Organic vs paid: a worked 12-month cost comparison

Key takeaways

In our worked 12-month example for a UK service business, organic social costs about £9,600 in time and support and paid social about £10,800 in spend and management. Paid brings enquiries from month one; organic overtakes it from month seven. Combined, enquiries are highest and cost per enquiry is lowest by month twelve. The figures are illustrative.

• Organic: about £800 a month, mostly time and content support.
• Paid: £500 ad spend plus £400 management a month.
• Paid leads early; organic overtakes from month 7.
• Combined gives the lowest cost per enquiry by month 12.

What are the example's assumptions?

The example is a fictional UK home services business with an average job worth £1,200 and gross margin of 40%. Time is valued using typical UK earnings from ONS ASHE data. All figures are illustrative, built to show the shape of the comparison, not a forecast for any business.

• Organic: 5 hours a week of staff time plus monthly content support.
• Paid: £500 a month ad spend, £400 a month management.
• One in four enquiries becomes a customer.
• No seasonality, to keep it simple.

• Organic social media vs paid advertising: which to choose?
• Organic vs paid social: what each one really costs

How do organic results build over the year?

In the example, organic produces two or three enquiries a month in the first quarter, rising to about ten a month by month twelve, as the audience grows and content builds up. Its cost stays flat at about £800 a month, so cost per enquiry falls steadily.

• The compounding effect of consistent social media

How do paid results look over the year?

Paid produces about six enquiries in month one, rising to around nine once the campaign settles after the learning phase. Cost stays at £900 a month. Cost per enquiry improves early and then levels off, and enquiries stop if spend stops.

• Paid vs organic social: how quickly does each work?

What happens when both run together?

Run together, paid uses the best organic posts as ads and retargets organic engagers. In the example this lifts paid results by about a fifth from month four and adds followers who boost organic. Total enquiries by month twelve exceed either alone, at the lowest cost per enquiry.

• How organic and paid social work together

What should you take from the example?

The lesson is the shape, not the numbers: paid buys early results, organic builds later ones, and together they are stronger. Rebuild the model with your own costs, job values and conversion rates before deciding anything.

• Payback time: when organic and paid social earn it back
• An organic vs paid decision worksheet for small firms

How does the example compare with real accounts?

The shape matches what we see in UK service businesses: paid gives quick early enquiries, organic takes several months to build and then keeps rising, and the two together outperform either alone. Real accounts have seasonal swings and slower or faster starts, so treat the example as a template for your own numbers.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Worked example checklist

• Set your average job value and margin.
• Estimate your conversion rate from enquiry to customer.
• Value your organic time realistically.
• Set a paid budget you can hold for 12 months.
• Model organic as slow to start, then rising.
• Compare cumulative cost per enquiry at month 12.

• Payback time: when organic and paid social earn it back
• Brand awareness: organic social or paid ads?

Next step

Copy the example's structure into a spreadsheet with your own costs, job value and conversion rate. Use it to decide a 12-month split before committing any ad budget.