PR agency vs in-house team: cost comparison for UK brands

What to take away

In-house cost is more than salaryemployer National Insurance, pension, tools and line management sit on top.
Agency fees are usually a retainer or a project fee, buying a share of several people rather than one hire.
Compare like for likesame scope, same seniority mix, same period.
Below about two days a week of work, a retainer usually costs less than a hire.
Exit costs belong in both columns from the start.

Start with the employer's full cost

A salary is the visible part of an in-house hire. Employer National Insurance is charged at 15% on earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold from April 2025 (GOV.UK). The Pensions Regulator sets the minimum employer pension contribution at 3% of qualifying earnings.

In-house employer cost components

£42,000illustrative mid-level salary
15%employer NI above £5,000
3%minimum employer pension
£6,300year-one recruitment fee

Recruitment is the next line. A contingency fee is commonly a percentage of first-year salary, and it lands in year one only. Add a laptop, media database seats, monitoring tools and the hours a manager spends supervising.

The illustrative model below uses a £42,000 salary for a mid-level press officer, London-weighted. Regional salaries are lower, so run your own figure through the same shape rather than borrowing ours.

Price the agency side on the same brief

An agency retainer buys hours from a team, not one person's week. Ask for the scope in writing: how many campaigns, which events, whose time at which grade.

ONS publishes business services data for the sector in which PR agencies sit. It is not a fee benchmark, so test any rate card against your own brief.

A retainer that looks expensive per month often covers several disciplines: media relations, content, reporting and a senior review step. That breadth is what you are buying, and it shrinks if you cut the fee.

A like-for-like annual model

These figures are our own illustrative model at rates in force in 2025, not a quotation.

Like-for-like annual model

In-house (one mid-level hire)

Core cost: £42,000 salary
Employer National Insurance: £5,550 at 15% above £5,000
Employer pension: £1,070 at 3% of qualifying earnings
Recruitment: £6,300 in year one
Tools and data: £2,400
Line management: £8,580 (three hours a week at £55)
Exit: Notice and any redundancy, per the Employment Rights Act 1996
Year one total: £65,900

Agency (retainer, defined scope)

Core cost: £54,000 annual retainer
Employer National Insurance: Not applicable
Employer pension: Not applicable
Recruitment: None stated
Tools and data: Included
Line management: Included
Exit: Notice period stated in the contract
Year one total: £54,000

Year two removes the recruitment line, so the in-house column falls to about £59,600. The agency column stays flat. At this volume the retainer is cheaper on cash; at higher volumes the balance moves.

Where the balance tips

Cost is not the only test, but it is the measurable one. Work through five steps before you commit.

Year-one cost: in-house vs agency

In-house

Core cost: £42,000 salary
Employer NI: £5,550
Pension: £1,070
Recruitment: £6,300 year one
Tools and data: £2,400
Line management: £8,580
Year one total: £65,900

Agency

Core cost: £54,000 retainer
Employer NI: Not applicable
Pension: Not applicable
Recruitment: None stated
Tools and data: Included
Line management: Included
Year one total: £54,000

Fix the scope in writingoutputs, seniority mix, hours and review points.
Price the in-house route at full employer cost, using current statutory rates.
Ask each agency to quote for that same scope, with hours stated.
Add tools, recruitment, management time and exit costs to both columns.
Re-run the model at half and double the volume to find the tipping point.

Below roughly two days a week of work, the retainer usually wins on cash. Above that, a salaried hire spreads the same cost across more output, provided the week is genuinely full.

If the budget is smaller than either route assumes, start with the narrower question. Our note on whether a PR agency is worth it for a small business sets out the test.

Contract, data and exit terms

If the agency will hold your media list or customer contacts, the arrangement needs a written processor agreement. The ICO's UK GDPR guidance sets out what it must cover, including instructions, security and deletion.

Notice runs both ways. If you move the work in-house and the fit is wrong, the Employment Rights Act 1996 sets the floor for notice and redundancy in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland uses a separate framework. Exit costs rarely appear in the first spreadsheet.

Retainer contracts commonly run for three or six months, with a notice period after the initial term. Ask what happens to work in progress if either side gives notice mid-campaign.

A comparison only holds if the scope is fixed first. Our guide to PR agency contract terms covers the clauses, from scope to exit, that are worth checking before you sign.

Common questions

Does an in-house hire really cost more than the salary?

Yes. In our illustrative model, employer costs, tools, recruitment and management time added about £23,900 to a £42,000 salary in year one.

Are agency retainers cheaper than an in-house team?

At low volumes, usually yes. A £54,000 annual retainer buys a team's hours, while a single hire commits you to a full salary whatever the workload.

How do I compare a retainer with a salary fairly?

Match the scope, hours and seniority mix, then turn the retainer into an annual figure. Add your own management time to the in-house column.

Should exit costs appear in the comparison?

Yes. Notice on an agency contract and notice or redundancy for an employee are both real costs, and they differ in size and timing.