An in-house SaaS marketing team costs more than its salaries. Employer contributions, recruitment, tools, specialist support and management time all affect the budget. The useful comparison starts with the work you need: one capable marketer may be the right first hire, while another business needs several skills through an agency or hybrid team.
For illustration, a £50,000 salary becomes approximately £58,063 a year, or £4,839 a month, after standard employer National Insurance and minimum employer pension contributions under the assumptions below. That is before tools, recruitment, paid media and other costs.
These examples use UK 2026/27 rates, checked on 15 September 2026. They are planning illustrations, not salary quotes or a payroll calculation for a particular employer.
What salary should you budget for?
The National Careers Service gives a broad marketing-manager salary range of £30,000 for a starter to £65,000 for an experienced person. This covers marketing generally; it is not a SaaS-specific salary survey.
The role you need may differ substantially. Consider:
- Whether the person will set strategy, deliver campaigns or do both.
- Their experience with your sales model and type of customer.
- Location, seniority and the scope of responsibility.
- Whether there is already an experienced person to manage them.
Use current recruitment evidence for the actual role before making a hiring budget. The £50,000 manager and £35,000 executive salaries used below are illustrative assumptions, not claimed market averages.
Add employer costs to the salary
For a standard category A employee, the HMRC rates for 2026/27 set employer National Insurance at 15% above the £5,000 annual secondary threshold.
For an eligible employee in a scheme using qualifying earnings, the minimum employer pension contribution is 3% of earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 in 2026/27. The Pensions Regulator explains the contribution basis.
Worked example: a £50,000 marketing manager
| Cost | Annual amount |
|---|---|
| Assumed gross salary | £50,000.00 |
| Employer National Insurance: 15% × (£50,000 − £5,000) | £6,750.00 |
| Employer pension: 3% × (£50,000 − £6,240) | £1,312.80 |
| Salary and employer contributions | £58,062.80 |
| Monthly equivalent | £4,838.57 |
This simplified annual model assumes a full year at a fixed salary, standard employer NI treatment and minimum employer pension contributions on qualifying earnings. It excludes bonuses, salary sacrifice, benefits and any Employment Allowance or other relief. Eligibility for relief and payroll-period rounding can change the actual cost. Enhanced pension arrangements can increase it.
Compare four realistic ways to resource the work
The following examples compare employment costs and agency fees only. They are different levels of capacity and responsibility, so compare the work each option can actually cover.
| Model | Annual base cost | Monthly equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| One manager on an assumed £50,000 salary, including employer contributions | £58,063 | £4,839 |
| Manager at £50,000 plus executive at £35,000, including employer contributions | £98,426 | £8,202 |
| Same £50,000 manager plus £2,500/month agency support | £88,063 | £7,339 |
| Xander Focused agency support, starting fee | £30,000 | £2,500 |
Amounts are rounded; the employment calculations use the assumptions above. The £35,000 executive adds £4,500 in employer NI and £862.80 in employer pension, making £40,362.80 a year. Agency figures annualise a monthly fee for comparison; they do not imply an annual contract. Tools, advertising, recruitment, other project costs and any applicable VAT are outside this comparison.
One in-house marketer
A good generalist can provide close product knowledge, internal coordination and consistent ownership. This can be the right choice when there is enough work for a defined role and the business can manage and support that person.
Allow for specialist help where needed. Hiring a capable marketer does not automatically provide advanced design, development, copywriting and paid-media expertise at the same time.
A small in-house team
A manager and executive can divide planning and delivery, increase capacity and provide some cover. Two people can still need external help for a website build, a specialist channel or a major project.
Build the team around recurring work. You do not need to hire a separate full-time specialist for every service listed on an agency website.
A hybrid model
An internal marketer can own context and priorities while an agency supplies selected skills and delivery. This often makes sense when the team needs breadth but cannot justify permanent hires in every discipline.
The manager-plus-agency example costs more than the manager alone. The question is whether the extra capacity and specialist work justify that investment.
An outsourced team
An agency gives you access to an agreed mix of skills without employing each specialist. The fee buys a defined scope or allocation of time; it does not buy several full-time employees exclusively assigned to your business.
Xander’s Focused package starts at £2,500 a month for two or three core services, a monthly strategy call, reporting and analysis. Broader programmes have a different scope and fee. Compare the work and responsibilities in the proposal before choosing.
Costs to include beyond the comparison
Recruitment and onboarding. Budget for the actual recruitment route, equipment and the time colleagues spend helping a new hire understand the business. Separate one-off costs from recurring costs.
Tools and specialist work. Include the systems the team needs and any external writing, design, development or channel support. Avoid charging the same tool or activity to two budget lines.
Campaign spending. Paid media, events and other distribution costs are separate decisions from who plans and manages the work. Check how each is treated in an agency proposal.
Management and cover. An internal team needs direction, development and a plan for absences. An agency still needs product knowledge, feedback and decisions from your business.
Benefits and tax treatment. Use your actual employment package and VAT position when comparing cash requirements.
Salary already includes paid leave. Do not add a second blanket “holiday pay” percentage to an annual salaried role; budget separately for any cover you actually need.
Choose the model around the bottleneck
If the main problem is missing day-to-day ownership and access to the business, an in-house hire may be the strongest investment.
If you need several specialist skills for a limited amount of work, scoped external support may fit better. If you already have a marketing manager who cannot deliver everything, consider a hybrid approach.
For a wider comparison of control, capacity and ways of working, read outsource or in-house marketing.
Questions about SaaS marketing team costs
Is an agency always cheaper than hiring?
No. It depends on the scope and the role you would otherwise hire. A focused retainer can cost less than employing a senior marketer, but it provides a different amount of time and responsibility.
Should we hire a marketing executive first?
An executive can be a useful delivery hire when there is clear direction and someone with the experience to manage the work. If the business needs someone to decide strategy independently, define that requirement before recruiting.
Does outsourcing remove the need for internal involvement?
No. Your team still provides product knowledge, customer insight, commercial decisions and sales follow-up. The agency takes responsibility for the agreed marketing work.
Compare the support your business actually needs
We provide outsourced SaaS marketing support for companies without an internal team and for marketing managers who need more delivery capacity. Book a consultation to discuss the scope that would be useful for your business.
