London compared with Manchester on employer branding budgets and media costs

What to take away

Key findings

What employer branding budgets buy in London versus Manchester

A London employer branding budget and a Manchester one may buy different things, because the supplier markets differ in size. The size of any price gap between the two is not published, so test it in supplier quotes for the same brief, and check the hidden costs that quotes often leave out. Compare quotes line by line; regional rate cards are rarely published.

Official regional anchors for a London and North West England budget split

Official anchors only. The table does not show a London or North West pay level or premium, because the ONS bulletin text does not print regional pay levels. London's growth figure is the highest in the UK, and ONS says part of it reflects more professional jobs in London. Sources: ONS regional economic activity by gross domestic product (population and GDP per head, Table 1) and the ONS Employee earnings in the UK: 2026 bulletin.

In short, London had 9.1 million people and GDP per head of £72,201 in 2024, North West England had 7.7 million and £36,926, and UK median full-time weekly pay was £811.20 in April 2026.

Greater London is likely to have the larger supplier market and North West England a smaller one, which is worth checking when you build a shortlist.

Any regional gap is likely to show up in three lines: agency day rates, media costs and salary benchmarking. If you are setting a first budget, our guide on how to budget for employer branding costs breaks the lines down.

The split between fees and media can shift between regions. If day rates take a larger share of the same total, fewer pounds reach paid reach and frequency, so check how each quote splits fees from media.

What the money actually buys is similar in both cities: an employee value proposition, careers site content, campaign creative, media planning and measurement. What differs, if anything, is how far each pound stretches, and only supplier quotes can show that.

A worked example makes this concrete. Suppose you have a £120,000 annual budget for a two-region programme. Allocate £70,000 to Greater London and £50,000 to North West England. This is an illustrative split, not market rates, and the lines below are for you to fill from supplier quotes.

The total is £120,000. No single public index covers all of these lines; they depend on supplier rate cards, framework agreements, sector and package. Always test them against live supplier pricing and your own role mix before you commit.

Agency day rates and retainer levels in both markets

Agency day rates are a major swing factor in an employer branding budget comparison, and regional rate cards are rarely published. Suppliers set rates from their overheads, the competition for senior strategists and client expectations, and those factors can differ between a London and a Manchester team.

Ask each shortlisted supplier for day rates by grade and for the location of the delivery team, because few agencies publish rate cards. Where the team sits affects the rate, so confirm it in writing. Put the same brief to every supplier so the quotes compare line by line, and use our guide on how to assess employer branding suppliers for the questions to ask.

Agency selection matters as much as rate. Check Companies House for agency filings and ask for named client references. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation publishes codes of practice that reputable agencies follow.

If you are comparing quotes across regions, our article on what a UK employer branding budget should include sets out the cost lines to request from each supplier.

Job board and media costs compared for London and North West England

Job boards may quote rates nationally, and the cost per application can still differ by region because application volumes and competition may differ. London roles may attract more applicants and more competing advertisers. Test that against your own campaign data rather than assuming it.

LinkedIn sets cost through an auction. Its help page on manual bidding says that if the bid amount is not high enough, the ad set is less competitive in the auction, and that the bid should reflect what a result is worth to your business. Set a cost-per-application ceiling for each region instead of copying a London or Manchester rate. See LinkedIn's manual bidding help page.

Media costs also include content production. Get video and photography and paid social creative quoted separately, and add production as its own line.

ONS earnings data and the salary competition behind the cost gap

Salary competition is one more line to test, and ONS earnings data is the place to benchmark it. Pay levels shape offer levels, counter-offers and churn, and they also feed into what suppliers charge.

ONS reports median weekly pay for UK full-time employees at £811.20 in April 2026, up from £766.60 a year earlier, and median gross annual pay of £40,911 for full-time employees who had been in their job for at least a year (both provisional; ONS Employee earnings in the UK: 2026 bulletin). Area pay is published by place of work in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, so benchmark the roles you hire in each region there, not against a premium rule. Pay growth also differs by region: the bulletin reports London with the highest rise in median full-time weekly earnings between April 2025 and April 2026, at 8.2%, and the North West among the two smallest, at 4.1%. ONS says part of the London increase reflects more professional jobs in London in 2026 than in 2025, so part of it is a change in job mix, not only pay rises.

The ONS average weekly earnings time series gives a longer view of how pay has moved, which helps when you set multi-year salary assumptions.

Staff costs also feed into agency pricing, and the pay of the team that delivers your work may differ by location, so ask where it sits. The same logic applies to your own in-house team if you hire employer brand specialists in different regions.

Talent competition differs by region in ways that change your media plan. London has more employers chasing the same candidates, which may lower response rates and raise the cost per application. Treat that as a hypothesis and test it with your own cost per application by region. North West England may have fewer competing advertisers for many roles.

The ONS labour market overview tracks vacancies and employment across the UK, and it is the best starting point for sizing competition in each region. Vacancy levels drive how hard you have to work to be seen.

Counter-offer pressure and churn may also differ by region. Where they are higher, retention and internal mobility content may deserve a larger share of the budget, so check your own offer-acceptance and leaver data rather than assuming it.

In a smaller regional market, a single large employer can change local dynamics.

ONS regional accounts put the population of Greater London at 9.1 million and North West England at 7.7 million in 2024 (mid-2024 basis). A larger London base can support more reach per pound, while the same density can attract more rival advertisers.

The ONS population estimates show how many people live in each area, which helps you judge whether a regional campaign can reach enough candidates.

Named UK suppliers and platforms used in each market

Supplier choice differs by region. Greater London is likely to have a deeper pool of specialist employer branding agencies and media buyers than North West England, so count the suppliers that fit your brief in each region when you shortlist.

National platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, Totaljobs, Reed and CV-Library operate in both markets. In Manchester and the wider North West, Prolific North adds regional business news and networking.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development both publish guidance and supplier directories that are useful when you shortlist. Companies House lets you check agency filings and ownership before you sign.

Regulatory context matters too. The ASA and the ICO apply their rules across the UK, so the rules do not change by city. The Advertising Standards Authority enforces the CAP Code and employment ad rules. The Information Commissioner's Office enforces UK GDPR and publishes AI guidance. The Equality and Human Rights Commission publishes Equality Act 2010 guidance, and gender pay gap reporting runs through GOV.UK.

Building one budget that works across both regions

One budget can cover both regions if you separate the lines that genuinely differ. Day rates, media auctions and salary benchmarks may vary; strategy, creative and measurement do not.

Use a single employer brand platform and message, then vary the media weight and production spend by region. That keeps consistency while reflecting what your local quotes show.

If you need to plan further ahead, our 2027 employer branding outlook covers how media and salary costs may move. Review the split each quarter against actual cost per application and cost per hire.

Common questions

Methodology

Figures come from the ONS regional GDP bulletin (released 23 September 2026; 2024 data provisional; population on the mid-2024 basis) and the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional bulletin, Employee earnings in the UK: 2026 (released 22 October 2026). LinkedIn guidance comes from its help page on manual bidding. ONS figures checked against the ONS bulletins on 30 October 2026. No London or North West pay medians were printed in the bulletin text we could read, so the article states no regional pay level or premium; the regional growth rates are as printed by ONS. Day-rate, retainer, job board and media price ranges and premium percentages from earlier versions were removed because no official source was found for them. The £120,000 split is illustrative, not a market rate. Statements about regulators and supplier practice are general, not legal advice. Next check: when ONS publishes the next Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings release (usually October) and the next regional GDP release.

Cite this

Workplace Identity (2026). London compared with Manchester on employer branding budgets and media costs. https://workplaceidentity.co.uk/employer-branding-budgets-london-vs-manchester