As a passionate graphic designer looking to make money from their skills it can be difficult to figure out how much to charge your clients.
You don’t want to scare them away but neither do you want to undervalue yourself.
Graphic designers charge an average of $25 per hour. However, most designers don’t charge on an hourly basis rather a fixed price. A good quality logo made by an experienced freelance designer can cost somewhere around $300 to $1500 on average.
This average logo design cost goes up to around $2000 if you choose to hire a design agency and want more than just a logo. Some people and companies may use a logo maker such as WIX logo maker which charges you anywhere from $10 to $50 for a custom logo.
The above is just an average logo design price range but in most cases, businesses serious about having a strong brand image and increasing brand awareness will most likely get a custom logo done by an experienced freelancer or design agency.
However, it depends on a number of factors from the client’s side and the designer’s side.
In this guide we’ll look at how much does a logo cost, what factors influence a designer’s logo design pricing and how you should charge clients.
How Much Should You Charge For a Logo?
As a freelancer, you got all the skills and knowledge to make awesome logo designs to wow your clients.
However, you don’t know how much a and what to charge them for their logo.
Here are some factors that are worth looking into to find the ideal price tag for your logo design.
Experience and Expertise
For someone who just got out of college and is still developing their portfolio you can expect a low price for getting a logo design done.
Senior designers or Art directors with 5+ years of experience usually have a firmer grasp on their skills. They can give the clients more value, a deeper outlook and deliver faster and more consistent results.
This allows them to charge higher than beginners.
Type of Client
Understanding your clients is important to determine the price you should charge them.
If you are approached by a large corporate company, you should charge a high price as they would have a bigger budget and would rather look at the long-term value provided by the designer than the price.
If you charge a low price to these big clients they might doubt your ability and be skeptical about the quality you would provide.
On the other hand, if you are designing a logo for your cousin’s small startup company you might want to lower your prices due to personal relations and their financial state.
Deadline of the Project
Being able to provide the client with a time estimate is a skill you’ll develop overtime as you mature in the field.
But if the client requires a logo design done quickly or want to be treated as a priority, most designers would charge a “premium fee.”
A premium fee or rush fee is charged to customers who want special treatment for their logo design.
This treatment comes at a price, clients who require a logo urgently will be willing and ready to pay extra to get the design done faster.
Obviously, this totally depends on you as the designer.
You shouldn’t give in to the greed of getting more money if you are already backed up with other client’s work or have a tight schedule. It would be better to politely refuse.
You don’t want to be too blunt about it, be sure to sound professional and empathetic.
You could also choose not to charge them as they might be a returning customer through which you get a lot of referrals and would want to naturally prioritize them.
Project Specifications
The scope of work and the details of the actual logo design matters a lot for the designer.
Before starting any kind of practical work, professional graphic designers sit down with their clients to make a contract.
The contract would state the requirements of the business and the deliverables of the designer including the graphic design package pricing.
This could include things like, number of revisions, number of concepts, variations of the logo, and placements for the logo.
You should charge clients higher for more number of revisions, concepts, variations and placements for the logo design.
This is because it would take more time and effort than creating a simple design, sending it to the client and be done with it.
Higher number of revisions and concepts make you spend more time going back and forth with the client, which allows you to charge more than the basic logo design cost.
Choosing How to Charge Your Clients
We have looked at what factors determine the price of your logo design, now we have to find out how to bill your clients.
There are 2 ways designers charge clients
- Hourly-basis
- Fixed Price
As mentioned in the start of this article most designers charge on a fixed price.
This is because it is difficult to measure how much value you provide your clients with an hourly rate.
For example, if you are an experienced designer it might take you less time to make a good quality logo as compared to a beginner as you are more efficient.
But, you are now making less money for being more productive and efficient, which doesn’t really make sense.
You can watch this gem from the Futur to see what I’m talking about:
Due to the above reason I won’t cover the hourly pricing model in complete detail and just give some pointers.
Hourly Based Pricing
Most professional designers tend to undervalue their work when charging by the hour as they only factor in the time taken on designing the logo.
In reality, there are many stages in the logo design process which you have to account for when charging your clients.
This is what the production process usually looks like:
- Research
- Brainstorming
- Concepts/Mockups
- Presentation
- Revisions
- Production
Research
Before starting any kind of designing you have to research the industry which includes the client’s business, competitors, future goals, and brand image.
Research can take you hours to conduct but is an essential part of the design process as it helps you develop the colors, typography and vibe of the brand.
Brainstorming
After the research is done it’s time to brainstorm some ideas for the logo itself.
This can include sketching, mind-mapping and searching the web for design inspiration.
Since this takes time and a lot of mental effort it can be billed to the client.
Concepts/Mockups
Prior to starting work you must’ve discussed the details of the project with the client and how many concepts you would include.
Concepts are rough drafts of the logo and some of them may not be used by the client. However, they took time to make and develop which means you should charge them into your design.
Presentation
The way of presenting designs to the client will vary on the designer. Some use free pre-made Photoshop mockups while others tend to deliver high-quality presentations by making design books, printing the design or making their own custom mockup.
Depending on how long it took you to get the presentation ready you can bill the time taken to your clients.
Revisions
Revisions are the changes made in the original design after the client has reviewed them.
These can be corrections, adjustments or slight variations, not an entirely different design.
You should specify the number of revisions and how they will be billed in the contract.
For example, you could limit the revisions to 2 and charge them on how much time it would take you, you can choose to revise for free or you could even charge them a fixed rate for every revision.
Production
Finally you have to factor in some production costs, costs that were included in making the final design.
If you used any premium stock image or a paid font you have to notify the client and bill it to them. The same goes for any other paid or premium material you used in your design.
Value-based Pricing
Value-based pricing is when you calculate your price according to the long-term value you provide to the client rather the work itself. Once the price is decided it is fixed (excluding any add-ons which may have been discussed in the contract.)
Value-based pricing means you price the client and not the project - The Futur
Value-based pricing is the most effective method of pricing your designs.
Here’s an example:
You are approached by a well-established corporate firm that makes curtains for 5 star hotels. They come to you to rebrand their existing logo.
After some talking, you charge them around $5000 for their brand identity design and they accept (yes, these things happen.)
Now, the next day you get a call from a local bakery ran by a single mother who wants to get a logo designed for her start-up.
Will you charge her the same amount?
Probably not because for the corporate firm, money wasn’t an issue whereas a single mother might already be struggling with finances and may have opened up the bakery to make ends meet.
You have to consider these things when setting the right price for the right client.
Now, how do you determine what price to charge for the value you provide?
You ask questions and look at the long-term effects to the business.
Asking questions is important as it gives you more insight to who your client is;
“Why do you need to get a logo design done?”
“What are your goals for this new rebrand?”
“What do you think a new logo will bring to your company?”
After getting to know more about them and their business, you should look at the possible limitations and potential of the business.
For example, if a business owner comes to you for a logo design you might look at some of his current statistics. You may come to know that he makes around $20,000 in profit every month from selling mobile accessories.
You have to give him a price that is proportionate to how much his business makes.
In this case, $2000 for a logo seems fine as it is 10% of his monthly income which wouldn’t weigh too heavily on them or you.
However, if the client demands a logo for $200 then that is just 1% of his monthly earnings which seems too low for a client who’s going to profit so much from it.
Conclusion
A company’s logo is a vital aspect of its brand identity. Just like its brand it has to be unique and stick with it through many years to come.
When it comes to pricing your logo design service don’t undervalue yourself and remember the importance of the role your logo will play for your client’s branding success.
It is best to charge every client individually according to the value you provide to them through a method called value-based pricing.
This will ensure you charge the right price to the right client
