How much a marketing software bill rises when a business grows from one person to three, and from 1,000 to 5,000 email contacts. On 1 October 2026 it was £3,011.16 a year for the brand-name stack.
The number: The real cost of a UK marketing stack.
What it means in practice
The mistake is pricing software for the business you are today. Per-user and per-seat tools grow with headcount, email tools grow with the list, and the first hire can cost more in logins than you expect.
The move is to ask, before you add a login, which tool charges for it. Price the stack at three people before you choose it, not after.
Whito stage: Build. Check it before your first hire or your first big list push.
The numbers to hold onto
- For the cheaper stack doing the same five jobs, the jump was £551.85. The real cost of a UK marketing stack.
- Per-user pricing on Hootsuite was 71% of the brand-name jump on its own. The real cost of a UK marketing stack.
- For one person, the brand-name stack cost £2,667 a year before VAT and the cheaper stack £1,319.73. The real cost of a UK marketing stack.
Where to go next
Related: Software stack, Per-seat pricing, The days-a-month test