Design.com generates the sharpest concepts and is the only tool here selling an exclusive licence, $145 on top of its $25 monthly plan.
Looka is the cleanest one-time buy at $72 for vector files.
Brandmark includes vector from $35.
Canva wins on everything after the logo but cannot be trademarked.
Every tool here is assessed against same criterias. Read the full method. No entry on this list is a paid placement.
When you buy a logo from an AI generator you are not buying a drawing. You are buying a licence to use one, and the licence is where these tools differ most. Almost all of them hand the same icons and fonts to everybody who types a similar prompt, which is fine until you try to register the mark and discover you cannot. Most roundups compare generation quality and stop there. This page ranks twelve tools on what you walk away holding: whether the design is yours alone, what file format you can export, and what happens to your assets when you stop paying.
How this list was built
Five criteria, the standing set for tool rankings, weighted for this category. Full definitions are at /methodology.
- Core capability · 30 · Concept quality, and whether the tool reads a brand brief or just recombines templates
- Value and real cost · 30 · The total to walk away with a usable file, and whether you can find that out before you buy
- Ease of use · 10 · Setup and time to a finished mark
- Integrations and extensibility · 20 · Read here as what you can take away and keep editing: formats, variations, portability
- Support and documentation · 10 · What the vendor commits to in writing
Value carries more weight than the standing 25 because the headline price and the real price diverge badly here. Ease carries less than the standing 20 because every tool on this list reaches a finished logo in under ten minutes, so it cannot separate them.
We ran the free generation flows of Design.com, Looka and Brandmark in late 2025, to judge concept quality and how well each reads a brand brief. We did not buy a logo on any of them, so nothing here reports on their paid download or licence flow. The other nine are assessed from published pricing, licence terms and vendor documentation. Prices and terms were checked on 7 October 2026 and are dated because software pricing moves faster than anything else we cover.
The thing that is true of nearly all of them
Ten of the twelve give you a non-exclusive licence by default. The icon, the font pairing and often the whole composition remain available to the next person who wants them. Only Design.com and BrandCrowd sell a route out of that, and only Recraft sidesteps it by generating artwork instead of assembling it. This is a condition of the category rather than a fault of any one tool, so it is stated here once and not repeated against every entry below.
What each of the twelve publishes
- Names a firm price on its own site: Looka ($35 and $72 one-time, $96/yr), Brandmark ($35, $95, $195 one-time), Canva (Pro $144/yr), Recraft (from $10/mo billed annually), Wixel ($90, $290, $590/yr)
- Prices only in a help article, and hedged: Design.com, whose purchasing FAQ calls its $25, $34 and $34 monthly packages "typically" that much and offers a discount code
- Publishes no download price at all: BrandCrowd and Renderforest
- Free including the download, with no paid tier to reach: Shopify Logo Maker, Zarla, Namecheap Logo Maker
- Sells exclusivity: Design.com ($145 one-time, or $100 to stop future sales) and BrandCrowd, on selected designs only
- States plainly that you cannot trademark the output: Canva, which also declines to sell exclusive rights and refers you to a human designer instead
- Gives you vector on the free tier: Zarla, Namecheap Logo Maker and Wixel
- Charges for commercial use specifically: Renderforest, whose free download is standard resolution and not licensed commercially
The tools, ranked
1
Design.com
An AI logo maker and design suite that sells an exclusive licence as a paid upgrade, which almost no competitor does.
- From
- $25/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who needs a mark nobody else can buy, and will pay the exclusivity upgrade to get it.
- Default licenceNon-exclusive. Others can buy and use the same design.
- Route to exclusivityExclusive licence $145 one-time, or Buyout $100 one-time
- TrademarkDesign.com states it cannot grant or guarantee the right to trademark a logo
- Vector formatsEPS, SVG, PDF
- BillingMonthly or annual subscription. The vendor states there is no one-time option.
- After cancellingLicence and design files are retained
- Logos per subscriptionOne. A second logo needs a second subscription.
- Free accountCan download pre-made free logos, but not designs made with the AI tools
- Prices checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: Exclusivity is a $145 add-on on top of the $25 monthly plan, so price the decision nearer $170 than the headline if the mark has to be yours alone. One subscription covers one logo.
2
Looka
A logo maker with the cleanest one-time purchase in the category: pay once, get vector files, keep them.
- From
- $35
- Free plan
- No
- Best for
- A founder who wants vector files and a brand kit without signing up to anything recurring.
- Default licenceFull commercial rights to the logo. Individual elements are not exclusive.
- Route to exclusivityNone offered
- Copyright registrationLooka states it does not register your copyright with government bodies
- Vector formatsEPS, SVG, PDF on the $72 Premium package and above
- What $35 buysOne PNG. The vendor positions it as a proof of concept to show a designer.
- BillingOne-time packages, or an annual Brand Kit subscription
- SupportChat, email and phone, 9 to 5 EST, seven days a week
- Trustpilot4.4 from 14,477 reviews
- Prices checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: Looka describes the $35 tier as a proof of concept to show a designer, a single PNG on a coloured background, so budget at $72 for files you can ship. It also notes it does not register your copyright with any government body.
3
Brandmark
A generative logo tool whose output looks less template-assembled than the template libraries it competes with.
- From
- $35
- Free plan
- No
- Best for
- A founder who wants vector files at the entry price and a mark that does not look picked from a catalogue.
- Default licenceThe vendor states full copyright is included, for commercial and personal projects
- Route to exclusivityNot stated. The pricing page does not say whether designs are unique to one buyer.
- Vector formatsIncluded from the $35 Basic tier
- BillingOne-time on all three tiers
- Prices checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: The pricing page says full copyright is included but never says whether a design is unique to one buyer, so ask before committing the mark to anything expensive.
4
Adobe Express
Adobe's free design app, where the generation model is trained on licensed stock and public-domain work rather than scraped images.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who cares most about being able to prove the artwork was commercially licensed from the start.
- Default licenceFirefly outputs may be used commercially. Generative features in beta are personal use only unless stated otherwise.
- Training dataLicensed content including Adobe Stock, plus public-domain work out of copyright
- Route to exclusivityNone offered
- Vector formatsSVG via the Convert to SVG quick action, Premium and above
- BillingMonthly subscription on paid tiers
- Prices checked7 October 2026 (US dollar figures not confirmed)
Where it falls short: Adobe positions this as a general design app rather than a logo generator, so expect no brand-brief intake and no brand kit built around a mark. Its pricing also geo-redirects, so confirm your currency before committing.
5
Recraft
A generative image tool that outputs real vector artwork, so a prompt can produce an editable SVG rather than a picture of a logo.
- From
- $10/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who wants a genuinely original mark and is willing to art-direct it themselves.
- Default licencePaid plans grant full ownership and commercial rights
- Free plan ownershipImages generated on the free plan are owned by Recraft, are publicly visible and are not licensed for commercial use
- Route to exclusivityOutput is generated rather than drawn from a shared template library, so it is not resold. No exclusivity product is sold.
- Vector formatsSVG, generated natively
- After cancellingImages made during a paid subscription stay private and owned by you
- BillingMonthly or annual subscription
- Prices checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: On the free plan the output is public, not licensed for commercial use, and owned by Recraft rather than you, so plan on the $10 a month tier if the result is going near a product.
6
Canva
A whole design suite where the logo maker is one tool among hundreds, and the logo is explicitly not something you can own exclusively.
- From
- $144/yr
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who needs to produce every other brand asset themselves and is not ready to worry about registering a mark.
- Default licenceNon-exclusive. Canva's logo templates are customisable and can be used by anyone.
- TrademarkCanva states that rights to a template logo are non-exclusive and you cannot register it as a trademark
- Route to exclusivityNone. Canva states it does not offer purchasing exclusive rights to a graphic, and recommends a local designer instead.
- Stock elements in a logoCanva states stock photos and graphics are not suitable for a trademark, because elements in a logo need to be exclusive to you
- BillingAnnual subscription on paid tiers
- Prices checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: There is no upgrade to exclusivity at any tier, unlike Design.com and BrandCrowd, so if a registrable mark looks likely later, decide now whether a rebrand at that point is acceptable.
7
Zarla
A free logo maker that gives you the vector file outright, because it is selling website hosting rather than the logo.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who wants a real vector file for nothing and no account to cancel later.
- CostFree, including the download. No credit card and no sign-up to design.
- Default licenceThe vendor states the logo is yours to keep and use anywhere, with no attribution required and no licence fees
- Route to exclusivityNone offered
- Vector formatsSVG, plus transparent PNG
- Business modelMonetises paid website publishing, not the logo
- Checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: There is no paid tier at all, so no route to exclusivity even if you later want one. The brief intake is also the lightest here, so expect to direct it yourself.
8
Namecheap Logo Maker
A free logo maker that does not hold the vector file behind a paywall, bundled into Namecheap's domain business.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder registering a domain who wants a usable vector mark in the same sitting, for nothing.
- CostFree, including the download
- File formatsPNG and SVG with every download
- WatermarksNone
- Route to exclusivityNone offered
- Checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: The page carries a question about whether you can copyright the output, but read the answer yourself before relying on it, because Namecheap stops short of advising on copyright.
9
Wixel
Wix's AI design tool, which hands over an SVG on the free plan and is candid that the icons and fonts are not yours alone.
- From
- $90/yr
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who wants a free vector file today and is already building on Wix.
- Default licenceIcons and fonts are not exclusive to you and are available to all Wixel users
- Route to exclusivityNone offered
- Vector formatsSVG, alongside transparent PNG and JPG
- BillingFree plan, or annual subscription
- NoteWixel is the current product; the Wix Logo Maker name is being retired
- Prices checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: This is the product that replaced Wix Logo Maker, so older guides describe a tool that no longer exists under that name. Paid plans are priced in AI credits rather than brand assets, so work out what a finished logo costs in credits.
10
BrandCrowd
A very large logo template library with the same optional exclusivity upgrade as its sibling Design.com.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who wants to browse a lot of finished directions before committing to one.
- Default licenceA worldwide, irrevocable licence to use the logo commercially and non-commercially. Non-exclusive.
- Route to exclusivityOptional exclusive and buyout licensing, on selected designs only
- Vector formatsSVG, EPS, PDF
- Pricing transparencyNo download price is published on the logo maker page
- Parent companyDesignCrowd Pty Ltd, which also owns Design.com and DesignCrowd
- Prices checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: BrandCrowd and Design.com are both owned by DesignCrowd Pty Ltd, which neither site states, so count them as one option rather than two when you shortlist.
11
Shopify Logo Maker
A completely free logo maker from Shopify, with no paid tier and no upsell attached to the file.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who needs a placeholder mark before launch and does not want to spend anything on it yet.
- CostFree. The vendor states the tool is completely free and the logo is yours to own.
- File formatsNot stated on the tool page
- Route to exclusivityNone offered
- Previous nameHatchful, retired in 2025. The name no longer appears on the page.
- Checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: Assume raster until you have checked, since the tool page does not say what formats you get. It is also still written about under its retired name, Hatchful, dropped in 2025, so older comparisons may describe a version that has moved.
12
Renderforest
A broad brand-asset suite where the free logo download is not licensed for the commercial use most founders need it for.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- A founder who wants logo, video and mockup assets from one subscription rather than a logo alone.
- Free downloadStandard resolution, and the vendor states commercial use requires a paid option
- Commercial useRequires a paid plan
- Route to exclusivityNone offered
- Pricing transparencyTier prices are not published on the logo maker page
- Checked7 October 2026
Where it falls short: Plan on a paid tier from the start, since the free download is standard resolution and not licensed for anything you sell, and ask what the upgrade costs before you begin.
Which one to start with
Four constraints decide this, and they point in different directions.
You need a mark you can register. Only one path on this list actually gets you there, and it is Design.com's exclusive licence at $145 on top of a month's subscription. Budget about $170 and treat the exclusivity upgrade as the purchase rather than an add-on. If that is out of reach, the honest answer is that no tool here will give you a registrable mark, and a freelance designer for a few hundred dollars will.
You want a real file, once, with no subscription. Looka at $72 or Brandmark at $35. Both are one-time, both include vector, and neither needs cancelling later.
You have no budget at all. Zarla or Namecheap Logo Maker. Both hand over an SVG free with no licence fee, which is a better outcome than the paid tier of several tools ranked above them.
You want something nobody else will have, and will art-direct it. Recraft, on a paid plan. Generated vector is not drawn from a shared library, so the exclusivity problem does not arise, but you are the designer.
One thing worth doing whichever you pick: before you commit a mark to packaging, signage or a trademark filing, run a reverse image search on it and check the exact wordmark against your national trademark register. The tools on this list cannot do that for you, and two of them say so in their own documentation.
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