A startup brand identity is more than a logo. It's the positioning, a visual system and the templates to use it. Only one studio on this list publishes a price: Metabrand starts at $15,000 for an identity and $25,000 with a website.
Your logo was made before the product existed. The deck, the site and the product now look like three different companies.
We build brands too, so this list isn't ranked. Studios are in alphabetical order, us included, and nobody paid to be on it.
How we picked
A studio made the list if:
- brand identity or brand strategy is a named service on its own site
- it names startups, or startup stages, on its own site
- it's a studio, not a solo freelancer or a logo marketplace
We left out logo marketplaces, freelancer platforms and brand consultancies built for large companies. Prices, ratings and client names come from each studio's own site.
The six studios at a glance
One of the six publishes a price, and Ramotion states a $50,000 minimum project size. Ratings are as each studio states them on its own site.
| Studio | Based | Best for | Price signal (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C42D | New York City | Healthtech and AI brands in New York | Not published |
| Deserve Studio | San Francisco | Identity and Framer site together | Not published |
| Hexcode (us) | Indore, India | Brand, site and product from one team | Not published |
| Klutch Studio | London | SaaS rebrands after a raise | Budget bands on its enquiry form, under £10,000 to £40,000+ |
| Metabrand | Not stated on its site | A stated price and a short timeline | Identity from $15,000, identity plus website from $25,000 |
| Ramotion | San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, per its footer | Brand and product from a larger studio | Minimum $50,000 per project, $150 to $199/hr |
The numbers behind it
| Studio | Clutch | Named clients |
|---|---|---|
| C42D | 4.9 (50+ reviews, per its site) | Kindbody, Current AI, Teal Health, Mira AI |
| Deserve Studio | Not checked | Roamless, Ozone, AG2, Frigade, PetDesk |
| Hexcode (us) | Profile, no reviews yet | Convert Yesterday, ScalixAI, Volt, StarBrite Dental |
| Klutch Studio | No rating stated on its site | Checkstep, ChAI, Voceo, Kyte |
| Metabrand | 5.0 (25+ reviews, per its site) | Qorelo, Faasera, SetDev, SuperPlane |
| Ramotion | Profile exists, no rating shown | Netflix, Stripe, Descript, Flatfile |
Figures from each studio's own site, checked . Where a studio publishes no price, the table says so. Where a rating says "per its site", the studio states it and we haven't checked it on Clutch. Named clients are ones the studio names on its own site.
Notes on each studio
C42D
A New York branding agency founded in 2010 that works with startups and growth-stage companies in AI, healthtech, fintech and SaaS. It publishes no prices, and its site shows 4.9 on Clutch from 50+ reviews. Named clients include Kindbody, Current AI and Teal Health.
Good fit if: you're in healthtech or AI and want a New York team with a long track record.
Not a fit if: you need a price before the first call.
Deserve Studio
A San Francisco studio covering brand, product design and Framer builds for startups and tech companies. It's one of the featured studios on Framer's Experts directory, and its named clients lean toward AI, SaaS and fintech. It publishes no prices.
Good fit if: you want the identity and the Framer site designed together.
Hexcode (us)
A 15-person studio in Indore, founded in 2020, with US overlap until 1pm PT. Brand identity is a core service, and the same team builds the website and designs the product. Recent identities include Convert Yesterday, ScalixAI, Volt and StarBrite Dental. We don't publish a price and have no Clutch reviews yet. See our brand identity work
Good fit if: you want brand, site and product from one team, so the identity holds up inside the product.
Not a fit if: you need a price before the first call.
Klutch Studio
A London studio for SaaS brands, from seed to Series A and for post-raise rebrands. A full brand build covers strategy, naming, messaging, logo, guidelines, templates and launch assets, with the website optional, and it quotes a 7-week average. It publishes no prices, and its form offers budget bands from under £10,000 to £40,000+.
Good fit if: you're a SaaS startup that has just raised and needs to look it.
Metabrand
A branding agency for seed to Series A startups in AI, SaaS and fintech. It publishes two prices: identity from $15,000, and identity plus a website from $25,000. It says a rebrand takes from three to four weeks, and its site shows 5.0 on Clutch from 25+ reviews.
Good fit if: you want a stated price and a short timeline for strategy, identity and site.
Ramotion
Lists branding and brand identity among its services and works with startups and established companies. Its client list includes Netflix, Stripe, Descript and Flatfile. It publishes no prices for brand work, though its startup UI/UX page states a $50,000 minimum per project, and it shows no rating. Ask which of its clients were at your stage.
Good fit if: you want a larger studio with a long client list, covering brand and product work in one place.
What a startup brand identity includes
Scopes vary a lot. Before you compare quotes, compare what's in them.
| Piece | What it is | You can skip it when |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy and positioning | Who it's for, what you stand for, how you're different | Positioning is settled and tested with customers |
| Name | A name, and a check that you can use it | You already have a name you're keeping |
| Logo and visual identity | Logo, color, typography and imagery direction | You're keeping the logo and only updating the system |
| Guidelines and templates | How to use the identity in decks, social and docs | One person makes every asset, and always will |
| Website | The identity applied to your marketing site | A separate team is rebuilding the site |
| Launch assets | Pitch deck, social kit and announcement | You aren't launching or raising soon |
Six questions to ask before you sign
- Is strategy a documented positioning and messaging platform, or a mood board?
- How many logo directions will we see, and how many rounds of revisions are included?
- What do we own at the end, and in which file formats?
- Will the same team design the website and the deck, or is that a separate quote?
- How does the identity work inside the product, not only on the website?
- Can I talk to a client who has used the brand for a year or more?
The last one is the real test. A brand looks good at launch and proves itself a year later.
Questions
What does a brand identity studio do for a startup?
It works out how you're positioned, then designs the system that expresses it: logo, color, typography, guidelines and templates. Some also build the website and pitch deck, so the whole company looks like one company.
How much does startup branding cost?
Only Metabrand publishes a price: identity from $15,000, or from $25,000 with a website. Klutch shows budget bands on its enquiry form, from under £10,000 to £40,000+, and Ramotion states a $50,000 minimum project size. The rest quote after a call.
How long does a brand identity take?
Metabrand says a rebrand takes from three to four weeks. Klutch Studio quotes a 7-week average for a full brand build. Naming and a full strategy phase add time.
Should we rebrand before or after raising?
Before, if the identity would hold you back in front of investors. After, if you're still changing what the company does. A brand built on positioning you haven't tested will need redoing either way.
Brand studio or website agency?
If you need positioning and an identity, start with a brand studio. If the brand is settled and you need a site, a website agency is faster. A studio that does both saves you re-briefing a second team.
Why isn't this list ranked?
Because we're on it. Ranking a list we compete in would tell you more about us than about the studios. So it's alphabetical, with the facts we could check.
Related
Spotted something wrong? Email shabbir@hexcode.design with a link and we'll fix it.
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