What a logo should actually cost — and why the range is so wide

Ask five studios what a logo costs and you will get five answers separated by two orders of magnitude. That is not because some are dishonest. It is because "a logo" describes a file, not a scope of work, and the file is the cheapest part of the job.

What you are actually paying for

The drawing itself might take a skilled designer a day. What takes the other three weeks is everything that makes the drawing the right one — and everything that keeps it working after you have it.

• Category research, so the mark is not a near-copy of a competitor you have never heard of
• Strategic exploration across genuinely different ideas rather than variations of one
• Optical correction and geometric construction so it holds at every size
• Variant systems for horizontal, stacked, icon-only and single-colour use
• Documentation so other people apply it correctly without you supervising
• Ownership transfer, in writing, with all source files

The three tiers you will encounter

Template and marketplace (under ₹5,000)

You are buying a pre-drawn asset with your name set in it. It is fast and cheap, and it is genuinely fine for a side project or a business testing an idea. The risks are real though: no exclusivity, ambiguous ownership, and no variants for the applications you will need in six months.

Independent designer (₹15,000 – ₹75,000)

A professional doing custom work. You get original design, a real conversation and usually a solid mark. What varies enormously is process rigour — whether anyone audited the category, and whether you receive a system or a single file.

Studio engagement (₹75,000 upward)

Research, strategy, multiple disciplines and documentation. Worth it when the brand has to carry weight — enterprise sales, retail shelves, regulated markets, or any situation where more than a handful of people will be applying it.

The question that actually matters

Not "what does a logo cost" but "what does this logo have to do?" A neighbourhood café and a company bidding for infrastructure tenders have genuinely different requirements, and the honest price difference between them is large.

If a mark will be applied by fifty people across six vendors, the documentation is worth more than the drawing.

What to check before you pay

1. Does the quote include full copyright transfer, in writing?
2. Do you receive editable vector source files, not just PNGs?
3. How many genuinely distinct directions will you see?
4. What happens if none of them work?
5. Are variants and usage rules included, or priced separately later?

The answers to those five questions explain almost every price difference you will encounter. If a quote seems unusually low, one of them is usually the reason.