Pricing guide
How much does a logo and visual identity cost?
A cheap logo is paid for once — the rebrand it forces on you, dozens of times.
An AI generator produces a logo in 30 seconds, free or for a few tens of euros. A branding studio asks €1,000–5,000 for apparently the same thing. The difference is not the studio's arrogance but what arrives alongside the image: a uniqueness check (so you do not discover two years later that an almost identical mark is already registered to somebody else), vector files in every format, variants for light and dark backgrounds, and a brand manual that keeps the identity coherent across the site, packaging and social media. Between the extremes sits the freelancer, at an indicative €150–800, often the best value for money for an SME. The pattern repeats across the market: a logo bought for the price of a dinner is paid for once, but the rebrand it eventually forces — reprinted materials, a rebuilt site, lost recognition — costs dozens of times more.
Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247
Key takeaways
AI generator or design contest: €0–100
Fast and cheap, but with no guarantee of uniqueness and often unclear usage rights — two risks that detonate exactly when the company grows.
Freelancer: €150–800
Original design, a few proposals and revision rounds, final vector files. The balance point for most small companies at the start of the road.
Branding studio: €1,000–5,000
A process with research and strategy, a logo with variants, palette, typography and a complete brand manual — the base every future supplier works from consistently.
What each level gives you — and what is missing
At the €0–100 level you receive an image: often a generic symbol that hundreds of other companies use in minor variations, with no clear rights assignment and sometimes in bitmap formats only, unusable for large-format print. From a freelancer you receive design made for you, with vector files (SVG, EPS, PDF) and revisions — but rarely a trademark availability check or usage rules. From a studio you receive a system: primary and secondary logo, grid construction, minimum clear space, colours with exact codes, fonts and application examples, documented in the brand manual.
A concrete example of a hidden cost: a food producer starts with an €80 contest logo. Two years later, wanting to enter retail, the trademark lawyer finds a similar mark already registered in the same class — the logo has to change. The real invoice: redesign at a studio, reprinting labels and packaging, rebuilding the site and the materials, plus customer confusion. The orders of magnitude: the initial saving was a few hundred euros, the correction cost several thousand.
Frequently asked questions
Which files should I receive when a logo is delivered?
At minimum: the vector version (SVG, EPS or editable PDF) — the only one that scales from favicon to building signage without loss — plus PNG exports on a transparent background, the light and dark background variants and the exact colour codes. If all you get is a JPG, you have not received a logo, only a photograph of one.
Is my logo automatically protected once I pay for it?
No. Payment gives you the usage rights agreed in the contract, but real protection comes from trademark registration with the national office or the EU office, which is done separately and costs from a few hundred euros. Without registration, somebody else can use or even register a similar mark before you do.
Do I need a brand manual or is it an indulgence?
It depends on how many people touch your identity. If you alone post on social media, a file with the logo and two colours is enough. Once you work with a marketing agency, a print shop and a web developer simultaneously, the manual becomes the referee that stops each supplier interpreting the brand differently — hence its price at studios.
Can I use an AI-generated logo for my company?
Legally the ground is slippery: in many jurisdictions works generated entirely by AI do not enjoy copyright protection, so you cannot stop anybody using the same mark. For testing an idea it is acceptable; for a brand you will market for years, the lack of exclusivity is a risk out of all proportion to the saving.
Similar pages
Related resources
Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247