How Much Does It Cost to Design a Custom Business Card?

Everything and everyone is going digital. But if there’s one thing the digital space can’t fully replace, it’s the good old business card. First impressions matter; make a solid one by investing in custom business card design. How much, you wonder? Let’s talk numbers!

According to MOO.com, 68% of small business owners consider business cards very impactful when meeting people face-to-face. Additionally, Statistic Brain Research Institute suggests that 39% of people choose not to do business with a company with a “cheap looking” business card. Ouch…

That only means one thing: time to reconsider your marketing budget and set some aside for a solid custom business card. But how much are custom business cards, and do you really need one, anyway? Let’s find out!

{{PRINT_PORTFOLIO="/dev/components"}}

Why should you get a custom business card designed?

If the previous business card statistics do not convince you, let’s consider some additional benefits. With a professional business card, you essentially hold a tiny billboard in your pocket that makes networking a breeze. It contains all the information needed and meets a multitude of professional needs.

Attract attention

When you meet someone face-to-face for the very first time, you get the rare opportunity to make a solid first impression. Especially if the person you’re meeting is a great  prospect or connection, that first impression is a make-or-break moment.

With custom business cards, you have strikingly little marketing tools readily available to pass out. You can use them to grab attention and make a visual impression of your brand. This brings us to the next benefit.

A tip here if you want to stand out is to play around with the sizing of your business card design. Making non-standard-sized business cards will ensure yours stands out from other business cards, which is especially helpful if you attend an event or congress where lots of business cards will be handed out.

Make sure to find a print shop that is onboard with your creative design. You can have a designer create a unique shape, but it’s the print shop who will eventually have to print and cut it a certain way for the design to work.

Business cards can be just another piece of paper in people’s wallets, or they can make a lasting impression keeping you from fading into the background.

Express your brand

There’s another reason to get business cards for your company, which is to express your brand. A conversation can only convey so much, whereas a little visual representation of your brand will show much more.

Creating personalized business cards gives you and your designer the creative freedom to include as many or as few details as you would like. Keep things minimal with a bold business card font to show off confidence, or go for a colorful approach to keep things playful.

Be mindful of the colors you pick because they have a deeper meaning. Utilize them wisely, and they can help you create deep connections with those you meet, which happens to be our third benefit.

Create deeper connections

Of course, a professional business card will tell recipients how to get a hold of you. But they’re also a critical piece in the bigger picture of connecting. They are a small piece to remember you and your company by, given personally to someone you deemed a valuable connection.

If you quickly pass out a bunch of mundane-looking business cards, chances are they’ll go straight into the bin. But if you have a stunning card that is well-thought-out, you can show people that you care enough to form a deeper connection.

How much are custom business cards?

You need a striking business card, stat. That much we know by now! But as a business owner, naturally, you want to know how much they will set you back.

The harsh truth is that there is no way to put an exact price tag on a professional business card. And that’s because they could range anywhere from free to $1,500 for the most expensive business cards in the world. That’s a pretty extensive range we find ourselves in, considering you most likely need a fair amount of cards.

Considering you are like most small businesses, you’ll most likely need a happy medium. Solid and striking custom design, but without breaking the bank. We’ve listed three different price ranges to show you what to expect: budget, medium, and high-end.

Custom business card design per price range

When it comes to where to get custom business cards, there are countless places to go. Get your hands dirty and design a business card yourself, hire a design agency, or anything in between: let’s go over the different options with their respective price tags to see which one suits you best.

Budget range

The cheapest option of them all is doing it yourself. Tackling your own design isn’t for the faint-hearted, but with more and more templates available, it is possible to design a business card for free.

We have 13 templates for anyone available to edit in Google Docs. Additionally, you could use well-known programs such as Canva to edit templates and create your custom business card.

Remember that you’ll risk having a similar business card like others, which will erase some of the benefits mentioned earlier. If you have a bit to spare, opt for a paid template or plan, which ranges from a couple of dollars to $30 per month. Another option in the budget range category is hosting a design contest.

A design contest is an affordable way to get your hands on graphic design and give beginning designers a chance to add work to their portfolios. There are many different design contest websites available, like 99designs. The platform has a tiered pricing system starting from $199 for a business card design.

Mid-range

Going for a mid-range option to design a business card is probably better. You’ll avoid having the same design as others and don’t have to deal with rookie mistakes from inexperienced designers.

The first option in the mid-range is hiring a freelance graphic designer. A graphic designer usually charges from $15 to $150 per hour, depending on their level of expertise.

Bear in mind that creating a business card from scratch isn’t a one-hour gig. Especially if you need more design done, costs can rack up fast when hiring a freelancer. That’s why we’re presenting you with another option, which is subscription-based design.

Subscription-based design is a service where you pay a monthly fee to receive graphic design. Most platforms offer unlimited design, which could come in handy if you need consistent graphics for your company.

Here at ManyPixels, we have three different plans available, ranging from $549 per month to $1199 per month. All plans include unlimited requests and revisions.

High-end range

Got money in the bank? Then you could go all out and look at these high-end options to get your business card design done.

The first option is hiring a design agency to create your custom made business cards. Realize that these agencies work with the big dogs, so they often charge a minimum project price. Asking them to take care of your business card design solely will likely yield many rejections.

Pricing of a project at a design agency usually starts at around $2,500 and could go up to $10,000 or more.

With a design agency in your corner, you have access to an oiled machine of design and marketing expertise. If you can afford it, you won’t have to worry about getting your hands on striking design ever again.

Last but not least, you could always consider hiring an in-person graphic designer to join your team. This way, you’ll have someone who knows your brand in-depth and is readily available to create designs for your business only.

The average annual salary to hire a graphic designer full-time is $54,106.

Affordable business card design and more

Now that you know the various options where to get custom business cards, you can start by picking out one that best fits your needs. It’s important to decide whether it’s just about getting business cards or if you need a steady stream of design.

Running a business comes with a bigger need for design than most people initially realize. Besides your business cards, it’s your social media, website, stationary, etc.

Most small business owners find subscription-based design the better choice. You’ll have access to skilled designers, never get a surprise bill in the mail, and can scale up your creative content production easily. Does that sound like music to your ears? Then allow us to show you all about our subscription-based design service ManyPixels, and book your demo call today!