3,500 a month. We publish $2,300 to $4,900 for the retainer, $4,800 to $7,400 for the sprint, and $2,800 for the audit, each 20% below the comparable published price.
Why not a single monthly price?
Because the work is different at each stage and a flat fee hides that. The audit is diagnosis, the sprint is concentrated implementation, and the retainer is maintenance plus the next set of opportunities. Pricing them separately also lets you stop after any one of them.
What makes the sprint fee higher or lower?
Page volume, whether we ship technical fixes or your developers do, and how much link acquisition is in scope. A site whose developers can ship quickly and that needs few links sits at the bottom of the range.
Do you charge for links that get removed?
Not within the replacement window. Lost or nofollowed links are replaced with an equivalent-tier link at no charge, provided the loss was not caused by changes to your page.
Are there setup fees or long contracts?
No setup fee. The sprint is a three-month commitment because shorter engagements cannot show results. Retainers are month to month.
Why are you 20% cheaper than the big agencies?
Three reasons, none of them link quality. We have no account-management layer between you and the people doing the work, we do not mark up tools or dashboards, and we do not carry the sales cost of 6 to 12 month lock-ins. The comparison table on this page shows exactly which published prices we benchmarked against.
Can you match a quote cheaper than yours?
Usually not, and we will tell you why the other quote is cheaper. Most often it is link sourcing, content review, or reporting that has been removed. Sometimes the cheaper quote is the right choice for your situation, and we will say that too.
Start with the audit.
Two weeks, fixed price, and a prioritised list you can act on with or without us. If SEO is not the right channel for you, the audit will say so.