In or out? The pros and cons of in-house vs. external agencies
In-house branding and design teams are on the rise. They do great work, they win awards, and they're often cheaper than going to an agency. But despite the benefits, using an in-house team might not always be the best option (and we're only being a little biased). Here are some of the pros and cons of going in or out.
When we first wrote about this question in 2017, the debate was relatively clear-cut. Agencies had specialist skills, in-house teams had brand knowledge and proximity. In 2026, the landscape has changed significantly — particularly with the rise of AI-assisted design tools, which have dramatically expanded what a skilled in-house team can produce without specialist support.
The question of in-house vs. agency is no longer primarily about capability. It's about what kind of brand challenge you're facing — and whether you need consistency or challenge.
The case for in-house
One huge benefit of having an in-house team is the knowledge and understanding they'll have of your brand. They're around it all the time so they'll know the ins and outs, making it easier and quicker for them to produce work. An external agency on the other hand would need to take the time to get to know your brand before they can start a project.
The idea that talent can only be found inside agencies is quickly becoming a thing of the past. More and more creatives and marketers are moving client-side, being wooed by the prospects of job security, a more relaxed pace, and never having to look at another time sheet again.
Having an in-house team can also be a lot more convenient. If you have a new idea or a pitch, there's no need to search for that agency that will be a perfect fit — all you need to do is hand it over to the in-house team. There are also a lot of advantages that are just down to proximity. It's easier to check in with them for progress updates and the team can also easily collaborate with other departments.
In 2026, there's an additional in-house advantage worth naming: AI design tools. Skilled in-house marketers with tools like Figma AI, Adobe Firefly, and Canva Pro can now produce high-quality assets at a scale and speed that would have required significant agency resource five years ago. For day-to-day brand execution — social content, internal comms, presentation templates, campaign assets — a well-equipped in-house team has more capability than ever.
The case for external agencies
However, there are some drawbacks to always using an in-house design team — with one of them being that they can turn out to be a false economy. Levels of work can vary throughout the year for staff, making it costly to keep some employees around when they're not needed. There's also a good chance employees will get bored during these downtimes.
While it can be a huge plus having creatives who've been at the company for a long time and know the brand inside out, there's the risk that they'll be resistant to change. New suggestions might be met with scepticism and the phrase 'but we've always done it this way'. Consistency in branding is not a bad thing but there are times when a fresh approach is needed.
What agencies do best is offer that new perspective, which comes in handy when you have a project where you're aiming for something different. Your in-house team is heavily involved with the brand on a day-to-day basis so it can be harder for them to take a step back and look at the brand in a new light. Bringing in outsiders can help breathe some new life into the brand whether you're looking for a complete refresh or a new campaign.
Agencies also come with a huge breadth and depth of expertise. They'll likely have a wider range of competencies either within the agency or through a network of people they work with regularly. If you want to try something new with your brand but don't already have the skills in-house, going with an agency can help you do just that.
When to use each — our honest view
At Huddle, we are obviously not neutral in this debate. But we can be honest about it: for most of the brands we work with, the answer is both — at different times and for different tasks.
- In-house teams are better suited to: day-to-day brand execution (social content, templates, internal comms), maintaining brand consistency across a high volume of touchpoints, and anything where proximity to the product or service gives a genuine creative advantage.
- External agencies are better suited to: strategic brand questions (positioning, audience, messaging framework), high-stakes creative output (campaign development, identity systems, major launches), and any work that requires an outside perspective to be genuinely useful. Which is a lot of the most important brand work.
The in-house team that never brings in outside challenge tends to become a mirror for the business rather than a window on the market. The agency that never builds a deep understanding of the client tends to deliver generic work. The best relationships we have at Huddle are those where the in-house team knows they need a genuine external perspective — and is willing to be challenged by it.
The reality is that in-house and external teams often end up working together on projects. When this happens, both teams need to communicate and collaborate, not compete, to get the best results. In-house teams need to be open to new ideas and new ways of working, while agencies should be sensitive towards the in-house team and remember they'll be the ones working on the brand once the project is over.
So is it better to go in-house or out? It really depends on what you're after. If you have a lot of design work that you need doing on a regular basis, employing in-house staff makes a lot of sense. If you want a new brand identity or something that's beyond your own competencies — say, a strategic repositioning, a rebrand, or a major digital build — an agency will help you do just that.
At Huddle, we offer flexible ways of working with external teams — including retainer arrangements that give clients ongoing access to senior branding expertise at a level that's more cost-effective than project-by-project. If you're weighing up your options, brief us and we can help you figure out the right model.