How much should I pay for monthly WordPress maintenance?

$200 — $800 per month. What “maintenance” should actually include if it’s worth the spend.

What’s not maintenance (but gets sold as it)

• Running plugin updates with no regression test. Worth ~$30/mo if you outsource it; worthless if you have a junior dev.
• Generic “monthly health check” reports that say nothing.
• “Unlimited small changes” with no scope definition. You’ll fight about scope every month.

What you should pay for

Staged updates with automated regression tests, off-site encrypted backups verified monthly, a Lighthouse delta report you can forward to your board, a security scan that names CVEs by package, and a fixed inbox SLA. Two hours of “while you’re in there” changes per month — copy, content, small CSS — capped so the retainer stays focused on stewardship not feature work.

What I charge

$400/mo flat. Six slots, three of which are currently filled. Open the Care Plan terms ↗.