99designs vs Looka Comparison 2026
Looka generates logo options from your business name and a few style choices in minutes, then sells the files from $20 one-time for a basic PNG or $65 for the vector package. 99designs runs a paid contest where real designers submit original work against your brief, from $249 to $1,050. The choice is speed and price against distinctiveness: Looka is fast and cheap but competent rather than surprising, and its own guidance says to budget for 99designs instead once the brand itself needs to stand out.
Run a design contest, pick the entry you like
A logo and brand kit from a few answers
At a glance
- Looka starts cheaper, at $20.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
99designs | Looka | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $249 | From $20 |
| Pricing model | One-time purchase | One-time purchase |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | One-time purchase | One-time purchase |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export |
99designs
Run a design contest, pick the entry you like
99designs, now owned by Vista, runs the contest model: post a brief and a prize, get dozens of submissions from designers around the world, pay only the one you choose. For a logo or a channel identity that is a lot of directions to look at for a fixed price. The people who dislike it dislike it on principle, because everybody who does not win works for nothing.
Our note
The objection to the contest model is real and worth stating: everybody who does not win works unpaid. If that sits badly, Dribbble and Contra both put you in touch with a designer who is paid for the work they do.
Only on this side
- Covers hiring & freelancers
- Covers thumbnails & cover art
Looka
A logo and brand kit from a few answers
Looka generates logo options from a business name and a handful of style choices, then sells you the files. Buying the brand kit rather than the logo alone gets business cards, social templates, letterheads and invoices built from the same mark. The one-time packages are the cheaper road if the logo is genuinely all you need. Full ownership is stated either way.
Why people weigh these two
- Looka instead of 99designs
- Looka replaces the contest for logo work, generating a logo and brand kit from a few answers for a one-time $20.
- 99designs instead of Looka
- 99designs runs a contest where multiple designers submit logo concepts and you pick a winner, from $249, the route for a brand that needs to look genuinely distinctive rather than generated.
Which one should you pick
Pick Looka if you need a usable mark today and cannot yet justify paying a designer. The $65 one-time premium package gets vector files, unlimited later changes and full ownership, cheaper than every 99designs contest tier and ready in minutes rather than days.
Pick 99designs if the brand is the product, or the mark needs to be something nobody else could have generated. Looka's own guidance calls its results competent rather than surprising and says to treat it as a placeholder in that case, budgeting instead for a 99designs contest starting at $249 or a freelancer.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper, Looka or 99designs?
- Looka by a wide margin. A single logo file starts at $20, or $65 for the vector package with unlimited later changes. 99designs starts at $249 for its cheapest contest tier and rises to $1,050.
- Does Looka involve an actual designer?
- No. It generates options from your business name and a handful of style choices, with no person behind the specific mark. 99designs is the opposite: dozens of real designers submit original entries against your brief, and you pick one.
- When should I use 99designs instead of Looka?
- When the brand is the product or needs to be genuinely distinctive. Looka's own guidance says to treat its output as a placeholder in that case and budget for a 99designs contest or a freelancer instead.
- Do I own the logo either way?
- Yes. Looka states the logo stays yours even after a subscription ends, and 99designs' contest price is a one-time payment with nothing recurring attached to ownership.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.