When building your business from the ground up, you’re not likely to be in the position to spend a lot on custom logo design. You want to create a logo cheaply and quickly, and display it on your website or social media pages ASAP. And yes; it should still look good.
Luckily for small business owners strapped of cash, there are quite a few online logo-maker tools for doing just that. Just keep in mind common logo-creation tips for keeping it simple and beautiful. Also, don’t forget that you’ll likely need to trademark and copyright your image when you’re done to protect your brand.
Tailor Brands
Tailor Brands features artful logo designs that are more complicated and stylish than those of many competitors without the art-house price. Their quiz-like design process is the closest thing to having a consultation with a professional graphics agency, but Tailor Brands are doing this process by using an advanced artificial intelligence design engine.
Cost: A basic high-resolution logo plus a vector. EPS file is $39. The logo itself, without the vector version, is $24. Numerous other products and bundles are also available. (The free version is watermarked.)
Pros:
- Small tweaks and sizing options allow you to see several different versions of the same logo.
- There are quite a few packages available, allowing you to buy exactly what you need.
- There’s no download required.
- Support is available via email or chat.
Cons:
- It takes a little longer to complete a design due to the fact that it imitates the processes of many professional graphic designers.
- Tweaks are restricted; this is far less DIY.
Free Logo Design
This is a free, simple online logo-maker. This is the ideal solution for very small or micro-businesses, freelancers, Etsy shops, and social-media-heavy businesses trying to get off the ground.
Cost: The small version is free. The high-resolution version is $39.
Pros:
- It’s been used by more than 257,000 entrepreneurs, making it one of the more popular options.
- You don’t need to download anything.
- Support is available via email.
Cons:
- The logos are very cookie-cutter; so you may end up with something very close to what’s already out there.
- The free version is very small; it’s best for email signatures or social media profiles.
Logo Type Maker
You can have a lot of fun tweaking and playing around with this online logo-maker, which allows you to create a logo in just a few minutes.
Cost: It’s $24.99 for a high-res image (16 megapixels) and $39.99 for an “ultra” high-res image (64 megapixels). The free version has a watermark on it.
Pros:
- The process is fast, and a free tutorial is available.
- It’s Web-based; there’s no downloading required.
- You can get support via email.
Cons:
- The process isn’t very transparent; know that you’ll need to pay eventually.
- Again, these logos are very cookie-cutter, and the clip art can be similar to what’s already out there.
Graphic Springs
Graphic Springs offers a simple DIY interface that is far more sleek and friendly than many other logo-maker tools.
Cost: A basic high-res file is $19.99, and the packages go up from there. The highest level is the platinum service at $199.99. It’s likely that a business looking to create a logo that’s useful for many types of materials will want the pro version for $99.99, which includes vector files.
Pros:
- The clever user interface makes creating a logo take less than a minute.
- You don’t need to download software.
- Some support is available via email.
Cons:
- Important factors, like being able to edit your logo at any time and “graphic protection,” which removes your graphic from their database, are only included with the more expensive plans.
- The price jumps are fairly steep.
Logoshuffle.com
For small business owners that don’t want to spend hours answering questions or tweaking your own solution, check out this alternative logo-maker. You can casually scroll through a bunch of options at once by just hitting “shuffle.”
Cost: There is no free version, and the costs are in Euros, as it is an Austrian company. It’s 29 euros (about $33) for the starter service. Get your image in vector format with the “complete” service for 49 euros (about $55) or the full package, including a brand identity guide for use by graphic designers, for 89 euros (about $100).
Pros:
- You won’t need to make up the images yourself; you’ll choose from classy and randomized images that look great. All you need to do is dictate your colors and brand name.
- “Shuffling” can be very satisfying and far less stressful than making a logo yourself. It’s more of a shopping experience and especially good for graphics novices.
- You can get email support.
Cons:
- There’s a short delay between the purchase and when you can download it because LogoShuffle.com will ensure that the name is not trademarked.
- For those who like to tweak things themselves, this is not a good approach.