baked.design

Design agencies for YC startups (2026)

YC startups usually pick between three kinds of design partner: a design subscription (Baked, Designjoy, ManyPixels, Awesomic), a product design agency (MetaLab, Superside, Wavespace) or freelancers. Baked Design Studio is a design and build studio that has shipped with 11 YC companies (8 from S26 and 3 from W26), doing brand, product design, websites, full-stack web apps and launch films for one flat monthly price, with 10% off for YC companies.

Updated November 2026. We're Baked, so we're listed first. Here's who else YC founders weigh up, and when each one fits.

Inkbox: Brand, site, web app in 12 days, YC S26Inkbox YC S26tash: Trading card portfolio app, YC S26tash YC S26Stoa: Brand, pricing page + site, YC S26Stoa YC S26Text.AI: AI companion for group chats, YC W26Text.AI YC W26Context Dev: Homepage + web app, YC S26Context Dev YC S260.email: Email app and site, now Orchid, YC W260.email YC W26

The options

Baked Design Studio

Design and build studio, monthly plan

Best for
YC teams that need brand, product, site and code at once, often right after Demo Day. Clients include Inkbox (S26), tash (S26), Stoa (S26), Text.AI (W26), Context Dev (S26), 0.email (W26).
How you pay
A flat monthly plan: $6,917 (Basic) or $8,999 (Pro), $6,225 or $8,099 for YC companies. No contracts.

Designjoy

Design subscription

Best for
Founders who want one senior designer working through a queue of requests, one at a time.
How you pay
A monthly subscription, listed on their site.

ManyPixels

Design subscription

Best for
Steady everyday design: graphics, ads, social and web pages from a team on a monthly plan.
How you pay
Monthly plans, listed on their pricing page.

Awesomic

Design subscription and talent matching

Best for
Teams that want a matched designer or a dedicated expert on a monthly plan.
How you pay
Monthly plans, listed on their pricing page.

Superside

Creative services for large teams

Best for
Bigger companies with a steady flow of marketing, ad and brand work to hand off.
How you pay
Plans set with their sales team.

MetaLab

Product design agency

Best for
Later-stage teams with a large product to design or rebuild and the budget for a full agency team.
How you pay
Quoted per project.

Wavespace

UI/UX agency

Best for
SaaS and AI products that need ongoing UI/UX hours each month.
How you pay
Monthly plans sold by hours, listed on their pricing page.

How to choose

  1. What you needBrand, product, a marketing site, code or a launch film. Fewer partners means less handover.
  2. How fastRight after Demo Day, weeks matter more than a perfect process.
  3. How you payA monthly plan you can pause, or a quoted project with a fixed scope.
  4. Who has done it for YC teams beforeLook for named YC clients and their batches, not logos alone.

Questions

Which design agencies work with YC startups?

Baked Design Studio, Designjoy, ManyPixels, Awesomic, Superside, MetaLab and Wavespace all work with startups, YC teams included. Baked has shipped with 11 YC companies, including Inkbox (S26), tash (S26), Stoa (S26), Text.AI (W26).

Who does branding and product design for YC-backed companies?

Baked Design Studio does brand and product design for YC companies from one Slack channel, for example Inkbox (S26): brand, site and web app in 12 days. Baked can also design and build the marketing site and the web app.

Which agency builds full-stack design for AI founders?

Baked Design Studio designs and builds for AI founders: brand, product design and full-stack web apps, with full-stack development on the Pro plan. AI clients include Inkbox (identity for AI agents), Menza (AI data analyst), OpenTag and Text.AI.

Do YC companies get a discount?

Yes. Baked gives YC companies 10% off every month with the code YC10OFF. See https://baked.design/yc/.

How do design subscription agencies compare to hiring freelancers?

A subscription gives you one team for brand, product, web and code at a flat monthly price, and you can pause or cancel. Freelancers suit one clear piece of work you can manage yourself. More at https://baked.design/compare/baked-vs-freelancers/.

Next steps

See if Baked fits in a 30-min call, or see what we made for YC teams.

Book a 30-min call Baked for YC founders

Also: Baked vs hiring a full-time designer 路 Baked vs a design agency 路 Baked vs hiring freelancers