How to Hire a UI UX Design Agency in 2025: complete guide

2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for digital design. User expectations are higher than ever, and businesses must adapt to stay ahead of the curve. Investing in top-tier UI/UX design is no longer optional—it's a strategic imperative.

This guide provides a comprehensive roadmap for selecting the perfect UI/UX design agency to help you navigate the evolving digital landscape and achieve your business goals.

Stfalcon’s team has been creating effective and appealing user interface designs for our clients for more than 15 years. During these years, we have gained priceless experience creating intuitive, data-driven designs that help projects thrive.

In-house Designer vs Freelancer vs Agency

There are three major options for hiring UI/UX designers: building an in-house team, hiring freelancers and cooperating with the agency. Let’s check each option and look into their pros and cons.

In-house designers

This reliable option will be the best fit for companies needing ongoing design work. With it, you get an expert or a team working on your project and delving deep into it. Communication is quick and straightforward, and a business owner can have full control over the processes.

However, the costs can get quite high, especially compared to other options. The whole process requires investing additional time and resources in employee training, hardware and software, product documentation, and legal processes. Additionally, an in-house team is not flexible and requires much effort and money for scaling.

Freelancer

Freelancers are a good source of professional services on a budget. This option works best for small, short-term projects. When hiring a freelancer, you only pay for the hours spent on your product design.

You can hire UX design professionals from anywhere in the world. They offer a variety of skills and can work remotely at competitive prices. More than that, a freelance contract is much more flexible than an in-house one.

Still, there are certain drawbacks to hiring a freelancer. If you assign all design tasks to one person, you might miss out on different viewpoints for your project. This could limit your perspective and make it harder to find the best solution by considering multiple opinions.

Unfortunately, we should admit that the risk of having a negative experience with a freelancer is much higher than with other options. The risks include potential quality inconsistency, communication challenges, difficulty scaling, and intellectual property concerns.

Agency

UI/UX design companies like Stfalcon have a skilled team that works on your project under the guidance of a professional designer. This approach gives you different viewpoints and a wider perspective. The agency would be your top choice if you require comprehensive, high-quality design solutions.

With this option, you get a mix of diversity and professionalism. You won't have to worry about training new employees or dealing with legal requirements. When you hire a UI UX design agency, you get a professional, dedicated, and scalable team at the same cost as hiring an in-house designer. You get the specialists you need, chosen by the company, with skills that match your project requirements.

Hiring an agency can be more expensive than working with freelancers. It also requires effort to set up clear and regular communication.

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Some More Arguments for Hiring an Agency

Before focusing on how to hire a UI UX design agency, we want to highlight specific advantages of this cooperation format that can benefit your business.

Expertise

Agencies manage multiple projects and keep up with the latest trends in technology, marketing, and business. They look out for new ideas so that you can get a personalized touch reflecting your brand image and business needs. Agencies know industry best practices and have direct access to specialized skills.

Time-saving

Agency designers know their job. They are focused on your project and how to realize it best, and they also can handle multiple projects simultaneously if needed. Streamlined processes and efficient workflows help achieve a faster time-to-market for your products.

Cost-efficiency

Partnering with the agency, you spare significant costs on hiring and managing in-house talents and only pay for the services you need.

Many development tools and kits used by professional teams are too expensive for you or freelance designers to access. However, they help to provide exceptional results, and agencies purchase them and spread their costs among the workers.

Brand consistency

Your logo, website, app, social media profiles, and images should all match to create a consistent look for your business. This helps make your business recognizable. Consistency is the key to this effect, providing trustworthiness as well. Agency specialists help maintain a unified brand identity across all touchpoints and ensure consistent user experiences across all platforms.

Top-notch designs

Agencies help you access creative talent and innovative design solutions. They assist you in improving user satisfaction and engagement.

Besides, when you hire dedicated UI/UX design team, their responsibility does not end when your solution is created. Whenever you need upgrades or repairs, your agency knows how to do it most effectively. So, you have a team of professionals just a call away, but no headache managing it independently, like when it’s in-house.

Let’s now find out how to find the right UI/UX contractor.

Where To Find a UI/UX Design Provider

When talking about how to hire a UI/UX designer, the most apparent question that comes to mind is where you can find skilled specialists.

UI/UX communities

Social networks can work well to help you find employees; you can even find UX design agencies on Facebook and Instagram.

However, it’s better to search in professional design communities — Behance, Dribbble, or Awwwards. These sites provide lots of portfolios full of brilliant visual designs.

It’s also vital to check if the design you like is technically feasible and not to end up finding a specialist without a strategic mindset.

Freelance markets

If you are a start-up with a tight budget and looking for a freelancer, check out freelance platforms like Upwork or Freelancer. This will help you find a designer that fits your style and budget. However, be prepared to spend time managing the process and checking the work to ensure good quality and the success of your project.

Bush telegraph

This approach suits those with ties to the development community from professional networks, industry events, or LinkedIn connections. You can ask somebody to brainstorm a few designers and reach out. If a recommended designer is too busy to take up your project, you can always ask them to recommend someone else. Based on referrals, such an approach allows you to find the right expert with relevant expertise and experience.

Service Providers Listings

To find a UI/UX agency, you can make good use of platforms like Clutch, GoodFirms, and Designrush. You can search for agencies specializing in UI/UX design, filter by location, budget, and client reviews. These platforms give you detailed profiles of agencies, feedback from clients, and examples of past projects. This information helps you compare and choose the best option for your needs. These resources can help you find a good agency faster. They save you time and effort in your search, and they increase your chances of finding a skilled and trustworthy partner.

Development Company

Software development companies, like Stfalcon, already have their in-house design teams that can handle your project. This option is different from just hiring a design agency, as designers cooperate closely with the developers during the whole project’s life cycle. The company handles the specialist selection based on your requirements and the designers’ skill set. Working for the company, an expert is acquainted with all the tech, marketing, and business trends up to the moment. So, you get an ideal designer for your specific task.

All you have to do now is to choose wisely. Some tips below will hint at the checkpoints to pay attention to while looking for the best agency for your project.

Tips to Keep in Mind for Hiring The Right UX Design Agency

To hire UI UX design company that will provide your business with outstanding business opportunities through exceptional design, you must keep some checkpoints in mind.

Portfolio

The company portfolio will show you if the team has enough design skills and impressive case studies in some relevant niches.

Besides the recently completed projects and plots, the portfolio should demonstrate an outline of agency strengths. Look for relevant case studies and examples of creative, user-centered designs.

Choose the company with the most relevant projects that also suit your business goals.

Mission

When choosing a team to cooperate with, try to find the touchpoints that will provide you with a common ground. It's important to remember that a company's mission and values play a crucial role in guiding its decision-making process. By understanding these principles, you can better anticipate how the company may respond to different situations, including potential challenges or conflicts. If the company's mission and values align with your long-term goals, it enhances the chances of forming a successful and sustainable partnership.

Most user experience agencies show their mission on their websites. It helps to understand their values and what matters to them. However, it’s vital to communicate eye to eye to understand who is on the other side.

Experience

Your contractor needs to have the right knowledge. They should be experienced and up-to-date on the latest trends in UI/UX design. Check your potential partner’s industry expertise, particularly in projects similar to yours.

Find out how they research the target market and how they will meet your business goals. What challenges and bottlenecks have they recently managed, and how long have they been operating in the market? Preferably, choose a company with 3+ years of practical experience.

References

Nowadays, the most trustworthy way to know the company is to study the client references through first-hand feedback. The easiest way to find client feedback would be by checking out company reviews on websites like Clutch. But you shouldn’t by any means limit to that.

Naturally, we love to share positive feedback when everything promised was delivered. Do not hesitate to contact a minimum of 3 clients before making a final decision. Check if the customer is happy with the results and the development process. Ask if deadlines were met and if the project was delivered completely and supported as expected.

Communication and collaboration

Assessing the perspectives of productive partnerships is impossible without personal impressions. As you communicate with company representatives, evaluate their responsiveness, transparency, and willingness to involve you in the design process.

Professionalism includes more than just UI design services and analytics. It also means being on time, communicating respectfully, and interacting comfortably. Make sure you feel at ease with the agency’s contact person.

Problem-setting and troubleshooting skills

To see how your potential partner handles challenges, talk about their past projects. Experienced companies gladly share their case studies and talk about roadblocks they had while working on their project and how they dealt with them.

Make sure your user experience agency conducts studies of the target audience and research on business ideas. Your product should be based only on objective data.

The agency you choose should demonstrate business thinking and even exceed your requirements. Experts can improve your product by optimizing it and adding useful features that meet the needs of the end users. The whole process of creating a product should be centered around users.

Steps to find a suitable UI/UX Design Agency

The process of finding the perfect UI/UX design agency starts with a deep understanding of your needs. Begin by clearly defining your project scope, budget, and expected outcomes. Consider whether you need a complete redesign, specific feature enhancements, or ongoing support. Once you have a clear idea of your requirements, create a list of potential agencies. Use online platforms, industry publications, and personal recommendations to identify agencies that specialize in your industry and match your preferences.

As soon as you have a shortlist of suitable agencies, you’ll need to narrow it down. Consider factors like agency size, location, prices, and the types of projects they've undertaken in the past. Look for agencies with a proven track record of delivering high-quality designs that fulfill user needs and business objectives. Look at their portfolios and case studies to assess their design style, creativity, and attention to detail.

The next step is to conduct personal interviews with the most appealing agencies on your shortlist. You can assess how they communicate, learn about their design process, and go over your project in detail. Pay close attention to how well they respond, understand your ideas, and outline their plan for the project.

If you follow our tips listed above, by the end of this process, you can define the agency you can trust your project with.

How Much Does It Cost To Hire a UI/UX Design Company?

It is the most sensitive question ever because no clear-cut answer exists. There are many factors influencing design rates. Some specialists charge hourly rates, while others opt to get payment for a milestone or the whole project completed.

Here are the key factors that influence design costs:

• Project scope and complexity
• Agency size and location
• Experience and expertise of the design team
• Project timeline and deadlines
• Pricing models (hourly, project-based, retainer)

Project scope

If you have a very detailed project, it may take dozens, if not hundreds, of hours. Simple projects like logo redesigns or basic website updates will naturally cost less than comprehensive redesigns, complex mobile applications, or intricate user experience (UX) research and strategy.

To make a solution as interactive as possible, a designer will also require testing it as the end user. Here is how the scope of testing usually looks:

• User interaction observation
• User feedback receiving
• A/B split testing
• Performance metrics research.

The more testing rounds are required, the higher the overall project cost.

It’s important to have a detailed project brief that clearly outlines the functionality and scope. This will help you manage time and resources effectively and make accurate estimates for the project budget.

Designer charges

Larger, more established agencies in major metropolitan areas typically have higher overhead costs, reflected in their pricing. Smaller boutique agencies or those located in regions with lower costs of living may offer more competitive rates.

You can expect the highest rate in the United States of America, which ranges between $30 and $125 per hour. A highly experienced US designer may earn up to $ 150,000 a year.

Canadian experts will charge a bit less, with an average hourly rate of $44 per hour, and the most experienced experts’ earnings hardly reach $120,000 per year.

The most affordable rates and quality-cost ratios are in Eastern Europe, Ukraine in particular. Here, you can get a middle UI/UX designer at $30 per hour, and the rate of a senior expert would be $45 per hour on average.

Designers may charge differently for different works: wireframing, storyboarding, user research, etc.

Thus, all the factors discussed above determine the whole project cost and you aim to find an expert team to offer you a reasonable project price.

Pricing models

Agencies typically employ different pricing models:

• Hourly rates: Clients are billed based on the number of hours worked by the design team. This model provides flexibility but can be challenging to budget accurately.
• Project-based fees: A fixed price is agreed upon for the entire project scope. This offers greater predictability but requires careful upfront planning and may not accommodate unforeseen changes.
• Retainer fees: Clients pay a recurring monthly fee for ongoing design support and maintenance. This model is suitable for long-term projects or those requiring continuous updates.

When discussing your project needs with potential agencies, think about the costs and choose a pricing model that fits your budget. By doing this, you can better understand your options and select what works best for you.

At Stfalcon, we usually calculate the budget for the project during the discovery phase. We foster a flexible approach and always do our best to offer solutions tailored to our client’s expectations and objectives.

Our Experience

Hiring a UI/UX designer is a crucial investment, so you should understand where your budget goes. To grasp a better understanding of the UX design approach, you can check our projects. We have been dealing with design projects for over a decade and know all the up-to-date trends in it.

Nova Poshta

Nova Poshta is a leading delivery company in Ukraine. It has been in business for over 20 years and is known for setting trends and driving growth in the market. Thus, it actively works on elaborating and enhancing user-friendly online services.

Our cooperation was intended to substantially improve the current Personal Dashboard of a user to bring the UX to the next level. The project involved building a custom web application and integration with the Nova Poshta API.

Read the full case study

Stfalcon’s team started with the user stories and test results to alter the interface design. We talked with customers in the early design stage and used their feedback on our proposed solutions. We chose a flexible approach that was fast and effective to create and support new features for end users.

Smile Food

Stfalcon redesigned an app for Ukrainian food delivery service because the old app duplicated the site and often failed.

We researched the business and its problems to understand them better. We also looked at competitors and interviewed app users to create customer profiles. Our experts worked out the order flow’s prototype, wrote User Stories, and estimated the app’s development in two variants: Native Android & iOS or Flutter.

Read the full case study

Later, we added a Project Manager and a UI/UX designer to our team of developers. This helped us successfully implement several technical aspects:

• Tracking couriers on the map
• Unique orders formation
• Integration with the existing clients' database
• Migration to the new tech stack.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know all the details and nuances, you can feel confident searching for a UI/UX Agency to create a functional product with a meaningful experience.

The dedicated team at Stfalcon is sure that only years of real-world design experience can provide customers with outstanding results. We have shown a few examples, but our team will gladly add your project to our portfolio. Feel free to contact us to discuss your project and see more case studies in your specific niche.