Comparison · Agency vs In-House
JudeLuxevsIn-HouseGoogleAdsTeam
The most common decision for growing ecommerce brands. The honest comparison covers cost, capability, risk, and what 'in-house' actually delivers vs what it appears to.
The case for hiring in-house is usually framed as cost - pay one salary instead of an agency fee. The reality is more complex. A senior Google Ads manager in the UK costs £55-£80k plus on-costs. A junior costs £30-£40k but typically can't operate at the strategic level needed for ecommerce profit work. Add tooling, training, holiday cover, recruitment risk and the salary-vs-fee comparison rarely favours in-house at sub-£100k Google Ads spend per month.
JudeLuxe
A senior-led ecommerce Google Ads consultancy. £2k/month fixed fee for the equivalent strategic capability of a senior in-house hire - without the recruitment risk, on-costs, holiday gaps, or single-point-of-failure exposure. Includes Google CSS at no extra cost.
In-House Team
An in-house Google Ads manager working directly for your business. Full focus on your account, deep brand knowledge over time, and direct control. Costs include salary, on-costs (typically +25-30%), tools, training, and recruitment.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | JudeLuxe | In-House Team |
|---|---|---|
| True annual cost | £24k (fixed fee) | £70k-£100k+ (senior hire fully loaded) |
| Strategic seniority | Senior strategist day one | Depends on hire / budget |
| Recruitment risk | ||
| Holiday / sickness cover | Single point of failure | |
| Tooling included | Separate cost (£200-£500+/mo) | |
| Google CSS included | ||
| Cross-account benchmarking | ||
| Brand depth over time | Builds with retention (98% rate) | |
| Direct control | High (transparent reporting) | Highest (employee) |
Choose JudeLuxe if
- Your spend is £10k-£200k/month and you want senior capability without senior salary
- You can't justify (or find) a £70k-£100k hire right now
- You want continuity through holiday, sickness, and resignations
- You value cross-account benchmarking from a team that sees 75+ ecommerce brands
Choose In-House Team if
- Your spend is £200k+/month and a senior hire is fully justified
- You want absolute brand immersion with no client-portfolio dilution
- You have the recruitment infrastructure to hire well and retain
- Direct line management of the channel is strategically critical
The 'agency vs in-house' debate is usually framed too cleanly. In practice, the right answer depends on spend scale: below £200k/month, a specialist agency tends to deliver more strategic value per pound spent. Above that, the case for in-house grows. Many of our clients use both - JudeLuxe handles execution and strategy, while an internal lead owns relationships and reporting.
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