# Artone Studio vs Eleken: Design and Build Partner vs Dedicated SaaS Designer

> Artone Studio vs Eleken: compare a founder-led design and build partner with a dedicated SaaS UI/UX designer on pricing, services, terms, and fit.

- Canonical URL: https://www.artone.studio/articles/artone-studio-vs-eleken-which-design-partner-fits-saas-teams-best
- Published: 2026-11-01
- Author: Razvan Badea, Artone Studio

Artone Studio is the better pick for technology companies that want one senior team to own product decisions and then design, build, and ship the product, the website, and the brand, while Eleken suits SaaS teams that want a dedicated UI/UX designer added to their product team.

**TL;DR:** Eleken is a UI/UX design agency for B2B SaaS that places a dedicated product designer on your team, part-time for $4,599 a month or full-time for $6,599 a month, with a 2-month minimum contract and a 3-day free trial. Its designers work inside your Slack, Figma, and GitHub, and can hand off dev-ready Figma files or a working frontend as a pull request. Artone Studio is an AI-native design and build partner at $5,000 a month, with our founder leading every engagement and a senior team covering product design, web design, brand identity, development, and motion. Eleken focuses on SaaS product interfaces and says standalone landing pages and logos are not a fit, while we take on the product, the marketing site, and the launch assets as one system. For technology companies past pre-seed that need product judgment and shipped work from one accountable team, Artone is the better fit.

## What each studio is

Artone Studio is a design and build partner for technology companies: AI companies, SaaS and software teams, and digital products, from funded startups and scaleups to established product teams. We were founded in December 2022 and bring 9+ years of industry experience. Every engagement is led by Razvan Badea, who joins product calls, helps decide what to build and how it should work, and reviews every deliverable before it ships. Senior specialists in product, web, brand, development, and motion do the work under his briefs.

Eleken describes itself as a UI/UX design agency for B2B SaaS. It is headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, with a US entity in Delaware, and its homepage cites 11 years and 400+ products. Instead of a project scope, Eleken matches you with one or more dedicated designers who join your team and stay as long as there is work. Each designer is supported by Eleken's Head of Design and by UI and UX leads, and Eleken says its designers complete three months of training before they work on client projects.

## Pricing and value

Eleken publishes three monthly plans:

- **Part-time designer:** $4,599 a month for one dedicated designer at half-time capacity.
- **Full-time designer:** $6,599 a month for one full-time dedicated designer.
- **2 full-time designers:** $11,999 a month.

Every plan includes guidance from Eleken's Head of Design, an operational contact, unlimited design tasks and revisions, and a 3-day free trial. The minimum contract is 2 months. The plan cards say you can pause or cancel anytime, and Eleken's FAQ asks for a month's notice before cancelling a monthly subscription.

Our Retainer is $5,000 a month: one request in progress at a time, with updates every other business day, across product, web, brand, development, and motion. Retainer Plus is $9,000 a month for two requests in progress at once, each updated every other business day. Both include unlimited revision rounds, cancel anytime, a pause once per 30-day cycle, and a 75% refund if the partnership is not a fit within the first week. For a single defined outcome, custom projects start at $2,000 with a 50/25/25 payment split, one package price.

The difference is what the fee buys. An Eleken plan buys a designer's time, which works well when your team already knows what to build and needs more design hands. Our retainer buys a founder-led team that shapes the product decisions and also ships the build. Our guide to [design retainers versus projects](https://www.artone.studio/articles/design-retainer-vs-project-startup) explains when each model makes sense, or you can [talk to us about your scope](https://www.artone.studio/contact).

## Delivery and speed

Eleken says a designer can start within a week. Most of its designers work in GMT+2 and share progress through calls and Loom videos, so plan for some time zone difference if your team is in the US.

We send updates every other business day. A request can be small and finished by the next update, or large, like a product redesign or an MVP build, with several progress updates before final delivery. AI is built into how we work, so more directions get explored and prototypes get coded early, but a senior person is making the calls.

## Services and capabilities

Eleken's services center on SaaS product design: redesigns of existing products, launch-ready products, UX audits, design systems, and dedicated designers for product teams. It can deliver dev-ready Figma files or a working frontend, opening a pull request in your repository that your developers review and connect to the backend. Eleken says it does not take landing pages as standalone projects, and its pricing page lists small projects such as a landing page or logo, and products that are not SaaS, as poor fits.

Our scope covers the product and everything around it:

- **Product design:** web and mobile apps, design systems, prototyping, UI/UX audits.
- **Web design:** landing pages and multi-page sites, copywriting, built in Framer.
- **Brand identity:** guidelines, logos and marks, pitch decks, brand assets, social graphics.
- **Development:** Framer builds, full-stack web apps and MVPs, mobile apps, backend and APIs, and cleanup of MVPs built with AI tools.
- **Motion design:** launch videos, explainer videos, logo reveals, and product animations.

The practical difference: Eleken adds design capacity to a product team that already has developers. We can be the team that designs and builds the product, the marketing site, and the launch, so the brand, the site, and the app come from the same thinking.

## Collaboration

Eleken's designers join your Slack, calls, Figma, and GitHub, and Eleken says there is no project manager in the middle. You work with your designer directly, with an operational contact and Eleken's design leads in the background.

We work in a private Slack Connect channel, with optional weekly strategy calls. You talk directly to Razvan, with no account manager or project manager in between, and full ownership of every file, asset, code base, and Framer site transfers to you.

## Clients, credibility, and recognition

Eleken shows a 4.9 out of 5 rating on Clutch from 130 reviews. Clutch's review summary notes that some clients mentioned time zone challenges and that some wanted Eleken more involved in the development phase.

Artone has delivered 80+ projects for companies with a combined valuation of $1B+. Our clients have raised over $10M in combined funding, and 2 out of 3 clients come back. Our work has been recognized by Awwwards, Effie Awards, Contra, Landbook, and Orpetron, including a Framer Site of the Year nomination, and we are an Official Framer Expert.

## Side-by-side comparison

| | Artone Studio | Eleken |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Model | Monthly retainer or fixed-scope project | Dedicated designer subscription |
| Starting price | $5,000/month; custom projects from $2,000 | $4,599/month for a part-time designer |
| Capacity | One request in progress (Retainer) or two (Retainer Plus) | Half-time, full-time, or two full-time designers |
| Minimum term | None, cancel anytime | 2 months |
| Who leads the work | Founder-led, senior team owns the brief | Dedicated designer, supervised by a Head of Design |
| Product and UX design | Yes, including prototypes, design systems, and audits | Yes, SaaS only |
| Development | Framer, full-stack web apps, mobile, backend | Frontend via pull request, backend left to your developers |
| Websites and landing pages | Yes, designed and built in Framer | Not as standalone projects |
| Brand and pitch decks | Yes | Not listed as a service |
| Communication | Slack Connect, optional weekly calls | Your Slack, calls, Figma, and GitHub |
| Trial or guarantee | 75% refund in the first week | 3-day free trial |

## When Artone is the better fit

- You need product decisions made, not just screens drawn for a roadmap someone else owns.
- You want one team accountable for designing and building your web app, MVP, or website.
- You need your marketing site, brand, and pitch deck to match the product, without hiring a second agency.
- You want to talk directly to the founder leading the work, who reviews every deliverable.
- You want to cancel anytime instead of committing to a minimum term.
- You have one defined project and want a fixed price instead of a subscription.

## When Eleken is a good fit

- You run a SaaS product with an in-house engineering team and need more UI/UX design capacity.
- You want a designer embedded in your calls and tools, working like an in-house hire.
- You want to scale design time up or down by the designer, part-time or full-time.
- You want to test the working relationship through a free trial before paying.

If you are deciding whether to hire a designer or bring in a studio at all, our comparison of [in-house designers and agencies](https://www.artone.studio/articles/in-house-designer-vs-agency-startup) walks through the tradeoffs.

## Final take

Eleken is a strong option for SaaS teams that already know what to build and want a dedicated, well-supported product designer working inside their team. But added design hours are not the same as a team that owns the outcome from product decisions to shipped code, site, and brand. For technology companies that want one senior team to think through the product and then design, build, and ship it, Artone Studio is the stronger choice. If that sounds like what you need, [book a call with us](https://www.artone.studio/contact) and we will walk through your roadmap.