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Agency, in-house hire, freelancer, or OuiGrowth?
There are four common ways to get your paid media run. Here's what each one really costs in 2026, what you get for the money, and when each is the right call, including when it isn't us.
Comparison table
| Option | What it costs | Who does the work | Commitment | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional agency | 10% to 20% of ad spend, usually with a minimum monthly fee. At $50,000 a month in spend, about $5,000 to $10,000. | Often a senior person on the pitch and a junior on the account | Three-, six- or twelve-month minimums are common | Brands that want one vendor for many services |
| In-house media buyer | About $59,000 to $96,000 in salary, plus benefits, which make up about 31.5% of total compensation. Roughly $86,000 to $141,000 a year fully loaded, or $7,100 to $11,700 a month, before recruiting and tools. | One person, full time, on your team | Employment | Companies whose spend keeps a buyer busy full time, with a senior marketer to manage them |
| Freelancer | About $20 to $45 an hour for typical marketplace PPC specialists, and $75 to $250 an hour for experienced US consultants. | One person, usually with other clients | Usually flexible | Small budgets, single-channel help and defined projects |
| OuiGrowth (us) | Management at 10% of the first $200,000 of spend and 7% above, $5,000 minimum and $25,000 maximum. At $50,000 a month in spend, $5,000. Audits $5,000; consulting $250 an hour. | Us, 14 years in, in your accounts | Six months for management, then month to month | $50,000+ a month across several channels, and teams that want a senior second opinion |
Costs are 2026 US figures from the sources at the bottom of this page. Your numbers will vary by market, seniority and scope.
When each one is the right call
A traditional agency
Choose one if you want a single vendor handling paid media, SEO, social and creative production, and you have the budget for a team.
Watch out for the bait-and-switch: senior people on the pitch, juniors on the account. Ask who will log into your ad account every day, and how many other accounts they run. We wrote up how agency economics push accounts to juniors, from the inside. Percentage-of-spend fees also mean the agency earns more when you spend more, so notice who recommends budget increases, and why.
An in-house media buyer
Hire one if paid media is core to your growth, your spend is high enough to keep someone busy full time, and you have a senior marketer who can set strategy and judge their work.
Watch out for the single point of view. One buyer only knows what they've seen, and it's hard to hire well for a role you can't evaluate yourself. Pairing an in-house buyer with an outside audit, or a few consulting hours a month, often gets you the best of both.
A freelancer
Hire one if your budget is small, you need help on one channel, or you have a defined project, like a campaign build.
Watch out for the range. Rates run from about $20 an hour to $250, and quality varies just as much. Many lower-cost freelancers juggle a lot of clients at once. Ask who has run accounts at your spend level, and for results you can verify.
Us
Choose us if you spend $50,000 or more a month across more than one channel and want the senior person doing the work, not supervising it. Or if you already have a team and want an audit or a second opinion by the hour.
Don't choose us if you need SEO, email, organic social or a full creative studio under one roof, you want someone in your office every day, or you spend under $50,000 a month and want full management. In that last case, our audit or consulting fits better, or a good freelancer will.
The conflict of interest nobody mentions
Percentage-of-spend pricing, ours included, means the person recommending your budget earns more when it goes up. Most agencies don't say that out loud. We do, and we've built around it: our fee is capped at $25,000 a month, spend increases always need your written approval, and we'll tell you when a channel shouldn't get more money. Sometimes the right answer is to spend less, like when we told SmarterSelect to stop its Google Ads.
Questions
Is an agency cheaper than hiring in-house?
Often, at moderate spend. A fully loaded US media buyer costs roughly $7,100 to $11,700 a month before recruiting and tools. An agency at 10% to 20% of $50,000 in spend costs $5,000 to $10,000. The bigger difference is what you get: one person's experience, or a team's.
When does hiring in-house make more sense?
When paid media is your core growth engine, spend is high and steady, and you have a senior marketer to manage the buyer. At that point, a full-time person learns your business in a way no outsider can.
Can I combine an in-house buyer with outside help?
Yes, and it's often the best setup. Your buyer runs the accounts day to day, and you bring us in for an audit or a few consulting hours a month as a second opinion.
How do I know who will actually run my account?
Ask. Get a name, ask how many accounts they manage, and ask to speak with them before you sign. With us, the answer is short.
Sources
- Agency fees of 10% to 20% of spend, often with a minimum fee: OuterBox, PPC management pricing (2026)
- Agency minimum commitments of three, six or twelve months: ClicksGeek, PPC management services pricing (2026)
- Average US media buyer salary of $58,728: Payscale (2026)
- US senior media buyer salary of $96,297: Salary.com (September 2026)
- Benefits at 31.5% of compensation for full-time private-industry workers: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (June 2026)
- PPC specialists on Upwork at $20 to $45 an hour: Upwork (2026)
- Experienced US freelance PPC consultants at $75 to $250 an hour: Ruul, freelance digital marketing rates (2026)
By channel: Meta Ads · Google Ads · TikTok Ads · Reddit Ads. Everything we run: paid media. Full terms and a fee calculator: pricing.
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