The three options compared.
| Freelancer | Agency (e.g. Oravel) | In-house AI engineer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Hourly or fixed project fee; varies widely. | Fixed price per system (Oravel: from €3,900) plus a monthly care fee (€490). | A full salary plus employer costs, tools and recruiting time. |
| Time to first result | Fast if the freelancer is available and the scope is small. | 2–4 weeks for a first system after the audit (Oravel: live in 30 days or setup fee back). | Months: recruiting, onboarding, then building. |
| After launch | Depends on the person's availability. | Monitoring, fixes and changes under a care contract. | Your employee maintains it; cover needed for holidays and departure. |
| Breadth of skills | One person's skills. | A team: integrations, prompts, security, process design. | One person's skills, growing over time. |
| Accountability | Contract with one individual. | Company contract, data processing agreement, published guarantees. | Employment relationship; you manage the work. |
| Knowledge stays with | The freelancer, unless documented. | Documented; code and prompts are yours. | Your company, as long as the person stays. |
| Best when | One small, clear, low-risk task. | Customer-facing or money-touching systems, several integrations. | AI is your product, or you build every week for years. |
Market figures change; see the sources below and our cost guide for current ranges. Searchlab (March 2026) puts no-code agents at roughly €2,000–€8,000, low-code at €8,000–€30,000 and custom development at €30,000–€80,000.
Choose a freelancer if…
For small, contained jobs a good freelancer is often the fastest and cheapest route.
Choose an agency if…
You are buying a running system, not just a build.
Hire your own engineer if…
Past a certain volume of work, owning the skill is cheaper and better.
Ask any of the three.
- Who fixes it at 10 pm on a Friday, and how fast?
- What does it cost per month after launch, at our volume?
- Do we own the code, prompts and accounts if we stop working together?
- Where does our data go, and is there a data processing agreement?
- Can you show it working on our own data before we commit? (Oravel offers a free 7-day pilot.)
Not legal advice.
This guide is general information, checked against the sources listed, and not legal advice. Rules change; check the current text or ask a lawyer before you rely on it. Checked November 2026.
Common questions.
Can we start with a freelancer and move to an agency later?
Yes. Ask the freelancer to document the workflow and hand over all accounts. A well-documented build is easy to take over.
Is an agency always more expensive?
Per hour, usually. Per working system over a year, not always, because maintenance and fixes are included and you spend less of your own time managing.
Does Oravel work alongside our own engineers?
Yes. Many clients have one or two developers; we build the first systems with them and hand over the know-how.
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