The marketing agency alternative:
web and marketing in
For a proper website you pay a web agency. For growth after that, a marketing agency. Growthdesk does the work of both, with AI and experts, for one flat monthly rate.
Every alternative to an agency, sorted by who
The question is rarely whether an agency is any good. The question is which part of the work you hand over, and what still lands back on your desk afterwards. A web agency builds and stops there, a freelancer does one thing, a marketer on payroll costs a salary. Below is every option on that axis, ours included.
You keep it in house
No invoices from outside, but hours and salary from inside.
Yourself, with AI tools
ChatGPT for the copy, a site builder for the site, and working out what Google makes of it on your own. Cheap in euros, expensive in evenings, and it stands or falls with how much time you have left.
Building it yourself on Wix or Squarespace
Hosting and updates keep running, so the technical upkeep is handled. The pages, the copy and the visibility all three stay yours.
A marketer on payroll
Someone who really knows your business and works on it every day. Count on a salary from a few thousand a month, plus hiring, and building the site is usually not part of it.
You hire individual people
A good price per specialist, but you are the one tying them together.
A freelance web builder
Finishes your site for a one-off fee, often faster and sharper than an agency. After that it is done: filling, getting found and maintenance come back to you.
A freelance marketer or SEO specialist
Picks up content and visibility for half a day a week. Building a site is not what they do, and they rarely have any say over the tech underneath.
A copywriter
Delivers copy you are happy with. Whether it also gets found depends on who does the rest, and that is you or someone else.
You hire an agency
The work goes out, the managing and the invoices come in.
A large full-service agency
Everything under one roof, with strategy, a team and a fixed contact. Count on thousands a month, a quote per change and days to weeks of lead time.
A small agency or specialist
Short lines, sharper rates and often stronger in their own field. Upkeep usually runs per project, so it stops the moment the project stops.
A web agency
Delivers a good-looking site and keeps it running. Whatever it then needs in copy, visibility and improvement falls outside the brief.
One party, one flat monthly rate
Building, filling, getting found and upkeep all sit outside your own calendar.
A website subscription
Build, hosting and upkeep for a flat monthly rate, usually on a three to five year contract. The site is there and stays up, but copy, visibility and ads are rarely genuinely part of it.
Growthdesk
The work of a web agency and a marketing agency, for one flat monthly rate and no one-off build fee. No quote per change: one message, live the same day. If you want a custom portal or a months-long strategy track on site, an agency is the better choice.
What an agency
Agencies do great work. But the invoice is rarely one line, and rarely small. These are the costs that stack up, across the parties you end up hiring.
- Having a website built one-off
A web agency easily charges €3,000 to €10,000 for a custom site. One-off, and again for every big change.
- A monthly marketing retainer monthly
SEO, content and ads through an agency often run €1,000 to €3,000 a month.
- Waiting on people lead time
A change goes through account managers, planning and quotes. Days to weeks, not a message.
- Split across parties fragmented
Web agency, SEO agency, copywriter, ad agency: you pay and brief each one separately.
- Your own hours your time
Briefing, aligning, approving, meetings. An agency saves work, but also costs your time.
- Onboarding & strategy fees upfront
Onboarding, strategy tracks and audits are often billed separately before anything is even live.
Add it up: a one-off build fee of thousands, plus a monthly retainer, plus your time and the coordination between parties.
One flat monthly rate. First month free, then from €19 a month. Web design, SEO, content, ads and maintenance: one party, AI and experts, and we do the work.
See the pricingAn agency vs Growthdesk,
No tricks: an agency genuinely wins a few rows. The difference is the price, the speed, and that it all sits with one party.
When an agency is
An agency is not bad, it is something else. Choose an agency if you have a large, complex custom project (a webshop with hundreds of products, a member portal, an app), want a deep strategy track with people who live inside your brand for months, or expect a dedicated team on site. Then an agency’s attention and depth are exactly what you need.
Growthdesk is the alternative for entrepreneurs who want the work of a marketing and a web agency, but without the quotes, the lead time and the thousands-a-month budget, and without managing parties themselves.
About agencies and Growthdesk.
What does a marketing agency cost per month?
A marketing retainer for SEO, content and ads usually runs between €1,000 and €3,000 a month in the Netherlands. On top of that there is often a one-off fee for the website or the strategy track. With Growthdesk your first month is free, then from €19 a month, with no one-off build fees and cancellable monthly.
What are the costs of a marketing agency?
Count on three items. One-off: a custom website costs €3,000 to €10,000, plus onboarding, audits and strategy billed separately before anything is live. Monthly: a retainer of €1,000 to €3,000. And invisible: your own hours briefing, aligning and approving. With us it is all in one monthly price, and you steer it with a message.
What is the hourly rate of a marketing agency?
Individual specialists and freelancers typically charge €75 to €125 an hour. Agencies prefer a fixed retainer, because counting hours works badly for both sides on continuous work. At Growthdesk you pay no hourly rate at all: the hours are inside your flat monthly price, so one more change costs you nothing extra.
What is marketing without fixed costs?
Marketing entirely without costs does not exist: SEO, your own content and email need no media budget, but they do need your time. What you can drop are the fixed agency costs: no quote process, no setup fees, no annual contract. That is exactly how we work, with a monthly price you can stop any month.
Does Growthdesk replace a marketing agency?
For most of the work, yes: SEO, content, ads and continuous optimisation are done by us, with AI and experts, for a flat monthly rate. If you want a large strategic track with people working full-time inside your brand for months, an agency fits better, we will say so honestly.
Does Growthdesk replace a web agency or designer?
For a professional, custom-designed website that gets found and sells: yes. For a complex custom application, a large webshop or a member portal, a web agency or developer makes more sense.
Do you actually do the work, or is it a tool?
We do the work. Our AI works on your site day in, day out, and our experts review and take live what holds up. You do not manage a tool; you have a fixed point of contact on WhatsApp, like an agency, but faster.
Can I switch from my current agency?
Yes. We use your existing site, content and brand style as the basis, build on our platform and take it live on your own domain. You are not locked in: cancel monthly.
Do I get a fixed point of contact like at an agency?
Yes, on WhatsApp. You message what you want, we handle it and take it live. No account-manager loop, no meetings.
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