LinkedIn ads agency or in-house team?
An honest comparison, from an agency that will tell you when in-house is the better choice.
The short version
Build LinkedIn ads in-house when LinkedIn is your main channel and you can keep a dedicated specialist busy full time. Hire an agency when LinkedIn is one of several channels, when you need senior expertise quickly, or when you want results before you commit to a hire. Some B2B companies start with an agency and bring the work in-house once they know what works.
In-house team vs LinkedIn ads agency
| In-house specialist | Specialist agency like TriAds | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | A salary plus employer costs, training and tools, also in quiet months | A fixed monthly fee, from €1,750 at TriAds, cancel monthly after three months |
| Time to start | Recruiting and onboarding take months | First campaign live within about two weeks |
| Depth of LinkedIn knowledge | Depends on one person | A team that sees many accounts and knows the platform from the inside |
| Knowledge of your product | Deep and daily | Grows over time, needs your input |
| Speed of internal decisions | Fast, sits next to sales | Slower, depends on your feedback |
| Risk when someone leaves | Knowledge leaves with them | The team covers, your account stays yours |
| Creative production | Needs design support | Included in Growth and Pro |
When in-house is the better choice
- LinkedIn is your main growth channel and you run many campaigns at the same time.
- Your product changes every week and ads must follow it closely.
- You already have a marketing team with design and content capacity.
- You can find and keep a senior LinkedIn specialist. That is harder than it sounds.
When an agency is the better choice
- LinkedIn is one of several channels and does not justify a full-time hire.
- You need senior expertise now, without months of recruiting.
- Your current results disappoint and you want an outside view on the account.
- Your budget moves with the seasons, and you want the cost to move less than a salary.
- You want someone who sees many B2B accounts and knows which patterns waste budget.
The hybrid option
You can also combine both. The marketing team owns the message, the content and the link with sales. The agency owns the platform: structure, audiences, bidding, testing and tracking. Our Starter package is built for that. You supply the content, we run the campaigns.
You can also start with an agency and move in-house later. Your ad account, your data and your raw material stay yours, so nothing is lost when you switch.
Questions to ask yourself
- How many campaigns do we need to run per month, all year?
- Who makes the images, documents and videos?
- Who checks the account every day, also during holidays?
- Do we know why our current campaigns perform the way they do?
- What happens to our LinkedIn ads if our specialist leaves?
Not sure where you stand? A competitor analysis gives you a clear picture of your market before you decide how to staff it.
Questions, answered.
Is it cheaper to run LinkedIn ads in-house?
Only when you can keep a specialist busy full time. An in-house hire costs a salary, employer costs and tools all year. An agency like TriAds costs a fixed monthly fee from €1,750 and can be cancelled monthly after three months.
Can we move LinkedIn ads in-house later?
Yes. At TriAds your ad account, data and raw material stay yours, so you can take the work in-house at any time after the minimum term.
Can an agency work next to our marketing team?
Yes. In our Starter package your team supplies the content and we run the campaigns on LinkedIn.
Related pages
Still weighing your options?
Ask us in a free 30-minute call. If an in-house hire or a freelancer fits you better, we will say so.