Short answer A brand identity costs from about €300 to €50,000+ in 2026. A starter identity (logo, colours, typography, brand guidelines, stationery and a social media kit) costs about €300 to €1,500 from a fixed-price design service: €299 at Logomint, $480 at Softriver, $799 at Logo Design Valley. Design contests cost €569 to €2,399, freelancers about $1,500 to $5,000, small studios €1,500 to €5,000, and full-service branding agencies €5,000 and up, because they add strategy, research and a team.
What a brand identity includes
A logo is one piece. A brand identity is the system that makes everything you publish look like it comes from the same company. The difference is explained in logo vs brand identity; here’s what you usually pay for:
| Part | What it is | Needed to launch? |
|---|---|---|
| Logo system | Main logo, secondary versions, icon or favicon, light and dark versions | Yes |
| Colour palette | Main and accent colours, with codes for print and screen | Yes |
| Typography | The fonts for headings and text | Yes |
| Brand guidelines | How to use all of the above, in one document | Yes |
| Stationery | Business card, letterhead, email signature | Usually |
| Social media kit | Profile pictures, covers and post templates | Usually |
| Templates | Presentations, documents, ads | Later |
| Packaging and signage | For physical products or premises | If you sell physical products |
| Strategy | Positioning, audience, messaging, sometimes naming | For a rebrand or a funded launch |
The more parts you need, and the more strategy around them, the higher the price.
Brand identity prices at a glance
| Option | Typical price | What you get | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-price design services | About €300 – €1,500 | Logo plus guidelines, stationery and social kit | 2 days to a week for first concepts |
| Design contests (99designs) | €569 – €2,399, excl. tax | Logo, stationery and a Facebook cover, from many designers | About 7 days plus handover |
| Freelance designers | About $1,500 – $5,000 | Depends on the person and the brief | Weeks |
| Small studios and agencies | €1,500 – €5,000 | Identity plus some strategy, sometimes a website | 2 to 8 weeks |
| Full-service branding agencies | €5,000 – €50,000+ | Research, strategy, full identity system and guidelines | 2 to 6 months |
| Design subscriptions | From $699 a month | Unlimited requests, including branding | 1 to 2 days per request |
Typical 2026 brand identity prices, on a log scale. Dollar prices are shown at roughly the same value in euros.
Fixed-price design services: about €300 to €1,500
A design service publishes its packages and prices, assigns a designer and delivers in days. For a starter brand identity, when we checked:
- Logomint, €299 Premium: 3 logo concepts, unlimited revisions, branding analysis, brand guidelines, stationery, a social media kit and a 3D mockup. First concepts in 48 hours, final files in 7 days.
- Softriver, $480 Premium Branding: 3 logo concepts, brand guidelines, a social media kit and a business card, with initial concepts typically within 48 hours. Its $987 Brand Ecosystem adds ad creatives, social posts and packaging.
- Logoworks, from $499: a logo, a two-sided business card, letterhead and envelope, from vetted freelancers. Its $1,299 package adds a custom website design.
- Logo Design Valley, $799 Standard: stationery, a social media kit, brand guidelines and unlimited revisions. Its $1,499 Premium adds a logo animation and print designs.
Makes sense for: launching or relaunching a small business, when you need a complete, consistent look quickly and at a known price. We compare these services side by side in the best affordable branding agencies.
Design contests: €569 to €2,399
On 99designs, the “Logo & brand identity pack” runs as a contest: many designers send logo ideas, you pick a winner, and that designer creates your stationery and a Facebook cover. When we checked from Germany, packs cost €569, €859, €1,599 or €2,399 excluding sales tax, with about 30 to 50 concepts. Brand guidelines aren’t included; 99designs sells them separately.
Makes sense for: when you want to see many directions and have time to give feedback during the contest. More in Logomint vs 99designs.
Freelance designers: about $1,500 to $5,000
Upwork’s own hiring guide lists $1,500 to $5,000 per project for a “brand identity system” from a senior-level or specialist freelancer, before its marketplace fees. Freelancers found directly vary even more: what you get depends entirely on the person, so judge them by finished identities in their portfolio, not single logos.
Makes sense for: when you’ve found a designer whose style fits and can manage a project over several weeks. Our guide to freelancers vs design services helps you choose.
Small studios and agencies: €1,500 to €5,000
A small team adds some strategy: a kick-off session on your audience and positioning, a mood board, then the identity. Knapsack Creative, for example, listed its Fire-Starter package at $1,650 to $2,500 and its Wildfire package (with a strategy session and a brand kit) at $3,750 to $4,950 when we checked (its site showed two prices for each), often alongside a website.
Makes sense for: an established small business, or a funded startup where positioning matters as much as the visuals.
Full-service branding agencies: €5,000 to €50,000+
Agencies run research, workshops, strategy, several concept rounds and a complete guidelines document, sometimes with naming, messaging and a website. Large agencies working for international companies charge far beyond this range.
Makes sense for: funded scale-ups, established companies and major rebrands. Before you’ve proven your business, that budget usually does more in sales and marketing.
Design subscriptions: from $699 a month
Subscriptions give you a design team for a monthly fee. When we checked, ManyPixels started at $699 a month and Penji at $995 a month, both including logos and branding work. That’s good value if you need ads, social posts and slides every month too; for a one-off identity, a fixed-price package usually costs less than a single month.
What drives the price
- Scope. A logo, palette and guidelines cost less than a system with templates, packaging and a website.
- Strategy. Research, workshops and positioning take time from senior people, and that’s most of an agency’s price.
- Number of concepts and revisions. One direction refined versus several explored in depth.
- Who designs. A senior designer, a contest of many designers, or a team with a strategist and a project manager.
- Timeline and overheads. Days with a lean process, or months with meetings, presentations and approvals.
Hidden costs to watch for
- Source files. Check you get vector and editable source files for everything, not only the logo (which formats you need).
- Font licences. If your brand uses a commercial typeface, you may need to buy a licence for your team and website.
- Printing. Stationery and signage prices cover the design, not the printing.
- Extra rounds. Check how many concepts and revisions are included, and what more costs.
- Refund terms. Read the conditions, not only the guarantee on the pricing page: most limit refunds once you approve a concept or ask for revisions.
- Redoing it. A cheap identity you replace within a year costs twice (why cheap logos cost more).
How much should you spend at your stage?
| Your stage | Sensible budget | What to get |
|---|---|---|
| Testing an idea | Under €300 | A simple logo; the full identity can wait |
| Launching a real business | €300 – €1,500 | Logo, colours, typography, guidelines, stationery and social kit |
| Growing, with revenue | €1,500 – €5,000 | Add templates, packaging or a website, and some strategy |
| Funded, or rebranding | €5,000+ | A full agency process with research and strategy |
Not sure what your project should cost? Our free logo cost calculator gives you an estimate in a minute, and startup branding on a budget shows what to do first.
FAQ
How much does a brand identity cost for a small business?
For most small businesses, a starter brand identity (logo, colours, typography, brand guidelines, stationery and a social media kit) costs about €300 to €1,500 from a fixed-price design service. Freelancers usually charge about $1,500 to $5,000, and branding agencies €5,000 and up.
What’s the difference between the cost of a logo and a brand identity?
A logo on its own costs about €130 to €800 from a design service (full logo price guide). A brand identity adds colours, typography, guidelines, stationery and a social kit, so it costs more: €299 at Logomint, for example, against €129 for a logo alone.
Why do branding agencies charge €5,000 or more?
Because most of the price pays for strategy and people: research, workshops, positioning, several concept rounds, presentations and project management, often over two to six months. The logo itself is a small part of the work.
Is a cheap brand identity worth it?
Yes, if it’s custom, made by a human designer, and you get all the source files and own the result. Avoid identities built from templates or generated by AI, which are hard to protect and to tell apart from competitors.
Sources
Checked on 20 and 21 October 2026. 99designs showed prices for our location (Germany); the other companies showed prices in US dollars.
- Softriver, Pricing
- Logoworks, Pricing
- Logo Design Valley, Packages
- 99designs, Logo & brand identity pack pricing, Brand identity pack
- Upwork, Hire logo designers
- Knapsack Creative, Branding
- ManyPixels, Pricing; Penji, Pricing
Need a brand identity for your launch?
At Logomint, a senior designer creates your logo, brand guidelines, stationery and social media kit for €299, with first concepts in 48 hours, all source files and a money-back guarantee.
