Most small and mid-sized businesses in Canada pay between $1,500 and $5,000 a month for social media management. Freelancers start lower and full-service agencies go much higher. What you actually pay depends on one thing more than any other: how much original content, especially video, is being made for you.
Here's how the options compare for a business in Vancouver, Surrey or anywhere in the Lower Mainland.
What each option costs
- Freelancer: about $500 to $2,500 a month for basic to intermediate work. Usually posting, captions and simple graphics. Video is often extra or not offered.
- Boutique or mid-sized agency: about $2,000 to $10,000 a month. Usually strategy, content creation, posting and reporting from a small team.
- Full-service agency: about $5,000 to $20,000+ a month. Multiple platforms, regular video production and paid ads in one retainer.
- In-house hire: a social media role in Vancouver pays a median of about C$111,000 a year, with a range of roughly C$50,000 to C$146,000. Add benefits, tools and a camera, and one person costs far more than most local businesses spend on an agency.
These ranges come from Canadian industry pricing data and Vancouver salary data published in 2026. Ad spend is always separate from the management fee.
What drives the price up or down
- Video. Filming and editing reels on location is the biggest cost driver. It's also what gets the most reach on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
- Number of platforms. Two platforms done well beats five done badly. Most local businesses only need Instagram and Facebook, plus TikTok for some industries.
- Posting volume. Three reels and a few stories a week is very different from one post a week.
- Community management. Replying to comments and messages takes time, and it's where many leads first show up.
- Ads. Running your best content as Meta ads is usually a separate service with its own fee.
What you should get for your money
At any price point, ask for these in writing:
- How many reels, posts and stories per month
- Who films, and where (on location or from your own clips)
- How many rounds of edits you get
- Who owns the accounts and the footage
- What gets reported each month: reach is fine, but enquiries and bookings matter more
Is cheap social media management worth it?
Sometimes. If you just need a page that looks active, a low-cost freelancer can do that. If you want social media to bring in customers, you need content people actually watch, and that usually means real video of your business, your team and your work. A cheap package that posts stock graphics rarely moves the needle.
How we price it
We build social media plans around short-form video and reels filmed on location in Vancouver, Surrey and across Metro Vancouver, then manage posting and replies through our social media management service. Ad budgets stay in accounts you own, and our fee is always shown separately. Book a free strategy call and we'll recommend a plan that fits your business and budget.