Decision
The comparison is usually framed as cost, and usually framed wrong. An outside studio quotes a number you can see. An in-house team costs a number spread across payroll, statutory benefits, software, idle weeks and the hiring you have to do again when someone leaves. Here is what sits on each side of that comparison, what the Philippine labour rules add to the in-house column, and the two questions that actually settle it.
The quote is not the comparison
A studio invoice is one line. The in-house equivalent is a dozen, and most of them do not appear until the second year.
| What the in-house column really holds | Why it is easy to miss |
| Salaries | The only line most comparisons include |
| 13th-month pay | Statutory, and a full month of payroll on top of twelve |
| Service incentive leave | Days paid but not worked |
| Overtime and holiday premiums | Campaign weeks are not 40-hour weeks |
| SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions | Employer share, every month, per head |
| Software and hardware | Generation credits, editing suites, storage, machines that age |
| Idle capacity | The weeks between campaigns, paid at the same rate |
| Recruitment and ramp-up | Months before a new hire is producing at the level you hired for |
Three of those are fixed by law rather than negotiation. The 13th-month pay is “one twelfth (1/12) of the basic salary of an employee within a calendar year”, due “not later than December 24 of every year”. The Labor Code gives an employee of at least one year “a yearly service incentive leave of five days with pay”. Overtime is “an additional compensation equivalent to his regular wage plus at least twenty-five percent (25%) thereof”, and work on a holiday is paid “twice his regular rate”. And SSS coverage “shall be compulsory upon all employees… and their employers”, so the employer share is not optional either.
None of that is an argument against hiring. It is an argument against comparing a studio quote with a salary and stopping there.
What the studio column really holds
→ The quote, and what is outside it. Revisions beyond the agreed rounds, rush fees, usage extensions beyond the campaign, and anything that was not in the brief.
→ Onboarding time you pay in attention. An outside team has to learn the brand. That cost is real and it is front-loaded, but it is paid once rather than per hire.
→ Availability risk. Your deadline competes with other clients. It is managed by booking early, and by being a client worth clearing the decks for.
→ Knowledge that walks out. Whatever the studio learns about your brand lives with them. Contracts and a handover document are how you keep it.
The two questions that actually decide it
Cost tells you what each option is worth once you already know the answer. These two get you there.
→ How steady is the volume? Steady, predictable work rewards in-house — the fixed cost is spread across constant output. Spiky, campaign-shaped work punishes it, because you are paying for the peak all year. Count the last twelve months honestly, not the twelve you are planning.
→ How specialised is the craft? If the work is one repeatable format, a small in-house team gets good at it quickly. If it spans film, animation, CGI, virtual production and social at campaign volume, you are hiring five disciplines to keep one of them busy.
The honest version is usually both
Most brands that get this right keep a small in-house team for the always-on work — social cuts, resizes, quick turnarounds — and go outside for the peaks and the specialised builds. The decision is rarely all or nothing, and framing it that way is what makes it feel hard.
A third option people skip
Between the two there is a hybrid that costs less than either: in-house owns the brief, the brand rules and the approvals, and an outside studio owns production capacity. Your team keeps the judgment and the institutional memory. The studio absorbs the volume, the software and the idle weeks. Why brands switch to AI content creation covers what changes when the production side runs on an AI pipeline.
What to ask before you decide either way
→ What did we actually produce last year? Asset count by type, not a feeling. This is the number the whole decision rests on.
→ What did it cost, fully loaded? If you are comparing against in-house, include the statutory lines above. If you are comparing against a studio, include your own team’s time managing it.
→ What has to stay inside? Brand guardianship, approvals and anything touching confidential plans. That answer is usually shorter than people expect.
→ What happens in a bad month? In-house, you carry the cost. Outside, you carry the risk of availability. Pick the failure you would rather manage.
Where PUNX fits
PUNX is an AI production company in Makati: 50-plus people, founded 2023, producing for Procter & Gamble, San Miguel, Petron, GCash and Sun Life. We are the outside half of that comparison, so treat this as interested advice — but the arithmetic above is the arithmetic we would run if we were on your side of the table. Send us last year’s asset count and we will tell you honestly which half of the decision we belong in.
FAQ
Is it cheaper to build an in-house video team or use a production company?
It depends on how steady the volume is. In-house spreads a fixed cost across constant output, so it rewards predictable work. A studio converts the same work into a variable cost, which suits campaign-shaped demand. Compare fully loaded costs: salaries plus 13th-month pay, service incentive leave, overtime and holiday premiums, statutory contributions, software, idle weeks and recruitment.
What costs do people forget when comparing in-house against an agency?
On the in-house side: the 13th-month pay, which the law sets at one twelfth of basic salary within a calendar year; five days of paid service incentive leave after a year of service; overtime at the regular wage plus at least 25 per cent; holiday work at twice the regular rate; employer contributions; software; and the weeks between campaigns. On the studio side: revisions beyond the agreed rounds, usage extensions and your own team’s time managing the relationship.
When does an in-house team make sense?
When the volume is steady and the craft is narrow. One repeatable format produced every week is where a small in-house team becomes cheaper and faster than briefing out. Five disciplines needed occasionally is where it stops working.
Can you do both?
That is usually the right answer. In-house keeps the brief, the brand rules and the approvals; an outside studio carries production capacity, the software and the peaks. The split is by function, not by percentage.
Related
AI studios Philippines — the studio behind the work
Why brands switch — what changes when production runs on AI
Should your agency go AI-first? — the same decision, from the agency side
Running the numbers?
Send us last year’s asset count and what it cost. We will tell you which half of the decision we belong in.
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