In short: what SEO and GEO cost in 2026
As of September 2026, published SEO rates in the Netherlands run from about €55 to €118 an hour excluding btw, the Dutch VAT (median €73.50), and the smallest ongoing monthly SEO packages cost roughly €100 to €900, according to a count of 27 providers by the Dutch SEO agency RankPilot. GEO, or visibility in AI-generated answers, sits in a similar band: a Dutch overview by AIgeschikt found specialised GEO agencies charging about €119 to €2,295 a month and SEO agencies with GEO included about €250 to €1,149. What you actually buy is hours and scope, so the same monthly amount can mean two hours of work at one provider and several articles at another. All amounts in this guide exclude 21% btw unless stated otherwise.
How do SEO specialists and agencies charge?
Dutch providers use four main pricing models, often in combination. A freelancer may start with an hourly audit and then propose a monthly retainer; an agency may add GEO as a higher tier of the same package. Knowing the model helps you compare quotes that otherwise look impossible to line up.
The table summarises the ranges we could verify from published sources in September 2026. RankPilot counted the providers in Google’s Dutch top 20 for four searches on 24 September 2026 and found that only 8 of 27 freelancers and agencies published an SEO price at all. RankPilot is an SEO agency and includes itself in the comparison, as does AIgeschikt, which sells a GEO service. We use their figures because both describe their method and the date they read the prices. Treat them as a map of published prices, not as the price you will be quoted.
Hourly rate
Hourly billing suits work with a clear question but an uncertain amount of effort, such as a technical audit, a migration check or a training session. It is transparent only if you receive an estimate beforehand and a record of how the hours were spent. RankPilot also noticed that price articles ranking in Google quote wider bands than providers publish themselves: €49 to €125 an hour for independent specialists and €75 to €200 for agencies.
Monthly retainer
A retainer is the most common model for ongoing SEO, and its value depends entirely on what the monthly amount contains. In RankPilot’s count, €249 bought two hours of work at one agency, while €750 included one blog article a month at another. Ask for the expected hours or outputs per month and for the notice period: two of the ten providers that published their terms tied clients in for longer than a month.
One-off audit or project
A project has a defined deliverable and an end date. It suits a first review, a redesign or a website migration in which existing URLs must be preserved. Next Win, a Dutch agency, lists a technical audit at €500 to €2,500, keyword research at €400 to €1,500 and a website migration at €1,500 to €5,000 in its 2026 price guide. We recommend asking for a prioritised list of findings with an effort estimate per item, so the audit leads to decisions rather than a long report.
Performance-based pricing and its risks
Some providers charge per ranking, per lead or on a “no cure, no pay” basis. It sounds low-risk, but it moves the risk to whatever is being measured. Rankings for narrow terms can be easy to reach and worth little to your business, lead counts can include enquiries you would have received anyway, and pressure to deliver quickly can encourage shortcuts that break Google’s spam policies. If you consider this model, define the result in your own systems, cap the total cost and require full transparency about methods.
| Model | How you pay | Published range | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | Per hour worked, sometimes in blocks of hours | €55-€118 per hour excl. btw; median €73.50 (RankPilot) | Audits, advice, migrations and training |
| Monthly retainer | A fixed amount each month | Smallest ongoing package €100-€900 per month excl. btw; median €422.50 (RankPilot) | Ongoing technical, content and link work |
| One-off audit or project | A fixed price for a defined deliverable | Technical audit €500-€2,500 in one agency’s 2026 price guide (Next Win; btw not stated) | A first review, a relaunch or a website migration |
| Performance-based | Per ranking, lead or other agreed result | No reliable published range; terms differ per provider | Only with verifiable, business-relevant measures |
| GEO package or add-on | Monthly, often per number of tracked questions | €119-€2,295 per month excl. btw at specialised GEO agencies (AIgeschikt, prices read 17 September 2026) | Measuring and improving how AI answers describe you |
How much does SEO cost per month in the Netherlands?
For an ongoing SEO service, the published entry point in September 2026 is usually a few hundred euros a month. RankPilot found smallest packages from €100 to €900 a month excluding btw, with a median of €422.50; the most expensive package it came across started at €2,500. Larger organisations spend more: ROXTAR, a Dutch agency, notes on its pricing page that bigger companies invest up to well over €6,000 a month. That difference reflects more hours and more parallel work, not a different kind of service.
Link building is often priced separately and can raise the monthly amount considerably. RankPilot found it fully or partly included at three of the eight providers with a published price, and one independent specialist charging from €1,250 a month for link building as a separate package. Always check whether content, links and tools are part of the fee.
A useful way to read any monthly figure is to convert it into time. The bands below are an illustrative example based on RankPilot’s median published rate of €73.50 an hour; real rates, efficiency and tooling differ per provider.
Around €400-€500 a month: about six hours
At the median rate, €422.50 buys a little under six hours of work. That is enough for monitoring, a few focused fixes and perhaps one improved page a month. It is not enough for regular new content, link building and technical development at the same time. For a local business with a sound website, a narrow, written focus can still be useful.
Around €1,000 a month: about 13 to 14 hours
At this level, a provider can typically combine technical upkeep with steady content work: improving service pages, writing a supporting article and reporting on what changed. Ask how the hours are divided between technical work, content, links and meetings, and which of those you could handle internally.
Around €2,500 a month and above: about 34 hours or more
This budget suits competitive national markets, webshops with many categories and bilingual sites where content has to be written and reviewed in two languages. The risk at this level is paying for volume rather than impact, so agree on priorities and review them every quarter.
What does GEO cost? AI visibility pricing in September 2026
GEO, generative engine optimisation, is work intended to make your business and expertise useful in AI-generated answers. We explain how it relates to SEO in a separate guide; here we focus on price. The most thorough Dutch overview we found was published by AIgeschikt on 21 September 2026, with prices read on providers’ own pages on 17 September. AIgeschikt sells a managed GEO service itself and says so in the article.
Its main finding is that the type of provider matters more than the label. A measurement tool shows where you appear but changes nothing on your site, a content service produces articles, and agencies and freelancers carry out the work. The price ranges overlap: a specialised GEO agency is not automatically more expensive than an SEO agency that has added GEO.
Individual agencies also publish packages. ROXTAR lists SEO from €495 a month, SEO with GEO from €770 and SEO with GEO and AEO, which adds optimisation for Google’s AI Overviews, from €1,100; the page does not state whether btw is included. Correcthosting offers GEO for €99 a month excluding btw for up to 25 search phrases, including writing, technical changes and fortnightly measurements in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude. BRUTAEL prices GEO by the number of questions tracked, from €750 a month excluding btw for 50 questions. We mention these as published market examples, not as recommendations.
Before you pay extra for GEO, ask what it adds to the SEO work. Google states that its AI features in Search are rooted in the same core ranking and quality systems and require no special markup or AI text files. For Google, most of the foundation is therefore shared. The measurable extra usually lies in tracking a fixed set of customer questions across AI assistants and in content written to answer those questions clearly.
| Provider type | What you buy | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Specialised GEO agency | Scan, implementation, monthly measurement and content | €119-€2,295 per month excl. btw, sometimes plus setup costs |
| SEO or marketing agency with GEO | GEO as part of an SEO package | About €250-€1,149 per month |
| Content or automation service | A fixed number of articles or content updates | €95-€1,500 per month |
| Measurement tool | Tracking of questions and citations; no changes to your site | Dutch tools €25-€49 per month; international tools $29-$489 per month |
| Freelancer | Hourly work, often GEO alongside SEO | €12.50-€80 per hour in the examples found |
| One-off scan | A snapshot of current visibility and technical issues | Free to €295, one-off |
In-house, freelancer or agency: which gives better value?
The best choice depends on the kind of work more than on the hourly rate. A defined task suits a specialist, ongoing work across several disciplines suits a team, and a full workload with someone to direct it may justify a hire. Compare the options on the work you need done in the next six to twelve months, not on a single number.
Freelancer
A freelance specialist is often the most efficient option for a bounded job, such as an audit, a migration or a content review. You speak directly to the person doing the work. The limitation is capacity: during illness or holidays, work pauses. Published freelance rates in RankPilot’s count ranged from €55 to €118 an hour excluding btw.
Agency
An agency suits ongoing work in which technical SEO, content and links are needed together, and in which continuity matters. You pay for that breadth. Check the minimum term and notice period, who will actually do the work and whether content and accounts remain yours when you stop.
In-house specialist
According to the Nationale Beroepengids, an employed SEO specialist in the Netherlands earns roughly €3,000 to €5,000 gross a month for a 40-hour week; the figures were last updated in November 2024. Employer costs, tools, training and management time come on top. A hire makes sense when there is enough work for a full week and someone inside the business can direct it.
A hybrid is often the realistic choice
Many small organisations keep ownership in-house, with someone who knows the customers and approves content, and buy specialist hours for technical work and reviews. Google itself notes that a small local business can probably do much of the work itself. External help is then most valuable for diagnosis, migrations and a second opinion on priorities.
Which local SEO basics cost nothing?
Before you pay anyone, cover the free foundations. According to Google, creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free. Complete the category, address or service area, opening hours, photos and services, and keep them current. Respond to reviews in a way that helps the next customer, not only the reviewer.
Google names three main factors for local results: relevance, distance and prominence. Prominence reflects how well known a business is, including its reviews and the links to its website. Google also states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, so be cautious with any offer that suggests otherwise.
On your own website, much of the basic work costs time rather than money: a clear page for each core service, consistent company details, descriptive page titles and a contact route that works on mobile. Review what your website already does before you commission a retainer. Our guide to a better website brief explains how to define what each page should achieve.
Which red flags should make you walk away?
Low prices are not the main risk. The costlier mistakes come from promises nobody can keep and from tactics that damage your site. These warning signs apply to SEO and GEO alike.
A guaranteed #1 ranking
Google states plainly that nobody can guarantee a first position in its results, and warns against providers that claim a special relationship with Google or offer “priority submission”. Google also says that advertising with Google has no effect on a site’s organic results. A provider can commit to defined work and transparent reporting, not to a position.
Guaranteed mentions in ChatGPT or other assistants
AI answers vary between sessions, users and dates, and no provider controls which sources an assistant selects. Correcthosting, for example, states on its GEO page that it cannot guarantee when ChatGPT will mention a business, and that you should distrust anyone who does. If a provider reports a visibility score, ask which questions it is based on, who chose them and how often they are repeated.
Paid links and link schemes
Google’s spam policies classify buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam, including exchanging money, goods or services for links or for posts that contain links. Sites that violate these policies may rank lower or not appear in results at all. Sponsored links are acceptable when they are marked with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", so ask where links come from and how they are labelled.
Secrecy, lock-in and unsolicited offers
You remain responsible for what a hired provider changes on your site, so insist on knowing what is done. For an initial audit, Google advises granting read access to Search Console only, not write access. Be careful with long minimum terms before you have seen any work, and treat unsolicited emails promising search engine success with strong scepticism, as Google also recommends.
How do you measure the return on SEO and GEO?
Start with a baseline before any work begins: which pages receive relevant search traffic, which queries lead to them, how many enquiries arrive and how many of those fit your services. Without that baseline, it is impossible to tell afterwards what the budget changed.
Google Search Console shows clicks, impressions and queries for ordinary search results. As of 31 August 2026, its Generative AI performance report has been rolled out to all websites and shows impressions of links to your site in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country, device and date. It does not report clicks from those features and does not cover other assistants. Combine it with referral data in your analytics, manual checks of a fixed set of customer questions and, most importantly, the enquiries your team receives.
For the business case, work backwards from value. As an illustrative example: if a new client is worth €3,000 in gross margin in the first year and your SEO and GEO work costs €750 a month, you need about three extra clients a year from organic search to cover the €9,000. That arithmetic does not predict results, but it tells you what to look for and how long you can reasonably wait before reviewing the approach. Our AI visibility guide explains how to set up these measurements in more detail.
How much should you budget for your business?
There is no correct amount, but there is a sensible order. Fix what blocks visitors and search engines first, then improve the pages that should bring enquiries, and only then scale content and outreach. The budget follows from the work that order reveals. If your organisation cannot reclaim btw, add 21% to every figure: a €500 package then costs €605.
Sole trader or local service business
Start with the free foundations: a complete Business Profile, clear service pages and consistent details. A one-off review or a few hours of specialist help may then be more useful than a retainer. If you choose a monthly package, the published entry points of about €100 to a few hundred euros a month can work when the scope is narrow and written down.
Growing service business or SME
When search is a meaningful source of clients, a retainer that combines technical upkeep with regular content work makes sense. At the median published rate, around €1,000 a month buys roughly 13 to 14 hours, so agree what those hours should achieve each quarter. Add GEO measurement if your customers already research your category in AI assistants.
Webshop or competitive national market
Many categories, product filters and strong competitors increase the technical and content workload. Budgets of several thousand euros a month are not unusual in such markets, but ask for a plan that shows why the hours are needed and what will be delivered first.
Bilingual or international organisation
Each language needs its own keyword research, content and editorial review. Budget for that time in both languages rather than assuming a translation doubles the result for free. Our guide to what a website costs in the Netherlands explains how languages affect build budgets as well.
Questions to ask an SEO or GEO agency before you sign
Use these questions when you compare quotes. Google publishes a similar list, which includes asking for examples of previous work, the results and timeframe the provider expects, and whether they will share every change they make to your site. Tick a question once you have a clear, written answer.
These checkmarks are temporary; your answers are not saved or sent.
A practical next step
Write down the three questions customers most often ask before they choose you, the pages that should answer them and what a good enquiry looks like. Take that to any provider you speak to. It turns a vague request for “more SEO” into work that can be priced, delivered and checked.
If you would like an outside view first, our free AI visibility and security scan reviews one website: crawler access, page signals, how clearly your offer is explained and how ChatGPT search and Google’s AI features answer up to five of your customer questions. Pixel Studio can then help with web design, SEO and GEO work that fits the findings. If you are also weighing paid placements in AI assistants, our ChatGPT ads guide explains how they differ from organic answers. For a quote or a conversation about your situation, get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
How much does SEO cost per month for a small business in the Netherlands?
Published entry-level SEO packages ranged from about €100 to €900 a month excluding btw in September 2026, with a median of €422.50, according to RankPilot’s count of 27 providers. At a median rate of €73.50 an hour, €422.50 covers fewer than six hours of work. A narrow, written scope makes a small budget considerably more useful.
What is a normal SEO hourly rate in the Netherlands?
Published SEO hourly rates in September 2026 ranged from €55 to €118 excluding btw, with a median of €73.50. Price articles that rank in Google quote wider bands, up to €200 an hour for agencies. Compare the number of hours needed and the expertise involved, not only the rate.
What does GEO cost, and is it more expensive than SEO?
Not necessarily. In a Dutch overview with prices read on 17 September 2026, specialised GEO agencies charged about €119 to €2,295 a month and SEO agencies with GEO about €250 to €1,149, so the ranges overlap. Ask what the GEO part adds, such as tracking customer questions across AI assistants.
Can an agency guarantee a first position in Google or a mention in ChatGPT?
No. Google states that nobody can guarantee a number-one ranking, and no provider controls which sources an AI assistant uses. A provider can commit to defined work and honest reporting. Treat guarantees of positions or AI mentions as a warning sign.
Is a one-off SEO audit enough?
It can be, if your team or web developer can carry out the findings. A useful audit gives you a prioritised list with an effort estimate per item. In competitive markets, or when you need regular content, ongoing support is usually needed after the audit.
Are SEO prices in the Netherlands quoted with or without btw?
Most business prices in the sources we checked are stated excluding btw, but not every page says so. The general Dutch btw rate is 21%, so a €500 package costs €605 including btw. Confirm this in every quote, especially if your organisation cannot reclaim btw.
Can I do SEO myself instead of hiring someone?
Partly. Google notes that a small local business can probably do much of the work itself, and a Google Business Profile is free to create. Specialist help is most valuable for technical problems, website migrations and a second opinion on priorities.
