Medical practices typically spend $1,500 to $5,000 per month on marketing management fees, plus separate ad spend that ranges from $2,000 to $10,000 or more depending on specialty and market competition. Newer practices and highly competitive specialties (plastic surgery, med spa) tend toward the higher end of both ranges.
Marketing spend for medical practices varies by specialty, market size, and growth goals. Here is what practices are actually spending, not what surveys suggest they should be spending.
Ad Spend by Specialty (What Goes to Google/Meta)
Single-location practices in competitive markets: Plastic surgery $3,000–$8,000/month. Med spa $1,500–$5,000/month. Dermatology $1,000–$4,000/month. Ophthalmology $1,000–$4,000/month. Cosmetic dentistry $1,000–$3,500/month. OB/GYN $800–$2,500/month. Hormone therapy $1,500–$4,000/month.
Management Fees
Medical marketing agency management fees typically run $1,000–$3,000/month for full-service Google Ads and SEO management. Medical Marketing Firm charges a flat monthly fee, month-to-month, with no long-term contract.
If any of this sounds like your practice, start by checking whether AI search can see your site.
Total Marketing Investment
A mid-size cosmetic practice in a competitive market investing in growth is typically spending $5,000–$12,000/month total between ad spend and management. This represents 4–8% of revenue for a practice generating $75,000–$150,000/month, consistent with general marketing investment benchmarks for service businesses.
The ROI Framework
The question is not whether $5,000/month is too much or too little, it is whether the marketing is producing new patients at a cost that is profitable given patient lifetime value. A practice where every new patient is worth $3,000 in first-year revenue needs to acquire 2 new patients per month from a $5,000 marketing investment to break even. Most well-run programs exceed this threshold significantly.
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