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Compare · Updated November 5, 2026

Should you hire a design agency or an in-house product designer?

Hiring an in-house product designer or working with a design agency or studio: the real monthly cost of each, how fast you can start, and which one fits your stage.

The short answer

Hire an in-house product designer when design work will never stop and you can wait a few months to find the right person. Work with a design agency or studio, like Baobun Studio, when you need senior design now for a redesign, an MVP or a design system. A median US designer costs about $11,677 a month once benefits and taxes are added.

Our take: Honestly, it’s rarely one or the other. A lot of teams bring in a studio for the big piece of work, then hire someone to keep it going.

By Charles Postiaux, founder of Baobun Studio · November 5, 2026

What each one really costs. 01

A salary is only part of what a hire costs.

The median pay for web and digital interface designers in the US was $98,090 a year in May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about $8,174 a month in wages. But wages are only 70% of what US companies spend per employee; benefits and payroll taxes are the rest. So the same designer costs about $11,677 a month, before equipment, software and the time it takes to hire.

Senior product designers for B2B and AI products usually earn more than the median.

In-house designerDesign studio
Monthly costAbout $11,677, with benefits and taxesA fixed price per project, or a monthly plan
Time to startWeeks or months of hiringDays, after one call
CommitmentA salary and a notice periodOne project, or month to month
SkillsOne person’s rangeSenior design, prototypes, often front-end
Knows your productDeeply, over timeQuickly, from an audit

Salary: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, median for web and digital interface designers, May 2024. Wages and benefits: BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026.

When to hire. 02

  • Design work will keep coming every week, for years.
  • You can spend two or three months finding the right person.
  • You want someone in every product meeting.
  • The product is stable enough for one designer to own it.

When a studio makes more sense. 03

  • You need a redesign, an MVP or a design system, with a clear end.
  • You need senior design this month, not next quarter.
  • You want coded prototypes and front-end help, not just Figma files.
  • You’re not sure yet how much design work you’ll have.

Where we fit. 04

Baobun Studio is a small senior studio, not a big agency. Projects start at $15,000 at a fixed price, and the design partner plan at $15,000 a month. We’ve designed for Booking.com, Serko, Slack and Mux, and the founder designs every project. If you need a full-time designer for the next three years, hiring is the better call, and we’ll tell you on the call.

Questions. The ones people ask next.

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How much does a product designer cost per month?

A median US designer earns about $8,174 a month, and costs about $11,677 once benefits and taxes are added. Senior product designers cost more.

Is an agency cheaper than hiring?

For a project with an end, usually yes: you pay for the work, not a salary, hiring time and onboarding. For years of steady work, a hire usually costs less.

Can a studio work with our in-house designer?

Yes. We often redesign the core flows and set up the design system, then hand it over to your designer.

Keep reading. Related pages.

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