What should a logo cost a small business?

Most small businesses should spend between nothing and a few hundred dollars on a logo. 99designs lists logo design starting at $249. If someone quotes you four figures for a logo by itself, ask what the extra money buys.

That question comes up more than almost anything else I get asked around Hartwell and Hart County, usually right after somebody has been given two very different numbers by two very different people and has no way to tell which one is fair. So here is the honest version, with real prices I looked up the day I wrote this.

Why does the same logo cost $5 in one place and $2,000 in another?

Because you are not buying a picture. You are buying files and permission.

A cheap logo gets you one image. A real logo gets you a set of files that work on a truck door, a yard sign, an embroidered shirt, a phone screen and a business card, plus the paperwork that says the thing belongs to you and not to the person who drew it.

Nobody selling the cheap version explains that. They do not have to. You find out eight months later when the sign shop asks for a vector file and you do not have one.

What do you actually get at each price?

These are live prices, checked on 24 August 2026 on each company’s own site. They move, so read this as the shape of the market rather than a permanent quote.

Where you buy	What it costs	What you get	When it makes sense
AI logo maker (Looka)	Free to design. You pay only if you buy.	Looka’s own pricing page splits it in two: a Basic package that is one PNG file, and a Premium package with PNG, EPS, SVG and PDF, color variations and full ownership.	You need something on a sign next week and you expect to replace it later.
Freelance marketplace (Fiverr)	Listings on Fiverr’s logo design category page started at $5 and ran up to about $95 the day I looked.	Depends entirely on the seller. Read what files are included before you pay, not after.	You know exactly what you want and you can describe it in one paragraph.
Design package (99designs)	Logo design from $249. Logo plus a brand guide from $429. Logo, business card and social assets from $599. Logo plus a website from $1,399.	Print-ready and digital files, full ownership, and at the higher tiers a written guide with your fonts and colors.	This is the logo you intend to keep.
A designer you can call	Quoted per job.	Somebody who will look at your actual sign, your actual truck and your actual menu before drawing anything.	Your brand has to work in the real world, not just on a screen.

What is the real difference between a $5 logo and a $250 one?

Three things, and none of them are how it looks.

File type. A PNG is made of pixels. Blow it up to sign size and it turns to mush. A vector file (SVG, EPS, AI) is made of math and stays sharp at any size. Look at Looka’s own pricing page and you can watch the whole industry admit this in public: the cheap tier is one PNG, and the vector files sit behind the higher price.

Ownership. Some cheap sellers license you the artwork instead of transferring it. That matters the first time you want to trademark your name or put it on merchandise.

Whether it works small. My own rule, and it is written on my website: if it does not work small, it does not work. A logo with six colors, a gradient and thin lettering looks great at the size you approved it and disappears on a hat.

How much should a business in Northeast Georgia actually spend?

Less than you are afraid of, and more than free.

The floor price at a national design marketplace is $249 for a logo with real files and real ownership. That is the number to hold in your head. A small shop in Hart, Franklin, Elbert or Stephens County does not need to beat it by much, and does not need to multiply it by ten either.

The money genuinely goes up when you stop buying a logo and start buying a brand: the logo plus the colors, the fonts, the rules for using them and the pieces that carry them into the world. That is a different purchase at a different price, and you deserve to be told which one you are being sold.

How do I buy a logo without getting burned?

1. Write down where it has to appear before you ask anybody for a price. Sign, truck, shirt, menu, website, social profile picture. That list is the whole brief.
2. Ask for the file list in writing. You want SVG or EPS at minimum, plus PNG with a transparent background, plus a one-color version in plain black.
3. Ask who owns it. The answer you want is that you do, outright, in writing, after final payment.
4. Test it small before you approve it. Shrink it to the size of a thumbnail on a phone. If you cannot read your own name, send it back.
5. Test it in one color. Every logo eventually gets stamped, embroidered or faxed. If it only survives in full color, it is half a logo.
6. Do not pay for a redesign you do not need. If the thing you have works and people recognize it, cleaning it up costs a fraction of starting over.

Do I need a whole brand kit, or just a logo?

Just a logo is fine to start. What you cannot do is stop there and expect everything else to match by accident.

A brand kit is the short document that says these are the colors, this is the font, this is the spacing, this is how it may and may not be used. It exists so the next person who touches your marketing, including you at 11pm on a Sunday, does not quietly invent a second version of your business.

Mine is a public page on this site. Four colors with their hex codes and six written rules for how I talk. A brand kit that lives in somebody’s head is a preference. Written down, it is a standard.

What I would tell you if you called

Send me a photo of your sign and a photo of your Facebook profile picture. Nine times out of ten they look like two different businesses, and that is a cheaper problem to fix than either one of us expected.

I run a free 20-minute assessment of how a business shows up online. No pitch, no obligation, and you keep the notes whether you hire me or not. Book the free 20-minute assessment.

Frequently asked questions

Is a free logo maker good enough for a small business?

For a short-term mark, yes. The catch is the file you walk away with. On Looka’s own pricing page the cheapest package is a single PNG, which is a picture rather than a logo you can put on a sign. If you go this route, buy the tier that includes vector files.

How much does a logo cost on Fiverr?

On Fiverr’s logo design category page, listings started at $5 and ran to about $95 when I checked on 24 August 2026. The price tells you almost nothing on its own. Read the file list and the ownership terms in each listing before you buy.

What files should I get with my logo?

At minimum a vector file (SVG or EPS), a high-resolution PNG with a transparent background, and a one-color black version. Ask for them by name before you pay. A designer who does not want to hand them over is telling you something.

Is a $2,000 logo ever worth it for a small business?

For a logo on its own, rarely. For a full identity, meaning the logo plus colors, fonts, written guidelines and the pieces that carry them, it can be. Ask which of the two you are actually being quoted for.

Should I redesign my logo or keep the one I have?

If customers recognize it, keep it and clean it up. Recognition is worth more than taste. Redraw it properly, get the missing file types, and spend the difference on being seen.

Do I need a brand kit as well as a logo?

Not on day one. You need one by the time more than one person is making things for you, which for most small businesses arrives sooner than expected. It is a short document and it takes an afternoon.