"What will it cost?" is the first question every advertiser asks and the one agencies answer least clearly. Here are honest starting benchmarks from marketplace data — indicative floors, not quotes, since every rate moves with city, season and negotiation.
Newspapers: a quarter page in a leading Hindi daily's city edition starts near ₹48,000; front-page solus in a national English daily can exceed ₹1.8 lakh per insertion. Rates scale with circulation and page position.
Television: regional GEC spot packages start around ₹1.5 lakh per week for 50 ten-second spots; national news channel properties like tickers run ₹2 lakh+ per week. Prime time and cricket inflate everything.
Radio: FM prime-time packages of 30 spots start near ₹42,000 per week in metros, less in Tier-2. RJ mentions cost more but convert better for local action.
Cinema: on-screen ads across a city's top multiplex screens start around ₹65,000 per week — exceptional for affluent, captive audiences.
Outdoor: a highway hoarding in Jaipur starts near ₹95,000 per month; metro station branding in Delhi from ₹2.75 lakh. Location is 90% of the price.
Digital news features: sponsored stories on major business portals start around ₹25,000 per article with do-follow links — as much an SEO purchase as a PR one.
Influencers: a reel from a 250K-follower lifestyle creator starts near ₹22,000; regional creators deliver stronger engagement per rupee.
WhatsApp and SMS: DLT-compliant bulk SMS from ₹18,000 per lakh messages; rich WhatsApp broadcasts from ₹32,000 per 50,000.
The biggest saving isn't negotiating any single rate — it's building the right mix. That's what a marketplace plan does: compare real rates side by side, drop the vanity buys, and concentrate budget where your audience actually is.