Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency?

On a simple project that needs a single skill, often yes, and each freelancer sets their own rate. On a full project that needs both design and development, compare equivalent scopes. A freelancer who covers only one skill forces you to hire a second one, and you either manage the coordination yourself or pay a project manager on top. At Sonho, a showcase website costs from €2,500 excl. VAT, as a fixed price, with design, development, content and search visibility in the same team. Add up the quotes from each freelancer you need, add the coordination time, then compare that total with the agency quote.

What happens if my freelancer disappears?

This is the main risk of the freelance format: illness, a career change, overload or losing touch, and the project stops dead. If the code, hosting access and domain name aren't clearly in your name, handing it to someone else can take weeks, the time it takes to understand code nobody else wrote. Check before signing who owns the code and the credentials. A team lowers that risk: at Sonho, several people know each project, and you own the code and access from delivery onward. Many freelancers do serious work, and the question is worth asking whatever provider you choose. If it has already happened, the steps to follow are in [this guide to leaving your provider without losing your site](/guides/quitter-son-prestataire-web-sans-perdre-son-site).

Is a small agency slower than a freelancer?

Not necessarily, and often the opposite. A serious freelancer can be fast on one isolated task, but a full project depends on their availability at the time: they're usually juggling several clients, and something unexpected with one delays the others. An organized team moves forward on several fronts at once, design while content gets prepared, for example, which shortens the overall timeline. At Sonho, a site is ready to sell in 4 to 6 weeks, scoping, design, development, content and launch included. In both formats, projects mostly slow down because content is missing on the client's side or approvals drag on. Ask for the exact timeline and what could throw it off.

Can I manage my site myself after launch?

That depends on how the site was built, whatever the provider's format. A site coded to be edited comes with sections you can change without technical skills: swap a line of text, replace a photo, adjust a colour, from a simple interface. A site coded without that in mind, even by a competent team, leaves you dependent on a developer for the smallest change. At Sonho, sections are designed for this from the start, and the client's team is trained before launch. Before signing, ask for a demonstration of the editing interface: “you'll be able to change everything” means little until you've seen it work.

How do I compare two quotes, one from a freelancer and one from an agency?

Compare them on the same scope. A freelance quote for development alone needs a second service, for design, content and search visibility, before it can be compared with an agency quote that includes everything. At Sonho, the quote breaks these items down and stays fixed once signed. Ask each provider to break down what their price covers, line by line: scoping, design, development, content, search visibility, launch, training. Also check who owns the code, how changes are billed after launch, and the real timeline announced. Once these elements are aligned, compare the totals. A quote that looked cheaper at first glance may then turn out to cover far fewer items.

Web agency or freelancer: what's the real difference for your site, and which should you choose?

A freelancer usually covers one skill, an agency several under the same roof. We compare both formats on budget, timeline, and what you can change yourself after launch.

The short answer

A freelancer usually covers one skill, while an agency brings several together under one roof. An agency like Sonho combines design, development, search visibility and content in the same team. The site is delivered in 4 to 6 weeks, from €2,500 excl. VAT for a showcase website and €3,000 excl. VAT for a Shopify store, with sections you edit yourself after launch without a developer.

Web agency or freelancer: what's the real difference?

A freelancer sells time on one skill: design, development or search visibility, rarely all three at once. An agency sells a result, built by several crafts working together on the same project. On a full site, the difference shows up fast: a freelance designer delivers mockups, then you go looking for a developer to code them, and that handoff costs time.

In a team like Sonho's, art direction and code move forward together, from the first sketch to launch. The site gets its own look, designed from scratch, with a buying journey thought through from end to end. You can see the projects on /realisations.

When a freelancer is the right choice

A freelancer is the right choice in several precise situations. In those cases a structured agency makes little sense: you'd be paying for coordination between crafts you don't need.

Name the need precisely before choosing a provider, then pick the format that fits it. In the four cases below, a freelancer is enough and an agency adds little for the price.

Tight budget: a freelancer is often the only realistic option. At Sonho, a full showcase website starts from €2,500 excl. VAT.
A simple or temporary project: a page for an event, a minimal site while you plan something bigger, a test run over a few months.
One skill already in-house: you already have a designer or a developer, and only one piece is missing.
A precise, limited task: you know exactly what you need, such as fixing a bug or adding one isolated feature.

What an agency like Sonho adds on top of a freelancer

On a full project, the same team handles everything from start to finish: the brief, the design, the development, the content, search visibility and launch. You don't have to coordinate several providers yourself, or relay information between two people who don't always talk to each other.

One point of contact follows the project from the first meeting to launch, and stays reachable after: at Sonho, a reply comes within one business day if a bug shows up once the site is live. A freelancer juggling several clients at once can rarely commit to that.

How the budget compares: senior freelancer or agency

On a full project, the budget of an agency like Sonho sits close to what a senior freelancer charges. You pay for design and development as one service, without the back-and-forth of coordinating two providers. That coordination time has a cost, whether it's billed explicitly or absorbed into the timeline.

No public scale sets freelance or agency rates: each provider sets their own, and only quotes broken down line by line can be compared. At Sonho, everything is a fixed price, set before work starts: a full showcase website starts from €2,500 excl. VAT, a Shopify store, new build or redesign, from €3,000 excl. VAT.

That budget covers design, code, content and search visibility, with no double billing between two providers. Compare an agency quote with what a freelance designer and a freelance developer would cost you together.

Timelines, and autonomy once the site is live

Timeline is the second criterion that sets the formats apart. At Sonho, a site is ready to sell in 4 to 6 weeks, turnkey: scoping, design, development, content and launch all included in that window. A freelancer can move fast on one isolated task, but the timeline for a full project mostly depends on their workload at the time.

After launch, autonomy matters as much as a fast start. Sections built at Sonho are coded to be edited without technical skills: you change copy, photos and colours from a simple interface. A freelancer often leaves stronger technical dependencies behind, with access sometimes held on their end, and the smallest change means getting back in touch with them.

Freelancer, independent agency or large agency: the comparison

The table puts the three formats side by side: who does what, in how much time, for what budget, and what's left for you to do once the site is live. For Sonho, the table gives the rates and timelines we apply; for the other two formats, they vary from one provider to the next.

A large agency has its place on a very large project with complex integrations: several connected platforms, existing internal systems, several markets running in parallel. There, its ability to put several teams on the job at once helps. The deciding factor is a scope too large for a small team to run.

	Freelancer	An agency like Sonho	Large agency
Skills covered	One dominant skill	Design and development in the same team	All skills, several teams
Points of contact	One single person	One point of contact, the whole team behind them	Several, depending on the phase
Typical timeline	Variable, depends on their workload	4 to 6 weeks	Often several months
Typical budget	Hourly or fixed price, depending on the person	From €2,500 excl. VAT for a showcase site, €3,000 for a Shopify store	On quote, depending on how many teams are involved
Autonomy after launch	Variable, often limited	Sections you can edit without a developer	Often via a CMS, support billed separately
Dependency risk	High if the code isn't in your name	Low: the code is yours	Low on continuity, variable day to day

The questions to ask, freelancer or agency

The answers to these four questions matter more than the format. Ask them before signing, whichever provider you choose. A serious provider answers without hedging, often before you ask, because they've already thought them through.

An evasive answer on any of these points should raise a flag, whatever talent is on display otherwise. These common-sense questions protect your project on the day something goes wrong.

Who owns the code and the access? Domain name, hosting, source code, credentials: everything should be in your name, with the provider given access.
What happens if the person becomes unavailable? Illness, overload, a career change: ask how the project continues if your contact disappears overnight.
How are changes billed after launch? Fixed price, per ticket, hourly: the billing model should be in writing before the first request.
Who handles hosting and security updates? A site with no technical oversight becomes vulnerable over time.

Frequently asked questions

Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency?: On a simple project that needs a single skill, often yes, and each freelancer sets their own rate. On a full project that needs both design and development, compare equivalent scopes. A freelancer who covers only one skill forces you to hire a second one, and you either manage the coordination yourself or pay a project manager on top. At Sonho, a showcase website costs from €2,500 excl. VAT, as a fixed price, with design, development, content and search visibility in the same team. Add up the quotes from each freelancer you need, add the coordination time, then compare that total with the agency quote.
What happens if my freelancer disappears?: This is the main risk of the freelance format: illness, a career change, overload or losing touch, and the project stops dead. If the code, hosting access and domain name aren't clearly in your name, handing it to someone else can take weeks, the time it takes to understand code nobody else wrote. Check before signing who owns the code and the credentials. A team lowers that risk: at Sonho, several people know each project, and you own the code and access from delivery onward. Many freelancers do serious work, and the question is worth asking whatever provider you choose. If it has already happened, the steps to follow are in this guide to leaving your provider without losing your site.
Is a small agency slower than a freelancer?: Not necessarily, and often the opposite. A serious freelancer can be fast on one isolated task, but a full project depends on their availability at the time: they're usually juggling several clients, and something unexpected with one delays the others. An organized team moves forward on several fronts at once, design while content gets prepared, for example, which shortens the overall timeline. At Sonho, a site is ready to sell in 4 to 6 weeks, scoping, design, development, content and launch included. In both formats, projects mostly slow down because content is missing on the client's side or approvals drag on. Ask for the exact timeline and what could throw it off.
Can I manage my site myself after launch?: That depends on how the site was built, whatever the provider's format. A site coded to be edited comes with sections you can change without technical skills: swap a line of text, replace a photo, adjust a colour, from a simple interface. A site coded without that in mind, even by a competent team, leaves you dependent on a developer for the smallest change. At Sonho, sections are designed for this from the start, and the client's team is trained before launch. Before signing, ask for a demonstration of the editing interface: “you'll be able to change everything” means little until you've seen it work.
How do I compare two quotes, one from a freelancer and one from an agency?: Compare them on the same scope. A freelance quote for development alone needs a second service, for design, content and search visibility, before it can be compared with an agency quote that includes everything. At Sonho, the quote breaks these items down and stays fixed once signed. Ask each provider to break down what their price covers, line by line: scoping, design, development, content, search visibility, launch, training. Also check who owns the code, how changes are billed after launch, and the real timeline announced. Once these elements are aligned, compare the totals. A quote that looked cheaper at first glance may then turn out to cover far fewer items.