Agency vs Freelancer – who is best for you: 3 Key Comparisons

Agency vs Freelancer – who is best for you

3 Key Comparisons Between Agency or Freelancer

Some clients like the idea of hiring a freelancer as only a single person offers a service whereas many others prefer to hire an agency as they have multiple talents in one team.   

Agency vs. freelancer, who should you choose? It’s not a new difficulty to select either an agency or freelancer. Both have different merits and talents and that’s what we will be discussing. A comprehensive guide will help you make the right choice between the freelancer and digital agency.

Agency vs Freelancer – Understanding who they are

Agency

An agency has a team of designers, copywriters, technical experts, coders & programmers, SEO & SMO specialists and consultants. All workers have different jobs from writing content, designing websites, analysing target audiences and helping clients.

If you have an organisation or a large business, then you can hire an agency for projects like website design, creating logos, promoting services and much more. An agency helps grow a brand, increase sales and get more customers.

Freelancer

A freelancer is an independent person who works on contract-based projects. A freelancer can fill gaps in your current staff, skills or workload. People advertise their talents and services on remote platforms like Upwork.

One can post their projects on these platforms and pick freelancers for their projects. You can directly look for a perfect freelancer for your work. The one benefit of a freelancer hiring is you get them at different prices and various skills. However, they can’t be suitable for each job but hiring the right person can save you time and money. Hence, if you are looking for a specific talent for your project, then you can go for a freelancer.

The difference between an Agency or Freelancer

The key difference everyone finds between a freelancer and an agency is a single person and a team of many people. But one more question arises when we think a little more. It’s when a freelancer has a network of more talents and clients can hire those people as well, would you still call them a freelancer? An agency is doing the same, one person hires a team of different talents responsible for the actual work done. So we can say it’s the network of freelancers that a key person manages.

Even though both seem similar, there are different advantages, disadvantages and perceptions for freelancers and agencies. The cost is an important factor that makes a huge difference.

Agency or Freelancer: who to choose?

Factors of Agency and Freelancer that affect your hiring decision –

There are many factors that you should know before you choose to hire an agency or freelancer before making a choice. Let’s evaluate the major factors –

1. Price Tag

   It’s the first factor everyone keeps in their mind. You will always wish to pay less money for your projects, though a lower-cost solution can’t be always the best.

   Hiring an agency may cost you a bit high. You can also hire them every month. It’s also based on contacts but the price rises; however, they have in-house employees, so you won’t need to find various freelancers for your one project.

   Freelancers are available on different price tags, from high pay to low pay. It’s the more affordable option for one with a project that needs fewer people to work on. It saves your money as you won’t require paying for space, tools or any other.

2. Quality

   The high-quality result is an important factor to consider.

   With an agency, you can ensure the quality of results in exchange for your payments. Agencies want to launch each project successfully so that more businesses can trust them.

   You can expect great work from a freelancer if he or she is passionate about it. But, in many cases, you may face the worst quality too. The project needs multiple revisions that can lead a freelancer to stop work in the middle.

3. Management

   The control and management consider your requirements and deadlines of a project.

   Agencies have a proper setup to start each work where they plan, manage, make goals and think about their team. They have more solutions and suggestions for your projects. The plus point is, you’ll always get maintenance even after the work is completed. It keeps you focused on your business’ other sectors.

   With a freelancer, you can check each move like how much the work is done. They aren’t managers and they have no control over the circumstances. Hence, the management part goes on your end.

4. Expertise and Tech Support

   Expertise and tech support is the additional benefits that an agency can give you because they work with various projects and industries. They help you make many important decisions for your brand evaluation. An agency offers a solution that is suitable for your project and will benefit you in the long term. Even though the cost is high agencies get you diverse capabilities and skills from their professionals to grow your business.

   Freelancers are specialised in one field that they are good at. You must find someone who can work exactly what you need. However, you may find some freelancers who provide other solutions but the tech support won’t be there. Freelancers are a great choice for specific work.

5. Priority

   Digital agencies have more resources to finish a project, however, they have multiple tasks to complete on the same day or deadlines. So, they may extend your deadlines to go with another project first.

   A freelancer takes on fewer projects. Your project will always be the priority and more likely your project may finish on time. It’s like an in-house professional in your digital room.

6. Legal Security

   Before you make a choice, you should consider the legal security factor because it is not good to slow down a project due to such reasons. Agencies are well-developed and have grown with legal processes. They have stable management and a workplace to work legally. Hence, they always keep the bond to take care of your rights, data and other entities.

   Freelancers, on the other hand, don’t ask to pay taxes or any bond. They may disappear or delay work done and you should check the background before you choose to hire one.

Agency vs Freelancer – who is profitable for your business

Agency and Freelancer, both have pros and cons, so first you should know your requirements. Decide your goals and budget, then understand the factors of Agency vs Freelancer that can affect your project.

Choosing between agency and freelancer, Freelancer is the best option for less budget and specific work. For short-term work, you can hire a freelancer with easy communication and save you money.

A longer and more complicated online project needs various experts to give solutions and derive result-oriented consequences. An agency is the best option for long-term projects as they have a set of experienced employees and experts in many areas.

For example, if you wish to design a brochure for your business, then it’s better to find a freelancer as your brochure will be completed quickly with less spending. But if you want to create a website for your industry type, then go for an agency because it’ll need research, custom designs, development, content, images, links and many more that a team can handle better.

We hope, these all factors of agency vs freelancer would have cleared your decision of choosing between agency or freelancer.
Thinking of an agency to hire? Contact our team CrackleCode for a better consultant. For more useful resources, you can contact us or browse our blog and keep an eye on our Medium page (coming soon).