Google does not charge for a Business Profile. Even so, help with it is sold in Sweden for SEK 49 a month for a tool, SEK 9,900 for a single review and a few thousand kronor a month in larger packages. What you pay for is the work: setting the profile up, syncing your details to other sites, or having someone keep it up to date every month.

This guide covers the price levels for the most common set-ups, what actually needs doing each month under Google’s rules in autumn 2026, the red flags to look for in a contract and a routine for doing it yourself. Swedish agencies, consultants and directory companies are described as types, with the price ranges we found on their own pages. Google is named, with sources.

As of 21 October 2026. Prices were read on the providers’ own pricing pages on 21 October 2026, after a first review on 19–20 October. Google’s rules were checked in Google’s help centre on the same day. Prices are in Swedish kronor (SEK). Prices and rules change, and we update the article when they do.

How much does a Google Business Profile cost?

Nothing. Google’s help centre says you can add or claim your business at no cost. Posts, photos, opening hours and review replies are all handled in the same profile.

What costs money is someone else’s time, and sometimes software. In its advice on working with a third party, Google describes the profile as a free tool but notes that third-party companies often charge to manage it. Under Google’s third-party policies, anyone who charges such a fee must tell you in writing, before they start, that the profile itself is provided at no extra cost, and the fee must be shown clearly on the invoice.

Ads are a separate matter. If you want to appear as an ad in Search or Maps, you pay Google for that through Google Ads. When that pays off is covered in When Google Ads is worth it, and when it’s a waste.

What does help with a Google Business Profile cost? Three set-ups

The price depends mostly on the set-up: a one-off set-up, a subscription to a directory service or software, or ongoing work every month. This is what the levels looked like on the Swedish pricing pages we read, with doing it yourself for comparison.

Set-upPriceLock-inWho does the work each month
One-off set-up or optimisation by an agency or consultantSEK 1,400–9,900 once. A basic registration from SEK 900None for the set-up itselfYou, after the start
Directory subscription with syncingSEK 749–1,199 a month. A self-service tool from a web host from SEK 496–24 months with the directory companies, one of them with automatic renewalThe software syncs your details. You write posts and replies in the tool, unless the contract says otherwise
Ongoing care per monthFrom SEK 499 a month for 1 post and up to 5 replies. By the hour, or in SEO packages from SEK 2,495 a monthFrom no lock-in to a 3-month minimum with 3 months’ noticeThe agency or consultant, within what is included
Doing it yourselfSEK 0 to GoogleNoneYou, about 30 minutes a month in our assessment

Prices exclude VAT where the page says so. Swedish VAT (moms) is 25 per cent on most services. The pricing pages of the directory companies and some agencies did not say whether their prices included VAT.

The table compares set-ups, not equivalent services. A subscription that syncs your details to more than 30 sites does something different from a consultant who writes your posts, and an optimisation for SEK 9,900 includes more than a registration for SEK 900.

Comparison of what help with a Google Business Profile costs in Sweden in October 2026: a one-off set-up for SEK 1,400–9,900 with no lock-in, after which you run the profile yourself, a directory subscription with syncing for SEK 749–1,199 a month with a lock-in of 6–24 months where the software syncs your details, ongoing care from SEK 499 a month for one post and five review replies or SEO packages from SEK 2,495 a month, and doing it yourself for SEK 0 and about 30 minutes a month.
Google charges nothing for the profile, so what you pay for is the work. The lock-in and who does the work each month separate the set-ups more than the price does. As of October 2026.

One-off set-up: SEK 1,400–9,900

In the packages we read, setting up or optimising the profile cost SEK 1,400–9,900 once, and a basic registration from SEK 900. The cheaper ones usually include verification, categories, opening hours, services and a description. The more expensive ones also include photos, a first post and, in one of the packages, a review routine and measurement. For several locations, one agency charged SEK 3,495–5,900 per location, and two web agencies sold the set-up as an add-on to a website for SEK 1,495 and SEK 1,499.

A set-up gives you a good starting point, but it does not keep the profile current. Afterwards it is you who replies to reviews, adds holiday hours and handles suggested edits. One of the agencies offered further help by the hour, with an estimate in advance.

Directory subscriptions and syncing: SEK 749–1,199 a month

Sweden’s directory companies, the local equivalents of the yellow pages, sell subscriptions that sync your details, such as your address, phone number and opening hours, to Google and other sites and map services, according to their pricing pages more than 30.

  • With one directory company, syncing costs SEK 749 a month and the package with review management and scheduled posts SEK 1,199. The contract period is 12 months with automatic renewal.
  • With the other, the package with syncing and review collection costs SEK 989, 925 or 779 a month with a lock-in of 6, 12 or 24 months. The lowest price requires 24 months, which is a commitment of SEK 18,696.
  • A web host sells a self-service tool from SEK 49 a month excluding VAT, with AI drafts for review replies and posts. It requires hosting with the same company.

Syncing can be worth the money if your details are wrong in many places. Even so, read carefully what is done for you and what you do yourself. The pricing pages described a dashboard where you update your details, manage reviews and schedule posts. They did not say whether anyone writes the posts and replies for you, nor what happens to your details on the other sites when the subscription ends. Ask about both before you sign.

Ongoing care per month: a fixed price is rare

Among the Swedish pricing pages we read, a fixed monthly price for someone to look after the Google profile specifically was rare. This is what we found:

  • A local consultant charges SEK 499 a month excluding VAT for one post, replies to up to five reviews and a minor update of your details. You can cancel whenever you like, but it is an add-on that requires buying another service, such as setting up the profile for SEK 2,995.
  • An agency charges by the hour for posts and review replies, after an optimisation for SEK 9,900.
  • A web agency sells local SEO for SEK 2,495 a month excluding VAT, with a 3-month minimum and 3 months’ notice. That includes ongoing posts and photos in the profile, but also work on the website and directories.

So compare what is included in numbers: how many posts, how many photos, how many review replies and how quickly they are written. In our assessment, a cap of five replies a month is enough for a business with few reviews, but not for a restaurant that gets several a week.

What should be included each month?

What keeps the profile accurate and active under Google’s own rules: someone handles suggested edits within four days, keeps the opening hours right, replies to reviews, publishes posts that follow the rules and adds new photos. You can do all of it yourself or pay for it.

TaskHow oftenWhat Google says
Suggested editsTwice a weekYou have four days from the notification to accept or reject a suggestion. Otherwise Google may publish it if other public information supports it
Opening hoursMonthly and before public holidaysSpecial hours cover up to six days in a row and only show if the profile has regular hours
ReviewsWithin a few daysOwners and managers can reply. An agency needs your explicit consent to reply on your behalf
PostsA few a monthPosts with unverified contact details may be removed. Posts older than six months are archived unless a date range is set
PhotosA few new ones a monthPhotos must follow Google’s content policy and applicable law
Description and servicesEvery quarterNo time-bound promotions, pricing or direct calls to action in the profile itself
PerformanceMonthlyGoogle recommends reviewing the results every month when a third party manages the profile

The frequencies are our assessment, except for suggested edits, where the four-day window decides.

Suggested edits and the four-day window

Other people can suggest changes to your profile, such as new opening hours or a different phone number. According to Google’s help centre, you get an email or a notification when a suggestion needs your review, and you then have four days. If you do not respond, Google may publish the change if it is supported by other publicly available information, such as your website. Google can also apply some changes without asking you first, and these are shown in blue text in the profile editor.

That is why logging in once a month is not enough. Whoever manages the profile needs to see the notifications within four days. Google’s third-party policies also say that an agency must not reject suggested edits automatically without asking you, because you are the one who knows whether the information is right.

Posts: no phone numbers in the text

Google tightened the rules for posts in autumn 2026. According to Search Engine Roundtable on 25 September 2026, Google changed its content policy so that posts with unverified contact details may be removed. That covers phone numbers, email addresses and social media handles. Google suggests the Call now button instead, which uses the profile’s verified number. The advertising policy that Search Engine Roundtable reported on 6 October 2026 also says posts must not contain links to websites that are not related to the business. Offers and updates are still allowed in posts.

Since September 2026, Google again shows how many people have seen your posts, for updates, offers and events over the past 18 months, according to Google’s announcement as reported by Search Engine Roundtable on 10 September 2026. Clicks on posts are not shown.

You can test a post in Inläggskollen, our free post checker (in Swedish), before you publish. It looks for what Google’s rules do not allow. How often to post and what to post about is covered in Google Business for local businesses.

The description: no promotions or prices

The profile itself must not contain promotional text with time-bound offers, pricing or direct calls to action. This is in Google’s advertising and solicitation policy since an update that Search Engine Roundtable reported on 6 October 2026. The guidelines for the business description also say it must not focus on special offers, prices and sales, and must not contain links. A line such as “lunch SEK 115 all October” belongs in a post, not in the description.

Questions and answers: no longer there

The Questions and answers feature has been removed from Google Maps. Google confirmed this in its help forum, according to Search Engine Roundtable on 15 December 2025, and searchers are instead meant to ask questions through an AI feature in Maps. Google’s Q&A API was shut down on 3 November 2025. If an offer includes “questions and answers on your Google profile”, ask what is actually being done. Put the answers to your customers’ common questions on your website instead.

Reviews: reply to all of them and ask at a steady pace

Reply to both positive and negative reviews. How to write the replies is covered in How to respond to Google reviews without sounding like a chatbot and How to respond to negative reviews.

How you ask for new reviews matters more in autumn 2026, because Google can pause new reviews:

  • Spikes. According to an email from Google reported by Search Engine Roundtable on 22 September 2026, new ratings and reviews are temporarily paused when Google’s systems detect a spike in spam reviews, typically for a few days.
  • Repeat violations. According to Search Engine Roundtable on 3 July 2026, a restriction that first lasts 30 days can become twice as long if the same rule is broken again.
  • Patterns. The Canadian agency Sterling Sky reviewed five businesses that had received a 30-day block in September 2026 and linked the blocks to QR codes at the counter or tables, reviews written on the premises and spikes of ten or more a day. That is one agency’s analysis, not a statement from Google.

So ask every customer, after their visit and at a steady pace. Recensionstakten, our review pace planner (in Swedish), suggests a pace based on how many customers you have, and ready-made texts are in Review request templates for business owners, SMS and email.

Red flags before you sign

Google itself describes what to watch out for when you hire someone for your profile: a lack of transparency, guaranteed rankings, claims to work for Google, threats and misleading pricing. Here are four things to check in the contract and the offer.

Lock-in periods and automatic renewal

The directory subscriptions we read ran for 6–24 months, and one of them renewed automatically after 12 months. In practice a lock-in is an amount: SEK 779 a month for 24 months is SEK 18,696, even if you want to stop after three months. Put the last day for cancelling in your calendar on the day you sign. Bindningskollen, our lock-in calculator (in Swedish), works it out for you.

If you buy for your business, the consumer right of withdrawal under the Swedish Distance Contracts Act (distansavtalslagen) does not apply, and the National Board for Consumer Disputes (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden, ARN) does not hear disputes between businesses. This is covered in more detail in How much does a website cost in Sweden in 2026? It is a summary, not legal advice, and your own contract is what applies.

Who owns the profile

Your business should be the owner of the profile and the agency the manager. In Google the roles are called Owner and Manager (Ägare and Ansvarig in the Swedish interface). A manager, formerly called a site manager, has much the same access as an owner, except that they cannot add or remove users or delete the profile. That is plenty for running it.

Google’s third-party policies say the same:

  • Ownership. The client must keep ownership or co-ownership of their profile.
  • Access. If you already have a profile, the agency should ask you to invite it as a manager, not as an owner, and passwords should not be shared.
  • Leaving. There must be a quick and easy way to end the service. Within seven business days of your notice, the agency must give you the means to take back control and give up its permissions.
  • Consent. The agency may only claim and manage your profile with your express consent, in writing or for example by ticking a box in a form. To reply to reviews on your behalf it needs your explicit approval, and verbal consent is not enough.

Check it yourself under More, Business Profile settings and People and access (Mer, Inställningar för Företagsprofil and Personer och åtkomst in Swedish). There you can see who has access and with which role. If you remove an agency, its posts and replies stay on the profile.

Bought reviews and “gating”

Google’s policy prohibits businesses from offering payment, discounts or free goods and services in exchange for reviews, from asking only satisfied customers for reviews, known as gating, and from discouraging negative reviews. Pressuring customers to write reviews on the premises and setting review quotas for staff are not allowed either. Reviews from employees and others with a conflict of interest count as rating manipulation. The Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) also states that businesses must not publish fake reviews.

In our assessment, an offer of “guaranteed more five-star reviews”, or a tool that sends unhappy customers to an internal form instead of to Google, is a reason to say no.

Promises of the top spot

Nobody can promise you the top spot on the map. Google says you cannot request or pay for a better local ranking, and that local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence. Google’s third-party policies list guaranteed top placement, and claims that a profile will always appear, as false or misleading. The same policies prohibit presenting Google’s free products as paid ones, posing as Google and threatening that your profile will disappear. According to Google, a third party also cannot remove your business from Google or access your profile without your consent. The profile’s owners decide who has access.

Doing it yourself: the 30-minute monthly routine

In our assessment, a business with one location and a few reviews a week can manage its profile in about 30 minutes a month: a couple of minutes each week for notifications and reviews, and a longer session once a month. If you get a lot of reviews, the replies take longer.

Which Swedish public holidays and exceptions to add this winter is covered in Opening hours, holidays and exceptions in your Google profile. If the profile does not show up at all even though everything is filled in, the reason may be in Why your business doesn’t show up on Google Maps.

What does it cost over 12 months? A worked example

Based on the prices we read on 21 October 2026, excluding VAT where the page says so and without putting a price on your own time:

Set-upFirst 12 monthsYour own time
Doing it yourselfSEK 0About 6 hours with the routine above
One-off set-up, then yourselfSEK 1,400–9,900About 6 hours after the start
Directory subscription with syncingSEK 8,988–14,388 (SEK 749–1,199 a month)The content, unless it is included
Ongoing care at SEK 499 a month, as an add-on to a set-up for SEK 2,995SEK 8,983 (SEK 2,995 + 12 × SEK 499)Anything beyond one post and five replies
SEO package that includes the profileSEK 29,940 (12 × SEK 2,495)Little. The package also includes work on the website and directories

Cost over 12 months = setup + monthly price × 12 + anything not included + your own time

Two things change the sum. With a 24-month lock-in, the commitment for the directory subscription is SEK 18,696, even if you only count the first year. And if a pricing page does not mention VAT, the amount may include it, in which case the cost excluding VAT is lower than in the table.

What decides it is what you get for the money and what your own time is worth. Multiply your hourly cost by six hours to see where the line falls for you. What help with other channels costs is covered in What does social media help cost in 2026?

How we do it: Profilvården

We also sell ongoing care of Google Business Profiles, so read this with that in mind. Profilvården, our profile care service, costs SEK 795 a month excluding VAT, or SEK 495 for clients on our Plus or Premium plans, because the photos then come from the photo visits. There is no setup fee, no lock-in and one month’s notice.

  • Every month: 4 posts, 4–8 new photos and replies to all new reviews within two working days. AI may produce a draft, but a person reads and approves every reply, and we check critical reviews with you first.
  • Twice a week: a check of opening hours, categories and suggested edits, which we confirm with you before anything is accepted or rejected.
  • Every quarter: a letter with the performance figures.
  • At the start: a review routine where every customer is asked in the same way, with no rewards and at a steady pace.

The profile stays in your business’s name, and we get the Manager role, which you can remove whenever you like. Over 12 months that comes to SEK 9,540, or SEK 5,940 with Plus or Premium. The service covers the Google profile, not other directories or ads. We promise no ranking, only the work. More about the service is on the Profilvården page (in Swedish), and our plans are on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Google Business Profile cost?

Nothing. Google says you can add or claim your business at no cost. What you pay an agency, consultant or directory company for is the work or the software, and under Google’s third-party policies anyone who charges to manage the profile must tell you in writing that the profile itself is free.

How much does help with a Google Business Profile cost in Sweden?

On the Swedish pricing pages we read on 21 October 2026, a one-off set-up or optimisation cost SEK 1,400–9,900, directory subscriptions with syncing SEK 749–1,199 a month with a lock-in of 6–24 months, and ongoing care from SEK 499 a month for one post and up to five review replies. An SEO package that included the profile cost SEK 2,495 a month.

What should be included when someone manages a Google Business Profile each month?

Handling suggested edits within four days, correct regular and special opening hours, replies to all reviews, posts without phone numbers or other unverified contact details, new photos and a look at the performance figures. Questions and answers no longer needs to be included, because Google has removed the feature from Google Maps.

Should an agency be an owner or a manager of my Google Business Profile?

A manager, and your business should be the owner. Under Google’s third-party policies, the client must keep ownership or co-ownership, and if you already have a profile the agency should ask to be invited as a manager rather than an owner. A manager can do almost everything except add or remove users and delete the profile.

Can an agency guarantee the top spot on Google Maps?

No. Google says you cannot request or pay for a better local ranking, and Google’s third-party policies list guaranteed top placement as a false or misleading claim.

Can I manage my Google Business Profile myself?

Yes. In our assessment, a business with one location can manage it in about 30 minutes a month: suggested edits twice a week, new reviews every week and opening hours, posts, photos and performance once a month. You need to respond to suggested edits within four days of the notification.

Sources

All web pages read on 21 October 2026 unless stated otherwise. Google’s help pages change without notice.