Compare · A design agency
A subscription or an agency: a queue, or a scope.
A project-based product design agency typically quotes $15,000 to $40,000 for a scoped project, after two to four weeks of scoping, and can staff several designers at once. Recast is $3,900 a month with no scope to sign: unlimited tasks, five worked at once, first concepts in 48 hours. Choose an agency for a large launch with a hard date or a defined research programme; choose Recast when the work is continuous and changes from week to week.
Checked · by Daniel Makhamreh, lead designer at Recast
- Recast
- $3,900 a month, flat. No statement of work.
- An agency
- $15,000 to $40,000 per scoped project; $60,000 to $150,000 at larger firms. Typical 2026 ranges.
- Before work
- Recast: nothing to scope. An agency: two to four weeks of scoping.
- A change of plan
- Recast: reorder the queue. An agency: a change order.
- Ending it
- Recast: one click, no notice. An agency: per contract, usually 30 days.
- Build
- Recast: hours included. An agency: sometimes, at agency rates.
The short version
What is the difference between a design subscription and an agency?
An agency sells a scope, and a subscription sells a queue. With an agency you agree what will be designed, sign a statement of work, and pay a fixed price for that output. With Recast you pay a flat $3,900 a month and file tasks as they come up; five are worked at once and the rest wait in the order you set.
The two models reward different kinds of work. A scope protects a deadline: the agency staffs a team to the size of the project and commits to a date. A queue protects flexibility: nothing has to be known in advance, and a change of plan is a reordered list, not a new quote.
There is also the question of what happens afterwards. A project ends and the agency's team moves to another client. A plan continues, so the design system built for the first release is still being maintained at the second.
Side by side
How does an agency compare with the plan, line by line?
An agency can put more people on one project and will commit to a date and a fixed price. The plan starts without a scoping phase, absorbs changes without a new quote, and carries on after the launch.
The right-hand column describes how project-based product design agencies typically work. Any one agency will differ, so treat it as a list of questions to ask.
| What is compared | Recast | A project-based agency |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3,900 a month, flat. | $15,000 to $40,000 per scoped project; $60,000 to $150,000 at larger firms. |
| Before the first screen | Nothing to scope. First concepts 48 hours after the first task. | Two to four weeks of scoping or discovery, which you pay for. |
| Working at once | Five tasks in parallel. | A team sized to the project: several designers if the scope needs them. |
| When the scope changes | Reorder the queue. Nothing to renegotiate. | A change order, quoted separately. |
| Your contact | One lead designer, on every call, accountable for every design choice. | Usually an account or project manager. Ask who will make the screens. |
| Revisions | Unlimited, on every task. | Usually a set number of rounds, written into the contract. |
| Working week | Seven days. | Five days. |
| Ending it | Cancel in one click, no notice period. Full refund within 14 days. | Per contract. A notice period of about 30 days is usual. |
| Front-end build | Build hours included. | Sometimes, at agency rates. |
| Arabic and right-to-left | Included. Designed natively. | Usually quoted separately, and often subcontracted. |
| Research and workshops | Usability testing on request: five users, a written recommendation. | Full research programmes and on-site workshops, as scoped. |
| Who owns the work | You, on delivery. | Check the contract. |
Price
- Recast
- $3,900 a month, flat.
- A project-based agency
- $15,000 to $40,000 per scoped project; $60,000 to $150,000 at larger firms.
Before the first screen
- Recast
- Nothing to scope. First concepts 48 hours after the first task.
- A project-based agency
- Two to four weeks of scoping or discovery, which you pay for.
Working at once
- Recast
- Five tasks in parallel.
- A project-based agency
- A team sized to the project: several designers if the scope needs them.
When the scope changes
- Recast
- Reorder the queue. Nothing to renegotiate.
- A project-based agency
- A change order, quoted separately.
Your contact
- Recast
- One lead designer, on every call, accountable for every design choice.
- A project-based agency
- Usually an account or project manager. Ask who will make the screens.
Revisions
- Recast
- Unlimited, on every task.
- A project-based agency
- Usually a set number of rounds, written into the contract.
Working week
- Recast
- Seven days.
- A project-based agency
- Five days.
Ending it
- Recast
- Cancel in one click, no notice period. Full refund within 14 days.
- A project-based agency
- Per contract. A notice period of about 30 days is usual.
Front-end build
- Recast
- Build hours included.
- A project-based agency
- Sometimes, at agency rates.
Arabic and right-to-left
- Recast
- Included. Designed natively.
- A project-based agency
- Usually quoted separately, and often subcontracted.
Research and workshops
- Recast
- Usability testing on request: five users, a written recommendation.
- A project-based agency
- Full research programmes and on-site workshops, as scoped.
Who owns the work
- Recast
- You, on delivery.
- A project-based agency
- Check the contract.
The agency column describes typical 2026 prices and terms for project-based product design agencies in the US, UK and Gulf markets. They are ranges, not quotes.
The honest part
When is an agency the better choice?
An agency is the better choice when the work is large, has a hard date, and can be defined in advance.
A launch with a deadline
Forty screens in three weeks needs several designers working in parallel on one project. A five-task queue is the wrong shape for it.
A research programme
Weeks of interviews and synthesis, with a defined output, are better bought as a project with a named deliverable.
One price for one scope
If finance or procurement needs a single number, a statement of work and an end date, an agency contract gives them all three.
People in the room
Workshops with your leadership, on-site discovery, stakeholder alignment. Recast works remotely from Amman.
Brand strategy and campaigns
Naming, positioning and campaign work belong with an agency that does them. Recast's plan is product design and the build.
The other side
When is Recast the better choice?
Recast is the better choice when the work never really ends, when the scope would change before it was signed, or when you need to start this week.
A product that ships every fortnight
There is always a next screen. A queue absorbs it; a scope would need amending every sprint.
You cannot write the scope yet
File the first task and decide the next one when you have seen it. Nothing is agreed in advance.
It has to start now
No discovery phase stands between you and the first concept, which arrives within 48 hours.
Nothing is handed over and left
The design system is built and then maintained, release after release, with the same lead designer on every call.
Design and build in one place
Front-end build hours are in the plan, in React, Next.js, Webflow or Framer.
The numbers
What does each cost over three and twelve months?
For continuous product work, an agency typically scopes a quarter at $25,000 to $40,000, which is roughly $8,000 to $13,000 a month. Three months of Recast is $11,700.
The sums: $3,900 × 3 = $11,700 and $3,900 × 12 = $46,800. Four agency quarters at $25,000 to $40,000 come to $100,000 to $160,000, before any change orders.
A single project is a different sum. Take a product redesign quoted at $30,000 for eight weeks, as an example. The agency price buys a team working to that date. The same work on the plan would move through the queue five tasks at a time, cost less, and take as long as the queue takes.
So the rule is short. If the date is fixed, pay for the team. If it is not, the plan costs less and is still there after the launch.
| What is compared | Recast | A project-based agency |
|---|---|---|
| Three months of continuous work | $11,700 | $25,000 to $40,000, scoped as a quarterly project. |
| Twelve months of continuous work | $46,800 | $100,000 to $160,000, before change orders. |
| One scoped project | $3,900 for each month it is in the queue. | $15,000 to $40,000; $60,000 to $150,000 at larger firms. |
| Scoping before work starts | None. | Two to four weeks. |
Three months of continuous work
- Recast
- $11,700
- A project-based agency
- $25,000 to $40,000, scoped as a quarterly project.
Twelve months of continuous work
- Recast
- $46,800
- A project-based agency
- $100,000 to $160,000, before change orders.
One scoped project
- Recast
- $3,900 for each month it is in the queue.
- A project-based agency
- $15,000 to $40,000; $60,000 to $150,000 at larger firms.
Scoping before work starts
- Recast
- None.
- A project-based agency
- Two to four weeks.
Typical 2026 ranges for the US, UK and Gulf markets, not quotes.
Questions
Asked before the call.
Is a design subscription cheaper than a design agency?
- For ongoing work, usually. A quarter of agency work typically runs $25,000 to $40,000; a quarter of Recast is $11,700. For one large project on a deadline the agency may cost more and still be the right purchase, because it buys several designers at once.
Can a subscription handle a full product redesign?
- Yes, if the date is flexible. A redesign is filed as a series of tasks, and five are worked at once. If the whole thing must land in three or four weeks, a project team of several designers is the better fit.
Do I need a statement of work with Recast?
- No. There is no scope document and no minimum term. You file a task, it is worked, and you add or reorder tasks whenever priorities change. If your finance team needs an invoice and a bank transfer instead of a card, that can be arranged on request.
What happens when requirements change in the middle of the work?
- With an agency, a change to the agreed scope is normally a change order with its own quote. On the plan you move the new task to the top of your queue, and it is picked up as soon as one of the five in progress closes.
Can I use Recast after an agency project ends?
- Yes. What follows an agency launch is usually everything that was out of scope: new features, missing states, a design system nobody is maintaining. Bring the agency's Figma files and the plan carries on from them.
How do I compare an agency quote with a monthly plan?
- Divide the quote by the months of work it covers, then add the scoping phase and a margin for change orders. Compare that monthly figure with $3,900, and compare what each includes: revisions, spec frames, the build, and who owns the files.
Twenty minutes. Your product on the screen.
The pilot call is with the lead designer who would run your work. Show the screens that bother you most, pick up to 3 tasks for a one-week pilot, and leave knowing the price and the scope. The call is free; the pilot is $490 once, credited against your first month.