Straight answer: A freelance media buyer charges between $1,000 and $5,000+ per month on a retainer, or $40 to $140 per hour. Most ecommerce brands with $10K-$50K monthly ad budgets pay $1,200 to $3,000 a month. The number depends on experience, scope, and how they structure the deal. Here is the full breakdown so you know exactly what is fair before you negotiate.
Retainer is the most common model for ongoing work. You get a dedicated person who owns the account, and the price is predictable. Hourly makes sense for a one-off audit or a specific problem, but it gets expensive fast if you need daily optimization.
Full-time salary equivalents for context: a US in-house media buyer earns $96,000-$120,000 a year. Freelancers price above the hourly equivalent of that because they carry their own overhead, tools, and risk.
The short version
| Model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $40-$140/hr | Short projects, audits, consulting |
| Monthly retainer | $1,200-$5,000/mo | Ongoing management |
| Percentage of ad spend | 10-20% of budget | Big spenders, performance-aligned |
| Performance bonus | Base + 10-30% of results | Growth-stage brands |
Why the range is so wide
A media buyer's rate is not about how much they charge per hour. It is about what they can do with your budget. The range reflects four things: experience, vertical knowledge, scope, and outcome track record.- Experience: a buyer who has scaled brands past $1M in ad spend has seen more auctions, more creative cycles, and knows what actually moves numbers.
- Vertical knowledge: ecommerce media buyers who know Shopify, CRO, and product-level metrics charge more than generalists.
- Scope: setup and management is one thing. Add creative direction, landing page CRO, email flows, and reporting and the price moves up.
- Outcome track record: buyers who can show case studies with real revenue numbers charge a premium, because they de-risk your spend.
The real market rates in 2026
| Tier | Hourly | Monthly retainer | Who fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior (0-2 yrs) | $20-$40 | $800-$1,500 | Well-scoped tasks under guidance |
| Mid-level (2-5 yrs) | $40-$80 | $1,500-$3,000 | The most common tier, independent |
| Senior (5-10 yrs) | $80-$140 | $3,000-$6,000 | Owns strategy, structure, and scale |
| Expert (10+ yrs) | $140-$225 | $6,000+ | Top of market, usually performance-linked |
Percentage of spend: the model that aligns everyone
Some buyers work on a percentage of ad spend instead of a flat retainer. The logic: the more they scale your budget profitably, the more they earn. Typical rates are 10-12% for accounts above $50K/month and 15-20% below that. The catch: watch ROAS per dollar added, not total ROAS, because some buyers push budget growth even when incremental returns are weak.What you actually get for the money
- Account structure, pixel and tracking setup, and clean attribution
- Campaign builds: cold, warm, hot, retargeting, creative testing
- Daily or weekly optimization: budgets, bids, audiences, placements
- A creative testing system, not random new ads every week
- Weekly reporting tied to revenue, not impressions
- A person who treats your budget like their own money
Red flags and fair price signals
- Too cheap to be real: below $800/mo usually means templates, no testing, or a buyer juggling 30 accounts.
- No proof: they cannot show case studies with real numbers. You are buying blind.
- No process: ask how they decide when to kill a creative. If the answer is vague, keep looking.
- Platform-agnostic claims: someone who promises results across Meta, Google, TikTok, and email with equal depth is lying to you.