Amazon Agency vs Hiring In-House: A Cost Comparison
By Shaheer Khan, founder of Markify Ecommerce
Once an Amazon business grows past what the founder can manage alone, there is a choice to make: build your own team or hire an agency. Both can work. The mistake is comparing one salary with one agency invoice, when the real comparison is between the full costs and risks of each option.
The work an Amazon account needs
Whether you hire people or an agency, someone needs to cover these roles:
- Advertising (PPC): Sponsored Products, Brands and Display campaigns; bids, budgets, search term reviews, negative keywords, reporting.
- Listings and content: keyword research, titles, bullets, backend terms, attributes, A+ Content and images.
- Design: product images, infographics, A+ modules, Brand Store, sometimes video.
- Operations and inventory: restock planning, shipment creation, FBA problems, reimbursements.
- Account health and compliance: policy warnings, IP complaints, documents, appeals.
- Customer service: buyer messages and returns for FBM orders, review monitoring.
- Strategy: which products to launch, pricing, budgets, expansion to new marketplaces.
A small account might combine these into one or two people. A large account needs specialists.
The full cost of an in-house team
Add up everything, not just salaries:
- Salaries and benefits for each role. In Pakistan, check current adverts on Rozee.pk or LinkedIn for "Amazon PPC specialist", "Amazon account manager" and "Amazon graphic designer" to see the market rate; in the US or UK, costs are many times higher.
- Recruitment: time spent hiring, or recruiter fees.
- Training: weeks or months before a new hire is fully productive.
- Tools: keyword and research tools, profit dashboards, design software, each paid per seat.
- Equipment and office: laptops, internet, backup power, desk space.
- Management time: someone experienced has to set priorities and check the work. If that is the founder, value that time.
- Turnover: when someone leaves, you pay again to hire and train, and work slips in between.
The full cost of an agency
- Monthly retainer for an agreed scope. Our Amazon management starts from $299 a month, for example, with the full scope on the service page. Larger accounts cost more because there is more work.
- One-off projects such as an A+ Content set or a product launch, if not included.
- Performance fees, if the agreement includes a share of sales or profit. See how agency pricing models work.
- Your time for calls, approvals and supplying information, which is usually less than managing staff.
Tools are often included in an agency fee, but check.
Beyond cost: the other differences
| In-house team | Agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Works only on your business | Shares time with other clients |
| Product knowledge | Deep, builds over time | Good, but less deep than staff |
| Breadth of experience | Limited to your account(s) | Sees many accounts and problems |
| Cover for leave and illness | Gaps unless you hire extra | Team provides cover |
| Speed to start | Weeks to months to hire and train | Usually within days |
| Control | Full control of priorities | Agreed scope; changes need discussion |
| Flexibility | Hard to reduce if sales drop | Can change scope or give notice |
| Risk if wrong hire | Costly to fix | Change agency after notice period |
When in-house makes more sense
- You have a large, stable account with enough work for full-time specialists.
- You have someone experienced to lead and check the team.
- Your products need deep knowledge that takes a long time to learn.
- You want the team to work across your other channels and your own website too.
When an agency makes more sense
- You need several skills (ads, design, compliance) but not a full-time person for each.
- No one in the business can train and supervise Amazon specialists.
- You need to start quickly, for example before Q4 or a product launch.
- You want cover and senior oversight without building a management layer.
The hybrid that often works best
Many growing brands use both: an in-house operations person who knows the products, handles daily tasks and is the main contact, and an agency for advertising, content and account health. The in-house person keeps knowledge inside the business, and the agency brings specialist skills and experience across many accounts.
How to decide
- List the roles above and estimate hours per week for each.
- Price the in-house option fully (salaries, tools, management time, turnover).
- Get two or three agency proposals for the same scope.
- Compare cost, risk, speed and control, not just the monthly number.
- Whatever you choose, keep ownership of the seller account and add everyone as users with their own logins.
Frequently asked questions
Is an agency cheaper than hiring?
Sometimes. For small and medium accounts that need several skills, an agency is often cheaper than hiring each role. For large accounts with full-time work in each role, in-house can cost less per hour of work.
Can I switch from an agency to in-house later?
Yes. Ask the agency to document campaign structures, processes and account history, so your team can take over smoothly.
How should I choose an agency?
Start with our 10 questions to ask an ecommerce agency in Pakistan, and read what to expect in your first 90 days.
Work with Markify Ecommerce
Markify Ecommerce (listed on Google Maps as Markify Ecommerce - Unicored Technologies) is an ecommerce marketplace management agency in Bahria Orchard, Lahore. We manage Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Shopify, Etsy and TikTok Shop accounts, and we set up US LLCs and UK Ltd companies for Pakistani sellers.
- Office: Central Block, Bahria Orchard, Raiwind Road, Lahore 55150, Punjab, Pakistan
- Phone & WhatsApp: +92 321 3131641
- Free account audit: Send us your store or account details and we will reply with the first fixes we would make.