For small businesses, credible 2026 pricing guides cluster monthly SEO retainers between $500 and $2,500, with competitive markets and multi-location businesses at the higher end. And the same scope quoted at a 10x spread between agencies is common enough to be a documented industry pattern, not a red flag by itself.
What matters more than the number is what it buys: ask any quote to itemize hours across technical fixes, content, links, and local work. A $800 quote and an $8,000 quote often differ more in overhead and positioning than in deliverables. Make them show the deliverables.
The honest floor: below a few hundred a month, nobody can do meaningful ongoing work after tools and reporting; offers there are usually automated reports wearing a service costume.