growth marketing
When CMOs and senior decision-makers weigh the option of partnering with a digital agency, one question always rises to the surface: “How much will this really cost us?”
It’s a fair question, and one that can’t be answered with a flat rate card. The cost of hiring a digital agency is more than just the invoice. It involves opportunity costs, long-term ROI, and the hidden savings compared to building and managing an in-house team.
In this post, we’ll break down what you’re really paying for, why agencies often appear more expensive on paper, and why many growth-minded companies find the investment worthwhile.
Oh, before we actually dive in: we are absolutely NOT against having your own in-house team. We only want to help you see the complete picture, so you know the pros and cons of the decision you make.
What goes into agency pricing
Retainer or project-based fees
Most agencies charge either a monthly retainer (for services like SEO, paid media, or content marketing) or project-based fees (for example website builds or rebrands). Depending on the agency’s size and expertise, retainer packages typically range from €2.000 to over €10.000 per month, though you will find cheaper and more expensive ones too.
At first glance, that might seem expensive compared to hiring a single internal marketer. But here’s the difference: with an agency, you’re not paying for one person. You’re getting access to a cross-functional team of strategists, media buyers, designers, copywriters, and analysts.
Access to specialized tools
Agencies include enterprise-level tools in their pricing. Think SEO platforms, analytics dashboards, creative software, or programmatic ad tech. If you were to buy these licenses yourself, you’d easily spend €2.500–€2.000 annually.
Example: SEMrush for SEO will cost you about €1.500 annually, and Adobe Creative Cloud will set you back €1000 per year. That’s already €2.500 per year just for 2 tools. Add other tools you want to use, and you’ll quickly see annual costs of over €10.000. With an agency, these come built in.
Experience without the learning curve
An internal team often spends months testing, learning, and sometimes failing before finding what works. Agencies bring proven playbooks from working across industries. They also make sure they train their people so they always know the latest trends, technologies, and strategies. That translates into faster results and fewer costly mistakes.
The hidden cost of going in-house
On paper, hiring an in-house team might look cheaper. But real salary ranges tell a different story. Approximate gross annual salaries:
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Marketing Manager: ~€70.000
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Paid Media Specialist: ~€55.000
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Content Strategist/Copywriter: ~€50.000
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Designer: ~€45.000
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SEO/Analytics Specialist: ~€60.000
That’s already €280.000 annually, before adding other costs like recruitment costs, training, software, and so on. In reality, a five-person team could easily cost €350,000 or more per year.
By comparison, a digital agency retainer of €15,000/month (definitely at the high end of the scale) is €180,000 annually. And this often comes with broader skills than one in-house team could ever cover.
Why agencies are often worth it
Depth of marketing expertise
Agencies give you access to a team of specialists across disciplines. Whether it’s content, SEO, performance marketing, or creative, they are trained and experienced professionals. Building this internally is not only costly but also incredibly time-consuming.
Flexibility and scalability
Budgets shift and markets change over time. With an agency, you can scale services up or down very quickly. In-house teams remain fixed costs over a longer period of time, whether you’re running full campaigns or not. So if you suddenly need to double down on lead generation for Q4, your agency is ready to jump right in. Hiring will take too much time.
An external perspective
Agencies work across different industries. And if they focus on 1 or a few industries, they still work with different companies with their unique characteristics. That means they bring fresh ideas and benchmarks from other sectors or companies that can spark new growth opportunities. That’s much harder to do with an in-house team.
Measurable marketing ROI
A good agency doesn’t just run campaigns. They tie metrics back to revenue. Instead of vanity metrics like impressions, they’ll focus on pipeline growth, lead quality, and sales outcomes. That alignment makes the cost less about “spend” and more about “investment.” And they have to: if they don’t, clients will simply not be happy with the results and look for other solutions.
So if you’re evaluating whether to hire a digital agency, don’t just ask, “What does it cost?” Instead, ask, “What does it cost us not to?”
The true expense lies not in the monthly retainers but in missed opportunities, slower growth, and underpowered campaigns. In our article ‘The cost of doing nothing’, we explain how not doing marketing ends up being more expensive. For most growth-oriented companies, a digital agency doesn’t just pay for itself: it multiplies the return. The trick is finding the agency that fits you.