Case Study: The Average Price of A Logo

Many logo designers prefer to avoid talking about money and their incomes. The members of logo design community debate intensively about various design aspects, but there are only a few forum threads and blog posts treating the financial part. Definitely, it’s a very sensitive domain, but neglecting the finances is a very big mistake.

On the other hand, we are living into a very connected world and it determines a large pool of prices and options. Nowadays, the price of a logo varies from a few bucks to hundreds of millions. Well, we have decided to take the bull by the horns and expose here our thoughts about the price of a logo. Everyone must accept that a logo is the fundament of a branding strategy and it has a capital role. A poor logo may determine the bankruptcy of a business; therefore any mistake is equivalent to losing money. The main idea is that the physical dimensions aren’t very important, what really matters is its role into the profit equation.

The large palette of prices is also determined by the variety of logo designers- some are very experienced while others are mostly beginners and they are willing to create some buzz around their portfolios. Of course, the services of a large creative agency are more expensive than the services of a less experienced designer. A big company won’t hire a freelancer to create their visual identity and someone that needs a logo for a new local online store won’t ask for the services of a top design company. The idea is that for every market segment, there is a specific group of designers ready to be hired.

The great majority of the clients consider the prices charged by the logo designers as being too high for the job. However, I am sure that not all of them are selfish and the opinion that was mentioned previously is based only on the lack of information and misunderstandings. As a result, I believe that it would be best if both the clients and the designers were presented with the information that regards all the expenses that must be amortized when providing logo design services.

1. Software and rent
   Making a good logo supposes the use of pen and paper, but it’s not enough. I am not an advocate of Adobe products, but the majority of logo designers use Illustrator or Photoshop. A license is pretty expensive, no matter which solution is preferred (cloud or “classic”).

   A design team should have a workplace and of course, it supposes the paying of a rent (usually, it’s a considerable amount of money).

2. Study loan amortization and self-preparation
   Graduating a design university supposes a great financial investment that should be amortized across time and that is why the logo designer will raise the price of a logo. As a consequence, a designer that graduates a design school will require a high price for his/her services.

   Altogether, the web evolved very fast and the design courses are likely to become outdated in just few years. Luckily, anyone interested in sharpening his/her logo design skills may find very good online resources. Some of these are offering free pieces of advice and information, but the most interesting resources may be accessed by contributing with a small fee.

The prices differences for logo design services are determined by the modalities of working- some logo designers require to be paid by the number of worked hours, while others require to be paid per project. It’s mostly a matter of personal preference and overall the price differences of these two options aren’t so important. The huge prices differences are determined by the specialization and the experience of the designer/agency. Usually, a beginner to intermediary freelance designer may ask for 300-600$ per logo while a huge advertising company asks for astronomical amounts of money. An experienced logo designer or a small design team may require from 1000$ to 2000$ for a good logo.

The differences may be unacceptable for some people, but these are determined by the quality of the services. A freelancer, no matter how impressive his portfolio might be, doesn’t offer 100% certitude that his work would be a huge success. The research is very superficial or it is totally missing. On the other hand, the big companies don’t allow themselves the luxury of a bad logo and with this information in mind people decide to pay more, just to be sure that their logo will look ok. Unfortunately, no design agency may guarantee that their logos will be 100% a hit.

Of course, the prices may vary from a geographical position to another. Maybe it’s not fair, but the same logo costs more in USA and Western Europe than it does in any other region. Personally, I think that the globalization will standardize the prices, but it’s something for long-time perspective.

A relatively good indicator of the logo prices is offered by spec work marketplaces. Previously, we talked about spec marketplaces and their advantages/disadvantages. Usually, these marketplaces are for freelancers, therefore the prices are probably, the lowest. By making a quick research I saw that the lowest price was around 200$+, but the average is up to 350$. Are these prices fair? Is the price of the logo too cheap or too expensive? We are waiting for your thoughts and we are inviting you to share your quote for logo design services with us.

A part of the logo design freelancers has made a BIG mistake. I don’t even call them freelancers, they are liars. Now, I am referring to those people who ask 10-15$ for a new logo. This kind of “designers” created accounts on various freelance markets, they bade for important projects and asked for unexpected low prices. It wouldn’t be something wrong if the services provided were acceptable, but usually these logos are extremely poor. In this way, both the bidders and the designers are disappointed with the results and they won’t compete…everybody is losing and it’s a pity that such a good idea (the freelance marketplaces) is transformed in a losing time activity.

I hope that you understand my point of view and you will ask for decent prices for the logo design services. Only by asking for fair prices and in return offering qualitative services the logo design community will evolve and the potential clients will trust the designers. If you agree with me, please share the post with your friends.

– Written by Daniel –