Affordable Design Solutions for Indie Hackers: Comparing Subscription-Based Graphic Design Platforms

As an Indie Hacker, you know the importance of creating eye-catching designs to promote your business. But hiring a full-time designer can be expensive, and outsourcing design work can be hit-or-miss. That's where subscription-based graphic design platforms come in. These platforms offer a range of design services at an affordable price, making it easy for you to create professional-quality designs on a budget.

In this article, we'll compare some of the top platforms in this space to help you find the best fit for your needs and budget.

1. Penji

Penji is a graphic design service provider that operates on a subscription-based model. They offer a variety of design services, including logos, marketing materials, illustrations, and more. Penji has a team of designers (mostly from Aisa) that work on each project, and customers can submit unlimited design requests for a monthly fee.

Plans:

1. Pro: Unlimited design requests and 5 users but no project manager, $499/month
2. Team: Designed for multiple users and includes all features of pro and additional features such as presentation and web design with a project manager, $997/month
3. Agency: Designed for large teams and includes all features of Team and additional features such as motion graphics, $1,995/month

Note: Penji offers 15% and 25% discounts on quarterly and yearly plans respectively

2. ManyPixels

ManyPixels is yet another graphic design service provider that specializes in offering unlimited graphic design services for a flat monthly fee. They offer a range of design services, including logos, social media graphics, illustrations, and more. ManyPixels assigns a dedicated designer to each customer, and customers can submit unlimited design requests for a monthly fee.

Plans:

1. Advanced: Covers all design services with 1 output daily with 1-2 days delivery, $549/month
2. Business: Covers all design services with 2 outputs daily and 1-2 days delivery, $899/month
3. Dedicated Designer: You get a designated designer to collaborate in real-time with same-day delivery and Slack communication, at $1,199/month

Note: ManyPixels offers 10% and 20% discounts on quarterly and yearly plans respectively

3. Design Pickle

Similar to Penji and ManyPixels, Design Pickle offers unlimited graphic design services for a flat monthly fee. They offer a range of design services, including logos, social media graphics, and more. All their plans include unlimited requests, unlimited revisions, and Adobe source files.

Plans:

1. Graphics: Unlimited graphic designs and custom illustrations with 1-2 days turnaround time at $499/month
2. Graphics Pro: Everything in the Graphic plan + presentation design, same day turnaround, and dedicated designers and onboarding manager at $995/month
3. Graphics Premium: Everything in the Graphic Pro plan + motion graphics and Spanish-speaking designers at $1,695/month

Companies offering Graphic and Product (UI UX) designs

1. BubbleWrap.Design
2. DesignJoy
3. Together.Design
4. DesignDash

Each of the subscription-based graphic design platforms covered in this article offers affordable design solutions for us Indie Hackers. I think by comparing their features and plans, we can find the best fit for our business needs and especially the budget.

Have you used any of these services before? Or have you come across any other platforms that should be added to this list? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!