Agency digital marketing is a retainer that bundles channels, and the business hiring should unbundle it before signing: which channels, how many hours of work in each, who on the agency's side does the work, and what the monthly report will show. The bundle is what makes agencies hard to compare, and the hours are what make them comparable. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, cited below, puts the median pay for market research analysts and marketing specialists at $78,760 in May 2025 and the median for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers at $165,780 per year in 2025; the free worksheet on this site puts the retainer beside either hire on the hours the business needs, so the question of whether an agency is worth it has a figure rather than a feeling.
Unbundle the retainer into channels and hours
Search, paid, social, email and content are five different jobs with five different hourly costs; a retainer that quotes them as one figure cannot be compared with another agency's or with a hire. The brief asks for the hours per channel, and the proposals go on one scorecard per channel.
Ask who does the work
Agency digital marketing is often sold by a director and delivered by a junior team; the brief asks for the named people, their hours on the account and who reviews their work. The scorecard records the names so the agency is held to them after the pitch.
Judge the whole against a hire on the worksheet
A generalist digital hire at the published specialist median, loaded with on-costs and tools, is one route; the retainer is the other. The worksheet prints the monthly and first-year cost of each and the cost per hour of the work you need, and Retainvia Pro keeps the comparison and the brief together for the renewal.
Questions people ask about agency digital marketing
Is agency digital marketing cheaper than hiring?
At low monthly hours, usually; at high hours, usually not. The worksheet on this site prints the crossover from your own figures rather than a rule of thumb.
What should the brief to a digital marketing agency contain?
The hours of work a month, the channels, the goal in your own definition, the reporting you will read, the exit terms, and the sector context. One brief to every agency on the shortlist, so the proposals line up on one scorecard.
How is Retainvia priced?
$49 a month for the business, with no per-user fee; the free in-house versus agency worksheet needs no account.