Ask three agencies in Pune for a quote for "digital marketing" and you may get three numbers that differ by a factor of five. Nobody has to be lying for that to happen. The three quotes are probably for three different jobs that share a name.
We are an agency, so weigh what follows accordingly. We will not give a market average here, because the price guides we found online are written by agencies selling the service and they disagree with each other by wide margins. An average built from those would be false comfort. A better use of your time is to understand what creates the difference.
Four ways agencies charge
| Model | How it works | Suits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | A fixed fee for a defined scope each month | Continuing work: content, ads, reporting | A vague scope that quietly shrinks |
| Percentage of ad spend | A share of the money you spend on ads | Accounts with steady, sizeable budgets | Fee rises with spend even if effort does not |
| Project fee | One price for a defined deliverable | A website, a campaign, a shoot | Changes charged separately after the scope is set |
| Hybrid | A base fee plus a variable part | Growing accounts | Variable part tied to a number you cannot verify |
What usually sits outside the fee
- Ad spend. Paid to the platform, not the agency. A quote for "ads" may mean only the management.
- Creative production. Shoot days, editing, models, locations and music. On social media this is often the largest variable.
- Tools and software. Scheduling, analytics, stock libraries, form or email tools.
- Website and hosting. A campaign that needs a page needs someone to build and host it.
- Tax. Ask whether GST is included in the figure you were given.
How to compare two proposals
Put the two proposals side by side and fill one small table. What is delivered each month, in numbers. Who does the work, by role. What is reported and how often. What you own at the end: accounts, files, designs. What is not included. Two proposals that look alike often differ most in the last row.
Then check the assumptions. A proposal that assumes a large ad budget you have no intention of spending is not a real proposal. One that promises a result, whether leads, ranking or return, is describing something no agency controls.
Questions worth asking
- Who will actually do the work, and who will I speak to?
- What do you need from us, and what happens to the timeline if we are slow?
- What will the first report contain, and can I see a sample?
- If we stop, what do we keep?
Two proposals that look alike, compared
Here is a made-up pair, to show how the comparison works. Proposal A is cheaper on the front page. Proposal B costs more. Only when you put the details side by side does the picture change.
| Proposal A | Proposal B | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | Lower | Higher |
| Content included | Twelve posts from templates | Six posts and two shot reels |
| Ads | Management of one campaign | Structure, weekly tests and a report |
| Reporting | A monthly screenshot | A weekly written summary |
| Ownership | Accounts held by the agency | Accounts in your name |
| Notice period | Six months | One month |
Neither is automatically better. If all you need is a basic presence, A might be right. If you need campaigns that produce enquiries and you want to understand what is happening, B is closer. The comparison table exists to make that choice a conscious one.
Red flags in a proposal
- A guaranteed number of leads, sales or a ranking position.
- A price that changes sharply when you ask what is included.
- No named person who will do the work.
- Pressure to sign quickly, with a discount that disappears.
- Reluctance to show what a report looks like.
- Accounts opened in the agency’s own name with no route to transfer them.
Reducing the cost without reducing the quality
Asking for a lower fee for the same scope usually reduces attention on your account. A better conversation is about scope. Remove the parts you do not need yet, or do them yourself, such as posting simple updates. Agree a smaller starting scope with a review date. Buy a bounded piece of work, like a diagnosis, before committing to a long retainer. That keeps the price low because the commitment is low, not because the work is rushed.
How we quote
We do not publish a rate card. Scope varies too much, from a single landing page to a campaign with shoots, ads and a website. We start with a short diagnosis, agree what will be measured, and then quote. Ad spend is always separate. If you are choosing between models, read retainer or project pricing, and if you are not sure whether you need an agency at all, agency, freelancer or in-house.