Quick answer: An in-house web developer costs more than a salary: add benefits, recruiting time, tools, management, and the skills one person can’t cover (design, SEO, AEO, CRO, QA). A web studio costs more per hour but brings a full team on demand. In-house makes sense when the site needs daily engineering work; a studio usually wins when the site needs several skills a few days a month.
Marketing teams often reach the point where the website needs constant attention and someone asks: should we just hire a developer? It’s a fair question, and the answer depends less on hourly rates than on what the site actually needs.
What does an in-house developer really cost?
- Salary plus benefits, taxes and equipment.
- Recruiting time, and the risk of a mis-hire.
- Tools and licenses: hosting, design software, testing, analytics.
- Management time from someone who can review technical work.
- Coverage gaps: vacations, sick days, and turnover that takes the knowledge with it.
What can one person not cover?
A website that grows needs strategy, design, development, SEO, AEO, conversion work, accessibility and QA. Few people are excellent at all of them. A single hire usually means some of these get done well and the rest get postponed.
When does hiring in-house make sense?
- The website is a product, with daily engineering work.
- You already have design, SEO and analytics in-house and need a dedicated builder.
- Deep integration with internal systems requires someone on the team.
When does a studio make more sense?
- The site needs several skills a few days a month, not one skill every day.
- You want senior people without hiring each one.
- You need predictable monthly costs and no single point of failure.
- Speed matters: a studio can start now instead of after a hiring process.
How do you compare them fairly?
List the work the site needs over the next 12 months by skill and frequency. Price that as a hire (fully loaded) and as a studio retainer. Then compare outcomes, not hours: leads, speed, rankings and how much time your team gets back.
How Yungle works with marketing teams
We act as the website team you don’t have to hire: Seed for design, Root for development and Growth for SEO, AEO and CRO every month, with your team running content in the CMS. See our pricing or start with a Free Growth Audit.
Frequently asked questions
Can a studio work alongside an in-house developer? Yes. Many teams keep one internal owner and use a studio for design, growth and peaks of work.
Is a freelancer cheaper than a studio? Often per hour, but one freelancer has the same coverage gaps as one hire.
