Comparison

An agency runs your ads.
Hero helps you run them yourself.

A boutique PPC agency hands the whole account to a team, on a retainer that usually starts around $2,000 a month. Hero Marketer keeps you in control and answers like a specialist, from $20 a month. Here is when each one makes sense.

Get started View pricing

Cancel anytime
Full refund within 14 days
No markup on ad spend

What you'd pay

Hero Marketer$20/mo

Boutique PPC agency$2,000/mo

Retainer lock-in3 months

Typical boutique retainer, often on a multi-month minimum. Indicative from public agency listings, not a fixed quote.

How they actually compare

Where an agency fits, and where it doesn’t.

An agency is best for

You have real budget, usually $10,000 a month or more, no time to touch the account, and you want a team to own execution across every channel. A good agency brings senior strategists and takes the whole thing off your plate.

What an agency does well

Human strategists who own the account and answer the phone when you call.
Cover the whole funnel across channels, not just Google Ads.
Creative, landing pages, and analytics under one roof at the larger shops.
Accountable to a person, with a contract behind it.

Where it usually falls short for SaaS

Retainers usually start around $2,000 a month, often on a multi-month minimum, before the first report lands.
Agencies sell hours, then template the decisions. The junior on your account may know less about your SaaS than you do.
Weeks to onboard, then a long audit and a monthly call that reads a dashboard back to you.
Broad-match spend and generic keywords with your name on the invoice, on terms a SaaS motion cannot close.

What Hero does differently

The same job, done another way.

Answers in seconds, not by Tuesday. Ask why CPL spiked and get the cause and the fix in the same chat.
Grounded in your product context and your live account, reasoned for B2B SaaS.
Every diagnosis names the cause. Every recommendation names the next step, and applies it after you confirm.
Flat from $20 a month, cancel anytime, full refund within 14 days. No retainer, no onboarding.

Where Hero is weaker

An agency is a team of people. Hero is not. If you want someone to own execution across Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and email, run creative production, and sit on a strategy call with you, hire an agency. Hero is a Google Ads copilot for the founder still in the driver seat, not a done-for-you service. It also does not read your CRM, so CAC and LTV are the language it reasons in, not numbers it measures.

Same question, two answers

When you ask a real question.

You ask

Why did my CPL spike 47% on the Free CRM signup campaign last week?

An agency

Hey, yeah, let me look into this. I will have something for you by Tuesday.

Hero Marketer

Pause it and add 12 negatives. That recovers the $2,400 you would burn next week.

How to decide

Pick the one that fits your stage.

Choose an agency

You have the budget and you want people to own the whole thing across channels, off your plate.

Choose Hero Marketer

You want to stay in control of your Google Ads, get expert answers grounded in your product, and keep the retainer money.

Questions before you switch

The honest answers.

4 questions

I tried an agency once and it did not go well. Why?

Most small accounts land with a junior working from a template, on a retainer that assumes a bigger budget than a bootstrapped SaaS has. The strategy you were sold sat with the senior who pitched you. Hero gives you the specialist answer directly, grounded in your product.

Is Hero a replacement for an agency?

For a founder-scale Google Ads account, often yes. For multi-channel execution across a team with a five-figure budget, no. Hero is a copilot, not a done-for-you service.

What does Hero cost next to a retainer?

From $20 a month, versus a boutique retainer that usually starts around $2,000. Cancel anytime, full refund within 14 days.

Can I start with Hero and hire an agency later?

Yes. Many founders run Hero to stay in control early, then bring in an agency when budget and headcount grow. Nothing locks you in.

Built by a B2B SaaS marketer · 9 years in Google Ads

Plain English Google Ads, from $20 a month.