How much does Google Ads cost in the UK? Management fee vs ad budget

Google Ads cost in the UK has two completely separate parts: the ad budget you pay Google for clicks, and the management fee you pay us for setting up and running the account. Mixing these up is the most common source of confusion. Ad budget is never paid to us, and it's never fixed — you choose it, and you can change it monthly.

The two costs, kept separate

1. Ad budget (paid to Google)

This is what funds your actual clicks. Cost-per-click varies a lot by sector. As rough UK ranges: trades like plumbing or electrical work often see £2–£6 per click, home services and cleaning sit lower, around £1–£4, while legal, finance, and some B2B sectors can run £5–£15 or more per click. These are typical ranges, not guarantees — your actual costs depend on competition and location.

2. Management fee (paid to us)

Setup is £99, or £0 if you already have a website plan with us. Ongoing management is £149, £249, or £399 a month, depending on account size and how many channels you're running (Search only versus Search plus Display or Shopping, for example).

See Google Ads prices for the full breakdown.

A worked example

Say you set a £400 monthly ad budget and take the £149 management tier. Your all-in monthly cost is £549: £400 to Google, £149 to us.

At an average £4 cost-per-click, £400 buys roughly 100 clicks a month. If your site converts at, say, 5%, that's around 5 leads. That's a plausible outcome for a modest local budget — not a promise, just maths you can check for your own sector.

This is why budget size matters more than most people expect. The management fee stays roughly the same whether your budget is £300 or £3,000, but the number of clicks — and therefore leads — scales directly with budget.

Why percentage-of-spend pricing punishes small budgets

Some agencies charge a percentage of your ad spend as their fee. That sounds fair, but it isn't for small accounts. A 15% fee on £300 spend is £45 — too cheap to properly run an account. A 15% fee on £5,000 spend is £750, often far more work than the account needs. Flat management tiers avoid this: you pay for the complexity of the account, not a slice of your own spend.

What's the minimum sensible budget?

Below roughly £300–£400 a month in ad spend, Google Ads often struggles to generate enough clicks to learn what's working. You end up paying management fees on an account too small to optimise properly. If that's your budget range, a better website or some SEO work might do more for you.

Request a free demo — you pay only if you approve it.

When SEO or a better website is the better spend

If your website itself is slow, unclear, or missing basic trust signals, Ads will just send paid traffic to a page that doesn't convert. In that case, fixing the site first is usually the better spend. Likewise, if your budget is thin, SEO — usually a few months of consistent work — can build free traffic over time rather than paying per click indefinitely. Ads and SEO aren't rivals; they just suit different budgets and timelines.

The combo: website + Ads

If you need both a proper website and an Ads campaign, the combo package is £129/month for any website plan plus Ads Start — not £49 plus £149 separately. Ads setup is also £0 while a website plan is active, which is worth knowing before you budget for a new site.

Compare the website plans if you're weighing up a rebuild alongside Ads.

Do I pay Google directly for ad spend?

Yes. Your ad budget goes straight to Google, separately from our management fee. We never hold or invoice your ad spend.

Is there a minimum ad budget?

There's no fixed minimum, but budgets below roughly £300–£400 a month often struggle to generate enough data to optimise well.

What's included in the management fee?

Account setup, keyword and audience targeting, ad copy, ongoing bid and budget adjustments, and monthly reporting, depending on your tier.

Does a website plan come with a contract?

Website plans run on a 12-month term, then 30 days' notice. The demo itself is still free, and if it's not right for you, you simply don't start.

Can I combine a website and Google Ads for less?

Yes. The combo package is £129/month for any website plan plus Ads Start, and Ads setup is £0 while your website plan is active.

Will Google Ads guarantee me leads?

No. Clicks and conversion rates vary by sector and by how well your site converts visitors, so we don't promise lead volumes.