Do you prefer hire single freelancers or agencies?

[#1]

Hello clients,

I´m a freelancer, but I would like to know opinions from you all clients, since is you that hires us, and I wants to provide good services, I would like your opinions:

When you hire, do you prefer hire a freelancer or an agency? How it is working with freelancers and agencies? When you have big projects to be done, do you prefer hire multiple freelancers choosen by yourself, one by one, or do you hire an agency that is just a full team to work on your project? Let me know how is your experiences hiring freelancers and agencies.

[#2]

I have hired 178 freelancers on Upwork.

I always hire single freelancers.

I do everything possible to avoid hiring agencies.

[#3]

Why don´t you hire agencies in anyway? What is so bad about hiring agencies?

[#4]

The reasons why I don't hire agencies are the same reasons why most clients don't hire agencies: Bad experiences when hiring agencies. Unproductive. Far more expensive. Often dishonest. Bait and switch (the person a client talks to isn't the person doing the work).

I think many clients have no objections to hiring agencies, until they actually hire an agency and get burned by the experience.