Every time someone needs to develop a digital product, the same question comes up: should I hire a freelance dev or go with an agency?
The honest answer is: it depends.
It’s not about “one being better than the other”. It’s about context: what type of project you have, what budget you’re working with, how involved you want to be, and what level of risk you’re willing to take on.
In this post, I’ll share the pros and cons of each option based on my experience from both sides. I worked 19 years at Avature (a company that grew from startup to multinational), and now I work as a freelance dev building products for clients and myself. I’ve lived both realities.
Working with a freelance dev
The advantages
Direct and agile communication. No middlemen, no “let me connect you with the project manager who’ll connect you with the dev”. You talk directly with the person who’s going to write the code. Changes are discussed and applied quickly, without layers of bureaucracy.
More predictable costs. A senior freelance dev can charge hourly or fixed price per project, but you don’t have the overhead of a corporate structure. You’re not paying for offices, managers, or HR departments. You pay for effective work.
Real flexibility. If the project changes direction, a freelancer can adapt quickly. There are no rigid 6-month contracts or scope change processes that take weeks to get approved.
Deep specialization. Many freelancers are specialists in a specific niche. If you need something very specific (React performance optimization, integration with a particular API), you’ll probably find someone who’s done exactly that 50 times.
The disadvantages
Limited capacity. A freelancer is one person. If your project needs a team of 5 developers working in parallel, a single freelancer won’t be able to cover it (or it’ll take much longer).
Single person dependency. If the freelancer gets sick, has an emergency, or simply stops responding, your project is on pause. There’s no automatic backup.
Not always design + development. Some freelancers do it all, but many specialize. If you need UX design, frontend development, backend, and devops, you might need to coordinate multiple freelancers.
Before hiring, ask for references and review previous projects. A pretty portfolio doesn’t guarantee on-time delivery or good communication.
Working with an agency
The advantages
Multidisciplinary team. A typical agency has designers, frontend and backend developers, project managers, and sometimes even copywriters and SEO specialists. Everything under one roof, coordinated.
Ability to scale. If the project grows or needs more resources, the agency can assign more people without you having to search and coordinate.
Structure and processes. Agencies usually have proven methodologies: sprints, dailies, reviews, documentation. If your company also operates with formal processes, integration is more natural.
Implicit backup. If a developer leaves the agency, there are others who can pick up where they left off. The knowledge (in theory) is documented and the project doesn’t depend on a single person.
The disadvantages
Higher costs. Agencies have overhead: offices, managers, sales, administration. That cost gets passed on to the client. The difference can be 3x to 5x compared to a freelancer.
Indirect communication. Often you talk to a project manager who “translates” to the technical team. This can create noise: what you ask for isn’t always what reaches the developer, and vice versa.
Less flexibility. Changing the scope at an agency usually means renegotiating contracts, adding hours, rescheduling sprints. It’s more formal, but also slower.
Junior rotation. Some agencies (not all) use seniors to close sales and then assign juniors to the project. The result might be different from what you were sold. Ask specifically who will be working on your project before signing.
When to choose each option
Choose a freelancer when:
- Your project is limited and specific: a landing page, a specific feature, an API integration
- You value direct communication and want to be involved day-to-day
- Your budget is limited and you need to maximize every dollar
- You already have clarity on what you want and don’t need much discovery
- The project doesn’t require a large team working in parallel
Choose an agency when:
- Your project is large and complex: a complete product with multiple features, teams, and integrations
- You need multiple disciplines working together: design, development, marketing
- Your company prefers working with formal processes and extensive documentation
- You want to delegate coordination and don’t have time to micro-manage
- The project has rigid deadlines and you need the ability to scale quickly
The hybrid option
Something that works very well for medium-sized projects is combining both options:
- Use an agency for design and initial strategy
- Hire a specialized freelancer for development
- Or vice versa: a freelancer builds the MVP and then an agency scales it
This gives you flexibility without sacrificing quality, as long as communication between the parties is well coordinated.
In fact, many freelancers (myself included) work in collaboration with designers, other developers, or even agencies when the project requires it. It’s not necessarily “one or the other”.
Examples from my experience
So this doesn’t stay theoretical, here are some real cases:
Cheroga Casa Quinta — A rural tourism client needed professional web presence: site, branding, and an automation system to manage bookings. Ideal project for a freelancer: limited scope, direct communication, and I could do everything from design to automations with Make.com. If they’d gone with an agency, they probably would have paid 3-4 times more for the same result.
Hospeda — My own commercial project. It’s a complete platform with frontend, backend, admin panel, AI integration, and a monorepo with multiple apps. If it were an external client, I’d probably recommend an agency or a team of coordinated freelancers. It’s too big for one person working part-time.
The difference is in the scope and complexity, not in “what’s better”.
Questions to ask yourself before deciding
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How big is the project really? Is it an MVP or an enterprise product?
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How much time do you have to dedicate? If you can’t be involved, maybe an agency that handles everything is better.
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What’s your real budget? Be honest. If the budget is tight, a freelancer will probably give you more value for money.
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What level of risk do you tolerate? If depending on one person gives you anxiety, an agency gives you more backup.
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Do you value speed or process? Freelance = more agile. Agency = more structured.
My perspective
I’m a freelance dev, so you might think this post is biased. But the reality is that not every project is right for a freelancer.
If someone contacts me needing a team of 10 people, brand design, mobile app development, web, and complex backend, I’ll recommend an agency (or assembling a team of freelancers if they have time to coordinate it).
On the other hand, if you need a performant website, an automation system, or frontend/backend development with modern technology, we can probably work very well together.
The key is being honest about the capabilities and limitations of each option, and choosing the one that best fits the specific project.
Still have doubts?
If after reading this you’re still not clear on what’s best for you, write me. Even if my answer is “for this you need an agency”, I prefer to be honest and have your project turn out well.
You can also check out my services to better understand what type of projects I do, or review my projects for concrete examples.
At the end of the day, what matters is that the product gets built well. How you get there is secondary.