How much does childcare marketing cost in Australia? The real 2026 numbers

Why is it so hard to find childcare marketing prices?

Because most agencies do not publish them. Industry reviews have found that the large majority of Australian agencies keep pricing behind a discovery call, which lets them quote what the room will bear. Our view is different: a director comparing options deserves the numbers up front, which is why every price in this article, including our own at the bottom, is public.

What each price band actually buys

$500 to $800 a month buys posting: a few graphics or reshared photos each week, captions, a schedule. It keeps the account alive and does little else, because generic posts do not move enrolment enquiries or job applications.

$1,000 to $1,500 a month adds strategy: content planned against goals, some reporting, a person who answers emails. Still mostly static content, because video production is where agency costs jump.

$2,500 to $5,000 a month is the video band: reels produced, edited and captioned, the format that actually reaches families and educators in 2026. The price reflects crews, editors and production time, and it is where most services get priced out.

Audits range from free to around $500. Treat free audits with clear eyes: they are usually a sales call wearing a clipboard. A paid audit should hand you a deliverable you keep either way.

Why does video cost so much, and does it have to?

The traditional model sends a videographer to your service, which means travel, filming days and edit suites on every invoice. There is another way: your own educators film short raw clips on a service supplied device, following scripts and shot lists built for them, and everything else, the strategy, editing, captions and publishing, happens remotely. The output is reels grade; the cost base is a fraction. That model is exactly why our Content System starts at $1,500 a month instead of $2,500 plus, and it works anywhere in Australia because nobody has to drive to you.

The empty place maths every director should do

Marketing spend only makes sense against what a vacancy costs, and in this sector the industry rule of thumb is that every unfilled place drains roughly $2,500 to $3,000 a month in lost revenue. Run that against the bands above: a $1,500 monthly content system that fills one additional place has already paid for itself twice over, before counting the recruitment side, where a single agency placement fee for an educator can exceed a quarter of marketing.

What about doing it in house?

Completely valid, and plenty of services do, but cost it honestly. If your director or educational leader spends five hours a week on content, that is a meaningful slice of a senior salary buying work done in the gaps between actual leadership, and since the 2026 image rules arrived, doing it casually on personal phones is no longer an option anyway. In house works when someone genuinely owns it, with a service device, a permission system and protected time. If that sentence made your service flinch, that is your answer.

Five questions to ask any childcare marketing agency

• How does your process comply with the 2026 image and device rules? If the answer is a blank look, the meeting is over.
• Who films the content, on whose device, and who owns it when we part ways?
• What exactly ships each month, in numbers: how many reels, how many posts, what reporting?
• What is the contract term and the notice period, in writing?
• Can you show results in early childhood specifically, not generic small business?

Our prices, in the open

Since we insist on transparency from others: the Centre Marketing Scorecard is $299, scored across your five key surfaces with a 90 day plan, and credited in full if you partner within 30 days. The Compliance Safe Content Setup is $950, free inside any partnership. The Content System runs from $1,500 a month Australia wide, Full Production from $2,900 a month with a monthly on site filming day, and enrolment ads management from $600 a month plus spend. Every number is on the centre services page, no discovery call required to see them.