Google Ads Management Pricing in Australia: 2026 Agency Fees Compared
Short answer
Australian agencies that publish Google Ads management prices charge from about A$400 to A$6,000 a month plus GST, with setup fees of A$500 to A$3,500. Ad spend is paid to Google on top. Most agencies don't publish prices. Before signing, check who owns the ad account, the minimum term, and whether phone calls are tracked by keyword.
Google Ads management in Australia usually costs somewhere between A$400 and A$6,000 a month in agency fees, before you spend a cent on clicks. That range comes from the agencies that actually publish their prices. Most don’t.
We checked agency pricing pages in October 2026 to put real numbers in one place. Every figure below links to the page it came from.
How much does Google Ads management cost in Australia in 2026?
Published management fees in Australia start at around A$400 to A$600 a month plus GST for a small local account. Mid-tier packages sit between A$800 and A$2,500 a month. Larger or multi-channel accounts run from A$4,000 to A$6,000 a month and up.
Those are fees only. Your ad spend is paid to Google on top.
And there’s often a one-off setup fee. The published ones we found ranged from A$500 to A$3,500.
So a small trade business running A$2,000 a month in ads should budget roughly A$2,500 to A$3,000 a month all in, plus any setup. A law firm spending A$8,000 a month on clicks is looking at a very different total. If you’re working out the media side first, our guide to what Google Ads costs in Perth covers click prices and budgets.
How do agencies price Google Ads management?
Agencies use four main models: a flat monthly fee, a percentage of ad spend, a hybrid of the two, or a paid audit before any monthly work. Most also add a setup fee and some form of contract term.
Flat monthly fee
You pay a fixed amount each month, usually tied to a package tier. Tiers are set by campaign count, ad count or account complexity.
The Online Director in Adelaide is a clear example. Its pricing page says fees reflect “how complicated your advertising is (not how much you spend with Google).”
Flat fees are easy to budget. But they don’t move when your spend grows, so the agency’s effort and your account size can drift apart.
Percentage of ad spend
The agency charges a share of what you spend with Google. None of the Australian agencies we checked published a pure percentage rate.
The upside is that the fee scales with the account. The downside is obvious. An agency paid on spend earns more when you spend more, whether or not the extra spend works.
Hybrid
A base fee plus a smaller percentage of spend. The base covers the fixed work of running an account. The percentage covers the extra keywords, ads and search terms that come with a bigger budget.
Digital Next in South Melbourne does something close to this. Its three packages are each tied to a set monthly ad spend, from A$3,500 to A$9,000, with the fee rising alongside.
Paid audit first
Some agencies sell a fixed-price diagnostic before quoting management. netStripes in Sydney charges A$5,500 plus GST for a 10-business-day diagnostic and credits it to your first month if you continue.
What do Australian agencies actually publish?
Most Australian agencies don’t put their management fees on their own website. Many agency blog posts we checked quote market ranges, like A$500 to A$5,000 a month, without saying what that agency charges.
These are the ones that publish a figure. All prices are in Australian dollars unless stated, and all were checked October 2026.
| Agency | Model | Published price | Contract terms | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Cheap Digital (Perth) | Flat monthly | From $400 a month ex GST | Not stated on the page | Pricing page |
| Websites That Sell (Brisbane) | Flat monthly | From $495 + GST a month. Manages budgets of $2,000 to $50,000 a month | Not stated on the page | Google Ads page |
| The Online Director (Adelaide) | Flat tiers by complexity | $605, $815 or $1,025 + GST a month. Setup $840 to $1,260 | “No lock in contracts” | Pricing page |
| Digital Next (South Melbourne) | Flat tiers tied to ad spend | $880, $1,450 or $2,150 + GST a month for $3,500, $6,500 or $9,000 spend. $500 setup on the entry tier | No contract, 30 days written notice | PPC packages |
| Aston Digital (Melbourne) | Setup plus monthly range | Setup $1,200 to $3,500 + GST. Management $1,200 to $4,500 + GST a month | Month to month with 30 days notice after the first 60 days | Google Ads page |
| SOUP Agency (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne) | Flat tiers | $2,500, $4,000 or $6,000+ a month ex GST | No minimum term. Client owns the account | PPC packages |
| netStripes (Sydney) | Paid diagnostic, then custom monthly | $5,500 + GST diagnostic, credited to month one. Monthly fee not published | 30-day notice, “No long lock-ins” | Google Ads page |
| SimplyGJ (Singapore) | Hybrid | US$300 setup. Then US$300 a month plus 15% of ad spend. Minimum spend $2,000 a month. No GST charged | 3-month minimum | Google Ads service |
A few things stand out. Entry prices cluster between A$400 and A$900 a month. Setup fees are common but not universal. And no agency in the table publishes a minimum term longer than three months.
What should a Google Ads management fee include?
At minimum, the fee should cover campaign setup, conversion tracking, keyword and negative keyword work, ad copy, ongoing bid and budget changes, and a monthly report. The agencies in the table list most of these.
The differences show up in the details.
- Conversion tracking. Digital Next, SOUP and Aston Digital all list it. Without it, nobody can tell which keywords produce enquiries.
- Call tracking. Aston Digital lists it as optional. For trades and law firms, phone calls are often most of the leads, so ask whether calls are tracked by keyword.
- Reporting cadence. Monthly is standard. SOUP’s higher tiers move to bi-weekly and weekly reports.
- Strategy time. The Online Director includes up to monthly strategy sessions, virtual on the entry plan and in person on the higher two.
- Extra channels. Some tiers add Microsoft Ads, Shopping or remarketing. Useful for retail. Less useful for a plumber.
Ask for the inclusions in writing. A cheaper package that skips conversion tracking isn’t cheaper. You just can’t see what it’s costing you.
How much should you spend on ads compared with the fee?
The fee should be a minority of your total budget. If management costs more than your clicks, most of your money is paying someone to watch a small account.
Run the numbers on a flat fee. An A$605 monthly fee on A$2,000 of ad spend is about 30% of the media budget. The same fee on A$10,000 of spend is about 6%.
That’s why several agencies set a floor. Websites That Sell starts at A$2,000 a month in managed budgets. Digital Next’s entry tier assumes A$3,500.
For most local service businesses, A$2,000 a month in ad spend is a sensible starting point. Below that, you often don’t get enough clicks in a month to learn which keywords work. That’s our view, not a Google rule.
What are the red flags in a Google Ads management contract?
The three to check before signing are who owns the ad account, how long you’re locked in, and whether calls are tracked. Each one is easy to ask about and expensive to discover later.
You don’t own the Google Ads account
The account should be in your business’s name, with you holding admin access. Google’s own help page on access levels in Google Ads explains that admin users control who else has access, and recommends more than one admin so you don’t lose access to your tags.
If the agency builds the account inside its own setup and won’t hand over admin, your keyword data, conversion history and ad tests stay with them when you leave. SOUP’s page states that the client owns the account. That’s the standard to ask for.
Long lock-in contracts
Always get the minimum term in writing before you sign. None of the agencies in our table publish a long one. The terms we found ran from no contract at all to a 3-month minimum.
A short minimum term is reasonable. The first month is mostly setup and data gathering. But anything past three to six months should come with a clear exit clause.
No call tracking
If you’re a tradie or a lawyer, the phone is the lead. An agency that reports clicks and form fills but not calls is missing most of your results.
Ask a simple question. “Can you tell me which keyword produced each call last month?” If the answer is no, the reports will never show cost per enquiry. Our pages on marketing for tradies and law firm marketing in Australia go further into how each trade tracks leads.
What does SimplyGJ charge for Google Ads management?
SimplyGJ charges a one-off US$300 setup fee, then US$300 a month plus 15% of your ad spend. The minimum ad spend is A$2,000 a month, and the minimum term is three months.
We’re a Singapore company, so we don’t charge GST. If your business is registered for GST, the ATO’s guidance on imported services says GST generally won’t apply to services you import for use in your business. Check your own position with your accountant.
At the A$2,000 minimum, you’d pay US$300 plus A$300 in management on top of the spend. At A$5,000, the percentage part becomes A$750.
We’re based in Singapore, which is in the same time zone as Perth all year. If you’re looking for Google Ads in Perth, there’s no time difference to work around. And we report results as cost per call or enquiry, not clicks.
If you want to compare how agencies price this in another market, our breakdown of Google Ads management fees in Singapore uses the same approach.
How do you compare Google Ads management quotes?
Convert every quote into one number: total monthly cost at your actual ad spend, including fee, GST and setup spread over the first year. Then compare what each one includes.
- Write down your planned monthly ad spend.
- Work out each agency’s fee at that spend, including any percentage.
- Add GST if it’s charged and you can’t claim it back.
- Divide the setup fee by 12 and add it.
- Check account ownership, minimum term and call tracking.
The cheapest quote on paper often isn’t the cheapest per enquiry. And cost per enquiry is the only number your business actually banks.