What to include in your costs as a social media manager
- Scheduling, analytics and design tools
- Stock images, music and templates
- Phone and camera gear for content
- Ad spend is the client's cost — keep it off your own budget
How freelance social media managers usually price their work
Social media managers usually sell monthly retainers per client, defined by platforms, posts per week, community management hours and reporting. Ad campaign management is often priced separately or as a percentage of ad spend.
Tip: Community management and last-minute requests quietly eat hours. Cap them in the retainer and price extras — the retainer pricing calculator shows what over-use does to your effective rate.
How the calculation works
Your rate = (profit needed for your take-home after tax + business expenses) × (1 + buffer) ÷ billable hours. Tax is estimated with your country's 2026 rules (US, UK, Canada, Australia) or a rate you enter. Billable hours are your working weeks × hours per week × the share of time you can actually bill. More about the method →
Worked example
A US-based social media manager who wants $60,000 a year after tax, with $4,000 of business costs, 40-hour weeks, 6 weeks off and 65% billable time:
- Profit needed: about $79,483 (about $19,483 of federal, self-employment and 4% state tax).
- Revenue needed with a 10% buffer: ($79,483 + $4,000) × 1.10 ≈ $91,831.
- Billable hours: 46 × 40 × 65% = 1,196.
- Minimum rate: $76.78 an hour, or $614 for an 8-hour day.
Change the country, costs or hours above to get your own number.