Pitch Deck Design Cost: What You're Paying For

A custom pitch deck from me is $1,999 for up to 25 slides, delivered in about a week. Below is exactly what that includes, what changes the price, and the honest answer to the question every founder has: why pay a designer when AI can make slides in minutes?

What founders usually have when they come to me

Most founders don't come to me with nothing. They already have the basic structure: the problem, the product, the market, the ask. What's missing is the brand and the vibe. The deck says the right things, but it looks like every other deck.

That's the real problem. Investors have seen hundreds of AI-generated decks by now, and they all look similar. When yours looks like the last ten they opened, it doesn't stand out and they don't remember it.

What $1,999 includes

Up to 25 custom-designed slides. Delivery in about one week. Two rounds of revisions. Designed in Figma, or in whatever platform you prefer to present from.

What changes the price

Two things. If your deck needs more than 25 slides, each additional slide is $100. And if you don't have a brand yet, I offer a Brand Sprint for $500: a colour palette, typography and art direction, so the deck has its own identity instead of borrowing one from a template.

Pricing can vary by region and scope. If you're outside the US, just ask.

AI or a template vs a designer

AI tools and templates are fast and cheap, and for an early draft they're fine. The problem is that everyone has the same tools. The output looks like everyone else's output, and that is exactly what investors are now tired of seeing.

A designed deck does two things an AI deck can't. It makes you memorable, because it looks like your company and nobody else's. And it signals that you take your work seriously. Investors notice when a founder has put care into how they show up.

What other options cost

For context, here’s roughly what founders pay elsewhere in 2026, based on published pricing guides from design studios and freelance platforms:

• Templates and AI tools: free to about $200. Canva, Gamma or a $20–$100 template. Fast, but you do all the thinking and it looks like everyone else’s deck.
• Freelance designers: about $500 to $5,000. Template-based decks on marketplaces start around $500–$1,500. Custom work from senior freelancers usually runs $1,500–$5,000.
• Boutique agencies: about $3,000 to $15,000, with a typical timeline of two to three weeks.
• Top agencies and strategy firms: $10,000 to $50,000 or more, usually bundled with positioning and narrative work.

My $1,999 sits in the senior freelancer range, and I deliver in about a week, where most agencies quote two to three.

So is it worth it?

You're raising money that is many times what a deck costs. Paying a little to improve your chances of making a good first impression is a small bet on a big outcome. The structure and the story are yours. What I add is the part that makes an investor remember it.

If you're also deciding whether your website needs work before you raise, I've written about why startup websites look generic and what a startup website costs. And you can see my deck work and pricing on the pitch deck design page.