So, you’re at that crossroads:

Do you hire an in-house media buyer… or bring in an agency?

On one hand, keeping things in-house feels cheaper and gives you more control.
On the other, agencies see trends across multiple accounts and bring more firepower.

Which is actually the right move for your business? Let’s break it down.

🚀 The Case for Hiring In-House

✅ Lower Cost (At First) – You can hire a media buyer for $60K–$120K/year instead of paying agency fees.

✅ More Focus on YOUR Brand – They work exclusively on your business—no sharing time with other clients.

✅ Full Control Over Their Time – Want them testing 50 new creatives? Done. Need them on a strategy call? Easy.

✅ You Can Incentivize Them to Win – Good media buyers should get performance-based bonuses that reward them for driving revenue.

Sounds great, right? Well… here’s the reality check.

⚠️ The Hidden Costs of Going In-House

❌ They Only See Your Data – Unlike an agency (that spends millions across accounts), in-house buyers don’t get outside insights.
(Example: We spent $2M on Meta ads last month across 20+ accounts. That’s a LOT of learnings an internal hire wouldn’t see.)

❌ Retention is a Nightmare – Great media buyers don’t stay put. They’ll leave to start their own agency or go freelance for multiple clients.

❌ It’s NOT Just a Media Buyer You Need – A winning ad strategy requires:

• 📊 A media buyer
• ✍️ A copywriter
• 🎨 A designer
• 🔧 A funnel builder
• 📧 An email marketer

Hiring all these roles? Congrats, you just built a full marketing department.

❌ Are They Focused on ROAS… or Just Running Ads? – A great agency isn’t just pushing buttons in Ads Manager. They’re obsessed with cash profit. Many in-house buyers only look at CTRs, CPCs, and ROAS—without considering if the ads are actually making you money.

💡 So… What’s the Right Move?

🔹 If you’re running ads at a smaller scale ($10K–$20K/month), an in-house buyer might be a solid first step.

🔹 If you’re spending $30K+ per month, you’ll probably outgrow a single media buyer fast. At that level, you need a team that can handle media buying, creative, tracking, and full-funnel strategy.