How much does rehab marketing cost? Agency pricing explained

Rehab marketing cost depends on which channels you use, because each one is priced differently. A website is mostly a one-time build. SEO and social media are monthly fees. Paid ads add a monthly ad budget, a management fee, and LegitScript certification, which costs a 1 to 9 facility operator a $1,595 application fee and $3,095 a year per facility (LegitScript). FirstCall's organic social media management is a flat fee from $997 a month.

This guide breaks the costs down so you can build a budget and compare agency quotes line for line.

Rehab marketing cost by channel

Most treatment centers spend on some mix of the channels below. The figures we list are the ones we can source or that are our own. Everything else varies too much by market and vendor to quote honestly, so the table shows how it's usually priced instead.

LegitScript says its certification is required to run addiction treatment ads on platforms including Google, Meta, Microsoft Ads and Nextdoor. Organic posting on your own accounts doesn't need it, which is one reason some centers build organic social first.

The cost nobody puts in the proposal: your team's time

Every channel takes time from your staff. Someone has to review drafts, supply photos, answer the agency's questions, and sit in on meetings. If your clinical director spends three hours a week reviewing content, that's real money, even if it never shows up on an invoice.

When you collect quotes, ask each vendor for a specific number: hours from your team during onboarding, and hours each month after. Then add that to the monthly fee.

Use this grid on every call. A quote that looks cheaper often moves the work onto your team.

Rehab marketing agency pricing models

You'll see four models. Three are normal. One is a serious legal risk.

• Flat monthly fee. A defined set of work for a set price. The easiest to budget and compare.
• Hourly or per-project. Common for website builds and one-off work. Fine for projects, hard to budget for ongoing work.
• Percentage of ad spend. Common for paid ad management. Watch for an incentive to raise your budget.
• Per lead, per call or per admission. Don't. The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) makes it a federal crime to pay or receive remuneration for referring patients to a recovery home or clinical treatment facility, with penalties of up to $200,000 and 10 years in prison per occurrence (18 U.S.C. § 220). We cover this in more detail in EKRA and treatment center marketing.

Have a healthcare attorney review any marketing contract that ties payment to patients.

How much should a treatment center spend on marketing?

There's no reliable public benchmark for addiction treatment marketing budgets, and you should be wary of anyone who quotes one without a source. A better way to build a budget:

• Start with what's already working. Where do your current admissions say they first heard of you? Fund that first.
• Cover the basics everyone sees. A clear website, an accurate Google profile and active social accounts. Families check all three before they call.
• Decide on paid ads separately. If you run them, budget for certification, ad spend and management as one line, and keep your social pages current so families who look you up after the click find a feed that looks open. More in protect your ad spend.
• Count staff time as a cost. It's often the biggest one, and the easiest to miss.
• Commit long enough to judge. Organic channels build over months. Plan for at least a few months before you decide.

What organic social media costs with FirstCall

FirstCall is a done-for-you organic social media agency for addiction treatment, detox and behavioral health centers. We don't run paid ads, so there's no ad spend or certification fee on our side. One flat monthly fee, plus a one-time onboarding fee:

• Month to month. Cancel with 30 days' notice.
• Live within 10 business days of kickoff.
• About 2 hours of your team's time in week one, then about 15 minutes a month.
• We write, check and publish everything. You get a preview of the coming week every Friday, for your information.
• A one-page monthly report: reach, views, followers, profile visits, website clicks, and what we're doing next.

For what's included week to week, see social media management for rehab centers, our pricing and how it works.

Frequently asked questions

How much does rehab marketing cost per month? It depends on your channels. Organic social media with FirstCall starts at $997 a month. Paid ads add ad spend, a management fee and LegitScript certification, which starts at a $1,595 application fee and $3,095 a year per facility for 1 to 9 facilities.

Do treatment centers need LegitScript certification? LegitScript says certification is required to run addiction treatment ads on platforms including Google, Meta, Microsoft Ads and Nextdoor. It isn't needed to post organically on your own accounts.

Can we pay a marketing agency per admission? Paying for patient referrals can violate EKRA, a federal law that covers recovery homes and clinical treatment facilities. A flat fee for marketing work is the safer structure.

Is in-house marketing cheaper than an agency? Sometimes in cash, rarely in total. One in-house hire has to cover strategy, writing, design and video, plus salary, benefits and tools. Compare total cost, including your managers' time.

What should be included in a rehab marketing quote? The monthly fee, setup fees, contract length, deliverables per week, any ad spend, and how many hours your team will spend. If any line is missing, ask for it in writing.

See a sample week

See what your feed could look like first. Get a free sample week, built from your website.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a healthcare attorney about your center.