A freelancer makes it easier to keep costs down and lets you deal directly with the person doing the work. An agency can divide strategy planning, design, coding and maintenance among a team, so operations are less likely to stop when one person is away. Comparing them with post-launch maintenance and the risk of losing contact in mind makes the choice much clearer.
The right choice depends on the scope you want to hand over
Whether you should ask a freelancer or an agency to build your website is not a question of which is better, but of what you want to entrust to them.
- A freelancer suits you if you want a small site built affordably, with plenty of direct discussion
- An agency suits you if you want to hand over everything at once: identifying your strengths, design, copywriting and maintenance
According to a survey by Web Kanji, the cost of commissioning a website for a small or medium-sized company averages 1,044,000 yen, with a median of 573,000 yen. The range varies widely depending on the provider, so choosing on price alone can lead to extra costs later.
Comparison table
| Point of comparison | Freelancer | Web agency |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Easier to keep down | Can be higher because the scope is broader |
| Communication | You speak directly with the person in charge | Roles are split between sales, directors and creators |
| Areas of strength | Weighted towards the individual's specialty (design, coding and so on) | Strategy planning, design, coding and maintenance can be divided among a team |
| Delivery time | Varies with how many projects the individual is handling | Easier to forecast because several people work on it |
| Post-launch maintenance | Depends on what the individual covers | Many companies provide maintenance as an organised service |
| If the person in charge suddenly takes time off | Work easily comes to a halt | Another member can take over |
| Best suited to | Small sites, limited budgets | Entrusting everything from strategy to ongoing operation |
This table shows general tendencies. Some freelancers take full responsibility for maintenance, and some agencies offer little in the way of responsive support. Checking each case individually is essential.
Why the costs differ
The difference in cost between a freelancer and an agency comes mainly from these three factors.
- An agency's price includes fixed costs such as office upkeep and sales expenses
- An agency's price includes the labour costs of several staff members
- An agency's price often includes a structure for post-launch maintenance
When comparing amounts, compare the same scope. For example, if the freelancer's quote covers only design and coding while the agency's quote includes strategy planning, copywriting and maintenance, the two figures cannot simply be placed side by side.
Maintenance is where the biggest difference shows
Differences in post-launch maintenance create a far bigger gap a few years down the line than the build cost does. A website built on a CMS such as WordPress has a core and plugins that are updated continuously, so leaving it unattended can break the layout or leave security weaknesses in place.
Before you commission the work, check the following points about maintenance.
- Are there daily backups? How many days are kept, and who performs a restore?
- Who updates the WordPress core and plugins, and when?
- Who monitors the site display and the server for problems?
- Who do you ask to edit text or photos, and how many business days until the change goes live?
- Are edits included in the monthly fee, or charged each time?
- What happens if you can no longer reach the person in charge?
When working with a freelancer, the sixth point matters most. Keeping the website in a state where it can be handed over, even if the individual closes their business or becomes unable to work through illness, is your safeguard.
Preparing for the risk of losing contact
Common worries about hiring a freelancer are “they stopped responding partway through” and “after launch, nobody could fix it.” Circumstances can change at an agency too, but the safeguards are the same.
- Make sure you, the client, receive the login details for the website's admin panel
- Ask for a list of the plugins used and any custom-built components
- Have the site built on standard WordPress. Heavy use of custom mechanisms limits who can take it over
- Keep a record of the work (what was changed and when) in writing or by email
Seven questions to ask before signing
- Who will handle my project? One person, or several?
- Could you show me a list of the work included in the quotation?
- Is post-launch maintenance included in the quotation, or charged separately?
- In what situations would additional costs arise?
- If the deadline looks likely to slip, when will you let me know?
- Could you show me sites you have built in the past?
- Will the finished site be delivered in a form another company can take over?
Whether you get concrete answers to these questions is itself a useful basis for your decision.
Guidelines on which suits you
A freelancer suits cases like these.
- The site has few pages and the structure is already decided
- You want to keep the budget down
- You want to talk directly with the person in charge and fine-tune the details
- You can arrange post-launch maintenance through another arrangement
An agency suits cases like these.
- You want help from the start, with identifying your strengths and writing the copy
- You also want specialist work such as search optimisation and structured data
- You want post-launch maintenance and updates handled as part of the same package
- You want a setup where operations continue even when one person is away
An option that keeps costs down while using an agency's team
The assumption that an agency is always more expensive is changing. More and more agencies hand much of the coding to AI and spend their people's time on strategy planning and design.
At Merci Ltd., for example, the AI-led site-factory starts at 30,000 yen initial cost and 7,000 yen per month (excluding tax), while creator-led bespoke production starts at 250,000 yen (around 5 pages), 500,000 yen (around 10 pages) or 800,000 yen (around 20 pages) initial cost, with monthly fees from 3,000 yen. The monthly fee covers the server, SSL, daily backups, weekly updates and a check every morning. Prices depend on the features you include, and we quote flexibly.
How to read a quotation when comparing costs
Once you have quotes from two or more providers, compare these five items side by side before you look at the price.
| Item | What to check |
|---|---|
| Strategy planning | Does it include identifying your strengths and planning the site structure? |
| Copywriting | Who writes it? Are interviews included? |
| Design | Number of design proposals, rounds of revisions, smartphone display |
| Post-launch maintenance | What the monthly fee covers and the range of edits included |
| Additional costs | How adding pages or changing the design is quoted |
Once you have aligned the scope and then look at the figures, the reasons for a low price or a high one become clear. For example, if one quote excludes copywriting and the other includes it, add the cost of commissioning the copy separately before comparing.
How to decide when you're unsure
- Choose the provider with a clearly defined contact point for post-launch updates
- Choose the provider whose past work is closest to your industry and company size
- Choose the provider that replies quickly and concretely to your questions
- Let price be the final deciding factor
The build cost is a one-off, but maintenance and updates continue for as long as you have the site. Thinking in terms of the total initial cost plus monthly fees over several years makes it harder to get the decision wrong.
Differences in how a project proceeds
The way a project runs from briefing to launch also differs between freelancers and agencies.
| Stage | Freelancer | Web agency |
|---|---|---|
| Initial consultation | You speak directly with the person doing the work | A salesperson or director is usually your point of contact |
| Strategy planning | You prepare it yourself, or decide it through discussion | The agency may put it together for you |
| Production | One person handles everything | Work is divided up by role |
| Review and revisions | You tell the person in charge directly | You go through your point of contact |
| After launch | Usually requires a separate contract | A maintenance contract is usually built in |
The workload on your side can be greater with a freelancer, because you are more likely to prepare the structure and copy yourself. Whether you have the time, or would rather hand it over, decides which suits you.
What to prepare before requesting a quote
Whichever you choose, preparing these four things beforehand will make the quote much more concrete: a list of the content you want to include, the addresses of sites you would like to use as references, your preferred launch date, and a rough upper limit for your budget. If that is difficult, you can also work through it together with an agency.
FAQ
Generally, costs do tend to be lower. However, quotes often cover different scopes, so we recommend aligning them and checking whether strategy planning and maintenance are included before you compare.
It varies by company and by the person in charge. Ask to see their past work and check whether they have experience with sites in your industry.
Yes. However, if the site is built on a custom mechanism, it may not be possible to take it over. Whether it is built on a standard platform such as WordPress is a good indicator of how easily it can be handed over.
It varies by provider. Check before signing how many edits are included in the monthly fee and what is charged separately.
Subsidies require quotations to be written in a particular way and support with the application, so a provider with experience of subsidy-funded projects is the better choice.
Let's go through the cost breakdown together
Whether a freelancer or an agency suits you depends on the scope you want to hand over and the maintenance you will need after launch. At Merci Ltd., we explain the differences between our prices and plans, and exactly what the monthly fee covers, before we issue a quote.
