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Compare · Updated November 5, 2026

Offshore design team or senior studio?

An offshore design agency billed by the hour or month, or a senior studio at a fixed price: what each costs, when each one is the better deal, and what to check.

The short answer

An offshore design team costs less per hour and can add several designers fast, which is a good deal when you know exactly what you need and can steer the work. A senior studio, like Baobun Studio, costs more per hour but often less in the end, because the hard part is deciding what to build.

Our take: Plenty of offshore studios do excellent work, so it’s not about where they are. It’s about how senior the person on your project is, and how much you’ll need to steer them.

By Charles Postiaux, founder of Baobun Studio · November 5, 2026

What they cost. 01

RateHow it works
Cieden (Lviv)From $50/hour; from $7,200/monthHourly projects, or a designer by the month
Eleken (Kyiv)From $4,599A dedicated designer, 2-month minimum
Phenomenon (Tallinn)From $8,500 per specialistDedicated teams
Baobun StudioFrom $15,000 a projectA fixed price, the founder designing

From each studio’s own site, November 5, 2026.

When an offshore team is the better deal. 02

  • You know what to build and need people to design it.
  • You need several designers at once.
  • Someone on your team can brief and review every day.
  • The work is steady, month after month.

When a senior studio is. 03

We’ve designed for Booking.com, Serko, Slack and Mux, and the founder designs every project.

  • The hard part is deciding what to build, not drawing it.
  • You want one experienced designer, not a rotating team.
  • You want a fixed price and a clear end.
  • Mistakes are expensive: your customers will notice the redesign.

What to check either way. 04

  • Who exactly will design your product, and how senior they are.
  • Work close to yours, and a past client you can talk to.
  • Enough overlap with your time zone for reviews.
  • Who owns the files, and when.

Questions. The ones people ask next.

Email us
Is offshore design lower quality?

Not by default. Many offshore studios do excellent work. What varies is seniority and how much steering they need, so check who will do yours.

Where is Baobun Studio based?

In France, working with teams in Europe and the US.

Keep reading. Related pages.

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