Pricing Graphic Design Services in 2022

One of the first things that come to mind when outsourcing your design needs is budget. Between the graphic design services and types of outsourcing you can choose from, how do you put a number on things? And why is this pricing so difficult to find? Let’s break down the price for graphic design in 2022.

You are most likely thinking of outsourcing your graphic design needs if you’re reading this. That’s a significant step towards establishing your brand. Now comes the hard part: figuring out the costs for this new venture. Luckily, we’re here to help.

How do you establish a budget if you don’t know the pricing of something? A simple Google search will tell you graphic designers charge anywhere between $15 to $150 per hour. That’s a big ballpark we find ourselves in.

This wide range of rates mainly has to do with all the factors in play. Like, does your designer run their own business? Or how many years of experience do they have? Will they need any specialized tools to complete your order? We could go on for a while.

Not knowing upfront how much you should expect to pay, can pose a barrier to outsourcing graphic design. We’re not here to overcomplicate things; we want good design to be accessible. With this practical guide, you’ll learn how to price graphic design services.

What are graphic design services? Graphic design is a craft where professional designers create visual content to convey messages. Quality graphic design is the key to any successful marketing strategy. And so naturally, as a brand, you want in on that.

The first step in graphic design pricing is establishing what visual content you need. You can choose from a wide range of graphic design services. We’ll illustrate some possibilities by answering: what are graphic design services?

• Logo and branding - Recognizability is everything in marketing. You want your audience to remember your brand and have a positive connotation. This is where your logo and your visual identity come into play. Branding can consist of many things, such as typography, a color palette, and imagery.
• Advertisements - With an advertisement, you convey a certain message and expect (or hope) that your audience engages with it. By performing a particular action, like a purchase or a click. Or at least by reading what you have to say. Good graphic design is essential to get that engagement.
• Social media graphics - Everyone is on social media, and so should your brand be. It’s a fantastic tool to reach your audience and communicate with them. Posting consistent and appealing content with the help of a professional graphic designer will help your brand in many ways.
• Web design - People will look you up, and if they do, you better make sure there is a striking website awaiting them. Web design is a skill on its own and usually requires a specialized designer.
• Print collateral - In this digital age, you’d nearly forget there is something like print collateral. But magazines, flyers, business cards, brochures, stickers, and more are great tools to promote your brand. If they are designed well, of course.
• Graphic illustrations - A graphic illustration fades the borders between graphic design and art. It’s an artistic way to convey your unique message to your audience.
• Infographics - Do you have data that you want to showcase in a visually appealing way? An infographic is the answer. Designing an infographic should be done precisely to make all data easily digestible for your audience.
• Icons - So much to say, so little space? Have a set of icons designed to help convey your message in a short, simple, yet appealing way.

Joining forces with a pro

As you can tell from the list of services available, graphic design offers many possibilities to catapult your brand towards success. Especially when you take a skilled professional on board.

You can go about hiring a graphic designer in various ways. Let’s go over the different options to outsource graphic design and look at the costs.

Freelancer

With the post-pandemic freelancer boom, it’s not very difficult to find a freelancer anymore. There are numerous platforms available with a wealth of options in experience, pricing, and skills.

A freelancer is someone who works on their own and for multiple clients. A pro that comes with hiring a freelancer is that you can opt for someone specialized in a specific design service.

The cons are that it usually takes time to vet your freelancer’s work and pricing racks up if you have long-term work available.

Additionally, due to the freelancer boom we mentioned earlier, it’s difficult to know whether you’re dealing with an actual designer. Many freelancers watched some YouTube videos on graphic design and called themselves a professional, without having any formal education.

Upwork is one of the more popular platforms, and according to them, the average rate for a graphic designer is $25 per hour.

Design agency

A graphic design agency employs graphic designers with a range of experience and specialization. This is often the most costly option since a premium service like this comes with a premium price.

If you can afford it, a design agency is a good option for a bigger one-off project that requires multiple specializations. But if your design needs are day-to-day, a design agency can quickly become too expensive for most businesses.

Agencies typically charge $50 per hour for junior designers and between $75 and $150 per hour for senior designers. If you want a more specific range, you can ask an agency for a quote, as most price their service per project.

In-house designer

Is your brand in dire need of graphic design daily? You might want to consider increasing your headcount by adding a creative professional to your team. Then you’ll have your own personal designer offering you graphic design help whenever you need it.

Hiring someone full-time does come with a lot of responsibilities and costs. Especially if you don’t have enough design tasks to fill a workweek with, then costs won’t be viable in the long run.

According to Indeed, the national average salary in the U.S. for a graphic designer is $47,666 per year.

Subscription-based design services

Lastly, there is something called subscription-based design. You have a team of designers at your fingertips for a flat monthly fee. Submit various design requests, and a professional designer will work on them for you.

This may not be the right choice if you only have one small project or are not entirely sure what you want yet. If you know what you want and need multiple designs, this is the most affordable option for your business.

At ManyPixels, we offer three different plans, ranging from $549 to $1,199 per month. Our most exclusive plan is our Dedicated Designer plan, which comes with all the perks of an in-house designer, but without the hassle. No dreaded administrative overhead costs or paperwork!

You can scale up or down in plans each month, depending on your needs. The flat fee will remain the same no matter how many requests you put in. Additionally, there is a 14-day money-back guarantee.

How to price graphic design services: an overview

Now that you know what services are available and who can help you, let’s look at graphic design pricing ranges per service.

Graphic design services:

• Logo: $200-$800
• Visual identity: $100-$3000
• Social media graphic package: $50-$650
• Landing page: $600-$3000
• Basic web design: $5000-$30,000
• Business card: $50-$3000+
• Brochure: $399-$2149
• Illustration: $700-$1600
• Infographic: $350-$1500

*Please note that these are estimates, and you may find rates beyond or below these ranges.

Factors that play a role

We know what you’re thinking. Those are still some wide ranges we’re giving. Wonder why that is? Let’s look at the factors that play a role in the pricing of graphic design services.

• Who you hire to do the job - If you outsource graphic design and it’s a one-off project, a freelancer is usually cheaper and a design agency more expensive.
• How complex the project is - A static landing page with only a few elements will more likely be more affordable than a dynamic 6-page web design.
• Your designer’s experience - If your designer has been in the field for years, expect to pay more than when you’re working with someone fresh out of college.
• Your designer’s location - If your designer lives in the Big Apple, they have higher living costs than a designer living and working in the Philippines.
• If there’s more to come - Prices drop if you buy something in bulk. The same goes for graphic design. For example, the sum of multiple one-off projects will be higher than a flat fee for unlimited design.

Steps to establishing a budget

You’re running a business, so sticking to a specific budget is essential. Take these steps to establish a budget for your graphic design needs.

1. Calculate your income - How much do you have coming in each month?
2. Establish a figure - How much can you realistically spend on design from this income?
3. List your fixed design expenses - Think about your weekly newsletter and social media posts.
4. List your variable design expenses - For example, digital ads for promotions.
5. Anticipate your one-off design expenses - You’ll likely only need a complete logo design once.
6. Divide your budget - With the cost ranges and hourly rates you now know, start dividing your budget into fixed, variable, and one-off designs.

You can see whether you’re realistic with your budget with your created overview. It also gives you a sense of whether you can have all of your design needs met straight away or if you need to spread it out over a longer period.

Tips to stay within your price range

Sticking to a certain budget isn’t easy, especially with all the options available to outsource graphic design. With these tips, you’ll make sure you stick to your budget:

• Define your needs - Be as specific as you can, and make sure your design brief is as comprehensive as it can get. This way, you minimize the risk of having a lot of revisions. Revising work costs time, and time is money.
• Set boundaries - It’s a good idea to be as clear as possible with your designer from the get-go. Things to discuss beforehand are the scope of your project and if everything is clear from your design brief, as well as the number of revisions included in the fee.
• Establish a project price - Rather than an hourly rate, a fixed project price will give you a complete picture of your spending.
• Realize cheap design comes at a cost - If a quote is too good to be true, you might see it in the quality of your design. It’s much more expensive to fix bad design, so you’re better off spending a little more and having it done right from the beginning.

Find what fits your business

If, after reading all this, you still think graphic design pricing is a risky business, you’re not alone. Pricing for a logo alone has a range from $600. Especially if you’re a small business, you don’t have the financial space to take big gambles yet.

Instead of jumping into contracts with graphic designers hoping for the best, subscription-based design may be a much better fit for your business. No matter how many design requests you put in, your monthly costs will remain the same. Our skilled designers could help you with social media graphics one day and web design the next.

Eager to see how outsourcing your design both risk and hassle-free works? Book a demo with us and we’ll show you.