Short answer Most startups and small businesses should spend between €130 and €300 on a custom logo from a professional design service. Spend less only for a throwaway side project, and spend €1,500 or more only once your business is proven and you need strategy as well as design.
The wrong question
Search for logo prices and you’ll find everything from free to €50,000. That tells you what the market charges, not what you should pay. (If you want the full list of options and price ranges, see our complete logo pricing breakdown.)
The better question is: what does my business need from a logo right now, and what’s the least I can spend to get that properly? The answer depends mostly on your stage.
Your logo budget by business stage
Want numbers for your exact project? Our free logo cost calculator compares every option side by side in a few clicks.
| Business stage | Sensible budget | Usual choice |
|---|---|---|
| Testing an idea, pre-revenue | €0 – €130 | DIY placeholder or entry-level design service |
| Launching a real business | €130 – €300 | Design service |
| Early traction, first hires | €300 – €2,000 | Premium service package or experienced freelancer |
| Funded or scaling | €2,000 – €10,000 | Design studio |
| Established company, rebrand | €10,000+ | Branding agency |
The most common mistake isn’t underspending or overspending in general. It’s spending for the wrong stage: an agency identity before you have customers, or a template logo when you’re about to print packaging and pitch investors.
A sensible logo budget grows with the business.
What you get at each budget
€0 to €50: a placeholder
A DIY template, an AI generator or a very cheap marketplace gig. You’ll get a usable image for a landing page, but usually no vector file, nothing original and nothing you can protect: Canva itself says logos made from its templates can’t be registered as a trademark, and the US Copyright Office has concluded that prompts alone don’t make you the author of an AI-generated image. It’s fine if you’re validating an idea and would happily throw the logo away in three months.
The risk is that placeholders tend to stick. Once the logo is on your website, social profiles and first invoices, replacing it gets harder every month.
€130 to €300: a real, custom logo
This is where you stop paying for a file and start paying for a designer. At a design service like Logomint, this budget gets you:
- €129 (Starter): 1 custom concept and 2 revisions
- €199 (Growth): 2 concepts to compare and unlimited revisions
- €299 (Premium): 3 concepts, unlimited revisions, extended branding analysis, brand guidelines, a 3D mockup, stationery design and a social media kit
All three include vector, printable and source files, full ownership and a 100% money-back guarantee. For most businesses launching properly, this is the sweet spot: an original logo designed by a person, with everything you need to use it anywhere.
Which plan? If you have a clear idea of what you want, Starter is enough. If you want to compare directions, Growth. If you also need guidelines, stationery and social assets to launch with, Premium covers them in one go.
€300 to €2,000: more time and more hands-on work
Here you’re usually hiring an experienced freelancer directly. You get more back-and-forth, sometimes more exploration, and a direct relationship with one designer. The logo itself isn’t necessarily better than a good €300 result. You’re paying for more of the designer’s time, and you take on the vetting and project management yourself.
€2,000 to €10,000: strategy starts to matter
A studio adds positioning work, audience research and a fuller visual system: colours, typography, patterns, templates. That’s worth it when you have a team, a marketing budget and several people producing branded material who all need clear rules.
€10,000 and up: a full identity programme
Agencies run discovery workshops, strategy, sometimes naming and messaging, and a complete brand book. It’s the right call for an established company rebranding, or a funded business entering a crowded market. Before you’ve proven the business, that money usually does more in sales and product.
When to spend more
Move up a budget level if:
- You’re about to print packaging, signage or anything expensive to redo
- You plan to register a trademark soon
- You’re raising money or selling to larger clients who judge you on first impressions
- Several people or agencies will produce material with your brand
When to spend less
It’s fine to stay at the lower end if:
- You’re still testing whether the business works
- The name might change
- The logo will only appear on a simple landing page for now
Even then, remember that a logo you throw away still costs money. Our article on why cheap logos cost more in the long run shows how the switching costs add up.
Getting the most from any budget
Whatever you spend, a few habits make the result better:
- Write a clear brief. Who you serve, what you want people to feel, and what you don’t want. Our logo design brief examples show what a useful one looks like.
- Insist on the right files. Vector and source files should be included, not upsold.
- Give specific feedback. “Make it pop” wastes a revision. Here’s how to give feedback to a logo designer.
FAQ
How much should a small business spend on a logo?
Most startups and small businesses should spend between €130 and €300 on a custom logo from a professional design service. Spending €1,500 or more makes sense once the business is proven and needs strategy as well as design.
Is a cheap €50 logo good enough to start with?
Only as a placeholder. At that price you usually get no vector file, nothing original and nothing you can protect, so it suits an idea you would happily throw away in three months.
Is it worth paying an agency €10,000 for a logo?
It’s the right call for an established company rebranding, or a funded business entering a crowded market. Before you’ve proven the business, that money usually does more in sales and product.
What do you get with Logomint’s €129 plan?
The Starter plan includes 1 custom concept and 2 revisions, along with vector, printable and source files, full ownership and a 100% money-back guarantee. It’s enough if you already have a clear idea of what you want.
The bottom line
Spend what your stage justifies, not what the market allows. For most founders launching a real business, that means €130 to €300 for an original, human-designed logo with every file included. More makes sense later, once the business can use the strategy that comes with it.
At Logomint, a senior designer creates your logo from €129, with first concepts in 48 hours and a 100% money-back guarantee. Compare the plans and choose the one that fits your stage.
