Most founders choose a pitch deck designer by scrolling portfolios and comparing quotes. Both matter, but neither tells you the thing that decides whether the money is well spent: will this person make your story land with an investor who's skimming?
This guide covers what you're actually buying, what the main options cost, the questions worth asking before you hire anyone, and the red flags to watch for. It's written for SaaS founders raising a pre-seed to Series A round.
What you're actually buying
A pitch deck project is two jobs that often get blurred together. The first is the story: what each slide has to prove, in what order, and what to cut. The second is the design: making each slide readable in seconds, with charts and product visuals that carry the point.
If your story is already sharp, you mainly need design. If investors have been confused by the deck, or you're not sure what goes on the traction slide, you need both. Be honest about which one you need before you start comparing quotes, because it changes who you should hire.
Your options, and what they cost
Published price ranges for a full deck, converted from US dollars (WaveUp, 2026, and Slidebean):
- A template you fill in yourself: about £15 to £75, plus your evenings. Good for testing a first draft.
- An online deck service: about £300 to £1,100 for a redesign, usually in a few days. Good for polishing a deck whose story already works.
- A freelance designer: about £400 to £3,750 a deck. Good when the story is clear and you need a cleaner design.
- A design studio or agency: about £1,900 to £11,250. Good when the story, data and design all need work.
Slide count matters less than you'd think. The biggest price driver is how much story work the deck needs, followed by how many charts and product visuals have to be rebuilt.
Eight questions to ask before you hire
- 1Have you designed decks for B2B SaaS companies at my stage, and can I see two of them?
- 2Will you work on the story, or only on the design?
- 3Who will actually do the work, and will I speak to them directly?
- 4Is the fee fixed, and what exactly does it include?
- 5How many rounds of feedback are included, and what happens after that?
- 6How long will it take, and what do you need from me to hit that date?
- 7Will I get editable source files that my team can keep using?
- 8Can you make a version that reads without me presenting it?
Red flags
- A portfolio full of beautiful decks but no word on whether any of them raised.
- Hourly billing with no cap, which rewards more rounds rather than a better first draft.
- No questions about your investors, your numbers or your round before quoting.
- Design starting before anyone has agreed what each slide needs to prove.
- Every slide redesigned, but the traction slide still buried or unclear.
- Files delivered in a format your team can't edit.
Send your current deck and ask what they'd change first. A good designer will talk about the story and the order of slides before they mention fonts or colours.
How to get the best result from whoever you hire
- Write the story first, even roughly, as a one-page memo.
- Send your real numbers up front, so charts are only built once.
- Name the investors you're pitching and what they need to believe.
- Collect feedback from co-founders into one round, not three.
- Keep detail in an appendix rather than on the main slides.
Where dgitl fits
We're a B2B SaaS design studio. We agree the story with you before any design starts, the principal designer who scopes the project does the work, and the fee is fixed in writing before we begin. A short refresh of a deck whose content is ready starts at £999; decks that need story work cost more. If a template or a freelancer is the better fit for where you are, we'll say so.
Try it on your own work
Questions founders ask
Should I hire a freelancer or an agency for my pitch deck?
A freelancer is a good fit when your story is already clear and you need a cleaner design. A studio or agency makes more sense when the story, the data and the design all need work, or when you need it fast and want one team accountable for the result.
How long does it take to design a pitch deck?
A redesign of a deck whose story already works can take under a week. A deck that also needs story work usually takes two to three weeks, mostly because of feedback rounds.
What should I send a pitch deck designer?
Your current deck or notes, your real numbers, who you're pitching and the decision you need from them, your brand assets, and your deadline. The clearer the brief, the fewer rounds you'll need.
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Tell us the surface and the audience that needs to be moved. The matching engagement is pitch deck design.