The short answer
A usable startup brand can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to well over fifty thousand. The range is wide because the word branding covers very different jobs, from drawing a logo to researching a market and building a system that dozens of people will apply for years.
For most early-stage startups the sensible middle is a focused identity: a logo and wordmark, a colour palette, a type system and short guidelines. Our brand identity package covers exactly that for a fixed $2,900 in two weeks.
What the price levels usually buy
At the low end, logo marketplaces and contests give you many quick options and a single file. That can be fine for a weekend project, but you rarely get a type system, guidelines or a mark that has been tested at small sizes.
Freelance designers sit in the middle. A strong freelancer can produce excellent work; quality and process vary a lot, so look closely at their portfolio and ask what files and rights you will receive.
Specialist studios and agencies charge more because the scope is larger: positioning, naming support, research, multiple directions, and a full system covering product, marketing and print. Large brand consultancies for established companies sit at the top of the range.
What an early-stage startup actually needs
Before product-market fit, your brand has three jobs: look credible to investors and early customers, be consistent across your deck, site and product, and be easy for a small team to use without a designer in the room.
That points to a compact identity done well rather than a large one done broadly. You can always extend it later; a clean system makes that easier, not harder.
Questions to ask before you pay anyone
Do I get the source files and full rights, or only exported images? How many directions will I see, and how many revision rounds are included? Will the logo work as a 16-pixel favicon and an app icon? Is there a written guide my team can follow? What is the fixed price and the delivery date?
If the answers are vague, the final bill usually is too.
Brand identity
A name-worthy logo, a type and colour system, and the guidelines to keep it consistent as you grow.