The honest answer is somewhere between $5,000 and $500,000. That's not helpful, so let's break it down properly.

We've seen pricing across the full range. Freelancers, mid-tier studios, big agencies. Here's what each tier actually looks like, what you get, and when each one makes sense.

The pricing landscape

Under $5,000. You're hiring a freelance designer, probably on a marketplace or through a referral. You'll get a logo, maybe a colour palette, possibly some basic guidelines. The quality varies wildly. Some freelancers are excellent. Most at this price point are generalists who won't push your thinking on strategy or positioning. Fine for pre-seed companies that just need something clean to get started.

$5,000 to $15,000. Small studios or experienced freelancers. You'll typically get a logo, visual identity, and basic brand guidelines. Some include a round of strategy work. Timelines range from four to eight weeks. The quality is generally solid, but the strategy layer is often thin. You'll get a good-looking brand, but it might not be rooted in clear positioning.

$15,000 to $50,000. This is where serious brand work starts. Studios at this level include proper strategy, positioning, a full visual identity system, guidelines, and usually some application design. A brand sprint starting at $15k sits at the lower end of this range and delivers a complete brand in two weeks. Larger projects in this range take four to eight weeks and might include more extensive application work, multiple sub-brands, or website design as part of the package.

$50,000 to $150,000. Established agencies with big-name client lists. You'll get a large team, multiple rounds of research, extensive stakeholder workshops, and a comprehensive brand system. Timelines are typically eight to 16 weeks. The work is usually excellent, but a significant portion of the budget goes to process overhead, account management, and rounds of internal review.

$150,000 and above. The top-tier agencies. Pentagram, Wolff Olins, that tier. You're paying for the name, the senior partner involvement, and a process designed for large organisations with complex stakeholder structures. Appropriate for companies with 500+ employees or those preparing for an IPO. Overkill for a 30-person startup.

What actually affects the cost

Four things drive the price.

Scope. A logo refresh is cheaper than a full rebrand with positioning, visual identity, verbal identity, and brand guidelines. Know what you need before you start getting quotes.

Team seniority. Junior designers cost less per hour, but they take longer and need more oversight. Senior creatives cost more but deliver faster with fewer revisions. You're often paying the same total either way. The difference is the timeline and the quality of strategic thinking.

Process overhead. Large agencies have project managers, account directors, and multiple layers of creative review. That costs money. Smaller teams with direct access to the creatives cut that overhead entirely.

Application depth. A brand identity is one thing. Applying that identity across a website, pitch deck, social templates, product UI, and marketing materials is another. The more applications included, the higher the cost.

When to rebrand

Rebrand when the gap between your product and your brand is costing you something measurable. Deals stalling because prospects don't take you seriously. Candidates ghosting because your website looks like a template. Investors asking why you look like an early-stage company when you've raised $20M.

Don't rebrand because you're bored of your logo. Don't rebrand because a new CMO wants to put their stamp on things. Don't rebrand six months before a raise when you should be focused on traction.

The right time is usually right after a significant raise, when you've got capital and need to match the brand to the new reality.

The hidden cost of not rebranding

This is the number founders underestimate. A weak brand doesn't just look bad. It actively costs you money.

Every sales call where you have to explain that you're "bigger than you look" is time wasted. Every candidate who checks your website and decides not to respond to your recruiter is a hire you'll never make. Every investor who opens your deck and forms a first impression based on a brand that undersells your product is a meeting that starts from behind.

We've seen companies sit on a weak brand for 18 months because they "didn't have time" to fix it. Then they rebrand and immediately notice the difference in how prospects, candidates, and partners respond. The cost of waiting was real. They just weren't measuring it.

How to think about the investment

Match the investment to your stage and the problem you're solving. If you've raised a seed round and need to look credible for your first enterprise sales, a $15k sprint will do the job. If you've raised a Series B and need a brand system that scales across a growing marketing team, budget $30,000 to $50,000. If you're preparing for an IPO, that's a different conversation entirely.

The mistake is either spending too little and getting something you'll outgrow in six months, or spending too much and burning runway on a process that takes three months when you needed to launch last week.

Find the middle. Invest enough to get a proper brand system from people who've done it before. Don't pay for process you don't need.