Rates, 2026
What should an email marketing specialist charge in a major city?
About $650 a day for a email marketing specialist who is working and booked in a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin. $500 in the first years, $775 when senior. An email program setup runs about $3,200. Also called: klaviyo, mailchimp, lifecycle.
Other markets: New York or LA · remote · a smaller market
First years
$500
a day · $65 an hour
Working, booked
$650
a day · $80 an hour
Senior, sought after
$775
a day · $95 an hour
The rate card, working level
- Day rate$650 per day
- Hourlyfor anything that does not fit a day$80 per hour
- An email program setup$3,200 per project
- Monthly retainer$2,775 per month
Sold a monthly retainer, a project fee. The month is the unit; one-off work is priced as a project.
What to charge for each thing
Ranges for a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin: the low end is the first years, the high end is senior. Working and booked sits in the middle.
- Flow build (welcome, abandoned cart)$675 to $2,125 per flow
- Campaign email, written and built$125 to $425 each
- Platform migration$1,275 to $4,250 each
- List and deliverability audit$425 to $1,275 each
How the number is made
Email marketing specialists at this level in this market day at about $650 ($500 to $1,000 in New York and LA). Put in the year you actually want on the perfect price page and the number moves with it.
An email program setup runs $1,500 to $6,000 and takes about 25 hours of your time; at your hourly that is $2,000. The number is the higher of the two, because the client is buying the outcome, not the hours.
A retainer is the month, not the hours: a set scope, paid up front on the 1st. It is priced about 20% under the same work bought one at a time, in exchange for the certainty; three months minimum, or it is not a retainer.
Questions
- What is a fair day rate for a email marketing specialist in a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin?
- About $650 a day for someone working and booked, $500 in the first years, $775 when senior and sought after. Half days usually run 60% of the day.
- How much is an email program setup?
- $3,200 at a working level in this market. The client is buying the outcome, so the price is the higher of what the market pays for it and what your hours in it are worth.
- What does a monthly retainer look like for a email marketing specialist?
- Around $2,775 a month. About 20% under the same work bought one piece at a time, in exchange for certainty; three months minimum.
- Are these rates a rule?
- No. They are US 2026 ranges for the role, placed by level and moved for the market. What a client actually paid you beats all of it. The tool has a box for that, and it wins.
Your number, in five seconds.
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