Graphic design agency, in-house designer or outsourced team? The honest cost comparison
An in-house designer in Germany or France quickly costs more than 60,000 euros a year, yet is rarely busy all the time. An agency bills by the hour, which gets expensive for recurring production work. Here is how the three models compare and when each one pays off.
The three models at a glance
If you need design regularly — ads, packaging, social media, trade fair material, print-ready files — you have three options: hire, buy per project from an agency, or run a dedicated outsourced design team.
- In-house designer: full control, fixed cost, limited bandwidth and no cover during holidays or sick leave.
- Graphic design agency: strong creative quality and project flexibility, but hourly rates of 80 to 140 euros and little appetite for daily production.
- Outsourced design team: named people at a fixed monthly price, scalable from half a full-time equivalent upwards.
What an in-house designer really costs
Gross salary is only the start. Employer contributions, workplace, hardware, software licences, training and recruiting usually add 35 to 45 percent on top.
Utilisation decides the case: most mid-sized companies need design in waves, before fairs, campaigns or catalogue deadlines. In quiet weeks you still pay for the capacity.
When an agency is worth it — and when it is not
For brand development, corporate design and large campaigns a specialised agency earns its fee. For repeat production — ad adaptations, size variants, artwork, print data, social series — the hourly model becomes costly, because that work needs time rather than concept.
In practice the two work well side by side: strategy and brand with the agency, production and maintenance with the outsourced team.
How the outsourced design team works
Konzept Services provides dedicated designers in Tunis and Paris who work only for your company, trained on your corporate design, working in your tools and in your language: German, French, English or Arabic.
You pay a fixed monthly price per full-time equivalent, with no timesheets and no renegotiation for every revision round. Recruiting, onboarding, cover and equipment are on us.
- Live in roughly 14 days, selection and onboarding included
- Named people instead of rotating freelancers
- Print-ready files with bleed, CMYK and spot colours
- Holiday and sickness cover already planned
Worked example: a mid-sized manufacturer
A manufacturer with about 120 staff produces roughly 40 ad layouts, 15 datasheets and continuous social graphics per month — roughly one full-time design role.
At an agency rate of 110 euros and 130 hours a month the bill passes 14,000 euros. An in-house role costs about 6,500 to 7,500 euros fully loaded, with limited peak cover. An outsourced full-time equivalent sits clearly below that and can be split.
Decide on more than price
- Volume: below ten design hours a month an agency stays simplest.
- Repetition: the more routine work, the stronger the case for a dedicated outsourced team.
- Brand: concept work and rebranding belong with experienced hands, in-house or agency.
- Language: multilingual layouts need people who read the language. Arabic runs right to left.
- Compliance: agree data processing and rights to source files before you start.
Graphic design cost comparison (2026 guide values, Germany/France)
| In-house designer | Design agency | Outsourced team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost model | Salary + overhead | Hourly rate 80–140 € | Fixed monthly price |
| Monthly fully loaded cost (1 FTE) | approx. 6,500–7,500 € | from approx. 10,000 € at full load | clearly below |
| Time to start | 2–5 months hiring | 1–3 weeks | around 14 days |
| Scalable | no | yes, expensive | yes, from 0.5 FTE |
| Cover | open | rotating people | planned in |
| Languages | usually one | project dependent | DE / FR / EN / AR |
Guide values from market observation and our own projects. Your numbers depend on region, seniority and volume — the cost check calculates your case.
FAQ
- From what volume does outsourcing graphic design pay off?
- As a rule of thumb, from around 60 design hours a month, about half a full-time equivalent. Below that, buying per project is usually simpler.
- Do we keep the source files?
- Yes. All open files, templates and rights stay with you, stored in your systems or a shared drive of your choice.
- How is brand consistency ensured?
- Through a dedicated team instead of rotating freelancers, onboarding on your corporate design, and fixed review rounds with your marketing.
- Does this cover print production?
- Yes. Print-ready files with bleed, registration marks, CMYK and spot colours are standard — a focus of our work with printing companies.
Let us calculate your case
Tell us how much design work you have per month and you get a solid number within 24 hours.