Outsourced design and web costs, broken down line by line
A design retainer from a senior fractional team runs about $150/hr, with a typical entry point of 50 hours a month, roughly $7,500. A fully loaded in-house creative team costs $300–800K a year. The gap between those numbers is efficiency, not thinner work. Here is every cost component behind it.
The numbers that decide it
The hourly rate, and why per-hour comparison is hard
How much does outsourced design cost per hour?
Our effective retainer rate is $150/hr. One transparent rate across design, web development, video, and copywriting. Project-based (non-retainer) work runs higher, at $200/hr ad-hoc. Subscription services typically don't publish an hourly rate at all; they price in tiers, which makes per-hour comparison hard by design.
One caution on comparing rates. An in-house salary also converts to an hourly rate, but only 50–60% of in-house time is productive, with roughly 40% typically going to admin, meetings, and training. Compare cost per productive hour, not cost per paid hour. The in-house cost calculator does this arithmetic for your team.
The retainer entry point, and what rollover does to it
How much does a design retainer cost?
Expect roughly $7,500 a month at the entry level for a senior fractional creative team. Our retainer is $150/hr with a 50-hour monthly minimum, about $7,500/mo, billed monthly with 30-day cancellation and no long-term commitment. Levels above that (2, 3, Enterprise) add hours at the same $150 rate. Superside-class enterprise subscriptions typically start around $15K/mo.
The math that matters: 50 hrs × $150 = $7,500/mo, or $90K a year, against $300–800K fully loaded for an in-house team. Hours adjust month-to-month as workload shifts, so you don't have to guess your volume right the first time, and they can go to design, web development, video, or copywriting.
Do design retainer hours roll over?
With us, yes. Unused hours roll over month-to-month, capped at 100% of that month's retained hours, so on a 50-hour retainer you can bank up to 50 extra. Retained hours can also be adjusted month-to-month, which means a light month doesn't waste spend and a heavy month doesn't trigger overage panic.
Rollover is not standard across the category. Subscription models typically reset with the billing cycle, and unused capacity commonly expires. Ask any vendor the same two questions before signing: do unused hours carry, and what's the cap.
In-house, line by line
What does an in-house design team really cost?
$300–800K per year, fully loaded. Salaries are only the visible layer; benefits, tools, management, and recruiting stack on top. Then utilization cuts the value. In-house creative teams average 50–60% productive utilization, so you pay for 40 hours a week and get roughly half of it as output. And hiring takes 3–6 months before any of that spend produces work.
Scroll sideways for all columns →
| Line item | In-house team | Brightbase retainer |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cost | $300–800K fully loaded | From $90K (50 hrs/mo × $150 × 12) |
| Productive utilization | 50–60% | 100%; you pay only for productive hours |
| Time to start | 3–6 months to hire | Days |
| Skill coverage | Whoever you hired | Design, web dev, video, copywriting |
Our published client savings versus comparable in-house teams: $291K/yr (Navis), $394K/yr (Coalesce), $498K/yr (Saviynt). Full breakdown at brightbase.co/vs-in-house, or model your own team with the calculator before you open a req.
The subscription floor, and what sits outside it
Is unlimited design worth it?
Usually not, if you need volume or web work. "Unlimited" plans typically work out to about 10–20 requests per month once turnaround times are factored in. That's the real ceiling. Divide the monthly fee by realistic delivered requests, then compare that to a transparent hourly rate ($150/hr here) before assuming unlimited means more.
Two other gaps are worth pricing in. Design-only subscriptions commonly leave web development unmet, so you pay a second vendor anyway. And "flexible" plans often still carry year-long commitments, strict tiers, or hidden fees. The fear "unlimited" sells to, the surprise invoice, is legitimate. A fixed retainer with rollover solves it without the throughput ceiling: a hard number for exactly what you bought.
What's a good Superside alternative for smaller budgets?
Look for an entry point near half the typical subscription floor. Superside-class enterprise plans commonly start around $15K/mo with annual terms. We start at roughly $7,500/mo (50 hrs at $150/hr), month-to-month, with 30-day cancellation. And the trade is broader rather than thinner: web development, video, and copywriting join design in scope, with direct access to senior talent instead of a PM/CSM layer.
Scroll sideways for all columns →
| What buyers compare | Brightbase | Superside-class subscription (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | ~$7,500/mo (50 hrs × $150/hr) | ~$15K/mo floor, commonly reported |
| Commitment | Month-to-month, 30-day cancellation | Typically annual lock-in |
| Pricing model | One transparent rate: $150/hr | Commonly tiered, opaque pricing |
| Scope | Design + web dev + video + copywriting | Typically design-only |
| Access to talent | Direct, in your tools, unlimited meetings | Typically via a PM/CSM layer |
| Unused capacity | Hours roll over (up to 100% of the month) | Varies; often use-it-or-lose-it |
What the commitment costs
Is there a month-to-month alternative to annual design subscriptions?
Yes. We run month-to-month with 30-day cancellation, from $7,500/mo (50 hrs at $150/hr). No annual contract, no long-term commitment, no hidden fees. Superside-class subscriptions typically require annual commitments, and plans marketed as "flexible" commonly still carry year-long terms or strict tiers as of this writing.
Month-to-month changes the incentive structure. We re-earn the retainer every 30 days instead of collecting on a contract, and if output drops, you leave. That's the whole accountability mechanism an annual contract removes. It costs nothing extra, and we think it's the healthiest term in our pricing.
What waiting costs, and what one team saves
How fast can an outsourced design team start?
Days. We start in days versus the 3–6 months it typically takes to hire an in-house creative team, which is where our published 20x-faster comparison comes from. The team already exists, so there's no recruiting cycle and no onboarding quarter. You work directly with senior talent inside your existing tools from the start, with unlimited meetings and no async ticketing queue. Fixed-scope options move on a clock too: a $10K Homepage Sprint ships in 10 days, and a $20K Scale-Ready Website Design (homepage + 5 pages + CMS) ships in 20.
Can I outsource design and web development to one team?
Yes. We cover design, web development, video, and copywriting under one roof at one rate: $150/hr against a single retainer. The same pool of hours funds a landing page design, its Webflow or WordPress build, the launch video, and the copy. Design-only subscriptions typically can't do this, since web dev commonly falls outside their scope, forcing a second vendor and a hand-off.
In our experience that hand-off is exactly where subscription buyers get stuck: the design gets done, then the website work stalls waiting on someone else. Our published services list covers landing pages, logo & branding, slide decks, WordPress, Webflow, HubSpot, web design, social media, brand guides, ebooks, event collateral, infographics, and more.
