Paying a fixed monthly fee for all your design needs sounds like a good deal. You won’t have to struggle to find the right freelancers or pay any additional fees for each revision. It’s also way cheaper than hiring an in-house graphic designer.
So what’s the catch??
Right now, a lot of companies are offering unlimited design services. It’s a task to find the right subscription as per your requirements. And if you’ve done your research so far, you’d know Penji is, without a doubt, one of the most popular names in this industry. But they do have a lot of competition with equally good (if not better) companies.
In this article, we’ll help you compare the top 7 Penji alternatives that offer more affordable and consistent design services.
Top 7 Penji Alternatives
Let’s compare these 7 Penji alternatives on the basis of their price, turnaround time, onboarding process, and other criteria.
1. Digifloat
Digifloat is a reliable and affordable subscription for graphic design, UI/UX development, and video creation services. We have a streamlined process where we consistently deliver high-quality services to all our clients without the constant to and fro.
Depending on your plan, you can send us various design requests from ad creatives, logos, custom illustrations, website and app UI/UX designs, videos, to social media graphics. We can also help you develop your website on WordPress or using HTML/CSS/JS.
Price:
| Plan Name | Standard | Pro | Agency |
| Price | $399/month | $649/month | $999/month |
| Special Features | All graphic design, unlimited revisions & 2 active tasks | All graphic design, website design & development, unlimited revisions & 3 active tasks | All graphic design, website design & development, video editing, unlimited revisions & 4 active tasks |
Our starter and mid-level plans cost less than Penji, but our highest plans cost the same.
How are Designers Assigned to Your Tasks?
Once you submit your design request, your account manager will assign your tasks to one of our in-house designers. The designer is selected manually on the basis of your design requirements.
For example, if you want a social media graphic, we’ll assign your project to someone from the social media design team, and if you submit a logo design request, we’ll assign your project to one of our brand identity designers.
This way you can get access to an entire team of talented designers instead of just one.
How Does the Process Work?
Step 1: Get an Account
You can get started by signing up for our services & we’ll instantly assign you an account manager.
Step 2: Submit Your Tasks
You’ll receive access to your Trello board, where you can invite your team members and start submitting your design requests by filling out our project briefs.
Your account manager will be there to guide you through these steps. You can also request a demo call with your account manager if you get stuck somewhere.
Step 3: Review Your Tasks
Once you have submitted your brief, your account manager will assign the task to a designer, and you’ll get the first draft within 24 to 48 hours. You can review the designs and send us your feedback accordingly.
Step 4: Approve & Repeat
Once everything is approved from your end, you can download the files right away and start submitting many more or unlimited 😉 projects.
Turnaround Time
Our turnaround varies depending on your project. A simple social media graphic or blog image can be delivered within 24 hours, but a website UI design can take up to 4-5 days. You can read more about our turnaround time on our sales page.
Money-Back Guarantee
We give a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not happy with our services, you can ask for a refund within the first 15 days of signing up.
Final Verdict
Pros of Digifloat
- Great for agencies, small businesses, and marketers
- Consistently good designs
- Streamlined process
- A much wider scope of services offered
- Dedicated account manager to guide you and fill in the communication gaps
- Risk-free subscription
Cons of Digifloat
- No free trials
Customer Reviews
Read Digifloat review on Trustpilot
2. Design Pickle
Like Penji, Design Pickle is also a well-known unlimited graphic design subscription. They manage a team of independent contractors who can deliver various graphic designs, custom illustrations, presentation designs, and motion graphics.
However, unlike Penji & Digifloat, they don’t offer UI/UX design services. Design Pickle also doesn’t offer HTML, CSS, coding, or development services.
Price:
| Plan Name | Graphics Plan | Graphics Pro Plan | Graphics Premium Plan |
| Price | $499/month | $995/month | $1,695/month |
| Special Features | All basic graphic design & custom illustrations, 1-2 day turnaround & 1 active task | Graphic design, onboarding manager, dedicated designer, same day turnaround & 1 active task | Graphic design, motion graphics, onboarding manager, dedicated designer, same day turnaround & 1 active task |
The cost of Design Pickle’s starter plan is the same as that of Penji’s. But their mid and top-level plans cost more than Penji and every other alternative on this list.
How are Designers Assigned to Your Tasks?
Design Pickle is a fully remote company with 500+ independent contractors from around the world. They have their own platform where you can submit your design tasks through guided request forms. Once the request is submitted, they’ll assign you a designer automatically.
If you have signed up for their Graphics Pro Plan, you’ll get a designated designer who’ll collaborate with you in real time via Slack.
How Does the Process Work?
Step 1: Submit the Request
Once you sign up for Design Pickle, you’ll be able to submit your design request through their guided request forms.
Step 2: Get a designer
Your task will be assigned to a designer automatically. If you have the Pro or Premium plan, then the task will be assigned to your designated designer.
Step 2: Review & revise
You’ll get your designs back within 1-2 days, and you’ll be able to review them on your Design Pickle dashboard or Slack.
Turnaround Time
Their average turnaround time is 1-2 business days, but it does vary depending on the complexity of your project.
Money-Back Guarantee
You don’t get any money-back guarantee with their monthly plans. But if you sign up for their quarterly and annual subscriptions, you’ll be eligible for a full refund within the first 14 days of signing up.
Final Verdict
Pros of Design Pickle
- Great for agencies and marketers
- Pro & Premium plans have same-day turnaround
- User-friendly dashboard to submit design tasks
- Slack collaboration
Cons of Design Pickle
- You don’t get UI/UX designs, and video editing
- Prices are similar and even a little more expensive than Penji
- No money-back guarantee with monthly plans
- No free trials
Customer Reviews
Read Design Pickle review on Trustpilot
3. ManyPixels
ManyPixels have been around since 2018. They have managed to hire a diverse team of remote designers and serve more than 3000 customers.
Much like Penji and Design Pickle, ManyPixels also offer a similar scope of work. You can request social media graphics, display ad designs, flyers, posters, infographics, web designs, and so much more. However, they do not provide UI/UX design, video editing, and development services.
Price:
| Plan Name | Advanced | Business | Designated Designer |
| Price | $549/mo | $899/mo | $1,199/mo |
| Special Feature | All graphic design, 1 daily output & 1-2 days delivery | All graphic design, 2 daily outputs & 1-2 days delivery | All graphic design, same-day delivery, Slack communication & dedicated designer |
Please note that the Slack communication and other features of the Designated Designer plan are only available for US Eastern and Central European Time.
When it comes to prices, ManyPixels has the most expensive starter plan among every other Penji alternative on this list. Their mid and top-level plans also cost more than Penji.
How are Designers Assigned to Your Tasks?
Once you submit the design tasks through their native platform, you’ll get automatically matched with the best designers for the job. If you have signed up for their highest plan, you can communicate and collaborate with your designers directly.
How Does the Process Work?
Step 1: Submit the Task
You can sign up for ManyPixel’s unlimited graphic design services and start submitting your design requests directly through their dashboard, which is quite user-friendly.
Step 2: Get a Designer
Your tasks are automatically assigned to the best designers, and you can expect the first draft within 1-2 business days (unless you’re signed up on the highest plan).
Step 3: Review & Revise
Once you get the designs back, you can either approve the tasks or ask for revisions accordingly.
Turnaround Time
If you have signed up for the Advanced or Business plan, you can expect your designs back within 1-2 days. In the Designated Designer plan, you’ll get same-day delivery.
Money-Back Guarantee
ManyPixels doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee for monthly plans. You’ll only get a 14-day customer satisfaction period if you sign up for quarterly, bi-annual, or annual subscriptions.
Final Verdict
Pros of ManyPixels
- A much wider scope of work compared to Penji
- User-friendly dashboard
Cons of ManyPixels
- Their plans are more expensive than Penji and every other alternative on this list
- They don’t offer UI/UX design, video editing, and development services
- No free trials
- No money-back guarantee
Customer Reviews
Read ManyPixels review on Trustpilot
4. Kimp
Kimp is one of the more affordable Penji alternatives, as they offer huge discounts for the first 2 months. They also have quite different tiers of services, with 1 graphic design subscription, 1 video design subscription, and 1 subscription that combines both.
However, their scope of work doesn’t include website, mobile, and app designs, coding, and development services.
Price:
| Plan Name | Graphics | Videos | Graphics + Videos |
| Price | $599/month ($299.50 for the first 2 months) | $699/month ($349.50 for the first 2 months) | $995/month ($497.50 for the first 2 months) |
| Special Features | All print & digital designs, 24 hours turnaround & 2 active requests | Animated videos, video editing, 1-2 days turnaround, 2 active requests | Everything from the previous 2 plans & 4 active requests |
The cost of Kimp’s graphic design plan is the highest on this list, but they do offer a big discount for the first 2 months.
How are Designers Assigned to Your Tasks?
Kimp assigns you a team made up of 1 project manager and 3 designers who specialize in different types of design. Once you submit your design tasks on Trello, your project manager will be responsible for assigning these requests to the designer. They’ll also keep you posted on the progress of your tasks by moving your cards on Trello.
How Does the Process Work?
Step 1: Submit requests
Once you have signed up, you can start submitting your design/videos request by filling out the brief on Trello.
Step 2: Track Progress on Trello
Your project manager will assign the task to the designers, and you’ll be able to monitor the progress on your Trello board.
Step 3: Review & Revise
Once you have received your designs, you can either approve the task to receive your source files or you can request revisions if required.
Turnaround Time
The turnaround time for graphic designs is 24 hours, and for videos is 1-2 business days.
Money-Back Guarantee
Kimp doesn’t offer any money-back guarantee.
Final Verdict
Pros of Kimp
- Great discounts for the first 2 months
- Quick turnaround time
- You get a 7-day free trial where you can either request 1 video or 3 design requests (depending on your plan), but you’ll receive the designs with a watermark on them.
Cons of Kimp
- They don’t offer UI/UX design services
- No money-back guarantee
Customer Reviews
Read Kimp’s review on Trustpilot
5. No Limit Creatives
No Limit Creatives is also a Penji alternative, but their scope of service & pricing tiers closely resemble Kimp. They offer a plan for unlimited graphics that includes logos, illustrations, pitch decks, and much more. Their unlimited graphics + video plan offers everything from the previous plan with motion graphics.
Also, just like Kimp, their scope of service doesn’t include website and app designs, coding, development services, advanced animations, videos over 5 minutes, and whiteboard videos.
Price:
| Plan Name | Unlimited Graphic | Unlimited Graphics & Videos | NLC+ |
| Price | $599/month ($419.30 for the first 3 months) | $799/month ($559.30 for the first 3 months) | $1,199/month ($839.30 for the first 3 months) |
| Special Features | All graphic design, 2-3 business days turnaround & 2 active tasks | All graphic design, videos, 2-4 business days turnaround & 2 active tasks | All graphic design, videos & creative assistance |
The actual price of NLC plans are quite similar to Kimp. But even they offer huge discounts for the first 3 months, which brings down their price close to many other Penji alternatives.
How are Designers Assigned to Your Tasks?
No Limit Creatives manages their clients through their website. You can log in to your account and submit the design brief to get started. Then their team will review your design request to assign you a qualified designer.
You’ll be able to communicate with your designer through your dashboard.
How Does the Process Work?
Step 1: Fill out the brief
You can log in to your account on their website and start by creating a brand profile and submitting projects via a design brief form.
Step 2: Get a Designer
Based on your project requirements, the NLC team will assign you a qualified designer.
Step 3: Review & Revise
You’ll get the creatives back within 2-3 business days, and from there, you can review and approve the tasks accordingly.
Turnaround Time
The turnaround time for graphic design is 2-3 business days, while videos take up to 2-4 business days.
Money-Back Guarantee
No Limit Creatives offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Final Verdict
Pros of No Limit Creatives
- Great discounts for the first 3 months
- 2 active requests at a time
- 14-day money-back guarantee
Cons of No Limit Creatives
- Turnaround time is longer than other services
- Unlike other Penji alternatives, NLC has fixed hours of operation i.e., Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM EDT; hence you’ll struggle to complete an unforeseen weekend deadline
Customer Reviews
Read No Limit Creatives review on Trustpilot
6. Graphically
Graphically is a pretty straightforward graphic design subscription service. They have 2 price plans, and the only difference between the two is the number of active tasks. Their scope of work also includes almost every kind of service except UI/UX design, mobile apps, and coding.
Here’s what their complete scope of work looks like:
Price:
| Plan Name | Standard | Premium |
| Price | $299/month | $349/month |
| Special Features | All graphic designs, 24-36 hour turnaround & 1 active task | Everything from the Standard plan & 3 active tasks |
Graphically has the cheapest plans compared to every other Penji alternative on this list. Even their premium plans cost less than most companies’ starter plans.
How are Designers Assigned to Your Tasks?
Graphically allows you to submit your design tasks through their client portal. Once you submit a task, their support staff will assign you a dedicated designer to work on your project. You’ll be able to talk to them and get an update in your client dashboard.
How Does the Process Work?
Step 1: Send the request
Graphically has its own client portal where you can submit unlimited design requests for your projects.
Step 2: They’ll get to work
Their support staff will assign your tasks to a dedicated Graphically designer based on your project requirements. You’ll be able to contact the designers to get an update or request something that you forgot to mention in brief.
Step 3: Review & Revise
Your designs will be delivered within 24-36 hours for review and approval.
Turnaround Time
On average, the turnaround time for your design tasks will be around 24-36 hours.
Money-Back Guarantee
Graphically offers a 7-day money-back guarantee.
Final Verdict
Pros of Graphically
- Budget-friendly option for bloggers and influencers
- 7-day money-back guarantee
Cons of Graphically
- They don’t offer UI/UX design services
- No free trial
Customer Reviews
Read Graphically review on Trustpilot
7. Design Shifu
Last on our list of Penji alternatives is Design Shifu. It’s a similar on-demand, subscription-based service where you can request a ton of graphic designs, including social media graphics, infographics, and illustrations.
However, they don’t provide web, mobile, and app design and development services.
Price:
| Plan Name | Unlimited | Unlimited Plus | Unlimited Pro |
| Price | $399/month | $599/month | $1499/month |
| Special Features | All print & digital graphic designs, 24 hours turnaround time & 1 active task | All print & digital graphic designs, landing page design, 24-48 hours turnaround time & 1 active task | Everything from previous plans & motion graphics |
Design Shifu’s prices vary depending on the number of active tasks.
If we compare them by the standards of other companies, then Design Shifu’s starter plan with 2 active tasks will cost you $798/month, whereas Digifloat’s starter plan with 2 active tasks will cost you $399/month, and NLC’s starter plan with 2 active tasks will cost you $419.30/month.
How are Designers Assigned to Your Tasks?
Similar to many other Penji alternatives, Design Shifu allows their customers to sign up on their website and submit tasks through an intuitive dashboard. Once you have filled the design brief and uploaded the required assets, your task will be automatically assigned to a designer.
How Does the Process Work?
Step 1: Send design request
You can use Design Shifu’s own intuitive dashboard to submit your design requests.
Step 2: Get the designs
Once you submit your tasks, you’ll be matched with a dedicated designer who’ll deliver the first draft within 24-48 hours.
Step 3: Review & Revise
You can review the designs and send your feedback for revision or approval.
Turnaround Time
Design Shifu claims an average turnaround time of 24-48 hours.
Money-Back Guarantee
Design Shifu offers a 14-day, 100% money-back guarantee
Final Verdict
Pros of Design Shifu
- You can customize your plan according to the number of active tasks
- Quick turnaround time
- 14-day money-back guarantee
Cons of Design Shifu
- They don’t offer UI/UX design services
- No free trial
Customer Reviews
Read Design Shifu review on G2
Final Conclusion
We tried our best to explain different Penji alternatives in this article. But we’d still recommend you do your own research so you don’t waste your money on designs made with Canva. Also, make sure you thoroughly compare these subscriptions based on their prices, scope of work, customer reviews, and money-back guarantees.
Below is a small comparison table that might help you compare all the Penji alternatives side by side:
| Features | Penji | Digifloat | Design Pickle | ManyPixels | Kimp | No Limit Creatives | Graphically | Design Shifu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $499/Mo | $399/Mo | $499/Mo | $549/Mo | $599/Mo($299.50 for the first 2 months) | $599/Mo($419.30 for the first 3 months) | $299/Mo | $399/Mo |
| Unlimited Graphic Designs | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Active Tasks | 1 active task | 2 active tasks* | 1 active task | 1 active task* | 2 active tasks* | 2 active tasks* | Depends on your plan | Depends on your plan |
| Project Management | Own Platform | Trello | Own Platform | Own Platform | Trello | Own Platform | Own Platform | Own Platform |
| Turnaround Times | 1-2 days | 1-2 days | Depends on your plan | Depends on your plan | 24 hours for graphics & 2-4 days for videos | 2-3 business days | 24-36 hours | 24-48 hours |
| UI/UX Design | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| UI/UX Development | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| HTML/CSS/JS/JQUERY | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| WordPress | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Motion Graphics | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Video Editing | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Dedicated Designers | ❌ | You’ll get access to a team of talented designers | Available on mid & top-level plans | Available on top-level plans | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Dedicated Account Manager | Available on top-level plans | ✔️ | Available on mid & top-level plans | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Free Trials | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Money-Back Guarantee | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
*can vary depending on your plan
