Every local business that wants to post video regularly faces the same choice: hire someone, outsource to an agency, find a freelancer, or take a subscription with a studio. Below we worked out what each option costs in Warsaw in 2026, what you get for the money, what to ask before signing, and how it adds up over a whole year.
In-house: a social media specialist
A social media specialist in Warsaw earns 6,000–8,000 zł gross, which with employer contributions means 7,200–9,600 zł in cost. Add the gear: a camera, lens, microphones, lighting and an editing computer are a one-off 15,000–25,000 zł. In return you get someone on site every day who knows the business from the inside. It pays off when you post daily, have several locations, or need someone handling comments and messages during working hours.
In-house costs you do not see in the job ad
- Holidays and sick leave. 20 or 26 days of leave a year plus sick days. During that time posting stops or someone else covers it.
- Recruitment and onboarding. It usually takes 1–2 months before a new person knows the brand and makes a first reel that works.
- Software. Subscriptions for editing, graphics and scheduling cost a few hundred zloty a month.
- Leaving. When an employee leaves, the knowledge of what worked leaves too, and often the account access with it.
Agency
A package of eight reels a month at a Warsaw agency is 3,500–3,790 zł, usually without a shoot day with a camera, but with an account manager, a deck and a report. An agency makes sense when you spend 10,000 zł or more a month on paid ads and need strategy, campaigns and several channels at once. For a single venue, most of that price is account handling, not production.
Questions for an agency before you sign
- Who will physically come to film: an agency employee or a subcontractor?
- What is the notice period and the minimum contract length?
- Do the raw footage and finished reels stay with you after the contract ends?
- What is in the monthly report: numbers that change decisions, or just reach?
- What happens if a shoot day falls through because of the agency?
Freelancer
Eight reels from a freelancer cost 1,500–2,500 zł. It is the cheapest option and the riskiest: quality depends on one person, availability on their other jobs, and the gear is sometimes a phone. It works well when you already know which reels you need and have someone to plan them.
Before you start, ask for a portfolio from similar venues, not just their best work. Ask who will film if the freelancer gets sick, and agree the delivery date in writing. These three things solve most of the problems clients tell us about.
A studio subscription
Our Growth package is 2,490 zł a month: a shoot day, eight reels, one drone flight, a topic plan and posting on two platforms. There is no office, account manager or deck, because there is nothing to pay for. What you do get is the camera, sound and drone included, finished files within 72 hours, and a three-month minimum so that regularity has a chance to work at all.
| In-house | Agency | Freelancer | Growth subscription | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | 8,000–10,500 zł | 3,500–3,790 zł | 1,500–2,500 zł | 2,490 zł |
| Gear | you buy it | included | varies | included |
| Shoot day | daily | usually none | depends | 1 a month |
| Drone | none | extra | rarely | 1 flight included |
| Posting | yes | yes | no | yes, 2 platforms |
| Minimum term | employment contract | 6–12 months | none | 3 months |
What it comes to over a year
Monthly amounts are easy to underestimate. A year shows the difference more clearly:
| Model | Cost over 12 months |
|---|---|
| In-house | 96,000–126,000 zł plus 15,000–25,000 zł of gear |
| Agency | 42,000–45,500 zł |
| Freelancer | 18,000–30,000 zł |
| Growth subscription | 29,880 zł |
That does not mean in-house is bad. For that money you get a person on site all year, not just video production. The question is whether you need that person.
The mixed model: the most common in small businesses
For businesses with one to three locations, a combination works best. Once a month the studio does the production: reels that should look like ads, the drone, an interview with the owner. Someone on the team who is there anyway adds phone stories twice a week: today's delivery, an open slot, a new dish. That is 2 hours a week instead of a salary, and a profile that looks both professional and alive.
An example: a café with two locations
The owner of cafés in Mokotów and Saska Kępa is thinking of hiring someone for social media. In-house means about 8,000 zł a month plus gear. The alternative: the Growth subscription at 2,490 zł, where one shoot day a month covers both cafés, plus a barista who films stories twice a week. Over a year the difference is more than 60,000 zł, which can go into paid promotion of the same reels. If after three months it turns out that video works and daily presence is needed, hiring is still an option, only now with a ready library of footage and knowledge of which formats work.
How to choose
The criterion is not price but posting pace and who plans the topics. If you post daily and have someone to hire, go in-house. If you spend large ad budgets, an agency. If you have one to three locations and want two posts a week without hiring, a subscription.
If you want to work it out for your business, the price list is public, and a trial shoot at a 30% discount lets you check the quality before deciding on a subscription.
*Market prices checked in September 2026 based on public price lists and offers. We do not name specific companies. We update the ranges quarterly.*