How to choose a Facebook ads agency
What to ask, the red flags, how pricing works and who should own your ad account.
Facebook & Instagram ads · Choosing help
Meta ads agency vs freelancer
vs doing it yourself.
Run Meta ads yourself if your budget is small and you have time to learn. Hire a freelancer for one skilled person at a lower fee. Hire an agency when you need a team and someone accountable for growth. Malta Digital is an agency, and this guide gives you the honest trade-offs, with a decision table at the end.
478 leads€9.68 per lead · €6.00 a day
Short answer
Run Meta ads yourself if your budget is small and you have time to learn. Hire a freelancer for one skilled person at a lower fee, or an agency for a team and cover. Malta Digital is a Meta ads agency in Malta; whoever you choose, keep the ad account in your name.
Key takeaways
- Is it better to hire a Meta ads agency or a freelancer? It depends on what you need. A freelancer suits one clear campaign at a lower fee. An agency suits businesses that need more people, more creative and cover when someone is away.
- Can I run Facebook ads myself? Yes. Many small businesses start that way. It costs your time and the ad spend you use while learning, so judge results over weeks, not days.
- Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency? The fee is usually lower. The ad spend is the same, so the cheaper option only saves money if the ads work at least as well.
The short answer
Three ways to run your Meta ads.
Meta ads are the paid ads you run on Facebook and Instagram from Ads Manager. Someone has to plan them, build them, write and design them, check the numbers and change what is not working. You can do that work yourself, pay one freelancer to do it, or hire an agency. If you are leaning towards the last option, our page on choosing a Meta ads agency in Malta shows how we work.
In all three cases you pay Meta for the ads themselves. That money is called ad spend. The difference is who does the work, what it costs you on top, and what happens when something goes wrong.
A freelancer is one self-employed person who manages your ads, often for several clients at once. An agency is a business with a team, where different people can handle strategy, creative and tracking. Doing it yourself (DIY) means you or someone in your team runs Ads Manager.
Costs
What each option really costs.
Start by splitting the cost in two. Ad spend goes to Meta. The management fee, if any, goes to the person or business running the ads. Many owners compare a freelancer’s fee with an agency’s fee and forget that the ad spend is the same in both. A cheaper fee only saves money if the ads work at least as well.
DIY has no fee, but it is not free. It costs your time, and it costs the ad spend you use up while you learn. Here is a worked example, labelled as an example, with numbers you should replace with your own. Say you spend 4 hours a week on ads. Say an hour of your time is worth €40 to your business. That is about €693 a month in time (4 hours × €40 × 4.33 weeks).
A freelancer usually charges less than an agency, because there is one person and less overhead. You often pay extra for creative, such as photos and videos. An agency charges more, but the fee normally covers more people and more of the work. Our Meta ads management starts from €1,249 a month plus ad spend, and the ad spend does not pass through us.
| Do it yourself | Freelancer | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | No fee. You pay with your time. | A monthly fee, usually lower than an agency. | A monthly fee. Ours starts from €1,249 a month. |
| Who does the work | You | One person | A small team, with one main contact |
| Creative | You make it | Often extra, or by you | Usually included, check the scope |
| Cover for holidays | None | Often none | Someone else steps in |
| Biggest risk | Spending while you learn | One person, limited hours | Being a small fish in a big pond |
| Best when | Small budget, time to learn | One clear channel and a tight budget | Growth matters and time is short |
Ownership
Whoever you choose, keep the keys.
This is the part most people get wrong, and it matters more than the fee. Your ad account, Facebook Page, Instagram account and Meta Pixel should belong to your own business portfolio. A business portfolio is the free Meta tool, formerly called Business Manager, that holds your business assets in one place.
Then you give the freelancer or agency partner access. Meta’s help centre explains that only someone with full control of your business portfolio can add a partner. You can give a partner full control or partial access to specific tasks. Meta also says a partner with full control cannot share your asset with another business. Only your own business can do that.
So when you part ways, you remove the partner and keep everything: the ad history, the audiences and the Pixel data. If someone offers to run your ads from their own ad account, say no politely. Our guide to Meta Business Manager walks through the setup.
Risks
The risks of each option.
DIY risk: spending while you learn. New advertisers often change campaigns too often, judge results after one day, or panic about budgets. For example, Meta says a campaign can spend up to 75% more than its daily budget on a good day. In any week it will not spend more than 7 times the daily budget. Knowing rules like this saves money and stress.
Freelancer risk: one person. If they fall ill, go on holiday or take on too many clients, your ads wait. Ask who covers when they are away, and how many accounts they run. A good freelancer will answer that question plainly.
Agency risk: being a small client. The person who sells to you may not be the person who runs your ads. Some agencies ask for long contracts. Ask who will run your account, how often they check it, and what the notice period is.
Proof
What steady weekly management looks like.
Good management is mostly patient, regular work. Here is a real example from a lead generation campaign we ran on Facebook and Instagram. It used one ad set with a small €6.00 daily budget, from 1 May to 25 July 2026.
Over those twelve weeks, the ads reached 185,375 people and brought 478 form leads, from €4,625.31 of ad spend. That is €9.68 per lead. We watched frequency, which is how often the same person sees the ad, so the audience did not tire. It reached 6.60 over the whole period.
The lesson for this choice is simple. A small budget can work well, but only if someone checks it every week and acts on what they see. Whoever runs your ads, that is the job you are paying for.
Want your account checked every week? Apply now for Meta ads management
Not sure who should run your ads?
Apply now and tell us your budget, goals and how you run ads today. We’ll tell you honestly whether DIY, a freelancer or an agency fits you best.
Decision table
Which one fits your business?
Use the table below as a quick guide. Find the row that sounds most like your business today, not the business you hope to have next year. You can always move up later. Many businesses start with DIY, then add a freelancer. They bring in an agency once ads are a steady source of customers.
| Your situation | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You are testing a new idea with a small budget | Do it yourself | Learn what customers want before you pay anyone a monthly fee. |
| You enjoy the numbers and can give it time every week | Do it yourself, with a one-off audit | You keep control, and an expert checks your setup once. |
| You need one campaign run well and you make your own content | Freelancer | You pay for skill without paying for a team. |
| Ads already work and you want to grow without breaking them | Agency | More hands for testing, creative and tracking. |
| You need ads, landing pages and lead follow-up to work together | Agency | The whole journey is planned by one team. |
| You cannot reply to enquiries quickly yet | None of them, yet | Fix the follow-up first. Paid clicks will not fix a slow reply. |
Checks in Malta
Five checks before you sign in Malta.
1. Registration. A freelancer working in Malta should be registered as self-employed. Jobsplus explains that self-employed people register by sending the self-employment engagement form from their Jobsplus account. It is fair to ask for proof.
2. VAT. The Commissioner for Revenue (MTCA) explains that self-employed people register for VAT under Article 10, 11 or 12. An Article 11 small undertaking does not charge VAT. A business under Article 10 does. So ask whether VAT will be added to the fee, and compare quotes on the same basis.
3. Ad spend VAT. Meta bills businesses in Malta from Ireland, and the VAT works differently. Read Facebook ads VAT in Malta before you set a budget.
4. Notice and scope. Get the monthly scope, the notice period and what counts as extra in writing. 5. Reporting. Agree on what you will see each month: leads or sales, cost per result and what changes next.
How we work
Where Malta Digital fits.
We are an agency, so we will not pretend we suit everyone. Is your budget very small, or are you still testing an idea? Then we will tell you to start yourself, and point you to our free guides. If you only need a second opinion, a Facebook ads audit may be all you need.
When we do take on an account, the ad account stays in your business portfolio. We plan the campaigns, make the creative, check the tracking and report on leads or sales every month. Meta ads management starts from €1,249 a month plus ad spend. For the questions to ask any provider, read how to choose a Facebook ads agency.
A few straight answers
What you might be wondering.
Is it better to hire a Meta ads agency or a freelancer?
It depends on what you need. A freelancer suits one clear campaign at a lower fee. An agency suits businesses that need more people, more creative and cover when someone is away.
Can I run Facebook ads myself?
Yes. Many small businesses start that way. It costs your time and the ad spend you use while learning, so judge results over weeks, not days.
Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency?
The fee is usually lower. The ad spend is the same, so the cheaper option only saves money if the ads work at least as well.
Who should own my ad account?
You should. Keep the ad account, Page, Instagram account and Pixel in your own business portfolio and give the freelancer or agency partner access.
Do freelancers in Malta charge VAT?
Some do and some do not. It depends on how they are registered for VAT, under Article 10 or Article 11. Ask whether VAT will be added before you compare quotes.
How long should I give a new freelancer or agency?
Give them enough time to test and learn, often a few months. Agree the notice period in writing before you start.
How much does Malta Digital charge?
Our Meta ads management starts from €1,249 a month plus ad spend. The ad spend is paid to Meta and does not pass through us.
Keep reading
Related guides.
Facebook ads management pricing
Retainer, percentage of ad spend or pay per lead, with a free slider to compare the quotes you have.
Facebook ads audit checklist
Six areas to check in order, from account ownership and tracking to structure, audiences, creative and the reply after the click.
A useful first step
Ready for ads run by a team, in your own account?
We plan, build and improve your Facebook and Instagram ads, keep the ad account in your name and report on leads or sales every month. Meta ads management from €1,249 a month plus ad spend.
Step 1 of 2
Apply now for Meta ads management
A few quick questions, about a minute. We usually reply within 2–3 hours.