“Should you outsource Facebook ads or manage them in-house?” The choice depends on budget, expertise, and control needs. Here’s the key comparison:
- Outsourcing benefits – Expert knowledge, cost-effective for budgets under £10k/month, latest tools
- In-house benefits – Complete control, brand alignment, immediate changes, skill development
- Hybrid approach – Strategy in-house, execution outsourced (best for many businesses)
- Cost breakpoint – Outsourcing typically cheaper for ad spends under £8k-£12k monthly
Key insight: 70% of successful businesses use hybrid models combining internal strategy with external expertise.
Picking in-house or outsourced Facebook advertising is a real challenge for many businesses. This guide compares both options to assist you in selecting the proper marketing solution for your business. We will start from the basics: who has the skills, what is the price, and how much control you should keep.
Facebook Ad Management Cost Comparison 2025
| Approach | Monthly Cost Range | Best For | Key Advantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-House Team | £3,000-£8,000+ | Large businesses, complex strategies | Full control, brand knowledge |
| Outsourced Agency | £1,500-£5,000+ | Small-medium businesses, specialized needs | Expert knowledge, latest tools |
| Freelancer | £500-£2,500 | Small budgets, simple campaigns | Flexible, cost-effective |
| Hybrid Model | £2,000-£6,000+ | Growing businesses | Best of both worlds |
Facebook Ad Management Cost Comparison 2025
You get social media campaigns handled for you by people who really know what they’re doing when you hire outsourced marketing help. Since they work with many different accounts, they are always up to date with the changes. That’s some great ideas you can get for your marketing efforts.
Top 5 outsourcing advantages:
- Expert knowledge – Agencies work with 10-50+ accounts, staying current with platform changes
- Cost efficiency – Often 30-50% cheaper than hiring full-time staff for smaller budgets
- Advanced tools – Access to premium analytics and management platforms
- Scalability – Easy to increase or decrease efforts based on business needs
- Fresh perspective – External teams spot opportunities internal teams might miss
Outsourcing can turn out to be cheaper than house marketing than hiring, training or buying expensive tools. They also enable you to leverage premium analytics that are usually beyond the reach of small companies in their own right, marketing agencies.
Outsourcing marketing gives you the flexibility to ramp your social media efforts up or down depending on what your business needs. External agency partners can spot things your own team might miss and bring new ideas to your digital marketing strategy.
What Are the Benefits of In-House Facebook Advertising?
Having your house marketing allows you no delay in the campaigns. Your marketing team can make immediate adjustments without the usual delay in communication that comes with outsourcing.
Key in-house advantages:
- Immediate control – Make campaign changes instantly without approval delays
- Brand expertise – Deep understanding of company voice, values, and messaging
- Integration – Seamless coordination with other marketing channels
- Skill development – Build internal capabilities that stay within the business
- Long-term investment – Knowledge and skills become permanent company assets
In-house teams are familiar with your brand which helps in creating Facebook ad content that is in sync with the voice of your brand. House teams are better placed to ensure that Facebook ads are in sync with other channels than other forms of content marketing.
It is beneficial to the company to develop digital marketing skills on your own. If your team learns social media correctly, those skills are kept within your business and enhance your overall marketing efforts over time. Lots of companies find that in house marketing fits better with what they’re trying to achieve overall.
What Makes In-House Facebook Ad Management Challenging?
House marketing requires a lot of resources and knowledge. Many companies do not appreciate how much work is involved in running campaigns effectively. It can be tricky to use Facebook—you need to know about targeting, testing and enhancement.
Main in-house challenges:
- Resource intensive – Requires dedicated staff, tools, and ongoing training
- Platform complexity – Facebook’s frequent updates and technical requirements
- Skill gaps – Difficulty finding and retaining qualified social media experts
- Limited perspective – Teams can become set in their ways without external input
- Scalability issues – Hard to quickly increase capacity during busy periods
It can be a challenge to build this capacity on house resources, particularly for small teams that are responsible for managing several marketing functions. The Facebook ads manager can be quite complex and it does not help that there are frequent changes to the platform.
At times, house teams may become set in their ways and fail to consider what other options are available. Also, many companies have the challenge of identifying and retaining qualified social media experts. Outtasking may be a way of addressing these capability gaps.
Cost Comparison: In-House vs. Outsourced Advertising
When calculating house marketing expenses, consider:
- Salaries for marketing team members
- Software subscriptions
- Training costs
- Ad spend management
Outsourced marketing partners typically charge based on:
- Percentage of ad spend
- Monthly retainer
- Project-based fees
While house marketing appears less expensive initially, performance results might favour outsourcing when considering all factors. Outsourcing also eliminates the need for ongoing training investments as platforms evolve.
💡 Pro Tip: Calculate total cost of ownership including salaries, benefits, tools, training, and management time – not just base salaries. Many businesses underestimate true in-house costs by 50-70%.
How to Choose Between In-House and Outsourced Options?
Evaluate these factors when deciding:
- Business size and marketing budget
- Campaign complexity
- Current marketing team capabilities
- Control requirements
- Integration with other marketing efforts
Decision framework:
| Factor | Choose In-House | Choose Outsourcing |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly ad spend | £12,000+ | Under £8,000 |
| Team size | 3+ dedicated marketers | 1-2 marketing people |
| Campaign complexity | Multiple products/markets | Single focus/product |
| Control needs | High control required | Results-focused |
| Growth stage | Stable/mature | Rapid growth/startup |
Many successful organisations implement hybrid models where internal teams handle strategy while outsourcing technical campaign management, combining advantages of both approaches. Outsourcing specific components allows for specialisation without losing control.
The decision to pursue outsourcing digital marketing should be based on your specific business needs and growth trajectory. Digital marketing expertise is increasingly specialised, making outsourcing an attractive option for accessing diverse skills.
Related Services
For professional support with Facebook ads management, explore:
- Facebook Ads Management – Comprehensive campaign services tailored to your business objectives.
- Enterprise Social Media Advertising – Integrated social media advertising solutions including Facebook ads and Google ads.
Without knowing the specific business, it is challenging to determine whether they should focus on house marketing, outsourcing, or both. It is always important to focus on the process of continuous improvement, customer centric messaging and the alignment to business goals. The proper digital advertising strategy will depend on your organization and your content marketing goals. Thus, knowing the factors that were discussed in this paper, it will be easier to make the right decision for your company. Digital advertising campaign expertise, whether done in-house or outsource is still vital to the success of the campaign in the current world.
Gregory Shevchenko 
Alex Sukhov 
