The short answer
- An agency suits most small and medium businesses that want a full system running quickly, without hiring several specialists.
- A freelancer suits a single, well defined job when you know exactly what you need.
- In house suits businesses with enough work and budget to build a team, not just hire one person.
- Whatever you choose, make sure you own the ad accounts and data, and that leads are exclusive to you.
What's in this guide
What you are really hiring for
Lead generation isn't one skill. A system that reliably produces customers needs all of these working together:
- Strategy: which services to push, in which areas, on which platforms.
- Ad buying: building and optimising campaigns on Meta and Google.
- Creative: images, short videos and copy that stop people scrolling.
- Landing pages: pages that turn clicks into enquiries, with the right qualifying questions.
- Tracking: knowing which ads produce customers, not just clicks.
- Follow up: instant replies and reminders so leads don't go cold.
- Reporting: clear numbers you can act on every week.
Very few individuals are strong at all seven. That single fact shapes most of the decision.
The true cost of hiring in house
Recruitment data published in 2026 puts a UK PPC manager on a base salary of around £40,000 to £60,000, with a median of about £50,000. London and the South East add roughly 10 to 20 percent, and a performance bonus of 10 to 20 percent is common.
Salary is only the start. Here is an illustrative cost for a £50,000 hire:
| Cost | Approximate yearly amount |
|---|---|
| Base salary | £50,000 |
| Employer National Insurance (15% above £5,000) | £6,750 |
| Workplace pension (minimum 3% employer contribution) | About £1,300 |
| Software, tools and training | Varies |
| Recruitment | Varies, often a share of first year salary |
| Total before tools and recruitment | About £58,000 |
That buys one person. You still need creative, landing pages and follow up automation from somewhere, plus cover for holidays and sickness, and your own time managing them.
Where in house wins: deep knowledge of your business, full attention, and a person on site who can work closely with your sales team. Once you have enough work and budget to hire several people with different skills, building a team can be the right long term move.
Working with a freelancer
Freelancers range from excellent specialists to people learning on your budget, and day rates vary just as widely.
Where freelancers win:
- A specific, well defined job, such as setting up tracking or building a landing page.
- Flexibility, with no long commitment.
- Often direct access to the person doing the work.
Where they struggle:
- One person rarely covers strategy, creative, landing pages, ads and automation.
- Capacity: holidays, illness or a bigger client can leave your campaigns unattended.
- You often end up coordinating several freelancers yourself.
Working with an agency
A good agency gives you a team with every skill on the list, working to a process that has already been tested on other businesses like yours.
Where agencies win:
- All the skills in one place, so the system gets built quickly.
- Experience across many campaigns, so they know what works in your sector.
- No recruitment, holiday cover or management overhead for you.
Where agencies go wrong:
- Junior staff on your account after a senior person runs the sales call.
- Long lock in contracts before anything is proven.
- Shared leads sold to your competitors as well.
- Vague reporting full of clicks and impressions, with no link to customers.
- Ownership of ad accounts and data staying with the agency when you leave.
The three options side by side
| Compared | In house | Freelancer | Agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Highest, fixed | Lower, varies | Mid, scales with scope |
| Range of skills | One person's skills | One person's skills | A full team |
| Speed to launch | Slow, hire first | Fast for one task | Fast for a full system |
| Knowledge of your business | Deepest | Varies | Builds over time |
| Cover and continuity | Gaps for holidays and leavers | Depends on one person | Team cover |
| Best for | Larger teams with steady work | Single, defined jobs | A complete lead generation system |
How to choose
- Write down what you need. One task, or a whole system from ads to follow up?
- Work out the full cost. Include National Insurance, pension, tools and your own management time for any hire.
- Be honest about time. If you can't manage a hire or coordinate freelancers, an agency is usually the better fit.
- Think about the next 12 months. If you will need a team later, an agency now and a hire later is a common route.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who will actually run my campaigns day to day?
- Are the leads exclusive to me, or sold to others too?
- What will I see each week, and will it show customers, not just clicks?
- How quickly is every enquiry followed up?
- How long is the contract, and what happens if it isn't working?
- Who owns the ad accounts, pages and data if we part ways?
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to hire in house or use an agency?
For most small and medium businesses, an agency costs less than a full time hire once you include employer National Insurance, pension, tools, training and management time. In house becomes better value when you have enough work to keep a team busy and the budget to hire several skills, not just one person.
How much does a PPC manager cost in the UK?
Recruitment data published in 2026 puts a UK PPC manager on a base salary of around £40,000 to £60,000, with a median of about £50,000, and London adding 10 to 20 percent. On top of that come employer National Insurance, pension contributions, software and training.
When does a freelancer make sense?
A good freelancer is a strong option for a single, well defined job, such as running one ad account or building a landing page, especially when you know exactly what you need. They are less suited to running a full lead generation system on their own.
What should I ask an agency before signing?
Ask who will actually run your account, whether leads are exclusive to you, what you will see each week, how quickly enquiries are followed up, what the contract length is, and who owns the ad accounts and data if you leave.
Can I combine in house and agency support?
Yes. A common setup is an in house person who knows the business and handles sales, with an agency running the ads, landing pages and automation. It gives you local knowledge plus specialist skills without hiring a full team.
Talk it through with us
If you're weighing up a hire against an agency, we're happy to give you a straight view on a free 30 minute discovery call, including whether we're the right fit. Book a free discovery call.
Sources
- Coburg Banks (2026). PPC Manager salary UK.
- GOV.UK. Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027.
- GOV.UK. Workplace pensions: what you, your employer and the government pay.