Making the right choice between hiring a Meta ads agency or building in-house capability could save your ecommerce brand tens of thousands of dollars—or cost you just as much if you get it wrong.
If you’re running an ecommerce brand doing $500K to $5M in revenue, you’ve probably asked yourself this question: Should I hire a Meta ads agency or manage Facebook and Instagram advertising in-house?
It’s not a simple answer. The agency world is full of marketers claiming they’ll 10x your ROAS. Meanwhile, the “just learn it yourself” crowd makes it sound like anyone can master Meta Ads over a weekend.
The truth? Both paths can work—or fail spectacularly—depending on your specific situation. Let’s cut through the noise with real numbers, honest trade-offs, and a framework you can actually use.
The True Cost of Hiring a Meta Ads Agency
Agency pricing isn’t as straightforward as most founders expect. There are three main models, and they vary wildly in total cost.
Pricing Models Breakdown
Flat Monthly Retainer: Most common for ecommerce brands. You’ll pay somewhere between $1,500 and $5,000 per month for a competent agency. Premium agencies with proven ecommerce track records charge $5,000 to $10,000+ monthly.
Percentage of Ad Spend: Many agencies charge 10-20% of your monthly ad budget on top of (or instead of) a flat fee. Spending $20,000/month on ads? That’s another $2,000-$4,000 in management fees.
Performance-Based: Less common but growing. The agency takes a percentage of attributed revenue or profit. Sounds great until you realize tracking attribution is messy, and these deals often come with minimum commitments.
What’s Actually Included?
Here’s where agencies differ dramatically. A typical $2,500/month retainer usually covers:
- Campaign strategy and setup
- Audience research and targeting
- Basic ad creation (using your assets)
- Bid management and optimization
- Weekly or bi-weekly reporting
What’s often NOT included:
- Creative production (photos, video ads)
- Landing page design or optimization
- Conversion rate optimization
- Advanced tracking setup (Conversions API)
- Strategy calls beyond monthly check-ins
Budget another $500-$2,000/month for creative production if your agency doesn’t include it. Most don’t—or they farm it out and mark it up.
The Hidden Costs
Setup fees: Expect $500-$2,000 upfront for account audits, strategy development, and technical setup.
Contract length: Many agencies require 3-6 month commitments. Getting locked into a 6-month contract with an underperforming agency is expensive in ways that don’t show on the invoice.
Your time: Even with an agency, you’ll spend 2-4 hours weekly on calls, feedback, and approvals. That’s time you can’t get back.
The True Cost of In-House Meta Ads Management
Building in-house capability sounds cheaper on paper. The reality is more nuanced.
Option 1: Hire a Dedicated Media Buyer
A skilled Meta Ads specialist with 2-3 years of ecommerce experience costs $55,000-$75,000 annually in salary. Senior media buyers with proven track records command $80,000-$100,000+.
Add 20-30% for benefits, taxes, and overhead. That $70,000 salary becomes $84,000-$91,000 in actual cost.
The math:
- Salary: $70,000
- Benefits/overhead (25%): $17,500
- Tools (analytics, creative, etc.): $3,000-$6,000/year
- Training/courses: $1,000-$3,000/year
- Total: ~$95,000/year ($7,900/month)
That’s more than most agency retainers—but you get a full-time resource dedicated exclusively to your brand.
Option 2: Part-Time Hire or Contractor
A freelance media buyer charges $50-$150/hour depending on experience. At 15-20 hours monthly (the minimum for meaningful management), you’re looking at $750-$3,000/month.
The catch: Good freelancers are often managing multiple clients. Your campaigns might not get the attention they need when they need it.
Option 3: The Founder Does It
This is where most sub-$1M brands start. And honestly? It can work—but let’s be realistic about the cost.
If your time is worth $100/hour (conservative for a founder doing $1M+), and Meta Ads requires 15-25 hours monthly to do properly, that’s $1,500-$2,500 in opportunity cost.
Add 3-6 months of learning curve where you’re making expensive mistakes, and the “free” option gets costly fast.
Head-to-Head Cost Comparison
Let’s get specific with three scenarios typical for ecommerce brands.
Scenario 1: $5,000/Month Ad Spend
Agency Route:
- Retainer: $1,500-$2,000/month
- Creative (outsourced): $500/month
- Total: $2,000-$2,500/month
- Annual: $24,000-$30,000
In-House Route (Founder + Contractor):
- Your time (10 hrs/month @ $100/hr): $1,000
- Freelancer support (5 hrs/month): $500
- Tools: $200/month
- Total: $1,700/month
- Annual: $20,400
Winner: Toss-up. The agency brings expertise you likely lack, but the cost savings of DIY are minimal.
Scenario 2: $15,000/Month Ad Spend
Agency Route:
- Retainer: $2,500-$4,000/month
- % of spend (15%): $2,250/month
- Creative: $1,000/month
- Total: $3,500-$5,500/month
- Annual: $42,000-$66,000
In-House Route (Part-Time Specialist):
- Part-time media buyer: $2,500/month
- Tools: $400/month
- Training: $200/month
- Total: $3,100/month
- Annual: $37,200
Winner: In-house starts to make sense if you can find a reliable part-time specialist.
Scenario 3: $50,000/Month Ad Spend
Agency Route:
- Premium retainer: $5,000-$8,000/month
- % of spend (12%): $6,000/month
- Creative: $2,000/month
- Total: $9,000-$14,000/month
- Annual: $108,000-$168,000
In-House Route (Full-Time Hire):
- Senior media buyer (loaded): $8,000/month
- Part-time creative support: $2,000/month
- Tools: $800/month
- Total: $10,800/month
- Annual: $129,600
Winner: In-house clearly wins on cost—with the right hire.
Beyond Dollars: What the Numbers Don’t Show
Agency Advantages
Pattern recognition across accounts: A good agency manages dozens of ecommerce accounts. They’ve seen what works for fashion, supplements, beauty, home goods. That breadth of experience is hard to replicate in-house.
No HR headaches: Agencies don’t take maternity leave, get sick, or quit with two weeks’ notice. The consistency has value.
Faster ramp-up: A competent agency can have optimized campaigns running within weeks. An in-house hire needs months to hit their stride.
Flexibility: Most agencies allow you to scale up, scale down, or cancel. Try doing that with a full-time employee.
In-House Advantages
Brand depth: Nobody will understand your products, customers, and brand voice like someone working inside your business every day.
Speed of execution: No waiting for agency call slots or approval chains. See an opportunity, act on it.
Aligned incentives: Your employee’s success is your success. No concerns about agencies prioritizing other clients.
Compounding knowledge: Every insight stays in-house. When an agency relationship ends, much of that knowledge walks out the door.
Red Flags to Watch For
Agency Red Flags
- Long contracts (6+ months): Good agencies don’t need to lock you in.
- Percentage-only pricing: If they only make more money when you spend more, their incentives are misaligned.
- No senior strategist access: If you only talk to junior account managers, you’re not getting what you’re paying for.
- Vague reporting: “Impressions” and “reach” aren’t results. You need CAC, ROAS, and contribution margin.
- Cookie-cutter creative: Your ads shouldn’t look like everyone else’s.
In-House Red Flags
- No dedicated time: If “everyone” owns Meta Ads, no one owns it.
- Learning from zero: Starting with no Meta Ads experience is expensive.
- Unproven offer: If your product-market fit is shaky, ads won’t save you.
- Unrealistic expectations: Expecting immediate results from a new hire guarantees disappointment.
The Decision Framework: When to Choose What
Choose an Agency If:
- You’re spending $3,000+/month on ads and want expertise fast
- You don’t have 10-15 hours weekly to dedicate to ads
- Your product is validated and you need to scale now
- You want to test Meta as a channel before committing to a full-time hire
- You’re growing fast and can’t afford the ramp-up time of a new hire
Build In-House If:
- You’re spending $30,000+/month and the math makes sense
- You have someone capable who can dedicate 15-20+ hours weekly
- You’re willing to accept a 3-6 month learning curve
- You want complete control over your paid acquisition channel
- Long-term, you see Meta Ads as a core competency (not just another channel)
The Hybrid Approach
Many successful brands do both—and this might be the smartest play.
Phase 1: Start with an agency. Learn what works, build a playbook, establish benchmarks.
Phase 2: Once you’re spending $20K+/month and have a proven approach, hire someone to bring it in-house. Have the agency help with the transition.
Phase 3: Keep the agency on a reduced retainer for quarterly strategy, creative direction, or overflow support.
Our Take: What We Tell Brands Considering Us
We’re a Meta ads agency. We’d love your business. But we also believe in fit.
We turn away brands who:
- Have less than $3,000/month to spend on ads (the math doesn’t work)
- Don’t have a validated offer yet (ads won’t fix product-market fit)
- Want to micromanage every ad (that’s not what you’re paying us for)
We encourage in-house when:
- A founder has genuine skill and passion for paid media
- The brand is at scale where a full-time hire makes financial sense
- There’s already an internal marketing team that can support the role
The right agency relationship should feel like a partnership, not a vendor transaction. If it doesn’t, something’s wrong—with us, with you, or with the fit.
Ready to figure out what makes sense for your brand? Book a free strategy call. No pitch, no pressure. We’ll look at your numbers together and give you an honest recommendation—even if that recommendation is to go in-house.
