In-house marketer or agency: comparing cost and outcome
Comparing a salary with an agency invoice is the wrong comparison. Count the total cost and the set of skills you get for it.
What an employee really costs
Add taxes, workspace, tool subscriptions, training and management time to the salary — plus the risk that replacing them takes months during which the work stalls.
And be realistic: one person cannot be strong at SEO, paid search, social ads, design, analytics and copy simultaneously. Those who are cost about as much as a small agency.
What each side brings
An agency brings a team of specialists and pattern recognition across dozens of projects, without you building hiring and retention processes. It knows your internals less well and shares attention with other clients.
An in-house person brings product depth — customers, objections, seasonality — and keeps the accumulated knowledge inside the company.
Hybrid and the honest verdict
The most workable model for mid-sized business: an in-house marketer owning strategy and coordination, with an agency or contractors executing specialised channels.
And honestly: without a product with proven demand, a working process for handling enquiries and at least a modest ad budget, you need neither. Marketing multiplies what already works; it does not create demand from nothing.