I'm not going to give you a price list. Any number I put here would be wrong for most readers, because the cost depends on what you need, and two businesses asking for "social media" can need completely different amounts of work. What I can do is explain what moves the price, so you can read quotes properly and spot the ones that leave things out.
Fees and ad spend are two different budgets
The first thing to separate is the marketer's fee from the money that goes to Google, Meta or TikTok. A quote that bundles them hides how much is actually reaching your customers. Ask for them separately, and pay ad platforms directly from an account you own. If a provider insists on running spend through their own account, you lose visibility and, often, the account history when you leave.
What pushes the price up or down
Hiring a marketer · Dubai
The main cost drivers
| Factor | Costs less | Costs more |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | One or two | Five or more at once |
| Content volume | A few posts a week | Daily posts plus video |
| Content source | You supply photos and video | Shoots and original production |
| Languages | English only | English and Arabic, written natively |
| Reporting | Monthly summary | Weekly dashboards and calls |
| Who does it | Freelancer | Agency team |
Of these, content production is the one that surprises people most. Editing phone footage you supply is a very different job from planning, shooting and editing original video. Bilingual work is the second surprise: writing Arabic copy natively for an Arabic-speaking audience is closer to writing a second campaign than translating the first. I cover that in bilingual content in Arabic and English.
How to read a marketing quote
A good quote lets you see exactly what you're paying for. Before comparing prices, check that each quote answers these questions. If it doesn't, ask.
- What are the deliverables, in units? Posts per month, campaigns managed, pages written, videos edited.
- Which platforms are included, and which aren't?
- Is ad spend included or separate? (It should be separate.)
- How many revision rounds are included?
- Who pays for tools, stock images, music licences or software?
- What reporting do you get, and how often?
- What's the minimum term and the notice period?
How to budget as a small business
- Start with one goal and one or two channels that serve it. Spreading a small budget across five platforms usually means doing all of them badly.
- Fix the basics first: a fast website, tracking and a complete Google Business Profile. These are one-off costs that make every later dirham work harder.
- Then add ongoing work, such as ads or content, with a monthly review.
- Scale what's working. Cut what isn't after a fair test, not after a week.
On the fair test: ad platforms need data before they settle. Meta, for example, says an ad set usually leaves its learning phase after about 50 results in the week after its last significant edit. Changing campaigns every few days resets that process, which is one reason small budgets that are constantly tweaked tend to look worse than they are. For more on setting the ad side, see ad budgets in Dubai.
About cheap marketing
Low prices are fine. Low effort isn't. The warning sign isn't a small fee, it's a quote that promises guaranteed rankings, a fixed number of followers or results with no tracking. See red flags when hiring a marketer.
Hidden costs to ask about
Some costs only show up after you've agreed a fee. None of them are unreasonable, but they should be in the quote rather than on the first invoice.
- Software subscriptions such as scheduling, design or SEO tools billed to you.
- Stock photos, music licences and fonts.
- Website hosting, domain renewals and paid plugins or apps.
- Photographers, videographers, models or location fees for shoots.
- Translation or Arabic copywriting if it's outsourced.
- Permits or approvals in regulated sectors.
Ways to keep costs down without cutting corners
- Supply your own raw photos and short videos from your phone. Good editing goes a long way.
- Repurpose: one podcast episode or event can become a month of posts. See podcast production in Dubai.
- Choose fixed project fees for one-off work, like a website, so you know the total upfront.
- Work with a freelancer for a defined scope rather than an agency retainer you only partly use.
How to tell if the spend is working
Cost only means something next to what it returns. Track cost per enquiry and, where you can, cost per customer, for each channel separately. If you can't calculate those numbers, the first thing to pay for is tracking, not more marketing. I explain how in conversion tracking with GA4 and Meta.
How I price my own work
I quote a fixed price in AED for each project, agreed before work starts, at freelancer rates. For ongoing work, I quote a fixed monthly scope, and you can start with a single month. More on how I price marketing in Dubai.