TL;DR
Between September 23 and October 1, 2026 we opened the pricing page, or searched the site, of 271 marketing agencies and website vendors across 21 service verticals while researching our roundups. 80 of them, 30 percent, show a dollar figure for what they charge. The split is not random. Agencies serving home services publish a price 48 percent of the time, professional services 41 percent, and healthcare 21 percent. Not one of the twelve med spa agencies or twelve veterinary agencies on Thrive's "best of" lists prints a number. Dermatology is one of 23. The pattern tracks the client: the more a vertical tells its own customers "call for pricing," the more its agencies do the same. We publish ours ($350, $750 or $1,500 a month for SEO; $1,000, $3,000 or $8,000 for a site), and the rest of this post is the data and what to do with it.
Every roundup we write asks the same question of every agency on the list: is the price on the page? After nine roundups and twelve vertical guides in a month, the yes-and-no column was long enough to count. This is that count, with the method, the table, and the four reasons agencies give for leaving the number off, none of which survive a buyer asking for it in writing.
How we counted
An agency or vendor counts as publishing a price if its own website shows a dollar figure for a service: a plan price, a starting price, a per-lead or per-call rate, or a stated minimum such as "clients typically invest $5,000 a month." A budget dropdown on a contact form does not count, and neither does a Clutch minimum or a figure reported by a third party. Lists were built from page one of Google for each vertical's agency query plus the roundup lists that rank there, so a handful of national shops (Thrive, Scorpion, WebFX) appear in more than one row. "Vendors" means website and practice-software companies where the vertical's buyers shop those alongside agencies. Every page was read by a person, screenshotted where a price appeared, and dated. The per-vertical detail lives in the linked posts.
The table
| Vertical | Publish a price | Share | Who does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Therapist and counseling vendors | 8 of 10 | 80% | Brighter Vision, TherapySites, SimplePractice-style site builders |
| Remodeling marketing agencies | 7 of 11 | 64% | Builder Funnel, Contractor Growth Network, Big Orange, Built Right |
| Pest control SEO companies | 6 of 10 | 60% | Blue Corona, Thrive, Pest Control SEOs, Activate, Profit Parrot |
| Roofing SEO companies | 3 of 6 | 50% | Hook, Built Right, Skill Mammoth |
| Property management vendors | 7 of 15 | 47% | Software and site vendors; agencies mostly not |
| MSP marketing vendors | 6 of 13 | 46% | MSP memberships and content shops |
| Electrician SEO companies | 3 of 7 | 43% | Hook, Built Right, Skill Mammoth |
| Home builder marketing agencies | 3 of 8 | 38% | Big Orange, Builder Funnel, Skill Mammoth |
| Plastic surgery site vendors | 6 of 18 | 33% | $5,000 to $40,000 builds, mostly design shops |
| Roofing marketing agencies | 4 of 12 | 33% | Hook, Footbridge $249, Service Direct per call, RYNO stated minimum |
| Physical therapy vendors | 4 of 12 | 33% | Practice Promotions, E-rehab, Breakthrough, HelloNote |
| Chiropractic vendors | 5 of 16 | 31% | Online Chiro, Rocket Chiro, Health Hue, MyChiroPractice |
| Insurance agency vendors | 4 of 13 | 31% | Site builders; agencies quote |
| Dental website vendors | 4 of 16 | 25% | DocSites, Weave, Vello; ProSites and most others quote |
| Senior living marketing | 3 of 14 | 21% | WelcomeHome, Seniors Blue Book, one rate card |
| Dental marketing agencies | 3 of 16 | 19% | Three of sixteen; the rest book a demo |
| Home care marketing | 2 of 14 | 14% | HCMP, Aaniie |
| Orthodontist marketing | 1 of 13 | 8% | Delmain |
| Dermatology marketing | 1 of 23 | 4% | Weave at $199; every agency quotes |
| Veterinary marketing agencies | 0 of 12 | 0% | None of Thrive's twelve |
| Med spa marketing agencies | 0 of 12 | 0% | None of Thrive's twelve |
| All verticals | 80 of 271 | 30% | Roughly one in four agencies, and the share falls with every step from a contractor's truck to a surgeon's office. |
Three groups, three habits
Group the rows by who the client is and the spread opens up.
| Client type | Checked | Publish | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home services (remodeling, roofing, pest, electrical, builders) | 54 | 26 | 48% |
| Professional services (property management, MSP, insurance) | 41 | 17 | 41% |
| Healthcare (dental, derm, med spa, vet, ortho, PT, chiro, therapy, senior care) | 176 | 37 | 21% |
| Verdict | Home service agencies compete on price because contractors compare three quotes for a living and ask. Healthcare agencies sell to practices that rarely publish their own fees, so nobody on the call expects a number, and the discovery-call sales process fills the gap. | ||
Two exceptions prove it. Therapist vendors sit at the top of the chart because that market is site builders and directories sold by the month, which is software, and software publishes. Remodeling agencies are the most transparent agency category at seven of eleven, and the remodeling posts on those agencies' own sites explain why: their clients publish project pricing ranges on their websites, so the agency that will not is the odd one out in the room.
The four reasons given, and what they are worth
"Every engagement is custom." True of scope, rarely true of price. The agencies that do publish (Hook, Builder Funnel, Blue Corona) run custom scopes too and still print a starting figure. A floor costs nothing to state.
"We want to understand your goals first." This is the discovery call, and it is a sales process, not a pricing method. The number exists before the call; the call decides how it is framed.
"Pricing scares people off." It does, which is the point. A published floor filters the client who cannot afford the work out of the calendar, and a visible price is the single strongest trust signal a stranger's website can carry. Our own data on that is in what SEO costs.
"Competitors will undercut us." They already know. Any competitor who wants an agency's rate card books the call and gets it in twenty minutes. The only people the hidden price hides from are buyers.
Our price is on the page.
SEO at $350, $750 or $1,500 a month. Websites at $1,000, $3,000 or $8,000. No contracts, and the number you see is the number you pay.
What to do with this if you are buying
Ask for the number in writing before the discovery call, and treat a refusal as information. Agencies that publish are not cheaper on average (Hook starts SEO at $2,800 a month and prints it), but a buyer who has three written floors in hand negotiates from a different place than one who has three "it depends." If the agency sells to a healthcare vertical, expect to ask twice. The per-vertical roundups carry the floors we found: remodeling, roofing, pest control, home builders, electricians, and on the healthcare side dental, med spa, veterinary, dermatology and chiropractic.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of marketing agencies publish their pricing?
In our September 2026 check of 271 agencies and vendors across 21 service verticals, 30 percent showed a dollar figure on their own site. Home service agencies published 48 percent of the time, professional services 41 percent, healthcare 21 percent.
Why don't marketing agencies list prices?
The reasons given are custom scope, wanting to learn goals first, fear of scaring buyers, and fear of competitors. The practical reason is that the discovery call is the sales process, and a published price shortens it. Agencies that do publish run custom scopes too and print a starting figure.
How much does a marketing agency cost per month?
Among the agencies that published a figure in our check, local SEO and marketing retainers started between $249 (Footbridge Media) and $2,800 (Hook Agency), with most single-market specialists in the $650 to $1,500 range. Enterprise shops stated minimums of $5,000 a month. We charge $350, $750 or $1,500 for SEO.
Which industries have the least transparent marketing agencies?
Healthcare. Zero of twelve med spa agencies, zero of twelve veterinary agencies, one of 23 dermatology vendors and one of 13 orthodontist agencies published a price. Home care and dental were close behind. Therapist vendors were the exception at eight of ten, because that market is month-to-month software.
Does a published price mean a cheaper agency?
No. Hook Agency publishes and is the most expensive roofing agency we found. A published price signals confidence and filters the calendar; it does not signal a discount. It does give you a written floor to negotiate from.
How did you decide what counts as a published price?
A dollar figure on the company's own website for a service: a plan price, a starting price, a per-lead rate, or a stated minimum. Contact-form budget dropdowns, Clutch minimums and third-party reports did not count. Every page was read by a person and dated between September 23 and October 1, 2026.
Want to see what your market's agencies hide?
Book a free strategy call. We will walk the agencies ranking in your city, with the prices where they exist, and tell you where we are not the right fit.