The short answer
Use a consultant or fractional marketing lead when you need decisions and direction. Use a freelancer when you need one defined skill at modest volume, and an agency when you need several skills, more capacity and cover for holidays and sickness. Hire in house when the work is continuous, central to the business and big enough to fill a role. Many businesses need direction first and delivery second.
In this guide
Most businesses frame this as a question of cost: which option is cheapest? The better question is what’s actually missing. If you’re short of direction — nobody is deciding what marketing should achieve or where the money should go — hiring more hands won’t fix it. If you’re short of skills or capacity, a strategist won’t fix it either.
The options side by side
| Option | Best for | Watch out for | Usually charges by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | One defined skill, steady or modest volume | Capacity, holidays, a single point of failure | Hourly or day rate, or per project |
| Agency | Several skills at once, more capacity, cover | Junior delivery, staff turnover, minimum terms | Monthly retainer, project fee or a share of ad spend |
| Consultant | Strategy, audits, choosing and managing suppliers | Advice without anyone to carry it out | Day rate or fixed project |
| Fractional marketing lead | Ongoing direction and oversight, part time | Poor value if used for hands-on execution | Monthly fee for a set number of days |
| In-house hire | Continuous, core work that needs deep product knowledge | Employment costs, management, narrow skill set | Salary plus employment costs |
A fractional marketing lead — often called a fractional CMO, short for chief marketing officer — is a senior marketer who works for you part time, typically a few days a month, setting direction and managing the people doing the work. There’s more on when that makes sense on our fractional CMO advice page.
Start with what’s missing: deciding or doing
Answer these honestly:
- Is there a plan? If nobody can say which channels you’re in and why, you need direction before delivery.
- Is the plan being carried out? If the plan is clear but nothing happens, you need hands — a freelancer, an agency or a hire.
- Is the work continuous? Weekly, never-ending work (social media, a busy ad account) suits a retainer or a hire. A finite job (a website, a brand identity, an audit) suits a project.
- Who will manage it? Every option needs someone in your business to brief, approve and answer questions. If that person doesn’t exist, choose an option that needs less management, or fund that time.
The costs that don’t appear on the quote
Freelancers cost less per hour, but you do the coordination, and cover disappears when they’re ill, on holiday or busy with a bigger client.
Agencies include account management and cover in the price. Part of every hour you pay for goes on coordination rather than doing — that’s the service, not a scam, but it means you get fewer hands-on hours than the fee suggests.
Consultants can save you from expensive mistakes, but the benefit only arrives if someone carries out what they recommend.
In-house hires cost more than salary. Budget for employer taxes and contributions, which vary by country, plus benefits, equipment, software, recruitment and the management time a new hire needs. And one person rarely has every skill: a generalist marketer will still need specialist help for things like paid media or technical SEO.
Combinations that often work
- Consultant, then delivery. A short piece of strategy work sets the plan and the budget, then a freelancer or agency carries it out.
- Fractional lead plus specialists. A part-time senior marketer sets direction and manages two or three specialist freelancers or agencies.
- In-house generalist plus a specialist agency. Someone inside knows the business and handles day-to-day work; an agency covers the technical channel you can’t staff.
The weakest combination is usually several specialists and nobody in charge. Each optimises their own channel, and nobody owns the total result.
How to choose between two options
When you’re torn — say between a freelancer and an agency — compare them on the same brief. How to write a marketing brief explains what to include. Then look at:
- Who would actually do the work, and their experience with businesses like yours
- How many hours or deliverables you get each month, in units
- What happens when they’re unavailable
- The minimum commitment and how easily you can leave
If an agency comes out ahead, how to choose a marketing agency covers the questions to ask. For typical fee structures, see what agencies charge.
What to do next
- Decide whether you’re short of direction, skills or capacity — or more than one.
- List the work that’s continuous and the work that’s a one-off project.
- Name the person in your business who will brief and manage whoever you choose, and how many hours a week they have.
- Brief your top two options on exactly the same terms and compare who does the work and what you get each month.
Apply this to your business
Get help comparing your options
Describe what needs doing, what you can spend and who you have in house. askBizly works out which kind of help fits and writes a brief you can use with any of them. With a free account, it can also show partners from its records that match.
Free to use. Create a free account when you want to save your plan and come back to it.