Cost to Hire a Graphic Designer: Finding the Right Price and Strategy

Does your brand need original graphic designs these days? The short answer is YES. 

Even if you have a powerful content strategy, it would still be nice to strengthen it with visuals, after all, people perceive visual content better than plain text, especially when guided by graphic design basics. What's more, visual content should be original to make the most impact, as people see the same stock pics and photos too often, making graphic illustration a powerful alternative.

If you need original visual content, you also need a skilled graphic designer to create it for you. Such a professional can help your business distinguish itself from competitors and grab and hold the attention of your target audience, something you’ll often notice in great graphic design portfolio examples. But how much does it cost to hire a graphic designer for this purpose? 

TodayMade can answer that question for you. Being a professional design agency, we've done our market research on marketing design, so you won't have to, and we will gladly share our insights in this article, supported by great graphic design examples.

The average cost of hiring a graphic designer for your project 

Let's start with a potentially disappointing fact: there's no universal average graphic designer hourly rate. The rates can differ based on the designer's experience, skill set, and, what's most important, their location.

According to the 2023 Accelerance research, the average hourly rate to hire graphic designers based on different regions is as follows:

• $48-75 per hour in Latin America, with an average rate of $61 per hour.
• $53-71 per hour in Central and Eastern Europe, with an average rate of $65 per hour.
• $38-43 per hour in South Asia, with an average rate of $42 per hour.
• $29-37 in Southeast Asia, with an average rate of $29 per hour.
• $79-100 in North America, with an average rate of $89 per hour.

Of course, these numbers are also quite generic. For instance, a graphic designer working in the IT industry will probably charge more than a freelance designer creating visuals for small businesses. That's why it's also important to take a collaborative approach into account — especially when evaluating graphic design pricing.

Cost of hiring a graphic designer based on a collaboration approach

There are several collaboration approaches used in the design industry:

1. You can hire an in-house graphic designer or turn to outsourcing options.
2. Among the outsourcing options, you can choose freelance designers, design agencies, graphic design firms, subscription services, and crowdsourced platforms.

So, let's figure out how all of these approaches work and how much a graphic designer costs in any of these cases. 

Graphic design outsourcing vs in-house 

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states that the average salary of an in-house graphic designer was $57,990 per month or $27,88 per hour in 2022. However, this is salary only.

When you hire an in-house designer, you end up paying them more than just a monthly salary. There are certain additional costs that aren't always taken into account, such as benefits and workplace requirements. You also spend money on the hiring process itself — costs that can often be reduced with graphic design outsourcing solutions.

Hiring an in-house designer can still be a wise and cost-savvy option — for instance, if you need a design professional's ongoing support long-term. But if you aren't sure that you'll need such assistance for a prolonged period of 6+ months, outsourcing your graphic design services can be a more cost-effective option.

Graphic design outsourcing is a cost-effective and flexible solution that grants you access to a large pool of professionals. You can turn to a design agency and receive the full support of their design team, or you can select a freelance expert in branding, motion design, or any other service that you need. You can also combine both of these options or switch between them whenever necessary, just as you would when exploring diverse motion graphic examples.

What's more, outsourcing allows you to hire many freelance designers for as long as you need them. While there are still certain limitations set by professionals (for instance, some graphic designers set rates per project or per month), at the end of the day, it's still more cost-effective for projects that have a fixed timeline. 

Different types of graphic design outsourcing

Still, even if you decide to choose an outsourcing model, you'll be presented with a variety of options. The most common models are:

• freelance designers;
• design agencies;
• subscription services;
• crowdfunding platforms.

Let's figure out how each type operates and what the cost benefits they offer are.

Freelance graphic design

Freelancers work for themselves and, therefore, often charge less for their services as they don't have as many operational expenses as agencies do. The quickest and easiest way to hire a freelance designer is by checking out any of the popular freelance marketplaces, such as Upwork or Fiverr.

These platforms allow you to connect with freelancers, compare their pricing, and eventually find those who fit your budget the best. They also handle all the collaboration (assuming that you communicate via the platform) and help protect both you and the freelance designer from scams. 

However, such platforms aren't responsible for the quality of the services you get. If you aren't satisfied with the result, you can open a dispute, but this can take time and doesn't guarantee a full refund. 

For specific design types, here's what freelance graphic designers typically charge:

• Logo design costs can range from $300 to $1,500, depending on experience and the level of brand strategy work included.
• Business card design usually costs between $100 and $500, especially when bundled with other identity assets.
• Illustration projects generally range from $250 to $3,000, based on style, complexity, and intended use.

One graphic designer on Reddit summed up the graphic design prices perfectly, "I charge $75/hour for web/digital work and $125/hour for print work. This rate includes two revisions. If we go past that I charge $35/revision. This avoids a client who just HAS to change something and soon you find yourself on v10!"

Design agency 

Design agencies are outsourcing companies that have their own skilled graphic design team that can create high-quality solutions for you. They work with multidisciplinary professionals and value their reputation, meaning if you aren't pleased with the result, they'll do their best to adjust it to your needs. 

Agencies offer various graphic designer pricing models:‍

1. Good old hourly rate, when you pay for the number of hours spent on your project. The time is usually tracked with the help of special software or logged in manually using platforms like Clockify. This model helps ensure that you'll pay only for the time spent on your project.
2. Payment per project. The price is calculated before you start collaborating, and the sum is paid either upfront or as the project progresses. This model allows you to estimate your budget more accurately.
3. Fixed fee per project + hourly rate. This model is a great solution if the exact cost of your project is difficult to estimate (for instance, you might want to add extra features as the project progresses). With this approach, you pay some fixed fee for the agreed scope of work and pay hourly for extra work that goes beyond that scope.

Typical pricing ranges include:

• Landing page design typically costs between $800 and $2,500, depending on design complexity and UX needs.
• Web design and development projects can start at $3,000 and go up to $15,000+, especially if custom animations, integrations, or CMS work is involved.
• Print design costs, including brochures, flyers, or posters, often range from $500 to $3,000, depending on deliverables and printing requirements.

Crowdsourced design services

Crowdsourced services are a win-win solution for clients who want to receive lots of design options to choose from and for designers who want to add some projects to their portfolio. These platforms require you to post a creative brief and estimate the amount of money you want to pay for its completion. 

All designers who are registered on this platform, like the brief, and agree with the pricing, submit their work, allowing you to choose the best designs. The price you paid for this content is either awarded to one winner or split between the best works, giving you a variety influenced by current graphic design trends.

Subscription services

Subscription services require you to purchase a subscription (usually a monthly one) to get access to a pool of professional designers. Once you purchase it, you'll be able to submit as many design requests as you want and wait for them to be completed during the subscription period. 

This option is a great solution for those who need lots of design assistance for a limited period of time: for example, for a brand that is preparing to launch or for an agency that is making lots of marketing campaigns during the peak season. For example, TodayMade’s graphic design subscription starts at $799/month and includes unlimited requests with fast turnaround.

To better understand graphic designer costs for each of these options, check out this list of examples:

Typical concerns you may experience when deciding to outsource design services

Cost efficiency is an important factor when choosing the perfect design collaboration model for your needs. Still, it's not the only one. Sometimes, even an appealing graphic designer hourly rate might not seem enough for you to reach out to a professional or agency of choice. 

The most common reasons behind that are the following:

Risks of facing hidden or additional costs

What if the fixed price per project turns out not to be fixed at all? Certain individuals can charge you for various extra options that weren't initially discussed: revisions, stock images, or fonts used for projects. So, the final cost to hire a graphic designer could turn out to be higher than expected. 

Most agencies and freelancers that value their reputation address those things before you start a project. However, if that's not the case, the best way to prevent this is to discuss such issues before agreeing on a collaboration and write them down in a contract.  

Risks of paying too much for a certain scope of work

If you don't have much experience with graphic design projects, it might be difficult to estimate how much time it would take to complete a certain one. In this case, consider turning to companies that offer free consultations and can help you calculate how much time a project will take.

Another solution can be choosing a freelancer or agency with hourly rates or picking a subscription-based model. In any of these cases, you'll be paying for the exact time of hours or months spent on your designs. 

TodayMade as your cost-savvy outsourcing solution

TodayMade is a graphic design subscription service that starts at $4,999 per month. If you are a company that needs quick and professional design assistance and wants to start as soon as possible, we will gladly help you out.

Working with us allows you to obtain as many graphic designs as you need as long as your subscription lasts. If you have several projects, you can assign them all to our designers and save costs. Furthermore, all the potential extra costs, like font and stock image purchases, are on us. 

We know that it might be difficult to decide on opting for the outsourcing model. We also know how essential it is to get high-quality design help when the deadlines are pressing. That's why we are here to support you with our subscription-based design services.

If you have any questions or concerns or just want to find out if we are a good fit, reach out to us for a free consultation.