01 · The snapshot
Bangladesh-e ekta micro / ছোট ব্যবসা (nutun brand, single-founder shop, local service) sadharoṇoto ৳15,000 – ৳40,000 / mo total (agency + ad spend) diye shuru kore – Meta boost + basic content diye. Established Dhaka SME running Meta + light SEO expect kore ৳60,000 – ৳2,00,000 / mo. Growth-stage multi-channel brands (Meta + Google + content + email) ৳2,50,000 – ৳8,00,000 / mo, ar scale / enterprise programs ৳10 lakh+ / mo cross kore creative production o influencer campaign add hole.
Rule of thumb: Agency fee ≈ 20–30% of your monthly ad spend for paid-heavy channels, plus a fixed retainer for SEO, content, and social where the deliverable is people-hours, not media buy. Total marketing budget for growing brands sits around 8–12% of monthly revenue.
02 · Budget calculator
Move the sliders to model a realistic monthly budget for your business. Numbers based on our latest retainer benchmarks across Dhaka agencies.
03 · Retainer pricing by service
Monthly agency retainers in BDT. Ad spend on Meta / Google is billed separately at cost. All numbers exclude 15% VAT and 5% AIT.
| Service | Starter (SME) | Growth | Scale / Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
SEO (technical + content) এসইও · On-page + backlinks + Bangla content | ৳25k – ৳45k | ৳60k – ৳1.2L | ৳1.5L – ৳3L |
Meta Ads management ফেসবুক / ইনস্টাগ্রাম অ্যাডস · Excludes ad spend | ৳20k – ৳35k | ৳45k – ৳90k | ৳1L – ৳2L |
Google Ads management গুগল অ্যাডস · Search + Performance Max | ৳25k – ৳40k | ৳50k – ৳1L | ৳1.2L – ৳2.5L |
Social media management সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া ম্যানেজমেন্ট · 12–20 posts + reels / month | ৳30k – ৳50k | ৳65k – ৳1.2L | ৳1.5L – ৳3L |
Content & short-form video কনটেন্ট ও রিলস · Scripting + shoot + editing | ৳25k – ৳50k | ৳60k – ৳1.5L | ৳2L – ৳4L |
Email & SMS marketing ইমেইল ও এসএমএস · Klaviyo / Mailchimp / Alpha SMS | ৳15k – ৳25k | ৳30k – ৳60k | ৳80k – ৳1.5L |
Influencer campaigns ইনফ্লুয়েন্সার ক্যাম্পেইন · Nano to macro tiers | ৳30k – ৳80k | ৳1L – ৳3L | ৳4L – ৳15L |
Website design & build (one-time) ওয়েবসাইট ডিজাইন · Brochure to Shopify / custom | ৳60k – ৳1.5L | ৳2L – ৳5L | ৳7L – ৳25L |
Website design is a one-time build, not a monthly retainer. Ongoing maintenance runs ৳8,000 – ৳25,000 / month.
04 · Industry ad-spend benchmarks
What Bangladeshi brands actually spend to hit a repeatable ROAS or cost-per-lead. Numbers reflect campaigns running for at least 90 days with clean tracking.
- Monthly spend
- ৳50k – ৳3L
- Target ROAS
- 3× – 6×
- Cost / lead
- ৳80 – ৳250 / order
- Monthly spend
- ৳2L – ৳10L
- Target ROAS
- 2.5× – 5×
- Cost / lead
- ৳120 – ৳400 / order
- Monthly spend
- ৳80k – ৳2.5L
- Target ROAS
- N/A (CPL)
- Cost / lead
- ৳400 – ৳1,800 / lead
- Monthly spend
- ৳40k – ৳1.5L
- Target ROAS
- N/A (CPL)
- Cost / lead
- ৳150 – ৳600 / appointment
- Monthly spend
- ৳1L – ৳4L
- Target ROAS
- N/A (MQL)
- Cost / lead
- ৳600 – ৳2,500 / MQL
- Monthly spend
- ৳50k – ৳2L
- Target ROAS
- 3× – 8×
- Cost / lead
- ৳80 – ৳300 / enrolment
- Monthly spend
- $2k – $20k
- Target ROAS
- 3× – 7×
- Cost / lead
- $3 – $15 / order
05 · Freelancer vs Agency vs In-house
Three ways to buy digital marketing in Dhaka. Each fits a different stage.
| Model | Monthly cost | Best for | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | ৳8k – ৳25k | Single-channel test, < ৳50k ad spend | Bus factor of 1, no reporting stack |
| Agency retainer | ৳25k – ৳3L | Multi-channel, ৳50k – ৳8L ad spend | Wrong-fit agency wastes 3–6 months |
| In-house team | ৳2L – ৳8L (2–4 FTE) | > ৳10L / mo ad spend, brand-heavy | Hiring, retention, tooling cost |
| Hybrid (in-house + agency) | ৳3L – ৳12L | Enterprise, multi-market | Ownership friction, needs clear RACI |
07 · Budget allocation by stage
How to split a fixed marketing budget across channels depending on where your business is today.
- Meta boost (spend)65%
- Page / creative mgmt20%
- Content (posts + 2 reels)12%
- Tools (Canva, WhatsApp)3%
Local shop, single founder, brand-new page. Ekta channel (Meta) ei perfect. WhatsApp = sales channel.
- Meta Ads (spend)60%
- Meta Ads (mgmt)15%
- Content / creative20%
- Tools & tracking5%
One channel done well beats three done poorly. WhatsApp is your CRM.
- Paid media (spend)50%
- Agency retainer20%
- SEO + content15%
- Creative production10%
- Tools & tracking5%
Add Google + email. Instrument server-side tracking before scaling.
- Paid media (spend)45%
- Retainer / in-house20%
- Creative + video15%
- SEO + PR + content12%
- Influencer + partnerships5%
- Tools & analytics3%
Creative volume is now the ROAS lever. Ship 20+ concepts / month.
08 · Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum digital marketing budget in Bangladesh?
Realistically ৳30,000 – ৳50,000 / month combined (agency fee + ad spend) is the floor for one channel (usually Meta Ads) to run consistently for a small Dhaka business. Below that, a strong freelancer or in-house executive is more cost-effective than an agency retainer.
How much does SEO cost in Bangladesh per month?
SEO retainers in Dhaka range from ৳25,000 for a starter package (audit + basic on-page + 4–6 blogs) to ৳1,50,000+ for enterprise programs with technical SEO, digital PR, and 20+ pieces of Bangla + English content per month.
How much should I spend on Facebook (Meta) ads?
Most Bangladeshi D2C brands find a repeatable ROAS between 3× and 6× at ৳50,000 – ৳3,00,000 / month of Meta ad spend. Under ৳20,000 / month the algorithm rarely stabilizes and CPL stays high.
Is Google Ads more expensive than Meta Ads in Bangladesh?
Per click, yes: Google Search CPCs in Bangladesh average ৳8 – ৳45 vs Meta CPMs equivalent to ৳2 – ৳12 per click. But Google intent-driven traffic converts 2–4× better for services (real estate, B2B, healthcare, legal), so the cost per lead is often lower.
How does agency pricing differ from freelancer pricing?
A Dhaka freelancer charges ৳8,000 – ৳25,000 / month for one channel but usually cannot handle strategy, creative, tracking, and reporting together. Agencies charge 2–4× more but bundle a team (strategist + media buyer + creative + analyst) plus tooling (SEMrush, GA4, CAPI, Looker Studio).
Do agency retainers include ad spend?
No. Standard practice in Bangladesh is that retainers cover people-hours only. Ad spend on Meta, Google, TikTok or LinkedIn is billed separately, either topped up by the client directly on the platform or invoiced by the agency at cost plus 15% VAT.
Is 15% VAT applicable on digital marketing services?
Yes. NBR classifies digital marketing under advertising firms, so VAT at 15% applies on the invoice value. AIT is 5% for company clients. Reputable agencies show both on a Musok-6.3 challan; ask for one before you pay.
How long before I see ROI from digital marketing?
Paid channels (Meta, Google Ads): 2–6 weeks to hit target ROAS with clean tracking. SEO: 4–9 months for competitive Bangla keywords, faster for long-tail. Social + content compounds over 6–12 months. Any agency promising month-one SEO results is over-selling.
A BDT number for your brand, not a template
Share your goal and monthly budget. We come back with a channel mix, tracking checklist, and a BDT retainer within 1 business day.