Short answer: anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, and more again if you want a full brand identity. Published Australian pricing guides put a freelance logo at roughly $300 to $3,000 and a small business brand identity at roughly $2,000 to $8,000 (Jakaria Design, 2026). The spread comes down to how much thinking goes in, which files you walk away with, and whether you actually own the thing at the end.
I've been doing this for 15 years and it's still the question I get asked most, usually with a slightly nervous look. So here's the lay of the land, no sales pitch.
How much does a logo cost in Australia?
It really depends on who you go to and what's in the box. Roughly, there are four levels:
- Logo makers and template sites. Cheap or free, but you're getting a template that plenty of other businesses can grab too.
- Budget freelancers and marketplaces. Low prices, usually not much research, and often only a couple of file types.
- Experienced freelancers and small studios. A custom logo built from a proper brief, with the right files and some brand basics.
- Agencies. Strategy, research and a full identity system, priced to match.
There's no single right answer here. If you're weighing up the last two, I wrote a bit about choosing between a graphic design agency or freelancer a while back.
One tip before you compare anything: check whether the quote includes GST. Plenty of designers quote ex-GST, and that 10% adds up.
Why do logo quotes vary so much?
Because "a logo" can mean wildly different amounts of work. A small business owner in Canberra posted on Reddit that they'd found prices "from $50 to $1,300" and had no idea what to make of it (r/canberra). Fair enough. If someone's promising a unique, strategic, ready-for-anything logo for fifty bucks, I'm channelling Darryl Kerrigan from The Castle: tell 'em they're dreamin'.
What actually moves the price:
- Research. Does the designer get to know your business, your customers and your competitors, or jump straight to sketching?
- Concepts and revisions. How many first ideas you see, and how many rounds of changes are included.
- Experience. Someone who's solved this problem a hundred times usually gets somewhere good faster and dodges the expensive mistakes.
- Deliverables. One PNG isn't the same as a full logo suite with colour, mono and reversed versions in every format you'll need.
- Ownership. Whether copyright is handed over to you in writing (more on that below).
- Timeframe. Rush jobs tend to cost more.
So when you line quotes up, compare what's included, not just the number at the bottom.
What should you get for your money?
At a minimum, a professional logo should come with:
- Vector master files (AI, EPS, SVG or PDF) so it scales from a tiny browser icon to a shopfront sign without going blurry.
- Web files (PNG and SVG) with transparent backgrounds.
- Versions for different spaces, like horizontal, stacked and an icon or submark.
- Colour, black, white and reversed versions so it works on any background.
- Your colour codes (CMYK, RGB/HEX and ideally Pantone) and the fonts used.
- A written transfer of copyright, or at least a clear licence covering how you'll use it.
If a quote doesn't mention files or ownership, ask before you hand over a deposit. It's a two-minute email that can save a lot of grief later.
Logo vs brand identity: what does a small business actually need?
A logo is one mark. A brand identity is everything around it: colours, fonts, imagery style, how the logo sits on things, and a short guide so everyone uses it the same way. To borrow from The Castle one more time, it's the vibe of the thing, written down so it doesn't change every time a new person touches it.
If you're testing an idea or just getting started, a well-made logo with your colours and fonts locked in is often plenty. If you're about to spend real money on a website, signage, a van wrap, packaging or a marketing push, a brand identity is usually worth it, because every designer, printer and staff member is working off the same page. Otherwise you end up with the Kath & Kim approach to branding: a bit "noice, different, unusual" on every flyer, and none of them match.
If you want to see what that looks like in practice, there's brand design and my work on the site.
How long does it take to design a logo?
A considered logo usually takes a few weeks from brief to final files, not a few hours. The actual designing is only part of it. The rest is research, showing concepts, your feedback, tweaks and getting the final files ready.
The biggest thing that speeds it up (or slows it down) is feedback. Projects move fastest when one person makes the calls and replies within a few days, rather than the logo doing laps of the family group chat.
Is a cheap logo ever worth it?
Sometimes, yeah. If you're testing a side hustle and just need something simple to get going, a low-cost option can do the job for now.
The catch is what happens later. Template logos aren't unique, which can make them hard to protect as a trade mark. Cheap jobs often come without vector files, so the first time you need a sign or a big printed banner, you're paying someone to redraw it. And rebranding after you've printed stock, built a website and signwritten the ute is a bit like that "this is fine" dog sitting in the burning room. It's fine, until you get the bill. Getting it right the first time is almost always cheaper.
FAQ
IP Australia charges $250 per class for a standard online trade mark application using its goods and services picklist, or $400 per class without it (IP Australia). That's on top of your design fee. Search the register before you lock in your logo, and talk to a trade mark attorney if the brand is a big part of your business.
Not automatically. In Australia, a freelancer or contractor generally owns copyright in a logo they create unless they assign it to you in writing, signed by them (Arts Law Centre of Australia). Make sure your agreement covers it.
Yes. Most professional designers ask for part of the fee upfront, because a logo takes real time before you see anything. Just ask what the deposit covers and when the rest is due.
They're fine for a quick placeholder. For a business you plan to grow, a custom logo from a designer who gets your market is usually the better bet: it's original, easier to protect, and comes with the files you'll actually need.
Absolutely. Plenty of designers, me included, work with clients remotely. Briefs, concepts and feedback all happen over email and shared files, which has the bonus of giving you a written record of every decision.
A short description of your business, who your customers are, a few competitors, logos you like and don't like (and why), where the logo will be used, and your budget and deadline. The clearer the brief, the more accurate the quote.
Got a logo question?
If you're mulling over a new logo or brand, feel free to drop me a line through the contact page.