How much does it cost to design a logo?

No matter where you are, it is common to ask how much does it cost to design a logo? Today in this article we answer this and other questions.

Discussing prices when it comes to logo design is a minefield because people can easily get defensive. Here we are not going to underestimate anyone’s work and much less the budget, what is important is to know the ground you are treading on. So that you have realistic expectations of what your budget can afford, so that you don’t end up disappointed because you didn’t get what you wanted.

There’s a logo for every price, and there’s a good reason why they cost what they do.

People outside the design industry do not understand that logo design does not respect a specific amount. Logo prices vary enormously, from 5 dollars to millions of dollars. What is the problem? How can 5 dollars cost the same as 5 million dollars?

That is the question: it is not the same.

Although this topic is much more complex than we can cover in a single article, we will keep things simple and divide the typical logo ranges into 3 levels:

• the low-end ($100 to $999)
• the mid-range ($1,000 to $9,999)
• the high end ($10,000 or more).

First of all, to be a logo, a graphic must meet several conditions. It must be

• Be a vector graphic that can be enlarged to any size without losing quality.
• Clearly convey its meaning even when reduced to the size of a stamp or application icon.
• Suitable for use in a variety of media (print, digital, engraving, embroidery, etc.)
• Unique: there are no other companies using the same graphic.

If a graphic does not pass one of these checks, it is not made according to professional standards, so it cannot be considered a true logo.

What is the difference between low-end, mid-range and high-end logos?

The main difference is the process, there are many conditions that influence the designer’s rates: someone can offer the same level of service for a lower price because his operating costs are lower.

However, the price of the logo also depends on the client. The value of the logo does not lie only in the designer’s work: it lies in the potential of your company to obtain benefits from it. A corporation that is going to show the logo and brand to a large audience and get millionaire profits every year should pay more for a logo than a non-profit organization or a small family business.

Non-profits and local micro-businesses have lower budgets and do not expect a large return on a rebranding project. Designers often choose to lower their price, or even offer pro bono services to meet the needs of their less profitable clients.

Companies that are serious about using logo design to gain more customers and be perceived as a premium brand are willing to invest more money, because this investment will directly translate into higher profits.

Two different companies may pay a different price for what may be considered the same amount of work, and this is not unfair: it is called value-based pricing. If the logo helps you get more customers at a higher price, this translates into profits. Designers who help you do that deserve a piece of that pie.

The alternative to value-based pricing is licensing, which depends on where the logo will be displayed:

• locally, nationally or internationally?
• in print, online, on physical products, on television?
• what is the audience to which the logo will be shown?

All these factors are important because, as the owner of the copyrighted work, the designer can decide under what conditions his or her work can be used and negotiate the project fees accordingly.

Usually, upon full payment, the designer transfers some of the rights to the client, namely the right to apply the logo design to various media. Before this transfer of rights is completed, both the designer and the client must be clear on how the logo is to be used and how much that is worth in usage fees.

The $100 logo design process

100 dollars is the minimum you can pay for a decent logo, although by first world standards it is still cheap. This may be because:

• They are not full-time designers.
• They create between 10 and 20 logos a month.
• If someone has a second job paying the bills, or is still in college and their life is financed by parents and student loans, they presumably won’t value their services as much. They don’t need the money to survive: they can afford to work hard on a project and receive only a portion of what they deserve.
• If we’re talking about a full-time designer who still manages to make a living on $100 or cheaper logos, you have to ask yourself: can you trust the quality of what you’re going to get?
• When the designer is forced to rush through a project, he or she has to cut corners.
• There is no way a logo design can be optimized like a factory and done in a few hours at a time. That’s not how the creative process works. Usually, the first thing that suffers is research.

Design research is the first step in the logo design process. It is an essential step, because logos are not created in a vacuum: we have to establish what is already present in the market and how to differentiate ourselves from the competition. If we don’t do it, the result will probably be a generic cliché that has already been seen a thousand times.

That means that the designer has to work based solely on the client’s input, and quickly jumps into the creation process. Such a process may involve:

• Asking clients for design cues (favorite colors, fonts, symbols, mood boards, etc.).
• Quickly creating several variations and offering the customer to choose their favorite.
• Refine the chosen option based on customer feedback.
• Send the final logo and invoice.

Actually, this can be done in one or two days, which explains why the price is so low.

The process of designing a logo for more than $1,000

For $1,000 or more, you can get a pretty good design solution, as long as the designer is very experienced and follows professional standards. The complete logo design process includes the following phases:

• Client and competitor research.
• Establishing the design direction (using a design brief and/or mood board).
• Creation of several design concepts.
• Refining the concepts with the most potential.
• Choose the concept that best communicates the client’s values and brand message.
• Present the logo proposal to the client (with examples of everyday use).
• Revise the logo based on the feedback received (optional).
• Prepare multiple color and composition variations of the logo.
• Design the brand guidelines.

As you can see, the process of designing a mid-range logo involves between 30 and 50 or more hours of work. The project can last between 2 and 6 weeks, depending on the number of projects the designer is working on at the same time, and if there are additional graphics included in the logo.

The $10,000+ logo design process

The design process for a high-end logo follows a similar structure to a mid-range logo, with one key difference: it involves a team of designers and marketers.

Instead of a single dedicated professional, you have 2, 3 or more, all working to make your project a success. Because there are more people and resources involved, you get a lot more done:

• The research phase is more thorough.
• More designers equals more ideas.
• The design may involve the active participation of the client or a client focus group.
• The company name and taglines are usually included in the agency’s brand design package.
• This type of process can take several months. Large companies with so much at stake would be wary of rushing into it because if they don’t let the agency get it right, it could cost them a lot of money.
• With so many people involved and all of them devoting their attention to your project, the prices of agency logo designs are virtually limitless: they can run into the millions of dollars in the case of big clients like MasterCard, Pepsi and Airbnb.

Different design processes deliver different results:

A “deliverable” is an element that you, as a client, get once the design is finished. The more money you invest, the more deliverables you take home.

With a low-budget logo, you get a logo. That’s all.

With a medium budget logo, you get:

• Multiple variations of the logo (color, black, reverse, stacked, horizontal, icon, etc.)
• Brand style guide.
• Additional graphics (optional, depends on how much you pay).
• Branding strategy (optional, not all designers do it).
• With a high budget logo, you get:
• Brand strategy.
• Multiple variations of the logo.
• Brand style guide.
• A wide selection of all the graphics you will need.
• Optionally, the brand name and tagline.

Hopefully you’re a little clearer on the picture. It’s not that designers are trying to fool you, it’s just that logos are not trivial.

And it’s that not all designers can do logos well, it’s a very specialized skill.

There is no template or “best practice” that guarantees a logo that everyone will like. Many things can go wrong when an inexperienced designer takes on a logo project. The company’s reputation is at stake, since the logo is a business tool that has many functions.

If a logo design project is unsuccessful, rebranding will incur even more costs. You will have to redesign and reprint all promotional materials, such as websites, apps, brochures, signage, vehicle graphics, business cards for all employees…. The costs add up, so companies avoid rebranding if they can avoid it.

Saving money on a low-cost logo today may mean having to spend more money later to fix what doesn’t work.

That said, we show you a current price estimate, that yes, remember that there is no average logo design cost, nor an established logo design price list, and this is valid for the United States, America, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, India, or anywhere else.

Here we share with you some logo design price ranges. Keep in mind that these are approximate figures:

DIY / Logo Makers: $0 – $50

Logo Template: $5 – $100

Logo contests / Crowdsourcing: $50 – $500

Mid-range Logo Design Costs:

Offshore Designer: $100 – $250

Beginning Freelancer: $100 – $1000

Experienced Freelancer: $1000 – $5,000

Reputable Freelancer: $5000 – $15,000

Small design studio: $5000 – $30,000

Medium sized agency: $5000 – $50,000+

High-end logo design costs:

Branded agency: $50,000 – $100,000 (generally includes overall brand strategy and identity)

Reputable branding agency: $100,000 – $1,000,000+ (generally includes global brand strategy and identity)

World-renowned designer: $100,000 – $1,000,000+

It is vital that you don’t rush into a logo design project. If you don’t have the budget for what you want now, save up for it instead of spending money on something you won’t be happy with. Although if you decide to stick with a low-priced logo, we support your decision, but please do your research first.

You may want to read: How to make a logo for your company?