Brand sprint studios compared: Primary, Upspire Labs, Foundation and Proof of Work Studio
A brand sprint gets a startup a finished brand in about two weeks for a fixed price, and a handful of studios now sell one. Primary, Upspire Labs, Foundation and Proof of Work Studio all run it well, at prices from $10,000 to $50,000, and each one is built for a different kind of company. This is how the four compare, using what each studio publishes, so you can pick the one that fits.
Everything below comes from each studio's own site, read on 27 October 2026. Prices change, so check Primary, Upspire Labs and Foundation before you decide.
How do the four sprints compare?
| Primary | Upspire Labs | Foundation | Proof of Work Studio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $50,000 flat | $10,000 fixed | £10,000 plus VAT | $25,000 fixed |
| Timeline | Two weeks | Ten working days | Ten consecutive days | Two weeks of work, three to four with your reviews |
| Strategy | Not listed on the pricing page | A messaging foundation | Strategy and a messaging framework | Positioning, messaging and narrative |
| Identity | Two brand options | Three to four logo concepts, then one system | Two creative concepts, then one system | One identity system |
| Also included | Collateral, photos, illustration, social and web mockups | Brand guide, file kit, social avatars, favicon and icons | Slides theme, social assets, Canva templates, merch and a one-page site | Two applications, social templates, guidelines and an asset kit |
| Feedback | Not published | Two rounds | Unlimited amends, in gated steps | Two rounds |
| Process | Not published | A 60 to 90 minute kickoff workshop | A three-hour online workshop | Async research, no workshops |
| Website | Web mockups | Webflow Sprint at $25,000 | One-page Squarespace site included | Web Sprint at $10,000 to $20,000 |
| Built for | Startups, mostly software | Deep tech, seed to Series A | Early-stage tech teams of six or fewer | Funded AI, fintech and crypto companies |
Which one should you pick?
Primary is the premium option, and its founder spent two decades at Pentagram and Milton Glaser, you get two directions to choose between and a wide spread of visual material, and the studio takes one project at a time. If the budget is there and the brief is mostly about how you look, it's a strong choice.
Upspire Labs suits seed to Series A companies in deep tech, hardware, biotech and security, which is where most of its roster sits, and at $10,000 it's the most accessible of the four. It also publishes a clear policy on how it uses AI, which helps if your board asks.
Foundation gives a small, very early team a lot for £10,000, with a brand, templates and a simple website in one go and no cap on design amends. It's based in London, and its wider studio work includes Monzo and NatWest, so it knows fintech.
Proof of Work Studio, our own sprint, is built for funded AI, fintech and crypto companies, where the positioning has to work for investors, regulated buyers and technical teams at the same time. Positioning is signed off before design starts, and the Web Sprint can follow straight after for the site.
What do all four get right?
All four fix the price and the scope before kickoff, put senior people on the work and finish in about two weeks. That's the point of a sprint, and it only works when one person on your side can make decisions quickly. If the spread between $10,000 and $50,000 looks strange, why branding quotes vary so much explains where the difference usually comes from.
Brand sprint studios FAQ
Which brand sprint studio is the cheapest?
Upspire Labs at $10,000 and Foundation at £10,000 plus VAT, which also includes a one-page site. Primary is the most expensive at $50,000, and our Brand Sprint is $25,000.
Do all brand sprints include positioning?
Not all of them publish it. Upspire and Foundation include messaging work, our sprint starts with a full positioning phase, and Primary's pricing page lists visual deliverables, so ask each studio what the strategy part covers.
Why do brand sprint prices range from $10,000 to $50,000?
Scope, seniority and who the sprint is built for. The cheaper sprints focus on the identity and its files, the more expensive ones add strategy, more options or more visual material, and sector focus changes how much positioning work is needed.
