By Next Lead Marketing · Updated October 16, 2026 · 6 min read
A website
What moves the price of a website:
- How many pages, and whether they need custom design or copy
- Features such as online booking, payments, member logins or e-signed forms
- Connections to other tools, such as email, a CRM or a calendar
- Photography, video and the writing itself
- Hosting, monitoring and updates after launch
An ad campaign
Two costs are easy to confuse. Ad spend is what you pay the platform for the ads. The management fee is what you pay the people who plan, build, test and report. Ask for them separately, and ask for ad accounts to be opened in your own name so the data and the history stay yours.
A mobile app
What moves the price of an app:
- Whether it runs on iPhone, Android or both
- Member accounts, payments, messaging and notifications
- Connections to your website and your back office
- Store fees: Apple's Developer Program is $99 a year, and Google Play charges a one-time $25 registration fee
- Ongoing updates, because phone systems and store rules change every year
Questions to ask any agency
- What exactly is in the scope, and what costs extra?
- Who owns the website, the domain, the ad accounts and the data?
- What do hosting, security and updates cost each month, and what do they include?
- How will you report results, and how often?
- What happens if we part ways: can we take everything with us?
Common questions
How much do you charge?
We scope every project before we quote it. Book a free strategy call, tell us what you are trying to do, and you will get a written quote that says what is included.
Who owns the ad accounts and the website?
You do. We set ad accounts up in your name, and your domains and data stay yours. We earn the work every month instead of holding it hostage.
Why is ad spend separate from the management fee?
Ad spend goes to the ad platform and buys the ads themselves. The management fee pays for the strategy, setup, testing and reporting. Keeping them separate lets you see exactly where your money goes.
Sources
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