In-house team vs outsourcing: the real cost comparison
Salary is only half the story. Here is the full cost of building an in-house engineering team versus working with an agency.
Short answer: outsourcing is usually cheaper and faster for the first version of a product or for specialist work like DevOps and SEO. An in-house team wins once the product is your core business and the roadmap is stable for years.
The hidden cost of hiring
A senior engineer's salary is only part of the cost. Add recruitment fees, benefits, equipment, software, management time and three to six months of ramp-up. A realistic multiplier is 1.4–1.8x salary.
| In-house (3 engineers) | Agency team | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to start | 3–6 months | 1–2 weeks |
| Annual cost | $450k–$650k | Pay per project or month |
| Specialist skills | Hire each one | Included |
| Flexibility | Low | Scale up or down monthly |
When outsourcing wins
- You need to launch in weeks, not quarters.
- You need specialists — DevOps, security, SEO — for part of the year.
- Your roadmap is uncertain and you want to stay flexible.
When in-house wins
- The product is the company, and the roadmap is long-term.
- Deep domain knowledge must stay inside the business.
- You have the leadership to hire and grow engineers.
The hybrid model
Many of our clients start with us, then hire internally while we hand over — or keep us for DevOps, SEO and peak workloads. Because you own all the code and infrastructure from day one, the transition is smooth.
Book a free consultation and we will help you plan the right mix.
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