FinOps Strategy · Series A–C Startups
FinOps Consultant vs. In-House Hire: What Makes Sense for Series A–C Startups?
A full-time FinOps engineer costs €80–120K/year before you see a single optimization. A consultant delivers results in 1 week. Here's how to think about the trade-offs at your stage.
True Cost Comparison
The salary number alone understates the cost of a full-time hire. Include ramp time, benefits, recruitment, and opportunity cost.
| Cost factor | In-house hire | CloudCostDown consultant |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | €80–120K/year | €0 |
| Benefits & employer taxes | €20–30K/year | €0 |
| Recruitment cost | €10–25K (one-time) | €0 |
| Ramp-up time | 3–6 months before productive | 1 week to results |
| Audit engagement | Included in salary | €5K fixed, one-time |
| Ongoing optimization | Included in salary | €3K/month retainer |
| Year 1 total cost | €110–175K+ | €5K–41K (audit only → audit + 12-month retainer) |
| ROI guarantee | None | 3× ROI or free |
When Each Option Wins
Hire in-house when
- AWS spend exceeds €500K/month (dedicated headcount pays off)
- You're managing multiple cloud providers and need deep expertise across all
- Your board or investors require a full-time FinOps function
- You have complex compliance requirements needing continuous monitoring
- You're post-Series C with a large engineering org that needs internal expertise
Use a consultant when
- You're Series A–C spending €5K–500K/month - the ROI math favors a consultant
- You need fast results (1 week) and can't wait 3–6 months for a hire to ramp
- You're single-cloud (AWS) and don't need multi-cloud expertise
- You want implementation (IaC PRs), not just recommendations
- Your AWS spend fluctuates and you don't want a fixed headcount cost
- You want to prove ROI to your board before building a FinOps function
The Hybrid Model
The best outcome for many Series B–C companies: start with a consultant, build the playbook, then transition to in-house.
Audit + quick wins
The consultant runs a full AWS cost audit, delivers IaC PRs, and implements the highest-ROI changes. Engineering team sees what 'good' looks like.
Retainer + knowledge transfer
Monthly optimization reviews, new findings, commitment management. Your team is involved and learning the patterns - tagging strategy, Savings Plans cadence, rightsizing process.
Transition to in-house (optional)
If AWS spend justifies a hire, the playbook is documented and the FinOps processes are established. A new hire ramps in weeks, not months. The consultant stays available for complex cases.