How much does it cost to promote an app? Choosing between an agency or an in-house team

The critical dilemma which all companies must tackle before starting their app promotion initiative is whether they will construct their own marketing team or seek external agency assistance. The decision between agency partnership and in-house team creation depends on funding resources together with team expertise alongside organizational growth plans.

Organizations that establish their own teams gain unrestricted influence over their project plans alongside execution processes and measurement results. Long-term success may result from this approach although it presents specific obstacles for implementation.

Pros:

• Direct oversight of campaigns and decision-making
• Long-term cost efficiency if the team is well-established
• Better alignment with company culture and product vision

Cons:

• In-house marketing teams must bear the expenses of employee salaries along with software costs and training investments that must be paired with infrastructure development.
• The process of worker selection together with initial training takes both financial support and time.
• Successful implementation of such a strategy demands constant financial support for education and industry trend learning.
• The staffing level must be carefully managed to avoid burnout since a small team increases the workload risk.

To run a fully functional app marketing department, companies need skilled professionals, including media buyers, designers, data analysts, and project managers. Without this structure, results can be inconsistent, and scaling can become a challenge.

When hiring an in-house team, one of the biggest expenses is salaries. Based on current market trends:

Europe:

A senior media buyer earns between €4,000–€7,000 per month, while designers range from €3,500–€6,000. A project manager’s salary falls between €4,000–€6,500.

USA:

Salaries are significantly higher, with media buyers earning $6,000–$10,000 per month, designers making $5,000–$9,000, and project managers around $6,500–$11,000.

Ukraine:

While salaries are lower, the market is highly competitive. Media buyers typically earn $2,000–$4,000, designers $1,500–$3,500, and project managers $2,500–$4,500.

Recruiting a high-performing team takes significant time and budget. On average:

• Finding a qualified media buyer takes 1–3 months.
• Recruiting a project manager requires 2–4 months.
• Assembling a full team (3 media buyers, 1 project manager, and 2 designers) can take anywhere from 6 months to a year.

Beyond salaries, companies must also budget for:

• Recruitment expenses: job postings, recruiter fees, and hiring platforms can cost $5,000–$20,000 per hire.
• Training and onboarding: new hires often take 2–3 months to reach peak efficiency, requiring further investment in training.

This time-consuming process means that businesses can experience long periods of downtime before their team becomes fully operational. This is where working with an agency offers a seamless, immediate solution.

Working with an agency eliminates the complexities of hiring, onboarding, and maintaining a full-scale marketing department. At Mobihunter, we provide a dedicated team for each project:

• 3 media buyers optimizing ad performance
• 1 project manager ensuring smooth execution
• 2 designers creating high-converting ad creatives

This setup guarantees expertise and efficiency without the need to build an entire department.

Why choose an agency?

• Our service costs less than sustaining an internal team.
• The absence of employee recruitment gives agencies major advantages in terms of time.
• Financially efficient practices: Mobihunter demonstrates broad expertise in various app sectors which enables data-driven approaches and quick result generation.

Our company presents multiple collaboration models which include RevShare as well as CPI and CPA systems and agency commission-based options so businesses can select a model that aligns with their specific targets.

Some companies successfully combine both strategies. 90% оf our clients have in-house teams but in the same time cooperate with us. Our expertise helped them to reduce customer acquisition costs by 10%, demonstrating that an agency can optimize results even when a company has an existing marketing team.

This hybrid approach is also beneficial for scaling. Even if an in-house team delivers strong results, bringing in an agency can provide fresh perspectives, innovative strategies, and additional resources to push performance to the next level.

Building an in-house team is a viable long-term investment, but it comes with high costs, long hiring times, and the risk of performance dips. Mobihunter offers an efficient, cost-effective alternative while also supporting companies that choose to develop their own teams. By combining an in-house team with an agency partnership, businesses can ensure continuous growth and never experience a marketing slowdown.

If you’re looking for an expert agency to complement your in-house team or take over your mobile marketing efforts, Mobihunter is ready to help.

Would you like to discuss the best approach for your app? Let’s talk!