Honest comparison
Studio vs freelancer vs DIY.
All three can work. Here’s what each really costs — in money, time, and what you end up with. We’re biased, so we kept it factual.
| Plumbnote (studio) | Freelancer | DIY builder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | A small senior team + AI systems | One person, one skill set | You, evenings and weekends |
| Design | Custom, brand-first, built to stand out | Depends entirely on the individual | A template 10,000 other sites use |
| Speed to launch | 2–4 weeks, fixed scope | 2–8 weeks, availability-dependent | Fast to start, months to finish |
| Copy & content | Written for you, SEO/GEO-aware | Usually your job | Your job |
| SEO & AI-search visibility | Built in (schema, hreflang, GEO) | Sometimes, if they know it | Basic at best |
| After launch | Care plans: updates, content, automation | Hourly, when reachable | You maintain it or it rots |
| When it breaks | We fix it — it's our system | Hope they answer | Stack Overflow at midnight |
| Typical cost | €900–2,500 fixed + optional care plan | €400–2,000, variable | €0–300 + your weekends |
| Best for | Businesses that want it done right, once | Single well-defined tasks | Hobby projects & experiments |
The honest summary: DIY is fine for a hobby. A good freelancer is fine for one well-scoped task. If the website has to bring in business — design, copy, SEO, and what happens after launch all done by one accountable team — that’s the studio model, and it costs less than most people expect.
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