Should You Show Prices on Your Service Page? What the ACM Requires

At a glance

In most cases, adding a price indication to your service page is a smart move, provided you are transparent whenever you state an amount. According to guidance from Thuiswinkel.org, the ACM requires businesses to show the total price, including any additional charges, from the first moment a price is displayed. You are not required to publish a price, but if you do, it has to be accurate and complete. For service providers offering tailored work, a price range or starting price is often the best balance between transparency and realism.

Key takeaways

• The ACM requires businesses to show the total price, including additional costs, from the first moment they mention a price, according to Thuiswinkel.org.
• If you do not mention extra charges, consumers do not have to pay them under the same guidance. Leaving costs out works against you, not in your favour.
• Just 2.45% of consumers click an information icon for extra pricing details, according to ACM research. Hidden pricing information simply goes unread.
• Prices must be clear before the purchase takes place, not only at checkout, according to the ACM guidance on online consumer protection.
• Thuiswinkel Waarborg members must clearly communicate the price in every offer, including taxes for B2C customers, according to Thuiswinkel.org's code of conduct.

Why do so many businesses hesitate to show prices on service pages?

Some service providers put a clear price beneath every service. Others prefer to say, “contact us for a quote” and hope the sales conversation will do the rest. Both approaches can work, and both can be wrong. It depends entirely on what you are selling.

The real issue is not whether prospects want to see prices. They almost always do. It is the fear that a number will put potential customers off before you have had the chance to explain the value. That concern is valid for complex, highly customised services. But for services with a predictable pricing model, such as a basic package, subscription or fixed block of hours, withholding the price is often counterproductive. It can leave you with lower-quality leads instead.

The information icon problem

Many businesses think they have solved the issue by hiding pricing behind an extra click, perhaps in an information icon or a “calculate your price” tool that only gives an estimate after three steps. ACM research shows that only 2.45% of consumers actually click such an icon. On a service page, that means almost nobody will see your pricing if it sits one click away. In practical terms, you do not have a visible price indication, even if it technically exists somewhere on the site.

What prospects want to know before they get in touch

Most people visiting a service page are trying to answer two questions quickly: does this fit my budget, and is this business a credible option? Even a rough price indication answers both at a glance. Without it, visitors cannot qualify themselves, so that filtering happens later in a time-consuming sales call.

Starting price, price range or no price at all: what suits your service?

A starting price is the lowest entry price for the most basic version of your service. It is a floor, not an average. That distinction matters. A starting price of 750 euros for service page optimisation can suggest that most customers will pay around that amount, when it may actually be the absolute minimum. Only use a starting price when a meaningful share of your customers genuinely fall close to it.

In practice, there are three main pricing models for service pages:

• Fixed price: works well for standardised services, such as logo design, a one-off SEO audit or a fixed maintenance plan.
• Price range: suits services that vary in scope, for example, “between 1,500 and 4,500 euros, depending on the number of pages”.
• No price, but clear parameters: appropriate for highly customised work, such as a complete marketing programme, as long as you explain what drives the cost, including hours, scope and complexity.

The third option is often misused as an excuse to say nothing about cost at all. That is a missed opportunity. Even without stating an amount, you can explain the factors that determine the price and give visitors useful context.

When a price range works better than a fixed fee

A price range is often the most honest choice when each project differs in scope but the main cost drivers are known. For example, an agency offering service page optimisation may charge between 800 and 2,200 euros per page, depending on the level of research required and the number of revision rounds. That range immediately filters out visitors who had a 200 euro budget in mind, without taking up any of your team's time.

When you are better off not naming a figure

For highly tailored, long-term projects, such as an annual content marketing agreement with a variable number of articles, languages and channels, a fixed price or even a price range can become misleading. In that situation, clearly state the cost drivers instead: number of languages, pages per month and whether distribution is included. You give prospects structure without publishing a figure that may later prove inaccurate.

What does the law actually say about showing prices on your website?

This is where many service providers get it wrong. They see pricing transparency as a marketing decision, when it can also be a legal requirement once they display a price.

According to the ACM guidance on online consumer protection, prices must clearly include all costs throughout the ordering process, including before the actual purchase rather than only on the final screen. For service providers, that means if you list a starting price on your service page but only reveal VAT, travel expenses or a mandatory discovery session during the quoting process, you may not meet that guidance.

The Thuiswinkel.org guidance is even more explicit: if you do not mention additional charges, the consumer does not have to pay them. This works against businesses that think omitting costs gives them flexibility. In reality, failing to disclose costs can remove your right to charge them later.

For Thuiswinkel Waarborg members, the requirements go further. The code of conduct requires every offer to provide clear pricing information, including taxes for B2C members, as well as delivery costs. While these rules formally focus on online shops and product sales, the principle is just as relevant for service providers: visitors should not face unexpected charges.

What to do:

• State clearly whether VAT is included with every price indication.
• Mention recurring additional costs, such as travel expenses, licences or setup fees, alongside the price rather than in the small print.
• Use terms such as “from” or “between” consistently, so visitors understand they are seeing an estimate rather than a final fixed price.
• Review your service pages for up-to-date pricing at least twice a year, particularly when costs are rising.
• Make sure pricing is visible without an extra click. ACM research shows that almost nobody clicks an information icon.

Showing a price indication versus leaving it out

The practical difference becomes clearest when you compare the two options side by side.

Neither column is objectively better. The right choice depends on how predictable your service is and how price-sensitive your audience may be. For standardised services, the benefits of transparency almost always outweigh the drawbacks.

How do you decide whether your service needs a price on the page?

Three questions can help you make this decision systematically rather than relying on instinct.

First, is the scope of your service predictable? A service with a fixed set of deliverables, such as “10 optimised service pages per month”, is well suited to a fixed price or a tight price range. A service built differently for every client is better suited to a framework explaining its cost drivers.

Second, how price-sensitive is your audience, and do they actively compare providers? For B2B services with a long sales cycle, such as an annual marketing agreement, a broad estimate is often enough because the first interaction will usually be a conversation anyway. For services purchased or compared online, such as a one-off audit or fixed package, a specific amount can make a major difference to conversion.

Third, what does it cost you not to show a price? Put a number on it. Imagine an agency receives 40 enquiries per month through its service page, and 15 of those leads are not a budget fit. If each of those 15 conversations takes an average of 30 to 45 minutes for discovery and follow-up, that is already 8 to 11 hours a month that a clear price indication could have saved by helping visitors qualify themselves.

What if you are worried competitors will copy your pricing?

The concern is understandable, but in practice the downside rarely outweighs the upside. Competitors actively looking for your rates can usually find other ways to uncover them, whether by requesting a quote, reading reviews or simply calling you. Hiding your prices mostly creates friction for prospective customers, not competitors.

The best compromise is to display a price range or starting price instead of an exact figure. Visitors get enough information to make an informed decision, while competitors cannot easily calculate your precise margins.

Well-written service pages do more than show a price. They answer the main question directly, explain your process and support your claims with evidence from your own experience. Find out exactly what to include in this guide to building service pages that convert.

What to do:

• Identify how many incoming enquiries do not fit your budget range, then calculate how much time they cost.
• Choose a model for each service, fixed price, price range or cost framework, based on how predictable the scope is.
• Start with a price range if a fixed price feels too risky.
• Put pricing directly on the page, not behind a click or form.
• State what is and is not included, so there are no disagreements later.

Frequently asked questions

Am I legally required to show a price on my service page?

No, there is no general obligation to publish a price. However, once you mention one, the ACM guidance requires it to show the total price, including additional costs.

What happens if I forget to mention additional costs?

If you do not say anything about charges on top of the stated price, consumers are not required to pay them later, according to Thuiswinkel.org. Forgetting to disclose costs is a financial risk, not a smart way to stay flexible.

Is a starting price enough, or should I show a full price range?

A starting price works well when a significant proportion of clients genuinely pay close to that entry amount. If the average project differs substantially from the starting price, a price range gives a more realistic picture and avoids disappointment when you send the first quote.

Can a price indication also improve visibility in ChatGPT or Perplexity?

Structured content and specific figures are generally easier for AI search systems to summarise and cite than vague phrases such as “price on request”. It is important to keep this in perspective: AI search tools still account for a small share of total search traffic. Recent research found that all AI search tools combined represented just 3.2% of desktop search activity in the US in Q4 2025, compared with 73.7% for Google. Optimising for Google should therefore remain the priority, with AI visibility as an added benefit.

How does Launchmind help determine the right price indication for my service page?

Alex, Launchmind's AI colleague, rewrites service pages with a direct answer to the main question, a price indication, a clear process and evidence drawn from your customers' real questions. The structure is designed to be easy for both Google and AI search assistants to understand. You approve the page before it goes live, so you stay in control of the price and terms you publish. Learn more on the page about service pages optimised by Alex.

Conclusion

For most businesses, adding a price indication to a service page is a matter of confidence, not impossibility. The right question is not “can I show a price?” but “which pricing model matches the predictability of my service, and do I meet the transparency requirements once I state an amount?” For standardised services, a fixed price or price range is almost always the better choice. For highly tailored work, a framework explaining the cost drivers is more honest than saying nothing at all.

Want to know how your own service pages perform on transparency, process and proof, and how they can be optimised for both Google and AI search assistants? Book a free consultation to explore the approach that best fits your services.

About the company

Launchmind is the AI colleague that writes, checks and publishes SEO content on your own blog every day, in 8 languages, while continuously improving based on real Search Console data. Alex also improves service pages with direct answers, price indications, clear processes, proof and questions from real customers, aligned with what Google and AI assistants can read. Launchmind is built for marketing managers, entrepreneurs and CMOs at small and mid-sized businesses and scale-ups who know content works but struggle to produce it consistently.