Choose by the kind of work your store needs, and look at the size of the provider second. Some fixes end, such as opening the store to crawlers or cleaning up duplicate markup. Those suit a fixed price project. A freelancer or a done for you package can do that well. Other work comes back every month, such as new articles or outreach, and that is where an agency retainer earns its fee.
Most guides on this question compare team sizes. We look at the job first. In audit work, every finding gets an owner and a date when it will be closed. Store fixes behave the same way. A blocked crawler can be fixed, tested and closed. So can a wrong canonical tag or a second copy of your product markup. A content calendar is different, since you keep adding to it for as long as you sell.
Which work on my store ends, and which comes back every month?
Write the list before you talk to anyone. Technical fixes end. Someone opens robots.txt and the firewall to the crawlers you want. Someone corrects the sitemap and the canonical tags and removes duplicate or broken markup from the theme. Once a fix is tested, it stays fixed until a theme update or a new app changes it.
Other work comes back. You launch products, you publish articles, and you ask other sites to mention you. If your list is mostly repeat work, a retainer fits. If it is mostly fixes, pay a fixed price and stop paying when the list is done.
What does each option cost?
The best public price data we found is a poll of 439 SEO providers by Ahrefs. Ahrefs last updated it on August 15, 2024. It covers SEO in general, not Shopify alone. It also shows what providers say they charge, not what buyers paid. These are the figures we use:
- For a one time project, the most common fee among freelancers was $101 to $250.
- For a one time project, the most common fee among agencies was $2,501 to $5,000.
- Agencies charged an average monthly retainer of $3,209, and freelancers charged about $1,349.
- Of all the providers polled, 78.2% charged a monthly retainer.
Use the ranges to see whether a quote is normal. Then compare the scope line by line. A cheap quote often buys a report and no changes, and a retainer can keep running long after the fixes are done.
When does a freelancer make sense?
A good freelancer suits a small store with a short, clear list. You talk to the person who does the work, and the price is often lower. The risk is that one person can get busy or move on, so ask for a log of each change as the work happens. Google's page on hiring an SEO suggests asking whether the provider will share all the changes they make to your site. Ask that question first.
When does an agency make sense?
An agency suits a store that needs several skills every month. You get a team that learns your business and stays when one person leaves. Watch for a retainer that keeps running after the technical list is finished. Ask what will change on your site each month. Then ask for that answer in writing.
What is a done for you package, and what is Foundation?
A done for you package sells a fixed scope for a fixed price. It suits the work that ends. It should come with a written scope, your approval before anything goes live and proof at the end.
Our own package is AI Visibility Setup: Foundation. Foundation is a one time project for $2,500 on a Shopify or WordPress website. We open the site to the crawlers you want, in robots.txt and in any firewall or security plugin. We fix sitemaps, canonicals and rendering. We also remove broken or duplicate markup in the template, so one fix covers every page built from it.
The work takes about 2 to 3 weeks once we have access. On Shopify we work in a copy of your theme, never the live one. You approve every change before it goes live. At the end you get a log of every change. You also get a new scan at the same depth as the first.
Foundation has no retainer and no monthly commitment. Foundation does not include writing new content, building links or running ads. We do not promise rankings, citations, traffic or sales. Search engines and AI assistants decide what they show. If you want the work to continue later, Monthly AI Visibility Management is an add on you can ask for. It never starts on its own.
What should I ask all three before I sign?
- Which items on my list end, and which come back every month?
- What will change on my site, and how will you show me each change?
- Will you scan the site before and after the work with the same method?
- What happens to the work if I stop paying?
- Do you promise a ranking or a mention in ChatGPT?
The only right answer to the last question is no. Google says no one can guarantee a first place ranking on Google. It tells owners to beware of anyone who claims to. For the access you should give a provider, and the evidence to ask for, see our article on choosing between AI visibility software and an agency. Our guide to Shopify SEO prices goes deeper on cost.
Sort the work before you ask for quotes. You can do all of this yourself in an afternoon.
- Run a free scan and save the result as your starting point.
- Copy every fix the scan names onto one list.
- Write the monthly work you want, such as new articles or outreach, on a second list.
- Ask freelancers and package providers to quote the first list as one fixed price.
- Ask agencies to quote the second list as a monthly scope with named deliverables.
- Compare each quote with the Ahrefs ranges on this page, then compare the scope line by line.
Questions owners ask
Is a Shopify SEO freelancer cheaper than an agency?
Freelancers usually charge less. Ahrefs polled 439 providers and updated the results on August 15, 2024. The most common one time project fee was $101 to $250 for freelancers. For agencies it was $2,501 to $5,000. Compare what each quote will change on your site before you compare the prices.
Do I need a monthly SEO retainer for my Shopify store?
You need one only for work that comes back every month, such as new articles or outreach. Technical fixes have an end, so a fixed price suits them better. Before you agree to a retainer, ask what will change on your site each month.
What does a done for you SEO package include?
A good package states in writing what it fixes, what it costs, how long it takes and what you receive at the end. Our Foundation package is a fixed $2,500 project on Shopify or WordPress, and it has no retainer. You get a log of every change and a new scan at the same depth.
Does Foundation include content writing or link building?
Foundation includes neither. It fixes crawler access, rendering, sitemaps and canonicals, and it removes broken or duplicate markup in the template. It has no monthly fee, and Monthly AI Visibility Management starts only if you ask for it.
Can a freelancer or an agency guarantee rankings or a ChatGPT mention?
No provider can make that promise. Google says no one can guarantee a first place ranking on Google, and nobody controls what an AI assistant says. A provider can promise the changes it will make and the evidence it will show you.
Should I fix technical problems before I hire someone for content?
We would fix them first in most cases. New articles do little if crawlers cannot reach or read your pages. Fix access and templates, scan again, and then decide whether you need monthly content work.
Get the list of work that ends
The free scan gives you a 0 to 100 score and a fix list in priority order. It needs no card. Those are the one time fixes, and you can hand the list to a freelancer, an agency or us. If you want us to do it, Foundation costs $2,500 once on Shopify or WordPress, with no retainer. You approve every change before it goes live.
Related reading: We also cover how Visibility Mesh compares with SEO agencies and how to hire someone to fix your AI visibility.
Sources
We opened every source below on October 5, 2026.
- SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost?, a poll of 439 people by Ahrefs, updated August 15, 2024.
- Do you need an SEO?, Google Search Central, last updated June 5, 2026.
- AI Visibility Setup: Foundation and Pricing, Visibility Mesh.