Link building cost calculator: in-house vs. agency.
Estimate what it really costs to build links with your own team, including salaries, tools and content, and compare it with outsourcing. Free, no signup.
Don't build links in‑house. Run the numbers.
Hiring, tooling, content and a 3–6 month ramp-up add up fast. See what the same number of links costs with Linkcrest.
- 2–3 months to hire
- 3–6 months to ramp up
- No guarantee if links drop
In-house estimate: $72K/yr loaded salary per outreach specialist (~10 quality links/mo), $700/mo for tools, $150 of content per link. Linkcrest: plan pricing per link.
Monthly cost
- In-house team$14,950/mo
- Linkcrest$4,290/mo
You save with Linkcrest
$127,920/ year
First links in ~14 days, not 90+.
How the calculator works
Every number is an assumption you can check. The in-house cost adds one specialist per ten links a month, plus tooling and content. Move the slider above to match the volume you need.
| Input | Value | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Outreach specialist | $72,000 / year | Loaded cost (salary, benefits, overhead) of one experienced outreach specialist. |
| Output per specialist | ~10 links / month | Quality, editorial placements after ramp-up. Volume links are faster but carry risk. |
| Tooling | $700 / month | Backlink data, prospecting and outreach software for one team. |
| Content | $150 / link | Writing or data work needed to earn each placement. |
| Linkcrest price | $259–$311 / link | Per-link price of our plans, decreasing with volume. |
What drives the cost of link building?
Earning a link from a real publication takes research, a pitch worth reading, and often a piece of content. The cost of a link is mostly the cost of the people doing that work, plus the tools that help them find and track prospects.
That is why prices vary so much. A link from a site that sells placements to anyone can be cheap, but those links rarely help and can hurt. Editorial links from relevant sites with real readers take far more effort, and they are the ones that move rankings.
When building links in-house makes sense
An in-house team can work well if you need a high, steady volume of links, already have strong content and PR resources, and can afford a three to six month ramp-up while your team builds relationships with editors.
For most companies, the fixed cost of salaries and tools only pays off at scale. Below that, outsourcing usually delivers links sooner and for less.
Hidden costs to include
Hiring takes time, and new specialists need months to build an editor network. Tools are paid for whether links land or not. Links can also be removed after publication, and replacing them costs as much as earning them the first time. Make sure any comparison you run accounts for these.
Want to know which links would move your rankings first? Read how to find your competitors' backlinks or how to spot a link farm before you buy anything.