A design studio for Canadian startups is a team that is based in Canada, or that works with Canadian founders, on product, website or brand. Where the studios below publish a price, it starts at $2,200 a month or $6,000 for a sprint.
Your team is in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, and some of your customers are across the border. The design has to work on both sides of it. Some studios sit in your time zone and some don't.
We're in India but work with Canadian startups 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:
- it's based in Canada, or its own site says it serves Canadian startups or names them as clients
- it designs a product, a website or a brand for startups
- it shows client work on its own site
- it's a studio, not a solo freelancer
We left out freelancers, template shops, and studios whose only Canadian link is a directory listing. Prices, ratings and client names come from each studio's own site or Clutch profile.
The six studios at a glance
Three of the six publish a price. Brand Vision, Orizon and Hexcode publish none.
| Studio | Based | Best for | Price signal (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand Vision | Toronto, with a US office listed on its site | Branding and web from a Toronto team | Not published |
| Hexcode (us) | Indore, India | Brand, site and product, sprint by sprint | Not published |
| Ofspace | Not stated on its site | Canadian SaaS teams on a monthly plan | Subscriptions from $2,499/mo, pause or cancel anytime |
| Orizon | Remote, based in Canada, per its about page | Product and brand after a seed to Series B raise | Not published |
| Phoenux | Toronto and Lahore, per its site | SaaS product design with Toronto hours | Clarity Sprint $6,000, AI Launch Pack $18,000 |
| Wavespace | Not stated, lists offices in 10 countries | Accessible UI/UX for Ontario teams | Design subscriptions from $2,200/mo, Webflow builds not priced |
The numbers behind it
| Studio | Clutch | Named clients |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Vision | Not checked | Flipp, TeraWulf, MarketCap, Neo Chassis |
| Hexcode (us) | Profile, no reviews yet | Rayhawk, Portless, ScalixAI |
| Ofspace | 4.8 (16 reviews) | |
| Orizon | 4.9 (client rating, per its site) | Vivodyne, Corsearch, Fairmarkit, Boston Dynamics |
| Phoenux | 5.0 (5 reviews) | Sendoso, Foodics, Unlayer, SlashExperts |
| Wavespace | 4.9 (250+ reviews, per its site) | Kodezi, Delve, Recruitly, Cerebra |
Figures from each studio's own site or Clutch profile, checked . Where a studio says "Not checked" for Clutch, we haven't looked at its Clutch profile. 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
Brand Vision
A Toronto branding and web design consultancy with a US office listed on its site. It lists branding, web design and development, SEO, UI/UX audits and digital marketing, and says it works with clients in all industries, with startups among them. Selected clients on its homepage include Flipp, TeraWulf, MarketCap and Neo Chassis. It publishes no price, and we haven't checked its Clutch profile.
Good fit if: you want branding and a website from a Toronto team that also covers SEO.
Not a fit if: you want a studio that works only with startups or only on product design.
Hexcode (us)
A 15-person studio in Indore, founded in 2020, with US overlap until 1pm PT. Our clients page names three Canadian startups: Rayhawk in Saskatoon, and Portless and ScalixAI in Toronto. We run brand, website and product design in two-week sprints with a demo each Friday. We're not in Canada, we don't publish a price, and we have no Clutch reviews yet. See our website design work
Good fit if: you want one team for brand, site and product, bought a sprint at a time.
Not a fit if: you want a team in a Canadian time zone, or a published price.
Ofspace
Says it helps Canadian SaaS startups and serves the USA and Canada. Its subscription page lists plans at $2,499 a month for 100 hours, $4,599 for 200 and $6,599 for 300, each with a pause or cancel anytime, and the same page also shows $3,999 a month for 100 hours, so confirm before you sign. It states no location. Clutch shows 4.8 from 16 reviews and a $5,000+ minimum project size. It names no clients on the pages we checked.
Good fit if: you're a Canadian SaaS team that wants a monthly design plan you can pause.
Not a fit if: you want a stated location or named clients before the first call.
Orizon
A remote design agency based in Canada, per its about page, working with clients in the US, Canada, Europe and Dubai. It says it works with startups and Fortune 500s, and speaks to teams that have just raised a seed, Series A or Series B round. Its site shows 400+ projects and a 4.9 client rating, and names Vivodyne, Corsearch, Fairmarkit and Boston Dynamics in its work. It publishes no price, and we haven't checked its Clutch profile.
Good fit if: you want a Canada-based team for product, web and brand after a raise.
Not a fit if: you want a price before the first call.
Phoenux
A product design studio for SaaS teams with about fifteen people across Toronto, Lahore and remote, per its site. Its Toronto page says it meets Canadian product teams in their day and keeps North American hours for US clients. It publishes fixed starting points: a Clarity Sprint at $6,000 and an AI Launch Pack at $18,000. Its portfolio names Foodics, Unlayer and Sendoso. Its site says it was founded in 2016 and Clutch says 2019, and Clutch lists only Lahore, with 5.0 from 5 reviews and a $5,000+ minimum.
Good fit if: you want a SaaS product design team that works Toronto hours and publishes starting prices.
Not a fit if: you need every designer in Canada, because Clutch lists only Lahore.
Wavespace
Has a Toronto page aimed at Ontario's fintech, health and SaaS teams, with design to AODA and WCAG standards as its angle. It says it has served companies from seed to Series B since 2019, and lists offices in 10 countries with no single headquarters. Its pricing page lists design subscriptions from $2,200 a month. Its site shows 4.9 from 250+ reviews, and its Clutch profile shows 4.9 from 16.
Good fit if: you sell into Ontario's regulated sectors and want accessibility built in, on a monthly plan.
Not a fit if: you need a Webflow build included, because its pricing page doesn't list development as included.
Does your studio need to be in Canada?
Not always, but check overlap hours, accessibility rules and which currency you'll be invoiced in before you choose.
| Your situation | Look for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Selling to Ontario's regulated sectors | Accessibility (AODA, WCAG) built into the design | Accessibility treated as an add-on |
| A team on Canadian time | Overlap in your working day | Handoffs that wait overnight |
| Selling in both Canada and the US | Client work on both sides of the border | A portfolio from only one market |
| A small budget | A monthly plan or a sprint with a stated price | Quotes with no range |
Six questions to ask before you sign
- Which Canadian clients can I speak to?
- Which hours are you online, and how many overlap with mine?
- Which currency do you invoice in, and how is tax handled?
- Who does the work, and where are they based?
- What do I own at the end?
- What's not included, and what would it cost to add?
Questions
How much does design cost for a Canadian startup?
Three of the six publish a price. Wavespace's subscriptions start at $2,200 a month, Ofspace's at $2,499 a month and Phoenux's Clarity Sprint at $6,000. Brand Vision, Orizon and we publish none. Ask each studio which currency it quotes in.
Do I need a studio based in Canada?
Not necessarily. Orizon says it's based in Canada and Brand Vision is headquartered in Toronto, Phoenux has a Toronto team alongside Lahore, and we're in India with overlap until 1pm PT. Ask each studio for its overlap hours.
Which of these studios design for Ontario's accessibility rules?
Wavespace's Toronto page says it designs to AODA and WCAG standards. We found no other studio here that names AODA on the pages we checked, so ask.
Can one studio do product, website and brand?
Yes. Orizon makes apps, websites and brands, Brand Vision covers branding, web design and UI/UX audits, and we do all three.
Do these studios work with early-stage Canadian startups?
Some say so. Phoenux lists seed-stage MVPs through to enterprise, Orizon speaks to teams that have just raised a seed round, Wavespace says seed to Series B, and Ofspace says Canadian SaaS startups.
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.
Selling in Canada and the US?
Thirty minutes, no deck. Tell us your hours and where your customers are, and we'll tell you whether we fit, even if the answer is one of the other five.
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