You can keep everyday Facebook and Instagram posting with your existing team, using Nuntio from Free to $200 a month.
Choose who does the work, then compare the cost.
| Who handles it | Cost and work |
|---|---|
| Employee | $60,881 a year in base salary PayScale’s US average. Your hire handles the work; benefits add to the salary. |
| Freelancer | $400–$2,000 a month for two channels Upwork’s sample for intermediate US specialists. Agree what content and management the fee covers. |
| Agency | $500–$5,000 a month WebFX’s range for management services. Ask whether design, ads and reporting are included. |
| Your own team | Nuntio: Free–$200 a month Use the people who already know your business. Your team supplies the photos, captions and review; the subscription adds no per-seat fee. |
PayScale puts the average base salary for a US social media manager at $60,881, with most between $41,000 and $88,000 (updated June 2026). Salary isn't the whole cost. For full-time private-industry workers, benefits made up 31.5% of employer pay costs in June 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At that average, a $60,881 salary costs the employer roughly $89,000 a year. An employee learns your business well, but a small business may not have a full-time job's worth of posting.
Upwork says social media managers on its marketplace charge a median of $14 to $35 an hour, based on past contracts worldwide. For US-based, mid-level freelancers, its sample range for managing two channels for a small business is $400 to $2,000 a month. Graphic design and campaign work are listed separately, so ask what the monthly fee includes.
WebFX, a US marketing agency, says social media management usually costs $500 to $5,000 a month, or $35 to $150 an hour. An agency can bring design, ads and reporting. The tradeoff is that people outside the business have to learn your menu, services and prices, and someone inside still needs to check what goes out.
A restaurant already has the dish photos and the person who knows the menu. A salon has the stylist who did the work. A clinic has reception’s answers to first-visit questions. Give that person one planning slot to draft the week in Nuntio, then check prices, dates and permissions before scheduling. You make room in the team’s week instead of hiring someone just to keep the posts going.
Nuntio Free includes two channels and ten deliveries a month. Starter is $50 a month for five channels and 100 deliveries. Growth is $100 for 15 channels and 500 deliveries, and Professional is $200 for 30 channels and 2,000 deliveries. One post sent to two channels uses two deliveries. Every plan includes unlimited team members with no per-seat fees. Some tools charge per user instead. Hootsuite, for example, sells its plans per user and lists approval workflows on its Advanced plan (checked October 18, 2026).
Your team still takes the photos, writes the captions and replies to customers. Nuntio keeps drafts, feedback and publishing times together so you can fit posting around the work you already do. If you also want someone to create campaigns, run ads or manage the inbox for you, budget for that work separately.
Start with the work, not the price. If you post a few times a week on two or three channels and someone on your team knows the business, start with your team and a tool. Hire a freelancer when nobody has the time or the skills. Look at an agency when you also need ads, design and reporting.
Examples to adapt to your business.
Each Monday the floor manager turns the week's photos into four drafts. The owner reviews them on Tuesday, fixes one price and approves the rest. On Nuntio Starter at $50 a month, adding the manager to the workspace costs nothing extra.
Reception drafts posts about hours and first visits, and a dentist checks anything about treatment before approving it. Four posts a month to each of two channels use eight deliveries, which fits Nuntio Free's limit of ten.
WebFX says it usually costs $500 to $5,000 a month from an agency or freelancer. Upwork's sample range for a US freelancer managing two channels for a small business is $400 to $2,000 a month.
Upwork reports a median of $14 to $35 an hour on its marketplace, worldwide. WebFX quotes $35 to $150 an hour for freelancers and agencies.
In cash, usually yes. A scheduling tool costs from nothing to a few hundred dollars a month. The real cost is time, so it works best when someone on the team knows the business and can set aside regular time each week.
No. Every plan includes unlimited team members with no per-seat fees.
No. You or your team write the posts, and Nuntio helps you plan, review and schedule them. AI writing is not available. See the roadmap for planned features.
Start with two channels and ten deliveries a month, free.