The logo is an essential part of your brand’s identity. It’s usually the first thing people see when they visit your website, and it can drive the direction of the rest of your brand’s look and feel. 

So, it’s vital that you spend some resources on creating your logo. The amount of money dedicated to logo design will differ based on the business size. So, how much should a logo really cost? 

Why Is Logo Design So Important?

Reveals Your Company’s Purpose

Your logo acts as a first impression of your brand. It distills the brand down and gives potential customers a look into who your company is and what it does. Great logos have the power to communicate 1) what the company sells and 2) how they sell it without the customer looking anywhere else. 

Brand Recognition

A great logo design is memorable and helps potential customers build trust with the business. It withstands the test of time and allow customers to rely on its consistency. For example, the golden arches of McDonald’s. If you or a family member love McDonald’s, seeing their yellow arches when driving past might fill you with excitement!

Value

Having an exceptional logo design paired with an exceptional brand is vital in order to increase your company’s revenue. If you’re looking for high-value or luxury consumers or to grow and expand your consumer base, a high-value logo is the key to unlocking these new customers. 

Low-Cost Logo Design Option

If you’re looking for a low-cost logo option or a do-it-yourself option, there are a few resources that will make the design process more manageable. 

Canva

If you’re wondering how much logo design costs, you’ll be happy to know there are plenty of affordable options. Canva is an excellent place for those who don’t have design skills but have a clear idea of what they want their logo to look like. Thousands of different templates are available, and Canva allows you to customise the designs. 

Unfortunately, there are some cons to using Canva. First, you can’t upload your own fonts unless you have a Pro account, so you will need to find a brand font within Canva. Second, Canva’s marketplace penetration is high, which means that your logo template has probably been used by a lot of other companies. Depending on the template, it may be hard to stand out from the crowd with a templated logo design from Canva. Also, Canva does not allow users to download files in a vector format; only raster files are allowed. (If you’re unsure what a vector or raster file is, check out our “Quick tips” section at the bottom of the page.)

Adobe

There are two main Adobe options for logo design. The first, Illustrator, is what most designers will use to create a professional logo design. If you want to learn the program, there are a lot of online tutorials available, but keep in mind that it is a steep learning curve and will take some time. The other option is Adobe Spark. Spark offers templated logos and similar usability to Canva. 

Vectr

Vectr is free software that lets you design an original logo and export it in both raster and vector formats. The software is somewhat basic compared to programs like Illustrator, but sometimes that can be helpful. Vectr also offers tutorials on their website, and you can find helpful tips on YouTube as well. 

Creative Market

Creative Market has one of the largest selections of logo templates online. They do cost money to download, but the cost for most is under $100. Remember that they have licensing requirements for any logos purchased on Creative Market. There are smaller licenses for businesses that will only make about 500 sales in their lifetime, and then an unlimited sales license for larger businesses. 

Etsy

Etsy is a surprisingly great and low-cost place to find unique logo templates. You may even be able to work with the seller to have them customize the design for you for an additional cost. Just make sure to ask for the vector and raster files.  

What Will You Receive With Low-Cost Logo Design Option?

Overall, a low-cost logo design might cost anywhere from $0-$1,000. DIY logos and templates can be a good way to generate your first logo, but as your business grows, more resources should be invested to refresh your brand elements. An investment in a premium logo helps add value to a business and generates more consumer trust, which means more revenue. 

It is also good to keep in mind that with a low-cost option, you will be doing most of the preparation, research, ideation, and design work yourself or in-house. So, if you’re paying someone in-house to create the design or spending time doing it yourself, it might be better to save company time and invest a bit more in a professional logo designer. 

Mid-Range Cost

These are typically created by experienced freelancers that specialize in brand design. Costs can vary widely depending on the scope of the project and the freelancer’s experience. Logos made by freelancers and small design agencies can cost anywhere from $1,000-$5,000. 

Working with freelancers or small agencies can be a great option for businesses large and small. However, experiences can vary based on the freelancer, so do your research and meet with the designer before work starts. 

You should receive a beautiful, customized logo when working with design freelancers and smaller agencies. They will spend a lot of time learning about your company and your goals and researching logo and brand strategies that might help you get there. This level of care, strategy, and detail costs a bit more but will greatly increase your brand appeal and recognition and generate more revenue for you in the long run. 

How Much Does High-End Logo Design Cost?

High-end logos will have a luxury price point and can cost anywhere between $5,000 and $500,000, although most land between $5,000 and $20,000. 

High-end logos usually come with an entire branding package. Large agencies should offer you in-depth market research, color theory research, competition analysis, and other important information-gathering tools before they start working on your brand. Usually, these teams will also employ copywriting and messaging specialists to help align every part of your brand to your new logo. It will be one of a kind and help your brand stand out above the rest. 

Quick Tips for Business Owners in the Logo Design Process

1. When selecting a font for your logo, make sure the font is readable. If you have ever tried to read a cursive font and struggled to figure out the brand’s name, then you know how important it is that the font is readable.
2. Make sure your design is delivered to you as a vector AND raster file. Raster files, which include .jpg, .png, and .gif files, are created on a pixel grid and measure dots per inch or DPI. These files don’t allow you to make the logo really large or really small without causing distortion. So, if you wanted to place your logo on a banner or sign, a raster file would look distorted. However, a vector file can scale up or down to any size while remaining clear. 
3. In addition to a full-color version of your logo, you may want an all-black, all-white, and possibly a gray version of it. You may want to place your logo on a color photo or a colorful piece of merch; in that case, you will want an all-white or all-black option. 
4. Then, you may also want to ask for other color exports of your logo. If you plan to do some print pieces with your logo, a lot of print shops will ask for a CMYK color. In contrast, RGB or color hex codes work best for digital pieces. Figuring out the CMYK, RGB, and Hex Codes for all your brand colors at the beginning of your branding process will help make this process easier.