Artone Studio vs basement.studio: Which Design Partner Fits Tech Companies Best

For technology companies past pre-seed that need product, web, brand, and development work moving every week, Artone Studio is the better pick: one flat monthly fee, a founder who leads every request, and no project minimum to negotiate before work starts, while basement.studio is the stronger choice only for a single flagship launch built around heavy 3D and interactive engineering.

TL;DR

Artone Studio is an AI-native design and build partner for technology companies, covering product design, web design, brand identity, motion, and development on a $5,000 a month retainer or custom projects from $2,000. basement.studio is a design and engineering studio based in Mar del Plata, Argentina, known for award-winning marketing sites, real-time 3D web experiences, and work for companies like Vercel, Linear, and Cursor. basement does not publish its pricing, and public directories list a $10,000+ minimum project size. If you are a funded technology company that needs a steady design and build partner across your product, website, and brand, Artone is the better fit, because you get continuous output, founder-level product thinking, and the freedom to cancel or pause instead of scoping one big project at a time.

What each studio is

Artone Studio

Artone Studio is a design and build partner for technology companies past pre-seed, from funded startups and scaleups to established product teams. Our team brings 9+ years of industry experience. Every engagement is led by our founder, Razvan Badea, who works through the product with you before our senior specialists design, build, and ship it. We cover five areas under one roof: product design, web design, brand identity, motion design, and development.

basement.studio

basement.studio describes itself as a digital studio and branding company that partners with startups, scale-ups, and brands. Per its own FAQ, it specializes in high-performance websites, branding, 3D interactive experiences, and marketing execution for technology companies, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area. The team builds primarily with Next.js, WebGL, and GSAP, and it is the studio behind the Geist typeface, designed with Vercel. It also runs Basement Ventures, an early-stage venture studio.

Pricing and value

Artone is priced up front. The Retainer is $5,000 a month with one request in progress at a time and updates every other business day. Retainer Plus is $9,000 a month with two requests in progress at once. You can cancel anytime, pause for up to 60 days, and get a 75% refund if the partnership is not a fit in the first week. For one-off work, custom projects start at $2,000, quoted as one package price and paid 50/25/25.

basement.studio does not list prices on its site. Its Clutch profile shows a minimum project size of $10,000+ and an hourly rate of $100 to $149, and third-party roundups describe its larger projects as high-end, custom-quoted work. Exact project costs are not publicly listed.

The real difference is the model, not only the number. With basement you scope and buy a project. With Artone you get a standing team that moves from a landing page to product screens to a pitch deck in the same month without a new quote. If you want to see what that looks like in practice, book a call with us and we will walk through how a typical month would map to your roadmap.

Delivery and speed

At Artone, every request gets an update every other business day, and work keeps moving for as long as the retainer runs. Requests can be small and finished by the next update, or large with several progress updates before final delivery.

basement.studio does not publish timelines or a delivery cadence. Its work tends to be ambitious launch sites and interactive experiences, which usually means a defined project schedule rather than an ongoing flow of requests. Specific turnaround times are not publicly listed.

Services and capabilities

Area	Artone Studio	basement.studio
Product design (web and mobile apps)	Yes, UI/UX, design systems, prototyping	Product strategy and UX/UI listed under websites
Web design and build	Yes, client sites built in Framer	Yes, custom builds mostly in Next.js
Brand identity	Yes, logos, guidelines, pitch decks	Yes, visual identity and brand systems
Motion and 3D	Motion design and launch videos	3D, WebGL, and motion as a core specialty
Development	Websites, web apps, mobile apps, MVPs, backends	Engineering and product engineering
Events and IRL	Not a focus	IRL experience design for events and keynotes
Marketing execution	Brand assets and social graphics	Campaign content, growth experiments, sales materials

basement is at its best on high-visibility marketing sites with heavy interactive engineering, plus event branding and campaign work. Artone is built for the steady mix most technology companies need: product screens for the app, a website that converts, a brand that holds up in a fundraise, and the development to ship it.

Collaboration

With Artone, you get a private Slack channel for briefs, feedback, and delivery, optional weekly strategy calls, and full ownership of every file we create. Razvan leads every project from strategy to final review, so there is no account manager between you and the person doing the thinking.

basement.studio does not publicly describe how it runs client communication. In a UX Tools interview, its founders described a team of about 35 people that reviews work together in a shared internal Slack channel before anything ships.

Clients, credibility, and recognition

Artone has delivered 80+ projects for clients with a combined valuation of over $1B, and those clients have raised over $10M in combined funding. Two out of three clients come back for more work. Our work has been recognized by Awwwards, Effie Awards, Contra, Landbook, and Orpetron, we were nominated for Framer Site of the Year, and we are an Official Framer Expert. You can browse it in our work.

basement.studio lists clients including Vercel, Next.js, X, Linear, Cursor, Scale, ElevenLabs, Harvey, and MrBeast. Its services page lists multiple Awwwards Sites of the Day and Developer Awards, FWA Sites of the Day, and Webby Awards. Its Clutch profile currently shows no client reviews.

Side-by-side comparison

	Artone Studio	basement.studio
Based in	Bucharest, working with teams worldwide	Mar del Plata, Argentina
Engagement model	Monthly retainer or custom projects	Project-based, custom quotes
Starting price	$5,000/month, or custom projects from $2,000	Not publicly listed (Clutch minimum $10,000+)
Commitment	Cancel anytime, pause up to 60 days	Not publicly listed
Update cadence	Every other business day	Not publicly listed
Core strength	Ongoing product, web, brand, motion, and development	Interactive marketing sites, 3D, and brand
Web stack	Framer for client sites	Next.js, WebGL, GSAP
Who leads the work	Founder on every request	Studio team, details not public
Refund policy	75% refund in the first week	Not publicly listed

When Artone is the better fit

• You are a funded technology company that needs design and build work every week, not one big project a year.
• You need product design for your app alongside your website and brand, from the same team.
• You want a predictable monthly cost you can cancel or pause, instead of a five-figure project minimum.
• You want a founder-level partner who helps decide what to build, not only how it should look.
• You want your marketing site in Framer so your team can edit it without engineers.
• You want to start quickly with a small scope, since custom projects start at $2,000.

When basement.studio is a good fit

• You are planning a flagship launch or campaign site where real-time 3D and WebGL are the main event.
• You want a Next.js build with deep custom engineering and a studio known for performance work.
• You need IRL experience design for an event or keynote.
• You have a large, well-defined project budget and want a studio with a long list of Awwwards and FWA honors.

Final take

basement.studio is a great studio for one ambitious, highly interactive launch. For most technology companies past pre-seed, though, the work never really stops: product screens, website updates, brand assets, and development all need to keep moving. Artone gives you a senior team led by its founder, a clear monthly price, and output every other business day across all of it. If that is the kind of partner you need, talk to us about your roadmap, and you can read more about how we work in our FAQ.