TCO & Decision Calculator
Senior Freelancer vs. Agency vs. In-House
An honest, comprehensive comparison: Which path is fastest, most cost-effective, and lowest risk for your software project?
Option A
Traditional Digital Agency
Estimated Total Cost*520 Std. gesamt
ca. 104.000 €
inkl. 25% Projektleiter- & Account-Overhead3 – 6 weeks quoting and scoping cycle
Pitched by seniors, delivered largely by juniors
Significant markup for account managers & liaisons
Change requests and continuous supplementary billing
Kalkulationsbasis:520 h × 160 €/h + 25% PM = 104.000 €
Option B
In-House Full-Time Hire
Estimated Total Cost*
ca. 57.897 €
inkl. Headhunter (~18k €), Hardware (~4k €) & Einarbeitungszeit3 – 6 months recruiting + 3 months onboarding
Depends on the candidate market
Hardware (~€4,000 setup) & ongoing IT administration
Skill lock-in: New stacks for future projects require expensive training or new hires
Employment protection: Salaries continue running as fixed overhead after project end
Kalkulationsbasis:3 Mo. × 8.066 € + Headhunter + Onboarding + Hardware
Empfohlen
Option C
ProjectMakers
Estimated Total Cost*
ca. 56.160 €
ca. 47.840 € Ersparnis vs. Agentur
Immediate availability (1 – 2 weeks notice)
100% Senior Developer execution by Simon-Daniel März (18+ yrs experience)
0 € für Abstimmungen: €0 for emails, calls & alignment (service included)
100% Budget guarantee on agreed specifications – zero risk
Generationen-Mitnahme: Ältere & weniger technik-affine Mitarbeiter werden aktiv mitgenommen.
Calculation basis: €96 to €120 / hour for fullstack engineering and senior systems architecture.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions: Model Comparison
Decision support for Managing Directors and Engineering Leaders.
Agencies carry substantial administrative overhead: account executives, project managers, and sales teams add 20–30% markup, while implementation is frequently delegated to juniors. With ProjectMakers, you work directly with Simon-Daniel März (18+ years experience).