| Build in-house | Traditional agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary of whoever would do the work | R$ 4.122 a R$ 13.044 | — |
| Payroll charges and provisions YOU pay | R$ 1.131 a R$ 3.579 | — |
| Tool subscriptions | R$ 180 a R$ 849 | — |
| Monthly agency fee | — | R$ 4.570 a R$ 13.215 |
| Management, recruiting, equipment and severanceWe don't count | — | — |
| Ad budget (Meta and Google)We don't count | — | — |
| Total per month | R$ 5.433 a R$ 17.472 | R$ 4.570 a R$ 13.215 |
| Total over 12 months | R$ 65.201 a R$ 209.662 | R$ 54.840 a R$ 158.580 |
Management, recruiting, equipment and severance: They cost real money and would nearly all land in the in-house column — meaning counting them would favour us. We don't count them because we found no published Brazilian figure. The 40% FGTS penalty applies once, at dismissal; it isn't a monthly cost.
Ad budget (Meta and Google): In all three paths you pay the same amount, straight to Meta and Google. Counting it in one column and not the others would be fraud.
And our side — what does it cost?
The figure is set per client, by the areas that enter the contract, and goes in the proposal. We deliberately put no figure of ours in this table: it would not carry the source the other two do, and this math exists so you know what you already spend — not to close a deal on a screen.
Request a proposalIf you already have that person on staff, this math isn't for you — it compares hiring from scratch.
Being found on Google (site, content, SEO)
Paid ads (Meta and Google)
Social media (posts and schedule)
Where these figures sit in the market
349 agencies and consultancies, 2025 data
- 34%até R$ 2 mil por cliente
- 56%até R$ 5 mil por cliente
- 27%acima de R$ 10 mil
- 18%acima de R$ 15 mil
A pesquisa mede o ticket médio geral por cliente, misturando portes de empresa — não é o preço cobrado especificamente de uma PME. Panorama de Marketing e Vendas 2026 — RD Station, capítulo Agências e Consultorias
What this calculator refuses to do
- It doesn't invent your management overhead. The calculators we opened add “15% management overhead” and “£5,000 recruiting” without a single source, and all of those land in the competitor's column.
- It doesn't count ad budget as savings. You pay the same in both paths.
- It doesn't use figures without provenance. Every value has a link and a date, or carries the estimate badge with the reason written out.
- It doesn't put a figure of ours in the table. Our contract is priced per proposal, and a column of ours here would be the only number without a source next to two that have one.
- It doesn't promise results. It compares what each path COSTS. Two things costing differently doesn't mean they deliver the same.
- It doesn't ask for your email to show you the math.
Method
Every source was opened and read on 20/08/2026. Dollar prices were converted at that day's Brazilian Central Bank PTAX selling rate (R$ 5,1862) — a single day's rate; don't anchor an annual budget to it. Where two verified sources disagreed, we used the reading that makes in-house and agency CHEAPER, always the reading that works against us. We don't project 24 or 36 months: that would stack three years of currency and salary uncertainty on top of a figure that is already a range. All figures are from the Brazilian market.
Want the figure for your case?
The proposal comes with the price up front. Tell us in one line what is most stuck today.
Request a proposal