How much does a community manager cost in Spain (2026)

If you run a business and you're sick of watching your social media sit empty for weeks on end, sooner or later you ask yourself the million-euro question: how much does a community manager cost and whether hiring one is really worth it for you. The short answer is "it depends", and the long one is the part you actually care about, because the gap between one option and another can be more than €1,000 a month.

Here are the real numbers from the Spanish market in 2026, no fluff, what each option genuinely includes, and a third path you probably haven't considered.

How much does a community manager cost: the three ways to delegate your social media

Option	Cost in Spain (2026)	Who it makes sense for
Freelance	150 – 1.500 €/mes · 15 – 80 €/hora	Businesses that want direct contact and flexibility
Agency	150 – 1.500 €/mes según plan	Those who want to delegate everything and have a team behind them
In-house employee	21.000 – 32.000 €/año brutos	Companies with enough volume to justify a fixed salary

The range is huge on purpose: a community manager isn't a standard product. What you pay shifts enormously depending on how many networks they manage, whether they only write or also design and shoot video, their experience, and your industry (regulated ones, like healthcare or legal, charge more because they demand extra care).

Freelance: the most common option for an SME

A freelance community manager in Spain charges, on average, between 15 and 80 € an hour, or between 150 and 1.500 € a month depending on the scope. The lower tier (150-300 €/mes) is usually basic upkeep: a handful of posts a month, no major production. The upper tier (700-1.500 €/mes) already covers strategy, design, video and active community management.

Agency: you delegate everything, you pay for the structure

An agency moves in similar ranges at the top, but its floor is higher because there's a team behind it. You'll commonly see tiered plans: basic presence (~150 €/mes), growth (~300 €/mes) and serious plans from 900 €/mes. Heads up: paid advertising almost always comes separately (add 200-500 €/mes for campaign management).

Employee: only if you have the volume

Hiring someone in-house in Spain costs between 21.000 and 32.000 € gross a year (more once they reach a certain level of experience). It only pays off if the workload justifies a full-time salary — for most SMEs it's overkill.

Why nobody gives you a fixed price

Because "running the social media" means very different things to different people. Before you compare quotes, be clear about what's in and what's out:

• How many networks? Just Instagram is not the same as Instagram + LinkedIn + Facebook + TikTok.
• Who creates the content? Writing a caption is cheap. Designing carousels and shooting reels is not.
• Does it include strategy or just execution? A thought-out calendar is worth more than posting for the sake of posting.
• Do they reply to messages and comments? Real community management (actually talking to your audience) eats up time and is rarely part of the cheap plans.
• Paid advertising? Almost always billed separately.

The usual trap: comparing a 150 € plan with a 600 € one as if they were the same. They're not.

The third path: automating production with AI

Here's what almost nobody tells you when you're hunting for prices. A good chunk of what you pay a community manager isn't strategy, it's production: sitting down to write the post, design the image, prepare the reel and schedule it. It's constant, repetitive work that's expensive in hours.

That's exactly what an AI community manager like Cerebelus automates. Instead of paying 150-1.500 €/mes for someone to produce and publish your content, you define your brand once and a set of AI agents generate and publish for you on a steady cadence. The entry plan starts at 14,99 €/mes, and the higher plans produce volumes that would be unworkable by hand (hundreds of posts, reels and articles a month).

Let's be honest about the limits: an AI does not replace sharp brand strategy, crisis management, or genuine human conversation with your community. If your business depends on that, a good professional is still worth every euro. But if your real problem is "I can't post consistently and it's costing me a fortune", automating production solves 80% of the pain at a fraction of the cost — and you can always bring in a human for the strategic part.

So, what's right for you?

• You've just started and the budget is tight → automate production with AI and save the freelance money for when you have traction.
• You want to delegate 100% and you have 600 €+/mes → an agency or a senior freelance.
• Your industry is very specific or regulated → look for a professional with experience in your niche, or an AI community manager that knows the rules of your sector.
• You have the volume for a full salary → consider hiring in-house.

The question isn't "how much does a community manager cost?". It's "which part of this do I need a person to do, and which part can a machine do for me while I sleep?".

Frequently asked questions

How much does a community manager cost per month in Spain? Between 150 and 1.500 € a month, whether freelance or agency, depending on how many networks they manage, whether they create visual content and whether strategy is included. An in-house employee costs 21.000-32.000 € gross a year.

Is a freelance community manager or an agency better? A freelance gives you direct contact and tends to be cheaper; an agency brings a team and more capacity, with a higher price floor. For most SMEs, a freelance or automating production covers the essentials.

What's included in a community manager's price? It depends on the plan. The basics are planning and publishing. The full package adds design, video, strategy, replying to messages and, separately, paid advertising management.

Can you run your social media without hiring anyone? Yes. There are now AI tools that generate and publish content for you from around 15 €/mes. They don't replace human strategy, but they solve constant production, which is the most expensive part in hours.