Pricing Survey: How Much Does a Website Cost? and Other Pricing Questions

Robert Williams

Below is a freelance design pricing survey for 2020 covering how much common design projects like websites cost. It’s a pricing list designed to give freelancers, companies, and full-time workers considering freelancing, a fair starting point. The best freelance projects always start from a place of mutual respect and value. So the last thing a freelancer/client should do is shy away from talking about numbers.

Before we get started… a couple disclaimers

We created this design pricing list by surveying over 500 professional freelance designers.

All prices are for design only, i.e. they don’t include any code (no HTML, no CSS, no JavaScript, no PHP, etc.).

Our audience skews toward experienced and skilled, so the pricing in this guide is reflective of working with a great designer (not your friend’s nephew).

Our audience is remote and international, which also plays a big role in pricing.

With those things out of the way, let’s get on to our freelance design pricing list! First up, logos.

How Much Does a Logo Cost in 2020?

Branding and logo design are often the first design service a company buys. But contrary to popular belief, a logo is not the same thing as a brand. So one thing to keep in mind is paying a higher price often means you’re getting more. Usually, a brand identity project is more valuable because your designer will not only come up with a logo, but actually think through the entire visual aesthetic of your company.

So based on the survey date above, we think $1200 is a fair starting point for logo design services. There are ways to get logos for much less but, as detailed previously, we’d be very careful with such “bargains.”

How Much Does a Website Homepage Cost in 2020?

A homepage (or landing page) design project is a type of web design job that is commonly the second step companies take when looking to enhance their brand. It’s a more time-consuming job, so the price range is starting to get larger. Depending on the complexity, you can expect to pay anything from $500 for a simple teaser to $5,000 for a full-featured landing page introducing your product (think Basecamp’s homepage). That’s why our graphic design pricing list recommendation is starting with a budget of $1900.

How Much Does a Full Static Website Design Cost in 2020?

Website design jobs are the most in-demand type of design contract we find. They’re also one of the hardest jobs to price on our entire graphic design pricing list. Asking how much a website should cost, is like asking an architect how much a house will cost. It all depends on specifics, so usually a straight answer isn’t easy. Still, after analyzing the survey results, we think that you’re going to need to budget at least $4,000 for a predictably great result. This assumes a basic website, that has a homepage, a basic page template, and 1 or 2 additional layouts. Beyond that you’re looking at a lot more, so keep this in mind.

How Much Does a Mobile App Design Cost in 2020?

Want to send your job to our list of freelance designers? Learn more about posting your job here

Mobile app design jobs and contracts are a more specialty type of design job. Often, they’re simpler projects but require a higher-end skill set. For example, mobile apps frequently require a closer attention to aesthetics, UX journey maps, and visual details than websites. These factors mean that even with less pages or less content, mobile apps are not cheaper than other projects on our graphic design pricing list. In fact, this is the only category where the highest price ($15,000+) is NOT the least answered by freelancers. Due to this, before you start down a mobile app design project, we recommend a minimum $5000 budget.

How Much Does a Web App Design Cost in 2020?

Want to send your job to our list of freelance designers? Learn more about posting your job here

Web app design jobs (also commonly titled simply UI/UX) are in a pricing range of their own on our graphic design pricing list, with a lot of designers charging $5,000 or more. The reason is: there is no such thing as a “small” web app. Unlike a static site, a web app is constantly evolving. That makes requirements harder to pin down, and planning for unexpected new features a must. Lastly, designing a web app usually requires a UI/UX designer which means a dual skillset: someone who can make something look good AND work great. All of this explains why this is the most expensive category.

We recommend a starting budget of at least $7,000 but you’re probably looking at $10,000+. Honestly, $15,000 or even $20,000 is nothing out of the ordinary so plan accordingly.

How to use this Graphic and Website Design Cost / Pricing List…

These survey results are by no means exhaustive, and every project is different. The best way to use this graphic design pricing list is as a starting point for your next proposal or job post. Part of the service a freelance designer provides is scoping out a project and figuring out exactly what you can afford and how much you should pay for the best results.

So let them do their job!

Don’t hire a dog, then bark yourself! – David Ogilvy

We hope this article helps you do awesome work. If you’re currently hiring a designer we’d love to help you find someone awesome.

Note: The original version of this survey and article was done by Sacha Greif. We used that article to create this one, so thanks Sacha!