How Much Does a Logo Design Cost? (And Why We Built a Free Calculator to Help You Find Out)

TL;DR: Logo design costs can range from £5 to £50,000+ depending on who creates it and what's included. The massive price variation leaves businesses confused about fair pricing. We've built a free logo design cost calculator to help you understand what you should expect to pay based on your specific needs—no email required, no sales pitch, just honest guidance. This article breaks down the real costs across different provider types, explains why prices vary so dramatically, and shows you how to avoid overpaying (or underpaying and regretting it later).

You're launching a business, rebranding, or finally addressing that logo you've been embarrassed to put on your website. So you start researching logo design costs, and within minutes, you're more confused than when you started.

Fiverr shows logos for £5. A freelancer quotes £500. A branding agency suggests £15,000. Your mate's cousin who "does graphic design" offers to do it for £200 and a case of beer.

What's the actual, reasonable cost for a professional logo design?

The frustrating truth? It depends. But unlike most "it depends" cop-outs, we're going to give you a proper framework for understanding logo design costs—and a tool to calculate what you should expect to pay based on your specific situation.

The Logo Design Cost Confusion: Why Pricing Is All Over the Map

Here's what makes logo design pricing so bewildering: unlike buying a laptop or hiring a plumber, there's no standardized pricing structure. You're not buying a fixed product with comparable specifications—you're buying creative expertise, strategic thinking, and varying levels of service.

A logo from a marketplace platform and a logo from a branding consultancy might both technically be "logos," but they're fundamentally different products. It's like comparing a Primark t-shirt to a bespoke Savile Row suit. Both are clothing, but the comparison stops there.

According to research from Clutch, the average cost for a logo design from a professional agency ranges from £2,500 to £15,000, with some projects exceeding £50,000. Meanwhile, 99designs reports that their platform averages around £250-£500 for logo contest projects. That's a 50x price difference for ostensibly the same deliverable.

The question isn't really "how much does logo design cost?" It's "what type of logo design do I actually need, and what should I expect at each price point?"

Let's break it down.

Breaking Down Logo Design Costs by Provider Type

Freelance Logo Designers: £200-£5,000

Freelance logo designers typically charge between £200 and £5,000, depending on their experience, location, and the project scope.

What you get: A custom logo designed by an individual professional, usually with 2-4 concept options and a few rounds of revisions. Turnaround time typically runs 1-3 weeks.

The pros: Direct communication with the person creating your logo, often more affordable than agencies, and flexibility in approach.

The cons: Highly variable quality, limited accountability if things go wrong, and you're dependent on a single person's schedule and skill set.

As Karen Wilson from Presto Coffee Roasters shared about working with our team: "High quality design, swift customer service and a communication portal that is really easy to use. Design Guru met our brief quickly and to a high standard."

The challenge with freelancers isn't capability—many are exceptionally talented—it's consistency and availability. You might find a gem who delivers brilliant work on time, or you might experience multiple delays and concepts that miss the mark entirely.

Traditional Design Agencies: £2,500-£50,000+

Established branding agencies typically charge £2,500 at the lower end for straightforward logo projects, with comprehensive brand identity packages reaching £10,000-£50,000 or more.

What you get: A full team working on your project, strategic brand discovery sessions, multiple concept directions, comprehensive brand guidelines, and various file formats.

The pros: Professional project management, strategic expertise beyond just design, multiple stakeholders reviewing your work, and established processes.

The cons: Significant investment required, longer timelines (often 4-8 weeks or more), and you're often paying for overhead including fancy offices and account management layers.

Traditional agencies excel when you need comprehensive brand strategy work alongside logo design. If you're launching a major consumer brand that will require extensive market positioning work, this investment makes sense. For most small to medium businesses, it's overkill.

Online Logo Makers: £5-£50

DIY logo platforms like Canva, Looka, or Tailor Brands offer automated logo creation for minimal cost.

What you get: Access to templates and automated design tools that let you create a logo yourself in minutes.

The pros: Extremely affordable and instant results.

The cons: Limited customization, templates that thousands of other businesses may use, no strategic guidance, and designs that often look generic or dated quickly.

Mark Abrams from Make Life Better described working with us this way: "I gave the crew a design spec, and they returned with the job completed within 48 hours—with no requirement for amendments. Outstanding job, completed very swiftly."

Online logo makers work if you need something immediately for a side project or temporary branding, but they're rarely suitable for businesses that want to make a professional impression.

Design Subscription Services: £599-£1,249/month

Design subscription services (like DesignGuru) offer unlimited design work, including logos, for a flat monthly fee.

What you get: A dedicated design team, unlimited revisions, fast turnaround times (often 24-48 hours), and the ability to request additional design work beyond your logo (marketing materials, pitch decks, social content, etc.).

The pros: Predictable pricing, no per-project quotes, quick turnaround times, and the flexibility to use the service for all your design needs, not just logos.

The cons: Requires a monthly commitment (though most services offer pause or cancel options), and you're working with a team rather than a single named designer.

This model has gained significant traction because it solves a key problem: businesses need ongoing design support, not just one-off projects. Getting a logo designed and then having the same team immediately available to create business cards, pitch decks, and social media templates is incredibly efficient.

As Miles Baker Clarke from Fusion Media put it: "Working with DesignGuru has been transformative, it's allowed us to scale our workflow to produce more internally than we ever have before."

Why Logo Design Costs Vary So Dramatically

Beyond just the type of provider you choose, several factors influence logo design costs:

Experience and portfolio quality: A designer with 15 years of experience and a portfolio of recognizable brands will (and should) charge more than someone just starting out.

Project complexity: A simple wordmark logo is less complex than a detailed illustrative logo with multiple elements. Comprehensive brand identity systems with various logo variations, colour palettes, typography standards, and usage guidelines cost more than a standalone logo mark.

Research and strategy: Are you just getting a visual design, or is the designer conducting competitor analysis, audience research, and strategic positioning work? Strategic branding work commands premium pricing.

Revisions included: Some designers include 2-3 revision rounds, others offer unlimited revisions. More revision rounds mean more potential hours, which impacts pricing.

Deliverables: Are you receiving just a PNG file, or are you getting vector files (EPS, AI, SVG), RGB and CMYK colour versions, various size options, social media profile versions, and comprehensive brand guidelines? The more comprehensive the deliverable package, the higher the cost.

Turnaround time: Need it in 48 hours? Expect rush fees. Comfortable with a 4-week timeline? You'll likely pay less.

Geographic location: A London-based agency charges differently than a freelancer in Southeast Asia, largely due to overhead and living costs.

Understanding these variables helps explain why you might see such different quotes for what appears to be the same service.

Introducing Our Free Logo Design Cost Calculator

After years of clients asking us "is this quote reasonable?" and "what should I expect to pay?", we built something we wish existed when we started DesignGuru: a completely free, unbiased logo design cost calculator.

Here's what makes it different from other pricing guides you'll find online:

No email capture required: We're not using this as a lead generation tool. You can use the calculator completely anonymously with no sign-up or contact information required.

Based on real market data: We've analysed thousands of logo design projects across different provider types to give you realistic pricing expectations, not marketing spin.

Considers your specific needs: The calculator asks about your business type, timeline, deliverables needed, and complexity requirements to provide a tailored estimate rather than broad ranges.

Explains the reasoning: Beyond just giving you a number, it breaks down why certain factors increase or decrease costs, helping you make informed decisions about where to invest and where to save.

Provider comparison: See what you should expect to pay across different provider types (freelancers, agencies, online tools, subscription services) for your specific needs.

The goal isn't to funnel you into our service (though we're obviously proud of what we offer at DesignGuru). The goal is to give you the information you need to avoid both overpaying and making false economy choices that cost more in the long run.

What Real Businesses Actually Pay for Logo Design

Let's look at some real-world examples to ground this in reality:

Startup tech company: A B2B SaaS startup typically invests £500-£2,000 for a professional logo with basic brand guidelines. They need something credible for their website and pitch decks but aren't yet doing extensive marketing that requires comprehensive brand systems.

Local service business: A trades company, restaurant, or retail shop often spends £300-£1,500 on logo design. They need something distinctive that works on signage, vehicles, and business cards but don't typically require extensive brand strategy work.

Professional services firm: Law firms, consulting agencies, and financial services companies often invest £2,000-£8,000 in logo design and brand identity work. They're selling trust and expertise, so professional branding becomes a crucial business asset.

Consumer product brand: Companies launching consumer products (beauty, food, fashion, etc.) frequently invest £5,000-£25,000+ in comprehensive brand identity work including logo design, as their brand becomes a primary competitive differentiator.

Enterprise rebrand: Established companies undergoing rebrands might invest £20,000-£100,000+ on comprehensive brand strategy, logo redesign, and full implementation across all touchpoints.

As Giles Korner from Korgi Consulting shared: "I cannot recommend DesignGuru highly enough. They took our very basic company overview & created a modern, vibrant & professional feel for us."

Notice that higher investment doesn't always correlate with better results—it correlates with more comprehensive scope and strategic complexity. A £500 logo can be absolutely perfect for your needs if you're clear about what those needs actually are.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About

When evaluating logo design costs, most businesses focus only on the initial design fee. But several hidden costs can significantly impact your total investment:

Revisions beyond included rounds: Many designers include 2-3 revision rounds in their base price. Beyond that, you might pay £50-£150 per additional revision round. If you're not clear about your vision upfront, revision costs can spiral quickly.

File format conversions: Some designers only provide JPG or PNG files. If you later need vector files (EPS, AI, SVG) for printing or scalability, you might pay additional fees ranging from £100-£500.

Brand guidelines creation: Your logo is just one part of a brand identity system. Creating comprehensive brand guidelines might cost an additional £500-£2,000 beyond the logo itself.

Implementation across materials: Got your new logo? Brilliant. Now you need it on business cards, letterheads, email signatures, social media profiles, your website, and marketing materials. Implementation work can easily cost 2-3x the original logo design fee if you're paying for each piece separately.

Trademark searches and registration: Ensuring your logo doesn't infringe on existing trademarks and actually registering it can cost £500-£2,000+ depending on complexity and jurisdiction.

This is where subscription design services provide significant hidden value. As Dom O'Brien from MATE noted: "Presented deck and concepts were fantastic. Fantastic!! Nice quick turnaround, thanks for your patience with all the sizes."

With a subscription model, you're not charged separately for revisions, file formats, or immediate implementation across marketing materials. You get your logo designed, then immediately request business cards, social media graphics, and presentation templates without additional per-project fees.

How DesignGuru Approaches Logo Design Pricing

We're obviously biased, but we built DesignGuru specifically to address the frustrations we experienced with traditional logo design pricing models—both as business owners and designers.

Our subscription pricing starts at £749 per month for unlimited design work, which includes:

Logo design with unlimited revisions: We work with you until it's right, no arbitrary revision limits or hourly charges adding up.

Comprehensive file formats: You receive all necessary file formats (vector files, PNG, JPG in various sizes and colour options) without additional fees.

Immediate implementation support: Once your logo is finalized, we can immediately move to designing business cards, letterheads, pitch decks, social media templates—whatever you need to actually use your new brand.

Fast turnaround times: Most logo concepts are delivered within 24-48 hours, with revisions typically returned same-day or next-day.

Dedicated design team: You work with experienced designers (like Juliana, Isabella, David, Vicky—team members frequently praised in our client reviews) who become familiar with your brand and preferences.

Platform for easy communication: Our portal makes requesting, reviewing, and approving work simple, eliminating the endless email threads that plague traditional design relationships.

As Simon Edward from My Digital Hero described working with our team: "Mind-blowing and absolutely incredible work from Juliana, Muiz, Lyndon, Samantha, Vicky, and David—turning rubbish images into brilliant results. Smashing it out the park with stunning mockups, beautiful designs, and outstanding presentations that perfectly capture briefs and elevate branding beyond expectations. Wow wow wow! 10/10. Beyond my expectations and on a really tight deadline—honestly don't know how you do it. This is why everyone should use DesignGuru, they really do go the extra mile."

The subscription model makes particular sense if you need ongoing design support beyond just a logo. Most businesses that invest in logo design immediately need supporting materials—and having a design team on standby becomes incredibly valuable.

You can pause or cancel your subscription at any time, so if you only need logo design and immediate brand implementation, you could realistically get everything done in 1-2 months for £749-£1,498 total, then pause until you need design support again.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

So, how much should you actually pay for logo design?

The honest answer: it depends on your business stage, budget, how critical branding is to your success, and what you're actually buying.

Go with affordable options (£50-£500) if:

• You're pre-revenue and need something acceptable while you validate your business model

• It's for an internal project or temporary branding

• You have a clear vision and can provide detailed direction

• You're comfortable with the limitations of template-based designs

Choose mid-range options (£500-£2,500) if:

• You're an established business that needs professional branding

• You want custom design but have a limited budget

• You need quick turnaround times

• You value flexibility to request related design work

Invest in premium options (£2,500-£50,000+) if:

• Your brand is a primary competitive differentiator (consumer products, luxury services, etc.)

• You need comprehensive brand strategy work, not just logo design

• You're undergoing a major rebrand that requires extensive stakeholder management

• You have the budget and timeline for extensive research and development

There's no universally "right" answer—there's only what's right for your specific situation.

Use the Calculator, Make an Informed Decision

Whether you ultimately work with us, hire a freelancer, or engage a traditional agency, we want you to make an informed decision based on realistic expectations rather than getting ripped off or making false economy choices you'll regret.

That's why we built the free logo design cost calculator—to give you honest guidance based on your actual needs.

Try the calculator now, get your personalized estimate, and make a confident decision about your logo investment. No email required, no sales pitch, just helpful information to guide your choice.

And if you decide DesignGuru's subscription model makes sense for your needs, book a quick chat with James or Will to discuss how we can help bring your brand to life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much should a small business pay for a logo?

A: Small businesses typically invest between £300-£2,000 for professional logo design, depending on complexity and provider type. A subscription service like DesignGuru offers the most value if you also need supporting marketing materials, while freelancers work well for straightforward logo-only projects.

Q: Is £500 too much for a logo?

A: Not at all. £500 sits in the mid-range for professional custom logo design. At this price point, you should expect a dedicated designer, 2-4 concept options, multiple revision rounds, and professional file formats. It's too much if you're only getting templates or automated designs, but it's reasonable for genuine custom work.

Q: Why do some designers charge £10,000+ for a logo?

A: Premium pricing typically reflects comprehensive brand strategy work, extensive research, senior designer expertise, comprehensive deliverables (full brand guidelines, multiple logo variations, trademark searches), and often the overhead of established agencies. You're not just paying for the visual design—you're paying for strategic positioning expertise.

Q: What's included in a professional logo design package?

A: At minimum, expect: multiple initial concepts, 2-3 revision rounds, vector files (AI, EPS, SVG), and high-resolution raster files (PNG, JPG) in colour and black/white versions. Comprehensive packages also include brand guidelines, favicon versions, social media profile sizes, and usage documentation.

Q: How long does logo design typically take?

A: Timelines vary significantly by provider. Online logo makers provide instant results. Freelancers and subscription services typically deliver initial concepts in 2-5 days. Traditional agencies often require 2-4 weeks for initial concepts, with full projects taking 6-12 weeks when including brand strategy and guidelines creation.

Q: Can I trademark a logo I've purchased?

A: Yes, you can trademark a custom-designed logo once you own the full rights to it. However, ensure your design contract grants you full ownership and intellectual property rights. Many template-based or contest logos may have unclear ownership issues. Professional designers typically transfer full rights upon final payment, but always confirm this in your agreement.

Q: What's the difference between a logo and a brand identity?

A: A logo is a single visual mark representing your company. A brand identity is a comprehensive system including your logo, colour palette, typography, imagery style, tone of voice, and usage guidelines—essentially all the visual and verbal elements that communicate your brand. Logo design might cost £500-£2,000, while full brand identity development typically costs £2,500-£50,000+.

Q: Should I use a contest site like 99designs for my logo?

A: Contest sites work for some businesses but have significant drawbacks. You'll receive multiple options (typically 30-100+ submissions), but quality varies dramatically, you're not working collaboratively with a single designer, and you're essentially asking dozens of designers to work for free with only one getting paid. For most businesses, working with a dedicated freelancer or subscription service provides better results and more ethical designer treatment.