Design Pickle vs. Penji — what you should know

Jack Miller
7 min readMay 31, 2021

The quality of content that you decide to put out there is a factor that can either make your brand or break it. There is a fair amount of content saturation out there and because of this fact, the need to stand out from the crowd and differentiate yourself from other brands that are similar to you, is a challenge that almost every business goes through when it comes to their advertising. This is where graphic designs, video content, your campaigns and the likes come in.

The availability of unlimited design services that operate at a very reasonable price which is a flat rate per month is something that is extremely helpful to businesses. However, the fact that there are so many different brands out there that do the job could also pose a bit of a conundrum. Today, we are going to be reviewing two of the leading service providers out there — Design Pickle and Penji against each other so that you can decide what each of them brings to the table.

What do you get with an unlimited service?

With Penji, you have the capacity to send in as many design requests as you need done. When the team sends you the designs that they have worked on, you can also ask for an unlimited amount of revisions — basically, until you are satisfied. They have a platform where you need to assign the tasks as projects to the team. All you need to do, is simply fill out a form with all the details that the team needs to you. You are also advised to upload any attachments that will help make the guidelines clear. Penji also advises that you let them know about the formats in which you will require the completed design files.

Design Pickle also offers a similar service where you have access to choose from their different pricing plans. Based on the plan that you have chosen to suit your needs, you will be able to submit your design requests and they will provide them to you with a quick turnaround. You can submit unlimited design requests and when the completed work is sent across to you, you also can collaborate with the team to give any feedback and get as many revisions done as you need. After all the work is satisfactory, you can now approve the designs and start to use them in your campaigns.

What pricing plans can you choose from?

Penji has three pricing plans that you can pick from.

  • Pro package for $399/mo which has just graphic designs included.
  • Team package that comes with graphic designs, illustrations and UX/UI for $499/mo.
  • Agency package is the team package above, but with double output for $899/mo.

Here are the packages that the service brings you.

Design Pickle also offers you three pricing plans to choose from. You can also see each of the services that are available with each package below.

  • The Graphic Design Essentials package is available for $499/mo
  • The Graphic Design pro package is available for $995/mo
  • The Custom Illustrations package is available for $499/mo

Can you get a free trial or a money back guarantee?

While Penji does not have a free trial, they do have a 15 day moneyback guarantee on all of their packages. Essentially, if you are unhappy with what you have received, your money will be refunded at the end of 15 days without question.

Design Pickle offers you a 30 day money back guarantee. You can test them out for 30 days and they say that if you are not entirely happy that they offer you huge value for your money, they will refund the money to you, no questions asked.

How helpful are their websites?

Both Design Pickle and Penji have help sections. However, in the case of Penji, their FAQ is much more cohesive and to the point which will save you a lot of time that would otherwise be spent on browsing additional information and when running a business, you may not necessarily have all that time on your hands.

When it comes to Design Pickle, while they do have a help section, each of the questions are broadly categorized with more than 10 articles under each section and to find answers, you may have to go through all of them or at the very least, a few until you find the information that you are looking for. That said, both websites are quite easy to browse through and have simple navigation and easy flows which is pleasant.

What kind of contract will you be entering?

Penji gives you the opportunity to carry on with a monthly contract that requires no advance notice or complex procedures, should you need to cancel the services.

Design Pickle states the following on their website;

“If you sign up for a monthly plan, you’ll be billed monthly and can cancel anytime. If you sign up for a quarterly plan, you’ll be billed every 3 months and can cancel at any time. If you sign up for an annual plan, you’ll be billed every 12 months and can cancel at any time. After you have passed the 30-day money back guarantee window, there are no refunds for unused time on any plan for any reason.”

Exclusive features that you can benefit from

Penji offers the following;

  • Unlimited design requests
  • Unlimited revisions
  • Turnaround in 24–28 hours
  • Human support
  • Team collaboration
  • You will have the complete ownership of files

Design Pickle offers the following features

  • Collaborate with a designer in real time on Slack
  • Use Zapier to sync your existing workflow into Design Pickle
  • Get same day turnarounds with Design Pickle Pro
  • 1–2 day turnarounds with the Graphic Design Essentials plan
  • Unlimited designs requests
  • Unlimited revisions
  • Support throughout
  • 30 day money back guarantee

What services are provided by each?

Design Pickle offers the following services.

  • Promotional graphics
  • Logo help
  • Email graphics
  • Social media graphics
  • Illustrated logos
  • Custom typography
  • Icons
  • Simple infographics
  • Static ads and graphics
  • T shirt designs
  • Brochures and flyers
  • Promotional designs
  • Packaging and labels
  • GIF animations
  • Landing page designs
  • Advanced infographics
  • Original branding and logos
  • Portraits
  • Caricatures
  • Photo to vector conversion
  • Custom Logos
  • Blueprints (tracing)
  • Merch illustrations
  • Illustrated manuals
  • Storybook illustrations

Penji offers the following services.

  • Branding: logos and pitch decks
  • Custom UX/UI: web and app designs
  • Digital: banners, digital ads and social media content
  • Illustrations: custom and typography
  • Marketing: business cards, flyers, infographics and sales sheets
  • Merch sellers: promotional materials and t-shirts
  • Print: books, magazines, packaging, labels, stationeries

Are the portfolios available to browse through?

Both companies have worked extensively and built strong and steadfast reputations. The portfolios that they have on their websites speak for themselves.

Design Pickle, being known as a leader in their industry has been able to build a great portfolio that depicts the various specializations that they have. If you wish to get a thorough idea about what their work entails, we recommend that you read through their portfolio on their website. To browse through samples of design work with Design Pickle click here. To read through some of their case studies click here.

Similarly, Penji has also been around enough and have produced quality work at a level where their portfolio also looks rather impressive. If you would also like to take a look through the portfolio on the Penji site, click here.

All set to get started?

If you would like to choose a service provider with a comprehensive set of services that allows you to get the best value for your money, always do a bit of thorough research. In this case, both Design Pickle and Penji offer great value for money, but the choice is ultimately yours based on what you are looking for. They offer a varied set of services and also reasonable monthly rates that will allow you to ensure that you get the best returns on your investment. Both service providers also say that they offer support from their teams which means that you should be able to clarify with them, if you feel that you have any concerns.

Note to reader: Please note that the blog includes referral links and should you choose to browse through them, I will earn referral credit. However, I have used these linked based on the quality of services offered and not due to the incentive I earn from your interest. While I recommend services, the decision to use my recommendations is entirely your decision.

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