What is the cost of hiring a marketing agency?

Hiring a B2B marketing agency typically costs $10,000–$50,000 per month on retainer, with enterprise programs often exceeding $100,000 monthly. According to JJ La Pata, Chief Strategy Officer at The Starr Conspiracy (TSC), pricing rises when scope includes AI-powered marketing like Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), LLM-ready content, and AI search measurement. For a verifiable benchmark, Clutch’s 2024 agency pricing survey commonly cites $10,000+ monthly retainers for many B2B agencies, with project work frequently starting around $25,000–$50,000 depending on complexity. The fastest way to pin down your number is to define deliverables (e.g., AEO content production volume, AI citation tracking, paid media management) and the decision timeline for pipeline impact.