Freelancer vs Agency, what's the right choice for you?

When looking at proposals and providers for websites, apps or digital marketing, it's important to understand that not all providers are the same. There is a big difference between an agency and a freelancer and it's important to understand the pro's and con's with each. Freelancers and agencies both have their purpose, you just need to know which is best suited to your business or project.

Firstly, let's define a freelancer and an agency. A freelancer is typically a single person working on their own. They may have a company and promote themselves as a company but they are typically just a single person, not a team of people. Whereas an agency is typically a group of people with different areas of expertise, working together as a single business/company.

The great thing about working with a freelancer is that they are often quite a lot cheaper as they have much lower overheads. While this can be attractive when considering the initial costs for the project, it's important to consider the long term costs as well. If your freelancer moves away, takes a job with an agency or can simply no longer work on your project, it could leave you without support which could be costly. It will also mean you'll have to find someone else to take over your project and paying them to get up to speed can also be costly.

Timeframes and turnaround times are also another thing to consider. Given a freelancer is a single person, there is a limit to how much work they can do in a day. While in theory an agency can still have this same issue, they typically have a larger team and multiple people that can share the load to fit in urgent requests.

Finally, it's important to consider how complex your project is and how complex it may get in the future. Freelancers are generally a jack of all trades and work on all or most of the areas of your project themselves. Whilst this does have it's pros, it can often mean that your freelancer isn't able to develop complex solutions and you may find that you will outgrow them as your business grows. Traditionally in an agency there are specialists in each field that work purely in strategy, design, development, programming or marketing. These specialists then work together to develop a project and have the ability to deliver more complex projects and solutions.

In summary, if you are a startup or small business and are looking for a cost effective solution, a freelancer might be the right choice. If you are an established business or are looking for something more complex and a team that can grow with you then an agency is probably the best fit. If you're unsure what the right choice is then get in touch and we'll help you better understand the pro's and con's of each option.