Short answer: doing it yourself, scheduling Facebook and Instagram posts is free with Meta Business Suite and costs $10.00 to $25.00 a month on Buffer or Later. Sprout Social and Hootsuite start at $79.00 and $99.00 a month per user. A freelancer or an agency charges by the month or by the hour for the work agreed. Our plans start at $950.00 a month. A person on staff costs more: in the Miami area, the median pay of public relations specialists, the occupation whose BLS definition includes social media, was $64,600.00 a year in May 2025, before benefits.
Four ways to get your social media done
Social media management is the planning, the content, the posting and the replies on your business pages. You can keep all of it, hand part of it out, or hire someone to do it full time.
| Option | What you pay | What a month buys |
|---|---|---|
| You, with a scheduling tool | Free to $99.00 a month for one person on the plans below | A calendar to schedule posts and post insights. Meta Business Suite adds one inbox for comments and messages. The filming, the design, the captions and the replies are yours. |
| A freelancer | A fee per month or per hour, agreed with each person | What the agreement lists. One person plans, designs and posts, so ask who covers the pages when they're away. |
| An agency | A monthly fee for a plan. Ours starts at $950.00 a month | A team for design, video editing, captions and posting. Replies and shoots, when the plan includes them. |
| A person on staff | $5,383.33 a month at the median in the Miami area, plus benefits | Someone at the business every day. Tools, shoots and the ad budget are extra. |
Sources: the pricing pages of the tools below, read October 18, 2026. BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. Our price: pricing page.
We found no survey of these fees that publishes its method, so there's no average here. Ask for a written list of what the fee covers.
What social media scheduling tools cost
We read the pricing pages of four tools on October 18, 2026, plus Meta's own app. Prices are per month and in US dollars, as each page shows them.
| Plan and how it counts | Billed yearly | Billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Business Suite Meta's app for Facebook, Messenger and Instagram | Free | Free |
| Buffer Free Up to 3 channels, 10 posts scheduled per channel at a time | Free | Free |
| Buffer Essentials Per channel: Facebook and Instagram count as two | $5.00 | $6.00 |
| Later Starter One profile on each network, 1 user, 30 posts per profile a month | $18.75 | $25.00 |
| Sprout Social Essentials Per user, up to 5 profiles | $79.00 | $99.00 |
| Hootsuite Standard Per user, up to 10 accounts | $99.00 | Not listed |
Sources: the pricing pages of Buffer, Later, Sprout Social and Hootsuite, US prices read October 18, 2026. Meta Business Suite is listed as free by Meta Platforms in Apple's App Store.
Each tool counts something different, and that changes the bill. Buffer charges per channel, so Facebook and Instagram on Essentials come to $10.00 a month billed yearly. Later sells a set with one profile on each network. Sprout Social and Hootsuite charge per user, so a second person doubles the price.
Billed yearly means you pay for the whole year on the first day. Sprout Social says annual billing "requires a one-time upfront payment for the entire subscription term", and Later Starter comes to $225.00 for the year. Hootsuite shows only its yearly price; its FAQ says month-to-month billing costs more per user.
The free options have limits. Buffer Free holds 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time, and its insights keep 30 days of history. Meta Business Suite schedules feed posts and stories on Facebook and Instagram. Its inbox gathers comments and messages from Facebook, Messenger and Instagram, and it only covers Meta's apps.
A tool schedules and organizes. Buffer, Later and Hootsuite include AI that helps write posts, but someone still has to shoot the photos and videos of your business.
What a person on staff costs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has no occupation called social media manager, and none of the job titles it lists mentions social media. The one that fits is public relations specialists: its definition says they "may specialize in using social media", and BLS adds that they are "usually in charge of monitoring and responding to social media questions and concerns".
| Yearly pay, May 2025 | Miami area | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Median | $64,600.00 | $74,750.00 |
| 25% earn less than | $48,420.00 | $56,260.00 |
| 25% earn more than | $84,540.00 | $100,370.00 |
| 10% earn more than | $115,660.00 | $135,150.00 |
Source: BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, public relations specialists (27-3031), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area and the US. Pay before taxes, without benefits. Duties from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
About 5,460 people work in this occupation in the Miami area. Half of them earn more than the median and half less. At the median, that's $5,383.33 a month before taxes, our calculation.
Pay is only part of the cost. For full-time workers in private industry, employers paid $36.97 an hour in wages and $17.03 in benefits in June 2026, according to the BLS survey of employer costs. Benefits include paid leave and legally required contributions. That's about $0.46 in benefits for every $1.00 of pay, our calculation. The tools and a decent phone or camera come on top.
In return, someone on site can film what's new the same day and reply during business hours. A part-time hire costs less and has less time for the pages.
What moves the price
- Networks. Each network is another profile to post on and another one to answer. The tools charge for it: Buffer per channel, Later per set of profiles, and Sprout Social and Hootsuite with a cap on profiles in their entry plans.
- Posts and videos a month. A plan should count them. A video has more steps than a design: someone has to film it, edit it, add subtitles and choose the cover.
- Who films. If you send the footage, the fee pays for editing. If someone comes to your business to film, the shoot is paid on top or built into a higher plan.
- Replies to comments and messages. Posting and answering are two jobs. Ask who replies, in which hours, how fast, and what happens on weekends.
- Languages. In Miami, a second language reaches more customers: 67% of Miami-Dade residents age 5 and over speak Spanish at home, according to the Census Bureau. Each caption in a second language is written work, so ask whether it costs extra.
- Reporting. The tools keep insights for different lengths of time: 30 days on Buffer Free, up to 3 months on Later Starter. A monthly report should say what went out and how each post did.
- Ads. Boosting a post or running ads is paid to Meta, apart from the management fee. Our article on what Facebook ads cost covers that budget.
What our social media management costs
On our pricing page this is "Content and social media", from $950.00 a month. That's the Starter plan.
- Starter: $950.00 a month, with no setup, month to month with 30 days' written notice. Each month, 8 posts on Facebook and Instagram: 4 reels we edit from your footage and 4 designs or carousels. Captions in English, in Spanish or in both, one round of changes per piece, and a monthly report.
- Comments and messages: $750.00 a month as an extra. Replies on weekdays from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, in 4 business hours or less, up to 300 a month.
- Half-day content shoot: $1,400.00, at your business.
- Growth and Pro: both add TikTok and a monthly shoot at your business in Miami-Dade, and Pro also covers the replies. We give you their price on a call.
If you also have one of our PPC plans, every additional monthly service is $150.00 a month cheaper. The ad budget isn't in any plan. More on each plan: social media management and pricing. If your business is in Miami, see social media management in Miami.
Frequently asked questions
How much does social media management cost for a small business?
If you do it yourself, a scheduling tool costs from nothing to $99.00 a month for one person, and the hours are yours. A freelancer or an agency charges by the month or by the hour for the work agreed. Ours starts at $950.00 a month for 8 posts on Facebook and Instagram, with no setup.
How much does a social media manager cost per month?
On staff in the Miami area, the median pay of public relations specialists, the BLS occupation that includes social media work, was $64,600.00 a year in May 2025. That's $5,383.33 a month before taxes. Benefits come on top: for full-time workers in private industry, about $0.46 for every $1.00 of pay.
Is it cheaper to manage social media yourself?
In cash, yes. Meta Business Suite is free for Facebook and Instagram, and Buffer charges $5.00 a month per channel, billed yearly. You pay with hours instead: filming, editing, writing captions and answering messages. If your pages bring in customers, count those hours before you decide.
Is the ad budget included in social media management?
Ask, because it's a separate cost. With us it's never part of the fee: ads are a separate service, and you pay Meta from your own card. Our article on Facebook ads cost has the cost per lead in 14 industries, so you can size that budget before you start.
Does posting in English and Spanish cost more?
With us, no: Starter includes captions in English, Spanish or both. Elsewhere, ask whether a person writes the second language and whether it's priced per post. In Miami it's worth having, since 67% of Miami-Dade residents age 5 and over speak Spanish at home.
Before you hire anyone
Get these answers in writing:
- How many posts and videos a month, and on which networks?
- Who films and who edits?
- Who answers comments and messages, and in which hours?
- Whose name are the pages and the ad account in?
If you'll also run ads, our articles on what Facebook ads cost and Google Ads vs Facebook Ads cover the budget.