Honest comparison
Us, an agency, a freelancer, or a hire?
Each is the right answer for someone. Here's how they differ, including where we're not the best fit.
| Fourteener | Typical agency | Freelancer | In-house hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | A senior lead on every account, plus a trusted delivery team | Often junior staff after the sales call | One person, skills vary | One hire, learning as they go |
| Prices | Published, including markups | Usually quoted after calls | Hourly, varies | Salary plus benefits, tools and management time |
| Contract | 90 days, then month to month | Often 6 to 12 months | Per project | Employment |
| AI visibility tracking | Monthly, raw answers included | Sometimes, often a score only | Rarely | Depends on the hire |
| Vendor neutrality | No AI vendor referral fees, markups disclosed | Often resell tools with undisclosed margins | Varies | Neutral |
| Breadth | AI implementation, web development and AI visibility under one lead | Broad, many hand-offs | Narrow | Usually one specialty |
| Who owns the work | You, from day one | Sometimes held by the agency | Varies | You |
| Cost to start | Free check, $250 call or $2,500 audit | Discovery fees or minimum retainers | Low | Recruiting and onboarding |
Generalizations, not rules. Plenty of agencies, freelancers and hires do excellent work.
When we're not the answer
When is an agency the better choice?
When you need large volumes of creative, content or paid media every month. Many of our clients keep an agency for that and use us for search, AI and platform decisions.
When should we hire in-house?
When the work is steady enough to fill a full-time role and you know what good looks like. We often help clients define that role and hand over to the hire.
When is a freelancer enough?
For a clearly scoped task you can check yourself, such as building a page from a finished design.
Not sure which you need?
Book a free 30-minute intro. If an agency, freelancer or hire is the better fit, we'll tell you.