How Much Does a Logo Cost?
This is a common question. How much should a company expect to pay for a logo? For their overall branding?
I should start by saying that design is more than a service and it doesn’t make sense to charge by the hour. Good design has the ability to shape people’s perception and value of a business. It has value and it’s standard in the industry to charge accordingly.
These days almost anyone can create a logo. There are online tools, stock imagery, and friends & family who will do it for free. It makes people wonder why they should pay more than, oh, I don’t know, $100 for a logo?
The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines 10th Edition (bought when I officially started working for myself full time in 2001 and very out of date) says a logo design project should be billed at $5,000 to $12,000 for companies grossing under $1 million annually all the way up to $40,000 to $70,000 for those over $500 million. Do we charge that much? No. But we charge more than $100 and we don’t do it for free. It’s unethical. There are lots of variables to consider. How big the business is, is one. How many uses the logo will have is another. Our costs are lower than a really big agency or one in a large city with a higher overhead. But we try to balance the value of the art with the value to the client. The bottom line is we want to help our clients succeed in business. Creativity and design may be mysterious and enigmatic but making money is not.
And, lastly, we believe the logo is just the start. It’s the launch point for all the branding — in color, style, mood, image, etc. — and will ultimately be rolled out in all needed marketing materials.
If you’re interested in learning more, please feel free to contact us,