| Monthly cost | Hey SageFrom ~$2k to $10k/mo | Traditional agency$10k to $25k+/mo retainer | Freelancer$1k to $5k/mo, quality varies wildly | In-house$90k to $150k/yr salary + tools + benefits |
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| Contract terms | Hey SageMonth-to-month. No lock-in. | Traditional agency6 to 12 month lock-ins standard | FreelancerUsually month-to-month | In-housePermanent hire. Firing is slow and expensive |
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| Who runs your ads | Hey SageSenior operators who have generated $700m in revenue across ecom | Traditional agencyJunior media buyer, "supervised" by a senior | FreelancerWhoever you found on LinkedIn. Could be world-class or terrible | In-houseWhoever you can afford to hire and retain |
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| Reporting | Hey SageLive dashboard from day one + weekly summary + monthly deep-dive | Traditional agencyMonthly 60-slide PowerPoint | FreelancerAd-hoc, often only when asked | In-houseWhatever they build (or don't) |
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| Communication | Hey SageDirect WhatsApp or Slack group. Strategy calls on Studio, Pro and Ultra. | Traditional agencyWeekly 1hr WIP + monthly review meeting | FreelancerEmail, sometimes ghost-mode | In-houseConstant. They're on payroll, in your stand-ups |
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| Time to launch | Hey SageWithin 24 hours of payment, completed brief and account access | Traditional agency3 to 6 weeks (kick-off, strategy deck, sign-off, build) | Freelancer1 to 4 weeks, depends on their other clients | In-house2 to 3 months to hire, then onboarding |
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| Strategy & advisory | Hey SageIncluded. Sales planning, SKU expansion, CRO, brand direction | Traditional agencyBilled separately, often by a different team | FreelancerUsually just runs the ads, nothing else | In-houseLimited to one person's experience |
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| Total team cost | Hey SageFlat management fee. Supply production is optional. | Traditional agencyRetainer + creative fees + reporting fees + ad spend markup | FreelancerCheap, but zero redundancy if they vanish | In-houseSalary + super + benefits + tools + management overhead |
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