Lead the Mood’s published plans start at €750 per month and €1,400 per month, excluding VAT. To budget for social media in 2027, start by identifying what each fee includes, the production you need and the spending that sits outside it. The post count does not tell the whole story.
Those figures are our current offer, available on Lead the Mood’s pricing page. They are not market averages or a guaranteed price for every project. The plans combine social media with other marketing work; your proposal defines the scope for your business.
Reviewed on 14 October 2026 to help plan 2027 budgets. Prices and conditions were checked on that date. The calculations below are our own examples using those starting prices, not client results or industry research.
Starting prices and what they include
| Plan | Starting fee | Content and channels | Production and scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | From €750/month, excluding VAT | 2 channels and 8 content pieces per month | Quarterly production session, community management, Google Business Profile and monthly reporting |
| Growth | From €1,400/month, excluding VAT | 3 channels; monthly content volume to be defined | Essential plus monthly video production, SEO/blog, email marketing and review |
| Custom | Scope and price to be defined | Agreed channels, brands, languages and volume | The team, production and work required for the project are specified |
“From” matters. It identifies a proposal’s starting point, not an identical fee for every business. Do not infer twenty pieces, or another fixed number, from Growth: the volume is defined for the scope. Essential lists eight pieces per month; using two channels does not automatically turn that into sixteen different pieces.
Social media management can also be scoped separately. Before comparing a social-only proposal with a plan that includes other services, separate the work. A higher fee may represent a larger scope, and a lower one a narrower need.
What changes the cost of social media management
The budget changes when the work changes. Start with the objective: explaining a service, presenting a product, supporting bookings and helping a B2B sale need different production. Then decide which channels your team can sustain and what route an interested person should follow.
- Production: planning, filming, photography, selection, editing and adaptations.
- Channels: the formats, publishing and attention each platform requires.
- Languages: writing, adaptation and review for each version.
- Community: which messages are answered, who handles them and what is referred elsewhere.
- Review: the approver, included revision rounds and last-minute changes.
- Measurement: available data and who evaluates the enquiries received.
Ready-to-publish material is a different starting point from producing a campaign from scratch. If people, products, locations or several shoot days are required, that belongs in the scope. A post count without that explanation can hide a substantial difference in work.
Eight useful pieces before a calendar filled for its own sake
Imagine a café that wants to explain its breakfast offer and booking process. An illustrative eight-piece calendar might allocate four to the product and experience, two to common questions and two to the team or activity. This is a planning exercise, not a delivered client calendar or a promise of bookings.
Each piece needs a purpose, format, material, copy and next step. “Show the breakfast combination and explain when it is served” allows a specific image or video to be prepared. “Make something that gets lots of views” leaves almost everything undecided.
On our pricing page, a piece is a post produced by the team with its copy; a reshared story does not count as a new piece. Before signing, also specify channel adaptations and included formats. Write down the counting rule so the month does not end with two teams counting different things.
Quarterly and monthly production are different scopes
Essential lists a quarterly production session; Growth adds monthly video production. That frequency changes how products, space, people and approvals need to be prepared. Do not turn a quarterly session into a monthly shoot when comparing proposals: those would be different assignments.
The business may need timely material between sessions. Agree what the client supplies, what can use the existing visual bank and what requires additional production. A seasonal offer announced late may need a calendar adjustment or separate assignment; it is better to settle that before it becomes urgent.
Our social media trends for 2027 help choose references and formats. A budget turns those ideas into production the business can sustain. You do not need to reproduce every trend to create a recognisable presence.
How to calculate a three-month budget
The pricing page specifies an initial three-month commitment for monthly plans. Using the current starting amounts, the base-fee calculation is straightforward:
Essential: €750 × 3 months = €2,250 in base fees, excluding VAT.
Growth: €1,400 × 3 months = €4,200 in base fees, excluding VAT.
Those totals are not final quotes. They exclude VAT and approved additional work and do not include advertising spend. If the agreed scope changes the starting fee, calculate again using the proposal’s figure. Custom needs its own quote; assigning a total without knowing the work would not be useful.
A practical way to organise the decision is to separate service fees, additional production and media spend. If no amount is planned, say so. If it is not yet defined, leave it pending with someone responsible for resolving it. An invented zero only makes the spreadsheet look more reassuring.
Keep service fees and advertising separate
Advertising spend and the work of managing it are separate items. The published offer places managed campaigns in Custom; the spend is paid directly to the platform. Do not assume managed advertising is included in Essential or Growth simply because the plans include social media.
For a campaign, ask for the objective, formats to be produced, click destination, review process and person responsible for replying. Then agree who manages the media and with what budget. Good campaign pieces and a page that cannot take bookings still leave an important part unresolved.
Compare two agencies using the same brief
Send the same brief: business, objective, channels, available material, production frequency, languages and approver. Ask each proposal to separate deliverables, calendar, responsibilities, revisions and items outside the monthly fee. That lets you compare equivalent work.
Our guide to choosing a social media agency in 2027 includes a matrix for evaluating those answers. Price is one column in the decision; production capacity, dependencies on your team and reviewing results also matter.
When there is a large difference, ask what explains it. One proposal may only schedule existing material while another includes filming and editing. One may cover email or SEO while another focuses on two profiles. Naming the difference improves the comparison; assuming a figure proves quality does not.
How to assess the work after hiring
Start by checking delivery and coordination: pieces completed, calendar, reviews and questions handled. Then consider whether the content explains the offer more clearly and whether interested people reach the next step. Reach, profile visits and clicks provide context; enquiries or bookings, where measurable, bring the review closer to the business.
Do not turn followers into a guarantee of customers. A useful enquiry also needs a reply, a clear offer and capacity to fulfil it. Agree who classifies contacts and which changes to message, production or destination will be decided in the period review.
Questions about social media pricing
Is €750 a market average?
No. It is the published starting price of Lead the Mood’s Essential plan on the review date. Other proposals may cover different scope, conditions and services.
Does the €1,400 plan include a fixed number of posts?
The published offer lists three channels and monthly pieces to be defined. Volume and formats should be specified in the proposal; this guide does not invent a fixed number absent from the plan.
Is advertising included in every monthly fee?
Do not assume so. The pricing page places campaign management in Custom and separates spend paid to the platform. Check management, production and media spend in the specific proposal.
Do these figures guarantee a project’s price in 2027?
No. They describe the offer checked on 14 October 2026 for planning purposes. Scope, conditions and price are confirmed when the project is quoted.
Prepare a proposal for your business
Send what you sell, to whom, your channels, available material, the improvement you want and what your team can contribute. If you already publish, include two pieces that represent you and a frequent customer question. That context helps define the work before putting a price on it.
You can request a social media proposal for 2027, review Lead the Mood’s current plans or start with a digital audit if your priorities need organising first. The specific proposal contains the agreed scope.