Comparison
We run both an agency and a marketplace, which makes this the one comparison we have no incentive to rig in either direction.
Before anything else
When you need several disciplines coordinated by someone who is not you. An agency absorbs project management, covers holiday and illness, carries insurance and process, and gives you one accountable relationship instead of four. If nobody internally has time to direct the work, the agency’s overhead is buying you exactly the thing you are short of — and paying a specialist directly will quietly cost you more in your own hours.
Side by side
| AdSTARS Connect | Retained agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Who directs the work | You do, with the platform handling contracting, escrow and delivery tracking. | The agency does, against an agreed strategy and reporting cycle. |
| Cost shape | You pay for the work. No account management layer, no minimum retainer. | A retainer covering strategy, delivery, account management and the agency’s overhead. |
| Breadth on one engagement | One specialist per role; AI Team Builder assembles multi-role plans where the goal needs them. | A team across disciplines, coordinated internally. |
| Continuity | Depends on the individual. Their availability is on the profile before you brief them. | Contractual, with cover built in — though the people on your account may change. |
| Evidence before you commit | Verified results with a metric, baseline, period and verification level. | Case studies and references, usually presented in a pitch. |
| Speed to start | Shortlist in the same session; work begins when the first milestone is funded. | Pitch, scoping and onboarding — typically weeks. |
Not "which is cheaper". The question is whether you have someone who can hold the brief.
A specialist needs a client who can define an outcome, review work against it, and make decisions on a normal cadence. Given that, they are the better buy: you are paying for the work rather than for the layer that manages it. Without it, the engagement drifts, milestones sit unapproved, and the cheaper option becomes the more expensive one.
Most businesses we see end up with an agency or an internal lead owning strategy, and specialists contracted for the parts that need depth — a tracking rebuild, a CRO programme, a specific channel.
That is why AI Team Builder exists: it turns a goal into a role plan with a budget split, and each role is contracted and escrowed separately so you can stop one without stopping the others.
AdSTARS Agency is a managed marketing service run by the same company as this marketplace. It receives no placement advantage in shortlists or in the directory, and we would rather point you at the agency when that is the right answer than win a marketplace transaction you regret.
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AdSTARS Connect introduces businesses to independent marketing specialists and is not a party to the resulting contract. Comparisons describe the other platforms' publicly documented terms at the date of writing and are not endorsed by them.