Summary: should you outsource marketing or do it yourself?
Outsource your marketing if you need several channels, such as Google Ads, social media and SEO, and have no more than about 33 to 65 hours of work a month. Do it yourself if it is a few hours a week on one channel. Only hire someone once there is more work than that, every month. In the Netherlands, an in-house online marketer on an average salary costs about €5,206 a month in employment costs. An online marketing agency charges €80 to €160 an hour on average. At Game-changers, working together starts from €500 a month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee.
→ Do it yourself
About €1,300 a month of your own time, if you spend 4 hours a week and value your hour at €75 (worked example).
→ Freelancer
A Dutch freelancer charges €83 an hour on average (Knab, all professions). For 8 to 20 hours a month that is €664 to €1,660.
→ Agency
€80 to €160 an hour (Trustoo, 2026). For 8 to 20 hours a month that is €640 to €3,200.
→ In-house marketer
About €62,473 a year in employment costs, so about €5,206 a month, before tools and training.
→ Game-changers
From €500 a month excl. VAT, no set-up fee, a free call and a free analysis up front.
When should you outsource marketing, and when do it yourself?
It comes down to two things: how many hours of work there are each month, and how many channels you need. This is how we work it out: an in-house marketer costs about €5,206 a month. For that amount, an agency gives you 33 to 65 hours of work, depending on its hourly rate. If you have less work than that, outsourcing is cheaper. If there is structurally more, someone in-house becomes cheaper per hour. If you use one or two channels, you are usually below that line. Then outsourcing or a mix is the logical choice.
→ Do it yourself if…
you spend less than 4 hours a week on marketing, use one channel (for example your Google Business Profile or Instagram) and enjoy learning the craft.
→ Hire a freelancer if…
you have one channel with fixed tasks, such as a monthly newsletter or keeping social media up to date. A freelancer is flexible, but work stops when they are ill or on holiday.
→ Outsource to an agency if…
you want several channels working together, ad budget is at stake or you need specialist knowledge, such as tracking or technical SEO.
→ Hire someone if…
there is more than 33 to 65 hours of work a month, every month, and you can manage them. Bear in mind that one person is rarely strong in every channel.
What does marketing cost: DIY, outsourced or in-house?
Here are the four routes per month side by side, excluding ad budget. We calculate with 8 to 20 hours of work a month. The agency rate comes from Dutch comparison site Trustoo: €80 to €160 an hour on average, or per month €500 to €3,000 for SEO and €1,200 to €3,200 for social media marketing (updated 3 November 2026). According to Dutch bank Knab, a Dutch freelancer charges €83 an hour on average in 2026, across all professions.
Your ad budget comes on top with every route. What that budget looks like per channel, read in what Google Ads costs in the Netherlands and what SEO costs in the Netherlands.
Worked example: what an in-house marketer really costs
An online marketer in the Netherlands earns €3,708 gross a month on average in 2026, according to Dutch careers site Intermediair (updated 9 November 2026). Add 8% holiday pay, which is standard in the Netherlands, and the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) says to expect about 30% employer costs on top of gross pay. That gives:
→ Gross salary
12 × €3,708 = €44,496 a year.
→ Holiday pay (8%)
€3,560 a year.
→ Employer costs (about 30%)
€14,417 a year.
→ Employment cost
€62,473 a year, so about €5,206 a month.
That is before a laptop, software, training or recruitment. And you have one person. For the same €5,206 you buy 33 to 65 hours a month from an agency, at €80 to €160 an hour, with specialists for every channel and cover when someone is ill.
Bear in mind that one marketer has to advertise, create content, maintain the website and measure, all at once. Measurement is usually what slips. At our client Jaicob, 34% of revenue turned out to be credited to the wrong channel, and at Rug expertise centrum we now link 96% of orders to the right source. That kind of work takes a specialist, whether or not you have someone in-house.
Doing it yourself: what it really costs
Doing it yourself looks free, but it costs you hours you do not spend on customers. A worked example: you spend 4 hours a week on your website, ads and social media. That is about 17 hours a month. If you value your own hour at €75, your marketing costs you about €1,300 a month. Put in your own hourly rate and you know what DIY costs you.
If you want to learn it yourself, there are good free courses: Google Skillshop for Google Ads and Analytics, and Meta Blueprint for Facebook and Instagram. Expect a learning curve, though. Especially in the first months, ad budget is often lost to the wrong settings. Often the problem is not the ads themselves, but the measurement. If nobody measures which click brings in a customer, Google optimises for the wrong things. At CrossFit Climbers Cabin, cost per lead fell from €55 to €9 once we aimed the campaigns at the right searches.
→ Good to do yourself
Keeping your Google Business Profile up to date, asking for reviews, sharing photos and stories from your business, and answering customer questions.
→ Better to outsource
Ads that spend budget, tracking and conversion measurement, technical SEO and setting up campaigns across several channels.
Partly outsourcing: often the smartest choice
You do not have to choose between all or nothing. Many businesses keep customer knowledge and content in-house and outsource the technical work. That keeps your story genuine, while a specialist works on the parts where mistakes cost money.
→ You do
Set the goals, supply customer stories and photos, answer comments and reviews, follow up leads.
→ The agency does
Strategy, Google Ads and social media ads, SEO, tracking and reporting.
Do agree that your ad accounts, your website and your data are in your name. Google itself says the client account keeps ownership of its data and that you can always unlink an agency. How to choose such a partner, read in how to choose the best marketing agency in the Netherlands.
Our research: what the Google top 10 tells you
On 9 November 2026 we looked at the first ten Dutch Google results for “marketing uitbesteden” (outsourcing marketing). According to Ahrefs, that term is searched about 900 times a month in the Netherlands, and “online marketing uitbesteden” another 600 times. For each page we checked seven things a business owner wants to know.
→ Almost everyone says when it is not a good idea
That is good. But half of them give no price at all, so you cannot compare the routes.
→ Only 2 of the 10 work out the cost of an in-house marketer
Yet that is exactly the comparison a business owner makes. That is why the worked example is above.
→ Only 4 of the 10 show a result with a number
So ask every agency for a case with figures from a business like yours.
“Outsourcing doesn’t mean letting go of your marketing. You know your customers best; we bring the craft and the tools. Keep that customer knowledge close, outsource the technical work and agree up front how you will measure whether it works.”
What outsourcing delivered for our clients
Three clients who outsourced their marketing to Game-changers, with the figures as they appear on our service pages.
→ CrossFit Climbers Cabin
Cost per lead fell from €55 to €9, and the box was fully booked within 4 months. We aimed Google Ads at beginner searches with high buying intent.
→ Jaicob
4.3 times as many qualified demos, and 41% of demos became a sale. By measuring Meta, YouTube and Google in one funnel, 34% of revenue turned out to have been credited to the wrong channel.
→ Rug expertise centrum
31% lower cost per conversion thanks to more accurate conversion data, and 96% of orders linked to their marketing source (Data & Tracking).
What does outsourcing marketing to Game-changers cost?
At Game-changers, working together starts from €500 a month excl. VAT. That is about a tenth of the employment cost of an in-house marketer. You hear the exact price after a free call and a free analysis, because it depends on the channels and the amount of work. You pay your ad budget directly to Google or Meta.
→ Free 30-minute call
We get to know your business, your customers and your goals, and tell you honestly whether outsourcing makes sense for you.
→ Free 8-hour marketing analysis
You get a report, a strategy and an action plan, even if you do not continue with us or decide to do it yourself.
→ Free start period
You see how we work before you pay.
→ No set-up fee
We do not charge separately for setting up accounts, tracking and campaigns.
→ Working together from €500 a month excl. VAT
Your ad accounts, your data and your ads stay yours. Your point of contact is always a senior partner or the founder, and we adjust campaigns at weekends too.
Game-changers compared with the market:
Market prices: Trustoo (November 2026). Employment costs: Intermediair and KVK (November 2026). Counts: own research of the top 10, 9 November 2026.
→ When we are not the best choice
If you only have a few hours of work a month on one channel, do it yourself or hire a freelancer. If there is more than 33 to 65 hours of work a month, every month, your own marketer with an agency as sparring partner may fit better.
Book a free call, see what we do for local businesses or read how we work on social media advertising.
Frequently asked questions about outsourcing marketing
What does outsourcing marketing cost per month in the Netherlands?
An online marketing agency charges €80 to €160 an hour on average. Per month that is €500 to €3,000 for SEO and €1,200 to €3,200 for social media marketing, separate from ad budget (Trustoo, 2026). A Dutch freelancer charges €83 an hour on average (Knab, all professions). At Game-changers, working together starts from €500 a month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee.
Is outsourcing cheaper than hiring a marketer?
Usually, yes. An online marketer on an average salary costs about €5,206 a month in employment costs. For that, an agency gives you 33 to 65 hours a month at €80 to €160 an hour. Only when there is structurally more work does your own marketer become cheaper.
What does an in-house online marketer cost in the Netherlands?
On average €3,708 gross a month (Intermediair, November 2026). With holiday pay and about 30% employer costs, that comes to about €62,473 a year, so €5,206 a month, before tools and training.
Can I outsource marketing partly?
Yes, and that is often the smartest option. Keep customer knowledge, photos and stories in-house, and outsource ads, SEO and tracking to specialists.
When should I not outsource marketing?
If you only have a few hours of work a month on one channel, or your proposition is not clear yet. Then it is better to start yourself, for example with your Google Business Profile.
Do my accounts stay mine when I outsource?
They should. Have your ad accounts and analytics created in your own name and give the agency access. In Google Ads, the client account keeps ownership of its data.
Sources
→ Intermediair: Online marketer salary 2026 (Dutch)
Updated 9 November 2026.
→ KVK (Netherlands Chamber of Commerce): setting the salary of your first employee (Dutch)
Employer costs about 30%. Viewed 9 November 2026.
→ Trustoo: cost of outsourcing marketing (Dutch)
Updated 3 November 2026.
→ Knab: average freelance hourly rate 2026, €83 (Dutch)
Survey of over 20,000 freelancers. Checked 9 November 2026.
→ Google Ads Help: About client account ownership
Viewed 9 November 2026.
Free Google Ads and Analytics courses.
Free Facebook and Instagram courses.
Search volume Netherlands, 9 November 2026.
→ Own research by Game-changers
The first 10 Dutch Google results for “marketing uitbesteden”, judged on 9 November 2026.
→ Game-changers: Google Search Advertising and Data & Tracking
Client figures, November 2026.
Over de auteur
About the author
Annefleur van Osta
Online marketing strateeg bij Game-changers. Schreef dit artikel en houdt de prijzen en bronnen actueel.
Online marketing strategist at Game-changers. Wrote this article and keeps the prices and sources up to date.
