What monthly social management includes at each price band, and when it is worth paying for at all.
Prices reflect the Calgary and Alberta market. Last reviewed September 2026.
Social media management for a local business generally runs $500 to $2,000 per month depending on how many platforms, how many posts, and whether video and photography are included.
It is also the service most often bought for the wrong reason. Social rarely closes a sale for a local business — it makes the other channels convert better. Judge it on that basis.
| Basic — 1 platform, 8–12 posts/month | $400 – $800 / month |
|---|---|
| Standard — 2 platforms, 12–20 posts, stories | $800 – $1,500 / month |
| Full — 2–3 platforms, video, community management | $1,500 – $3,000 / month |
| Content shoot, add-on | $500 – $1,500 per half-day |
| Paid social management, separate | $500 – $1,500 / month plus ad spend |
Photos. This is the whole game. The difference between social accounts that work and accounts that do not is almost always whether the business sends through pictures of real work.
An agency can plan, design, write and schedule. It cannot manufacture evidence that your business is busy and good at what it does.
Any agency that will not tell you this is selling a retainer rather than advising you.
Tell us what you need. Written, itemised, GST shown separately, normally within one business day.