Freelance vs. In-House Designers: Main Differences, Pros, and Cons

In today’s crowded marketplace, businesses of all shapes and sizes rely on designers to help them craft strong brand identities. Whether you need a memorable logo design for a new startup or a UI (user experience) design that converts more customers, the right graphic designer can make all the difference.

After all, humans are visual creatures. Research shows that something as simple as choosing the right color can have a major impact on brand recognition.

But for many business owners, the challenge is finding the right design services for their company’s needs. Should you hire an in-house designer or a freelance graphic designer?

This guide will explore these questions and more. We’ll start by introducing you to different types of designers and what they do. Then we’ll walk you through the pros and cons associated with each to help you find the right fit for your design needs.

Table of contents:

• Freelance vs. in-house graphic designers
• Pros and cons
• Impact on design quality and efficiency
• Cost-effectiveness and scalability
• Building a brand identity
• Making the best choice for your design needs
• Find great designers on Upwork

Freelance vs. in-house graphic designers

While several differences between in-house and freelance graphic designers are evident, rest assured that high-quality design work isn’t one of them. Where and how graphic designers choose to work is rarely a reflection of their skill set or talent level.

Freelance work is so common in the design industry that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently found that nearly 20% of graphic designers identify as self-employed. Finding the right designer will largely come down to your company’s size, needs, and goals. Let’s take a closer look at different types of designers and where to find them.

Freelance designers

A freelance graphic designer is an independent professional who works as their own boss. These designers take on a variety of clients, often from different industries, on a project-by-project basis.

In addition to general graphic design skills, many independent designers also specialize in certain niches. For instance, a print graphic designer might specialize in designing materials such as product packaging, magazine ads, book covers, or brochures.

A digital designer, on the other hand, might specialize in a niche like UX design, animation, social media posts, or email marketing. While single freelancers often specialize in multiple niches, familiarizing yourself with different types of designers can help point you in the direction of the right designer for your needs.

In-house designers

In-house designers are full-time employees who are exclusively devoted to developing and maintaining the brand identity and related considerations for a single employer. Depending on the size of their company, these designers may work alongside other team members, such as senior designers, creative directors, or team leaders.

They often also work closely with other in-house teams, such as marketing, sales, and product strategists. While committed to a single brand identity, many in-house designers use their skills to produce a wide range of content for their companies.

Some days, they may be tasked with creating print materials like product packaging, promotional materials, or print ads. On other days, they may focus on generating digital ads for PPC campaigns or maintaining the company’s web design or social media presence.

Main differences

For many clients, the decision to hire freelance or in-house designers largely comes down to several key considerations. While both types of designers are capable of producing high-quality work, each operates differently in terms of employment type and work environment.

Freelance designers work remotely as independent contractors, which allows them to be very flexible in terms of accepting projects of various sizes and lengths. If you need design help on a short-term or project-to-project basis, freelance designers are most likely the best choice for you.

But if you have a steady stream of design work or need a designer to be available on-site during certain hours, then hiring an in-house designer or design team is likely the way to go. In-house designers work as full-time employees, which allows them to focus on becoming experts in your company’s long-term brand strategy.

Most freelancers are used to self-management, so your biggest tasks will revolve around clear communication. Depending on the specificity of your vision, providing detailed project briefs or style guides can also be very helpful.

Once an internal design team is established, project management can generally be overseen by senior designers who serve as mentors for new team members. That said, in-house designers also enjoy the benefits of direct collaboration with other team members and internal stakeholders.

At the end of the day, it’s all about finding the right choice for your unique needs. Some companies even supplement their in-house design teams by outsourcing work to freelance designers on an as-needed basis.

Pros and cons

Let’s dig a little deeper into some of the nuances between hiring freelance designers and an in-house design team. We’ll cover several considerations that can help you pinpoint the right solution for your needs.

Freelance designers

Pros:

• Flexibility. Since freelance designers don’t rely on a single client for their income, they’re incredibly flexible and can work on an as-needed basis.
• Diversity. Freelance designers come in a countless variety of experience levels and specialties. This makes it easy to find a great fit for projects of any size.‍
• Cost-efficiency. Hiring freelancers is often a far more cost-effective option than working with the average graphic design agency or hiring full-time employees.‍
• Fresh perspectives. While freelancers are happy to follow style guidelines, they can also be a great resource for fresh, outside perspectives.

Cons:

• Finding the right fit. While finding multiple freelancers with the right skill sets can take some effort upfront, it can pay off in the form of flexible long-term working relationships.
• Project management. Unless you have an account manager to serve as a go-between, you’ll be responsible for communicating your vision. You should also make yourself available to provide any notes or feedback throughout the process.
• Clarity is vital. For many independent professionals, the downsides of freelance work can come in the form of balancing attention between multiple projects. That said, most are very well-versed in self-management, so this issue can be easily avoided by agreeing on clear deadlines upfront.
• Consistency. You’ll also be responsible for keeping freelancers up to date on any changes to your branding in order to ensure consistency.

In-house designers

Pros:

• Teamwork. In-house teams offer the benefit of a unique blend of skill sets. Team members are able to bring their own unique visions and contributions to each project.
• Brand understanding. Over time, in-house designers can become experts in your target audience, branding, and overall strategy.
• Long-term consistency. Using the same design team for everything from social media to UI design can make ensuring cross-channel consistency easier.‍
• Direct collaboration. In-house team members are available on a consistent basis to meet and collaborate with anyone from your company’s co-founders to other department leads.

Cons:

• Employment costs. Maintaining an in-house team comes with all the challenges of hiring full-time employees. It’s vital to ensure your company has the resources to cover salaries, benefits, and other expenses.
• Equipment expenses. While the vast majority of freelancers use their own computers and design programs, employers tend to cover these expenses for full-time in-house designers.
• Less flexibility. Employers are responsible for paying employee salaries regardless of workflow fluctuations. Ensure that you have enough long-term design work to keep an in-house designer or design team busy.
• Finding the right fit. Finding the right people for your team can be just as time-consuming as finding the right freelancers to work with. The stakes are also a bit higher when hiring a full-time employee vs. a freelance designer.

Impact on design quality and efficiency

Overall output and workflow goals can also influence whether freelancers or in-house designers are the best choice for your company. Imagine, for example, that a local business needs a webpage to serve as the face of its business.

While the company understands the importance of a high-quality web presence, it doesn’t anticipate the need for constant updates once the site is up and running. In this case, a team of freelance UX designers could offer the perfect fit. If the company ends up working well with the designers, they can always call on them for site updates, without having to worry about offering them full-time employment.

Now imagine a startup that’s recently secured major funding to launch a large e-commerce site where they intend to do the majority of their business. In this case, securing a steady team of in-house designers to make daily updates would likely be worth it.

That said, if the company ever needed extra help with something like copywriting or company resources, they might consider outsourcing work to freelancers to support their team as needed. The specifics of your design project can help determine whether freelancers or an in-house team makes the most sense in terms of time management and overall efficiency.

Cost-effectiveness and scalability

Budget can also play a large role in determining the right type of designer for your needs. Freelance designers typically work on either a pre-set hourly or project rate. This makes them a great cost-effective option for clients with fluctuating workloads.

Hiring freelancers also comes with the freedom to scale at any time, as you can always hire more freelancers to fill in any talent gaps. Just keep in mind that the more freelancers you bring on board, the more project management duties you’ll take on. If things start to get overwhelming, it may be worth adding a freelance account manager to your team.

In-house design teams, on the other hand, are more of a long-term investment. But for the right company, having a staff of dedicated designers is an investment worth making.

The important thing to understand is that hiring full-time designers can significantly increase your company’s overhead. Take your time to carefully map out your overall strategy and budget to ensure you’re ready to take the leap. Scaling your in-house team requires equally careful consideration, but you can always outsource additional work to freelancers as you weigh your options.

Building a brand identity

In-house designers and freelancers can both offer their own strengths when it comes to solidifying your brand identity. If you’re still in the beginning stages of branding, you might even consider hiring multiple freelancers to get various takes on how each brings your ideas to life.

But if you’re in the position to hire an in-house team right out of the gate, you might end up with an equally diverse set of ideas from individual team members. In reality, it’s hard to go wrong with either type of designer in the beginning stages.

What’s important is to ensure that once you solidify your branding, you’re able to keep it consistent. A strong brand style guide can help keep all the designers you work with on the same page.

Making the best choice for your design needs

When deciding whether to hire freelance vs. in-house graphic designers, there’s no universal best option. The important thing is to make the best choice for your unique situation and design needs.

With the right approach, making the best decision for your company can be a great opportunity for strategic development and innovation. Sitting down with your internal stakeholders to weigh each option against your business goals and budget can be helpful in making the choice .

Make sure you consider not only your immediate design needs but also how design requirements fit into your company’s long-term vision. These key questions can help point you in the right direction:

• Long-term vs. short-term design needs. What are your immediate design needs? Will they remain consistent on a long-term basis?
• Flexibility. Are your design needs flexible enough to align with the availability of one or more freelance graphic designers? Or do you need a fixed team of in-house designers who follow an established project management pipeline?‍
• Budget. Are you in a position to cover the salaries and benefits of an in-house design team long term? Or are you looking for the most cost-effective solution?‍
• Versatility vs. specificity. Do you need help solidifying your brand identity and target audience? Or are you more concerned with maintaining branding consistency?‍
• Complexity. Are you open to fresh new perspectives on your content or brand identity? If not, could you readily produce a brand style guide that contains the information a freelancer would need to ensure consistency?

Find great designers on Upwork

Finding the right graphic designer can have both immediate and long-term impacts on your brand and its bottom line. Both freelance designers and in-house teams are capable of generating high-quality work. The biggest questions are how much long-term commitment you need from a designer and how much you’re willing to give in return.

If you do decide to hire a graphic designer for your project, Upwork is happy to help. Our talent marketplace is home to some of the best independent graphic design professionals with a wide range of skill sets. Sign up for a free client account today to hire a freelance graphic designer with the skills you need for your next design project.