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Agency vs. Solo Developer
Cost Calculator

Compare what a traditional agency, a senior freelancer, and an AI-augmented solo developer will charge for your project — with a breakdown of where agency money actually goes.

Project type

Complexity

Traditional agency
€45,000–€130,000
16–36 weeks
  • 3–6 month timeline
  • Account manager layer
  • You never talk to the engineer
  • Scoped in sprint 4
Senior freelancer (Upwork)
€16,000–€45,000
9–20 weeks
  • Quality varies
  • Timezone / English friction
  • Handover risk
  • No portfolio accountability
Dusko — AI-augmented
€7,000–€22,000
6–14 weeks
  • Direct founder-to-builder
  • Ships ~2x faster
  • Live portfolio, real clients
  • Clean handover
Potential savings€23,000 – €123,000vs. agency quote — same production-grade output

Where agency money goes

On average, only 20% of an agency invoice funds actual engineering. The rest pays for the organisation around it.

Actual engineering
20%
Agency margin
22%
Sales & pitching
17%
Account management
13%
Project management
15%
Operations & overhead
13%

Estimates based on published agency pricing research. Actual breakdown varies by agency size and region.

Start a chatNo sales call required — email goes straight to Dusko.