How Much Does an Ad Agency Cost? A 2026 Guide to Meta & Google Ads Management Fees
2026.07.13 Paid Advertising
What does ad management actually include? And what is the difference between ad spend and the agency fee?
This article explains how Meta and Google ads management is usually priced, how to estimate your budget, and what to look for when choosing an agency.
Ad management costs usually have two parts: the media budget you pay directly to platforms such as Meta and Google, and the fee you pay the agency for strategy and day-to-day management.
Common pricing models are a fixed monthly fee, a percentage of ad spend, or a hybrid of a monthly fee plus commission.
When comparing agencies, don't look at price alone — check whether creative guidance, tracking, weekly analysis and ongoing optimisation are included.
A. What does ad management include?
1. Platform media budget
The media spend paid to Meta, Google, LINE or other platforms.
2. Management fee, which covers:
- Ad strategy and account structure
- Audience and keyword planning
- Campaign setup and launch
- Weekly data analysis and written optimisation reports
- Website improvement suggestions
- Creative direction
- Conversion tracking tags
3. Other possible costs
For example creative design, video production, or website and landing-page changes.
B. How much monthly ad budget do you need?
› NT$10,000–30,000 per month
Good for small tests, but creative, audiences and conversion volume are limited. If the budget is split across several platforms, it is usually hard to gather enough data.
› NT$30,000–50,000 per month
Enough for a fairly complete test on one platform — suitable for brands building a stable campaign structure for the first time.
› NT$50,000–100,000 per month
You can test different creative, audiences or conversion paths at the same time, and gradually build retargeting and scaling strategies.
› Over NT$100,000 per month
Beyond optimising one platform, you can plan cross-platform budgets, content cadence and the full conversion funnel.
A bigger budget isn't always better. If your website flow, product positioning or social proof aren't in place yet, increasing ad spend often just burns money faster instead of growing faster.
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C. What to look for in an ad agency
☐ Is the account transparent?
☐ Do they explain the campaign structure?
☐ Do reports include next steps?
☐ Do they look at problems beyond the ads themselves?
☐ Do they set realistic expectations?
☐ Do they have relevant case studies?
D. FAQ
Q. Is ad spend the same as the management fee?
A. No. Ad spend is the media budget paid to platforms such as Meta and Google. The management fee pays the team responsible for strategy, setup, data analysis and ongoing optimisation.
Q. How does Mint Marketing charge?
A. Our management fee is 20% of ad spend — for example, NT$50,000 in ad spend means a NT$10,000 fee, plus tax.
Q. How soon will I see results?
A. Impression and click data come in quickly after launch, but whether you get steady orders or leads depends on your industry, budget, amount of creative, website flow and sales cycle.
Q. Are small brands a good fit for an ad agency?
A. Size matters less than whether you already have a clear product, a defined target audience, basic creative and a conversion channel. If those aren't ready yet, a consultation can help you decide where to start.
Q. Can an agency guarantee ROAS?
A. Usually not in good faith. Results depend not only on strategy but also on product competitiveness, pricing, creative, website experience, timing and market conditions. The professional approach is to set trackable milestones and keep adjusting based on the data.
Not sure whether your current budget is ready for advertising? Mint Marketing first reviews your brand, ad account, creative and conversion flow, then recommends the right platforms and budget split. If advertising isn't the right move yet, we'll tell you honestly what needs to improve first.
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