roast.page delivers an AI-powered landing page analysis in under 60 seconds for free, scoring 8 conversion dimensions. A CRO agency provides strategic depth and implementation at $5,000–$15,000 per engagement over 2–4 weeks. For identifying specific page-level issues, roast.page catches the same caliber of problems — our Stripe homepage analysis surfaced findings comparable to a $10K audit.
When should you use roast.page instead of an agency?
- Before committing to an agency — Run an analysis first to get data on your biggest issues. You'll evaluate agency proposals against real findings, not guesses. Across 1,000+ pages analyzed, the median score is 44/100 — most pages have fixable issues an agency would charge thousands to identify.
- Quick iteration cycles — Made changes? Re-analyze in 60 seconds. Agencies operate on weekly or monthly review cycles. The top 10% of pages (scoring 72+) iterate 3x faster than the median.
- Budget constraints — The average CRO agency retainer runs $3,000–$8,000/month. roast.page is free for 3 analyses and $3.60/analysis on paid plans — a 1,000x cost difference.
- Competitive analysis — Analyze 5 competitor pages in 5 minutes. Agency competitive research is a separate $2,000–$5,000 engagement.
- Consistent methodology — The AI applies the same 8-dimension weighted framework to every page. No variance based on which consultant gets assigned to your account.
When is hiring a CRO agency worth the cost?
- Complex conversion funnels — Multi-step checkout flows, enterprise sales processes, and cross-channel attribution require human strategic thinking that AI analysis doesn't cover.
- Implementation — If you need someone to build the changes, not just identify them, an agency executes. 67% of companies that hire CRO agencies cite implementation support as the primary reason.
- Ongoing optimization — A/B testing programs, continuous optimization cycles, and strategic roadmaps require sustained human partnership. Companies running systematic A/B tests see 2–3x higher conversion lifts than those making one-off changes.
- Custom research — User interviews, heatmap analysis, session recordings, and customer journey mapping require specialized tools and expertise that complement but go beyond page-level analysis.
The highest-ROI approach: start with roast.page to identify your biggest issues, fix the quick wins yourself (headline, CTA, social proof — these account for 55% of the weighted score), then engage an agency for strategic work requiring deeper expertise. You arrive with data instead of guesses, and the agency engagement delivers more value because you've already handled the tactical fixes.