How much does GEO cost?
We reviewed pricing from twenty UK GEO agencies to show what published retainers cover, where the figures sit and what to ask before you sign.
Sarah RiceEditor21 September 2026Last reviewed5 minReadKey takeaways
- Six of the twenty agencies publish no price for their services anywhere on their website.
- Only three agencies publish a figure for GEO or AI-search work itself. Other published prices cover adjacent services, such as SEO, Shopify support or training.
- Published monthly retainers range from about £450 at the entry end to £8,000 or more for enterprise work.
- The scope makes a material difference to cost. Tracking a small prompt set takes less work than monitoring hundreds of buying-intent prompts across several search engines.
What the field actually publishes
Six of the twenty agencies publish no price at all. That leaves buyers to ask about cost, scope and minimum terms before they can compare them properly.
Three agencies publish a figure for GEO or AI-search work itself. The others publish prices for related services, including web plans, Shopify support, training and link placements. Those figures may still help, but they do not describe the cost of a full GEO programme.
Third-party registers provide rates for several more agencies. Clutch lists them in US dollars, at $100 to $199 an hour, with minimum project sizes between $1,000 and $10,000.
That gives you useful reference points, with one obvious caution: an hourly rate or minimum project size does not tell you what a monthly retainer includes. Ask how many prompts the agency tracks, which search engines it covers, how often it reports and what happens in the first month. Otherwise, a low starting price can turn into a rather different conversation once the scope arrives.
What a GEO agency costs
Published prices fall into three broad bands. Entry packages start at £450 a month, mid-market retainers run from £1,500 to £8,000, and enterprise work starts at £8,000 and above. The detail behind those figures varies, so use the table as a starting point rather than a quote.
| Entry | Mid-market | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical monthly spend | £450 to £1,500 a month | £1,500 to £8,000 a month | £8,000 a month and above |
| What is published | Entry-level packages and starting prices | Search retainers and service prices | Starting figures where available |
| What is often missing | The minimum term and notice period | What each price band includes | Detailed scope and delivery information |
| What to ask before the call | What happens in month one and how the baseline is measured | Which work is included and how reporting is handled | Who will work on the account and what the programme covers |
What moves the price
How much you track
A basic engagement may track a small set of AI-search questions. Broader work needs more questions, more assistants and more frequent reporting. That takes more time, so the monthly fee rises.
How much has to be rewritten
The agency may need to recommend changes to existing pages, create new content or improve information that AI systems can use. More work across your site means a larger scope and a higher retainer.
How much outreach it needs
Some GEO work includes building the evidence that supports your brand's visibility in AI answers. That can involve more outreach and digital PR, particularly when an agency needs to strengthen your reviews, references or wider reputation.
How complicated the site is
A straightforward site gives an agency fewer technical and content issues to assess. Larger or more complicated sites usually need more analysis, coordination and implementation work, which can increase the monthly cost.
Why so few agencies publish a price
Six of the twenty agencies in our study publish no price at all. That leaves buyers with a familiar first step: book a call before finding out whether the agency fits the budget.
There are practical reasons for this. GEO programmes vary according to the number of prompts tracked, the engines covered and how often measurement takes place. The work can also range from changes to existing pages through to original research, comparison content, primary data, digital PR and third-party outreach.
That makes a single public figure difficult to apply across every client. It also makes comparisons harder when one agency gives an entry price and another asks you to discuss the brief first.
Ask for a written scope before comparing retainers. Check which engines and prompts the agency will track, how often it will report, what content work sits inside the fee and whether digital PR or outreach costs extra. Otherwise, a low monthly figure may only describe a small starting package.
FAQ
FAQs
What is a typical monthly retainer?
A typical published retainer sits somewhere between £450 and £8,000 a month, depending on the scope. Entry packages cost about £450 to £1,500 a month. Mid-market retainers sit between £1,500 and £8,000, while enterprise work can cost £8,000 and above.
Half of the twenty UK agencies in our study publish no entry price. Ask for the agency's starting point, what the retainer includes and which parts of the work would cost extra.
What minimum term should I expect?
Ask the agency to state its minimum term before you sign. The published pricing reviewed for this study does not give one standard minimum term across the market.
The length of the commitment should match the work. A small prompt-tracking project has a different scope from ongoing monitoring across hundreds of buying-intent prompts and several engines. Get the term, cancellation rules and reporting schedule in writing.
Is this a project or an ongoing cost?
GEO can be either a project or an ongoing monthly cost, depending on what you need the agency to do.
A one-off project might focus on setting up the work and establishing measurement. Ongoing retainers cover continued tracking, reporting and work across the agreed prompt set and engines. Ask the agency to separate one-off setup costs from recurring fees.
What does a very low price usually mean?
A very low price usually means the agency has limited the scope. It may cover a small set of prompts, fewer engines or less frequent reporting.
The lowest published monthly retainer in the study is about £450. Compare the work behind the price rather than the price alone. Ask how many prompts the agency tracks, which engines it checks, how often it reports and what detail the reports contain.
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Read the questionsAbout the author
Sarah Rice
Editor
Sarah Rice is a PR specialist & digital marketing expert who has spent more than 30 years working with SEO & GEO agencies, PR agencies and brands across a huge range of sectors. She is Director of Rice PR and Director & Editor of The HR World. Earlier in her career, she was Head of Public Affairs and Press Manager at RAC and Head of Campaigns at JBP, and has also worked with DC Thomas and a number of charities.
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