Artone Studio vs INSAIM: design subscription vs design and build retainer

For technology companies past pre-seed that want one team to design and build across product, web, brand and motion, Artone Studio is the stronger choice over INSAIM.

TL;DR

Artone Studio and INSAIM both work with SaaS, AI and tech companies, and both offer a monthly design subscription alongside fixed-scope projects. INSAIM is a Lisbon agency that leads with packaged website, brand and MVP design projects, built in Webflow or Framer, plus a $3,900 a month product and website subscription. Artone runs one $5,000 a month retainer that covers product design, web design, brand identity, motion and development, including building the web apps and MVPs we design. INSAIM designs MVPs but does not build them. For a funded technology company that wants product thinking and production code from the same team, Artone is the better fit.

What each studio is

Artone Studio

Artone Studio is an AI-native design and build partner for technology companies past pre-seed, from funded startups and scaleups to established product teams. We have been running since December 2022, and our founder brings 9+ years of industry experience and leads every engagement personally, from strategy and briefs to final review. Product design, web design, brand identity, motion design and development all sit inside one retainer, or inside a fixed-scope custom project.

INSAIM

INSAIM is a design and development agency for SaaS, AI and tech companies, based in Lisbon, Portugal. It describes itself as a Certified Webflow Partner and a Framer Expert Agency, and says it has completed 300+ projects with a 15+ person team. Its work covers brand identity, UX/UI and product design, websites built in Webflow or Framer, and communication design such as decks and white papers.

Pricing and value

Artone's Retainer is $5,000 a month for one request at a time, with updates every other business day. Retainer Plus is $9,000 a month for two requests at once, each updated every other business day. Both include every service we offer, and you can cancel anytime or pause for up to 60 days. For a single defined deliverable, we also run custom projects from a $2,000 minimum, priced as one package and paid 50/25/25 across kickoff, midpoint and delivery.

INSAIM publishes starting prices in USD, excluding VAT, and sends a fixed quote after a discovery call. Its pricing page lists a designed and built landing page from $5,000, a corporate website from $8,000 (it notes that a site of around 20 pages with several CMS collections usually comes closer to $15,000), MVP product design from $5,000 and brand identity from $3,500. Its subscription has two plans: product and website at $3,900 a month with a one-month minimum, and marketing design from $2,200 with a two-week minimum. The Webflow or Framer plan is paid separately, and changes after launch are billed hourly unless you are on the subscription.

The value question is scope rather than sticker price. INSAIM's product and website plan covers design and site builds, with marketing design as a separate plan. Artone's retainer covers product, web, brand, motion and development, including code for web apps and MVPs, under one fee. If you are weighing the two models in general, our guide to design retainers versus fixed projects walks through when each makes sense.

Delivery and speed

At Artone, you get updates every other business day on each active request. A small request can be finished by the next update, and a larger one moves through several progress updates before final delivery.

INSAIM's subscription works on one active request at a time in each workstream, with tasks planned one to two weeks ahead. It says most tasks are delivered in one to three business days, depending on complexity. Its fixed projects carry published timelines, such as three to five weeks for a landing page, eight to twelve weeks for a corporate website and eight to sixteen weeks for MVP design, with up to two rounds of revisions per stage.

Services and capabilities

Artone covers five areas in one retainer:

• Product design: web apps, mobile apps, design systems, prototyping and UI/UX audits
• Web design: landing pages, multi-page websites and copywriting
• Brand identity: logos, guidelines, pitch decks and brand assets
• Motion design: launch videos, explainers and product animations
• Development: websites in Framer, full-stack web apps, mobile apps, backend and APIs, MVPs, and cleanup of products built with AI tools

INSAIM covers brand identity, UX/UI and product design, web design and development in Webflow or Framer, and communication design. Its pricing page is clear about limits. MVPs are designed, not built, and INSAIM hands off to your developers or introduces development partners. Its brand identity package does not include naming, brand strategy, verbal identity or brand activation.

The practical difference shows up after the design is approved. With INSAIM, product design ends at development-ready Figma files. With Artone, the same team can carry it into production.

Collaboration

We work in a private Slack channel for briefs, feedback and delivery, with optional weekly strategy calls. Our founder is involved on every request, so you talk to the person making the product calls, not an account manager. You own all files and code we produce.

INSAIM's subscription also runs in Slack, with progress shared on Loom and check-in calls every two weeks. A project manager runs the schedule, and INSAIM offers a small trial task before you commit. On fixed projects, you own the site, the brand and all design files.

Clients, credibility and recognition

Artone has delivered 80+ projects for companies with a combined valuation of $1B+, and our clients have raised over $10M in combined funding. Two out of three clients come back for more work, and we offer a 75% refund in the first week if it is not working. Our recognition includes Awwwards, a Framer Site of the Year nomination, Effie Awards, Contra, Landbook and Orpetron, and we are an Official Framer Expert. You can see the work on our case studies page.

INSAIM lists Clutch recognition as a top UX/UI and digital design company and an award as best creative agency in Portugal. Its Clutch profile shows a 4.9 average from 19 reviews, with reviewers often mentioning timely delivery and clear communication. Its site highlights work for Exaforce, Scytale and MealPreply, among others.

Side-by-side comparison

	Artone Studio	INSAIM
Base	Remote-first, run from Bucharest	Lisbon, Portugal
Best for	Technology companies past pre-seed that need design and build in one team	SaaS, AI and tech teams buying packaged sites, brands or MVP designs
Monthly option	$5,000/mo Retainer, $9,000/mo Retainer Plus	$3,900/mo product and website, from $2,200 marketing design
Capacity	One request at a time, or two on Retainer Plus	One active request per workstream
Fixed projects	Custom projects from $2,000, paid 50/25/25	Starting prices from $2,500, fixed quote after discovery
Minimum term	Cancel anytime, pause up to 60 days	One month (product and website) or two weeks (marketing)
Product development	Included, from websites to full-stack web apps and MVPs	MVP design only, handed off to developers
Site platforms	Framer, Official Framer Expert	Webflow and Framer
Motion	Included in the retainer	Product animations, motion and 3D listed in subscription work
Communication	Private Slack, optional weekly calls	Slack, Loom, check-ins every two weeks
Guarantee or trial	75% refund in the first week	Small trial task

When Artone is the better fit

• You need the product built, not only designed, and want design and development from the same team.
• You want one monthly fee that covers product, web, brand, motion and development, and the freedom to shift focus month to month.
• You want the founder of the studio involved in every request, including product decisions about what to build next.
• You are past pre-seed and need a partner who can work on a live product and a marketing site at the same time.
• You prefer to cancel anytime or pause for up to 60 days rather than commit to a set project scope.

If that sounds like your team, book a call with us and we will tell you honestly whether a retainer or a custom project fits better.

When INSAIM is a good fit

• You need a Webflow site with a heavy CMS, multiple languages or a migration from another platform.
• You want a fixed-price brand and landing page package with a published starting price before any conversation.
• You already have developers and only need development-ready product designs in Figma.
• You need marketing design support on a short commitment, starting from a two-week minimum.

Final take

INSAIM is a solid choice for packaged website and brand projects, especially when the site needs to live in Webflow. For a technology company past pre-seed that wants one team to think through the product, design it across every surface and then build it, Artone Studio is the better fit, with clear monthly pricing and no long-term lock-in. If you want to talk it through, get in touch with our team.