What Most SMBs Pay Their Agency vs What AI Tools Actually Cost

We've audited the spend of dozens of SMBs. The agency-vs-AI math isn't close — and the gap is widening every quarter.

We do this audit at the start of every engagement. The numbers below are averages from the last 30+ SMBs we've worked with. Your mileage will vary, but the order of magnitude won't.

For the broader strategy, this is a companion to from agency dependency to AI independence.

The typical SMB agency stack

  • Marketing agency retainer — $3,500–$8,000/month
  • SEO agency or freelancer — $1,500–$4,000/month
  • Content / copywriting — $1,000–$3,000/month
  • Website maintenance / hosting — $200–$1,200/month
  • Paid SEO tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, etc.) — $200–$500/month
  • Social media management — $800–$2,500/month

Realistic monthly total: $7,200–$19,200. Realistic annual: $86,400–$230,400.

The AI-equivalent stack

  • Replit (hosting + build environment) — $25–$50/month
  • Google Workspace + Gemini Business — $30/seat/month
  • NotebookLM (free tier covers most teams) — $0
  • Vertex AI usage (when you scale) — $50–$300/month
  • Domain + email + email tooling — $50–$150/month
  • One automation tool (Zapier, Make, or n8n) — $50–$200/month

Realistic monthly total: $250–$800. Realistic annual: $3,000–$9,600.

The honest caveat: it's not free labor

The tools above don't replace humans — they replace agencies. You still need someone (often someone you already employ) spending 8–15 hours a week running the stack. The first 90 days also require either internal time or paid help to set everything up. We cover the playbook in from agency dependency to AI independence.

When the agency model still wins

  • You're regulated and need a vendor with insurance and contractual liability.
  • You need a creative team — designers, video producers, brand strategists — and have no in-house equivalent.
  • You explicitly do not want to learn anything new.

How to decide

Start with an audit (how to audit your marketing stack before going AI-first). If your agency stack is under $2,000/month and you're happy, leave it alone. If it's over $5,000/month, the math almost always favors transitioning. Above $10,000/month, it's negligence not to look at it.

Want us to run the math for you?

We do free first-call audits. Send us your current agency invoices and we'll show you what's replaceable and what isn't.