It’s Time To Delve Into Whether You Should Hire Or Use A Subscription Design Agency:
Design work is critical to growth. Whether you’re building out marketing campaigns, redesigning your website, or refreshing your brand, the creative demand never stops. Many teams assume hiring an in-house designer is the best way forward. But once you break down the true costs, a different picture starts to emerge.
In this blog, we’ll explore the actual cost of hiring internally and explain why a subscription design agency can often be a better, more flexible solution.
The Hidden Cost Behind UK Design Salaries
Hiring a designer in-house starts with a salary. A junior designer typically earns £22,000 to £28,000 per year, while a midweight designer might expect £30,000 to £38,000. Source: Glassdoor UK
But that’s not the full story.
Employers in the UK are required to pay 13.8% in National Insurance on top of employee salaries. Check the latest rates
That turns a £30,000 designer into a cost of £34,140, and we haven’t even touched tools, training, or admin.
Equipment and Software Costs You’ll Be Paying If You Don’t Use A Subscription Design Agency
Designers need more than a laptop to do their job well. Expect to cover the cost of:
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A MacBook Pro or comparable high-end PC (£1,500 to £2,500)
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Adobe Creative Cloud licence (around £660 per year)
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Figma or other design tool licences
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Monitors, peripherals, ergonomic office furniture
Software updates, hardware replacements, and new tool subscriptions all add to the ongoing cost.
Why Continuous Training is Essential
Once your designer is in place, they’ll need regular professional development to stay effective. Design trends evolve quickly, and falling behind puts your brand at risk.
Rather than list every training expense, here’s what that often includes:
Designers may need access to self-paced courses on platforms like Skillshare or LinkedIn Learning. You might also fund design conferences or allow dedicated learning hours during work time. These investments help maintain quality, but they represent both a time and budget commitment every year.
Unavoidable Gaps in Output
Annual leave and sick days are part of any job. In the UK, full-time employees are entitled to:
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20 to 25 days of annual leave
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8 public holidays
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Paid sick time depending on contract
That’s up to 33 days per year where your in-house designer might be unavailable. Unless you have backup, output slows or stops.
Recruitment and Management Time
Hiring a designer isn’t just costly — it takes time. You’ll need to prepare job specs, shortlist candidates, conduct interviews, and manage onboarding. If the hire doesn’t pass probation, the cycle restarts.
This admin load pulls managers and senior staff away from core tasks. According to The Talent Insight Group, the average cost of hiring for a new vacancy is £6,125, not including productivity losses.
Incentives and Retention Spending
Once a designer is hired, you’ll need to retain them. That usually includes:
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Annual salary reviews and raises
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Occasional bonuses
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Pension contributions
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Potential wellbeing benefits
These expectations are standard, and skipping them risks losing your designer. Replacing them brings new costs and disruption.
Why a Subscription Design Agency Makes More Sense
Now that you’ve seen the full breakdown of in-house costs, it’s worth comparing with a subscription design agency.
At SaltedRidge, we offer one flat monthly rate. No hardware. No software. No recruitment or retention effort. Just one consistent team ready to deliver the design work you need.
We support everything from website design and motion assets to social media content and brand development — all managed within a flexible time bank that adjusts with your workload.
What Working With SaltedRidge, a Subscription Design Agency Looks Like:
There’s no hiring process. You’re not managing leave or hardware logistics. You’re simply submitting briefs and getting back consistent, high-quality design.
Here’s how our model works in practice:
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You choose a flexible monthly plan
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You get access to a senior design team
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We support digital, print, motion and web assets
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Work is tracked and updated using the tools you already use
To see our recent work, check out our design subscription portfolio.
You can also visit our how it works page for more details on what’s included and how onboarding works.
One Monthly Cost. No Surprise Expenses.
The bottom line is simple. A subscription design agency saves you time, overhead, and stress. Instead of worrying about training, leave, or equipment, you just get results.
We’ve removed the hidden costs and created a service built for consistency and flexibility. Whether you’re a growing SaaS company, an agency or a busy marketing team, we can help you scale your design output without adding headcount.
Book a demo with SaltedRidge to see if our design subscription is the right fit for your business.
