A design studio for healthtech startups designs the product, brand or website of a digital health company, and knows the privacy and regulatory limits that come with patient data. Of the six below, one publishes a price, Fuselab Creative with projects from $25,000, and three more set Clutch minimums between $5,000+ and $50,000+.
Your clinical advisor wants it safe. Your investors want it simple. Your first patients want it to feel trustworthy. Not every studio has shipped into a clinical setting, so it's worth asking who has.
We design for healthtech 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:
- its own site names healthcare or digital health as a focus or an industry it serves
- it says it works with startups or early-stage companies
- it names healthcare clients or work on its own site
- it's a studio, not a solo freelancer or a talent marketplace
We left out freelancers, general agencies with no healthcare page and studios whose own site doesn't say they work with startups. Prices, ratings and clients come from each studio's own site or Clutch profile.
The six studios at a glance
One of the six publishes a price: Fuselab Creative, with projects from $25,000. Bene Studio, Cieden and Guidea set minimums on Clutch ($5,000+, $10,000+ and $50,000+). GoInvo and Hexcode publish none.
| Studio | Based | Best for | Price signal (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bene Studio | Boston and Budapest, per its site | MedTech and digital health products | Clutch minimum $5,000+, $50 to $99/hr |
| Cieden | Lviv, Warsaw and Wilmington, per its site | Clinical, patient and care platforms | Clutch minimum $10,000+, $50 to $99/hr |
| Fuselab Creative | McLean, Virginia | Regulated and clinical software | Projects from $25,000, hourly $100 to $149 |
| GoInvo | Boston area, with an Arlington, MA address | Complex clinical and payer software | Not published |
| Guidea | Austin, Texas, per its site and Clutch | Digital health and SaMD products | Clutch minimum $50,000+, $150 to $199/hr |
| Hexcode (us) | Indore, India | Brand and website for early healthtech | Not published |
The numbers behind it
| Studio | Clutch |
|---|---|
| Bene Studio | Profile, no reviews shown |
| Cieden | 4.9 (46 reviews) |
| Fuselab Creative | 5.0 (15 reviews, per its site) |
| GoInvo | Not checked |
| Guidea | 5.0 (43 reviews) |
| Hexcode (us) | Profile, no reviews yet |
Figures from each studio's own site or Clutch profile, checked . "Clutch minimum" is the minimum project size a studio sets on Clutch, not a quote. Where a rating says "per its site", the studio states it and we haven't checked it on Clutch. Healthcare clients are named in each studio's note.
Notes on each studio
Bene Studio
Lists offices in Boston and Budapest, though its Clutch profile gives San Francisco and Budapest. Its healthtech page describes solutions for MedTech and digital health companies, and it says it has helped more than 100 global enterprises and startups over 10+ years. A testimonial on that page is from DynamiCare Health's founder. It publishes no price, and its Clutch profile shows no reviews.
Good fit if: you're building a digital health or medical device product and want a studio that lists both.
Not a fit if: you want reviews to read before the first call, because its Clutch profile has none.
Cieden
Its healthcare page says it has 9 years of expertise in the field and has a section for early-stage founders who need a prototype or MVP. It names Lykon, Factually Health and Glucotrack in testimonials and says its team has HIPAA and HITECH training. It publishes no price; Clutch shows a $10,000+ minimum and 4.9 from 46 reviews.
Good fit if: you need a healthcare prototype or MVP built to show investors or first users.
Fuselab Creative
Its healthcare page says healthcare and biotech are most of what it builds, including clinical software, medical device interfaces and biotech research platforms. It says it designs software as a medical device interfaces to meet IEC 62366 human factors and FDA usability validation requirements. It names NIH, ReferralMD and RhythmX AI among its clients, and its homepage says projects start at $25,000.
Good fit if: your product is regulated or clinical and the design has to survive validation.
Not a fit if: your budget is under $25,000, the starting point on its homepage.
GoInvo
A deliberately small studio near Boston that says it has 20 years in business and 60+ shipped products. Its site says it has designed software for funded startups as well as large companies and federal agencies, in work shaped by HIPAA and FDA constraints. It names Mass General Hospital, Mount Sinai, NIH and Johnson & Johnson as clients. It publishes no price, and we haven't checked its Clutch profile.
Good fit if: your product serves clinicians, payers and patients at once and you want a small senior team.
Guidea
Founded in Austin, Texas, with offices in Austin and San Jose per its Clutch profile. Its site has a digital health industry page and a startups section that says it guides startups "from seed stage to IPO". A banner says Guidea has joined Invene, so ask who you would work with. Clutch shows 5.0 from 43 reviews, a $50,000+ minimum and $150 to $199 an hour.
Good fit if: you have budget for a research-led digital health engagement and want a long review history to read.
Not a fit if: your budget is under $50,000, the minimum on its Clutch profile.
Hexcode (us)
A 15-person studio in Indore, founded in 2020, with US overlap until 1pm PT. We did brand identity and marketing collateral for Oasys Health, a mental healthcare platform, and a brand and website refresh for Starbrite Dental in 8 weeks. We don't publish a price and have no Clutch reviews yet. See Starbrite Dental
Good fit if: you're an early healthtech company that needs a brand and website that look credible to patients, clinicians or investors.
Not a fit if: your product is regulated, clinical or needs HIPAA or FDA-aware design. We don't claim that experience, and Fuselab Creative, GoInvo and Guidea describe it.
Does a healthtech startup need a studio that has shipped regulated work?
Only if your product touches patient data, a clinical workflow or a regulator. A brand and marketing site doesn't need that track record. An app that handles protected health information does.
| What you're building | What to look for | Studios here that say it |
|---|---|---|
| A brand and marketing website | Healthcare brand work and a fixed timeline | Hexcode (Oasys Health, Starbrite Dental) |
| A patient or clinician app with no regulator | Healthcare product design and clinical UX | Bene Studio, Cieden, GoInvo, Guidea |
| Software that handles patient data | A stated approach to HIPAA | Cieden (HIPAA and HITECH training), Fuselab Creative, GoInvo |
| Medical device software | FDA usability and IEC 62366 experience | Fuselab Creative |
Six questions to ask before you sign
- Which healthcare products have you shipped, and can I speak to one of those teams?
- Do you handle protected health information, and will you sign a business associate agreement?
- How do you test designs with clinicians or patients?
- Does a compliance or regulatory review change your timeline or price?
- Who owns the research, designs and code at the end?
- Who will I work with day to day, and are they the people who pitched?
Questions
How much does a healthtech design studio cost?
Only Fuselab Creative publishes a price: projects from $25,000, with hourly work at $100 to $149. Bene Studio, Cieden and Guidea set Clutch minimums of $5,000+, $10,000+ and $50,000+. GoInvo and Hexcode publish none.
Does a healthtech startup need a studio that knows HIPAA?
Only if the product handles protected health information. Cieden says its team has HIPAA and HITECH training, and Fuselab Creative and GoInvo describe HIPAA constraints in their work. We don't claim HIPAA experience, so ask any studio for specifics and a signed agreement.
Can a studio design FDA-regulated software?
One here says so. Fuselab Creative says it designs software as a medical device interfaces to meet IEC 62366 human factors and FDA usability validation requirements. Bene Studio and Guidea publish articles on software as a medical device, but we didn't see a stated validation process on the pages we checked, so ask for one.
Do these studios work with early-stage healthtech?
Yes, all six say they work with startups. Cieden has a section for early-stage founders who need a prototype or MVP, and GoInvo says it has designed software for funded startups.
How long does a healthtech design project take?
Few publish timelines. We did Starbrite Dental's brand and website in 8 weeks, which is our own figure. The other studios here publish no timeline on the pages we checked, so ask for one in writing.
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.
Worried a general studio won't understand healthcare?
Thirty minutes, no deck. Tell us what you're building and we'll say whether it needs a studio with regulated experience, even if the answer is Fuselab Creative or GoInvo.
Book a call