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How much is your agency really keeping?

Standard agencies bake 50–70% margin inside your media spend — undisclosed. Plug in your numbers, get an estimate based on industry benchmarks (ANA Media Transparency Report, Forrester). Takes 30 seconds.

Your numbers

Total monthly amount paid to the agency (media + fees)

If your contract is "cost-plus" (separate fee), enter the gross media spend + the fee combined.

Contract type

All-in / managed-service You pay one number, they handle media buying. Margin is invisible. Cost-plus retainer Fee disclosed, but vendor rebates and arbitrage are usually hidden. Not sure We'll use a conservative industry midpoint.

Advanced — break down by channel (optional)

Meta (FB / IG)

Google Ads

TikTok

Programmatic

Other / native

Channel-level data sharpens the breakdown. Programmatic and native typically carry the highest hidden margins.

Numbers are conservative estimates based on industry benchmarks (ANA "Media Buying Transparency" 2016–2023, Forrester). Real margins vary by contract, vendor relationships, and audit access. Nothing here constitutes legal or financial advice.

Your estimate

Potential hidden margin

€0 per year, undisclosed

€0 per month
0% of what you pay
€0–€0 range / year

What this looks like vs AdCible Media

	Standard agency	AdCible Media
Annual amount paid	€0	€0
Hidden margin	€0 (undisclosed)	€0 (flat fee, every line visible)
Goes to your media buy	€0	€0
Potential annual savings	—	€0

AdCible model assumes a transparent flat fee of ~12% of media spend (industry-standard for senior-only senior management) — every line visible on your invoice.

Book the free 30-min audit

On the audit call we look at your real ad accounts live and identify the three most expensive things hiding in your spend right now.

How the math works

1. The premise

Most agency contracts are not "what you see is what you get." Cost-plus retainers usually carry undisclosed vendor rebates and arbitrage on programmatic / premium PMP / native. All-in managed contracts hide the entire delta between gross media spend and what reaches the platforms.

2. The benchmarks

Sources: ANA "Media Buying Transparency" report (2016, follow-ups 2020–2023), Forrester research on agency compensation, public legal disclosures from rebate-related US lawsuits. Programmatic and native carry the highest documented margin (35–70%); paid social and search are typically lower (15–30%).

3. The conservative estimate

We use the midpoint of each range and label the boundaries clearly. The number you see is intentionally conservative — your real margin is likely higher, especially if your contract is "all-in" with no audit clause.

4. What we'd do differently

AdCible Media charges a transparent flat fee (~12% of media spend), no vendor rebates, full account access in your name, performance bonus tied to outcomes. You see every line — what we charge, what the platforms charge, what we send back.