How much does it cost to name a business? Agency, freelancer, contest, AI and doing it yourself, compared
- Five ways to get a name, five price bands: agency $5,000–$100,000+, freelancer $500–$3,000, contest $300–$1,000, AI service $0–$119, yourself $0 plus your evenings.
- The price buys three things in different amounts: how many people think about your brief, how much reasoning you get back, and how long it takes. It never buys legal clearance; that is a separate step at every price.
- For a one-person start-up, the realistic choice is between a contest, an AI service and yourself. The difference is whether you get names with a written case, or a list.
- Whatever you pay, budget separately for the trademark search (free to do yourself, $500–$1,500 with an attorney) and, if you want it, federal registration (from $350 per class).
Naming has a strange price curve: the same job costs nothing or a hundred thousand dollars depending on who does it, and the expensive version is not always better for a small business. This guide lays out the five options with real price bands, what each one actually delivers, how long it takes, and what none of them include. It ends with a plain recommendation by type of business.
The five options, compared
| Option | Typical cost | You get | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naming agency | $5,000–$100,000+ | Strategy sessions, hundreds of candidates screened to 10–20, preliminary trademark screening, presentation with rationale, sometimes linguistic checks in several languages. | 4–12 weeks | Funded companies, consumer products sold nationally, rebrands with legal exposure. |
| Freelance namer | $500–$3,000 | A brief call, 20–50 candidates, short rationale, usually a basic availability check. | 1–3 weeks | Small companies that want one experienced human and can wait. |
| Crowdsourced contest | $300–$1,000 (plus a premium for a matching domain) | Hundreds of submissions from many contributors, filtered by you; quality varies widely; rationale usually one line or none. | 3–7 days | People who want volume and enjoy sorting. |
| AI naming service | $0 (generators) to $119 (SmartName Premium) | Free generators: a list of words, no reasoning. SmartName: 10–40 names designed in directions from the statistics of real names, each with etymology and a 110–170-word written case. | Minutes | One-person start-ups, side businesses, anyone who wants reasons, not just words. |
| Yourself | $0 | Whatever you can think of, in the order you think of it. | Evenings for weeks | People with a clear concept and a strong idea already. |
What the money actually buys
Strip away the presentations and every option is selling three things:
- Attention to your brief. An agency spends days on it; a contest contributor spends minutes; a free generator spends none. This is why free generators produce words that could belong to anyone.
- Reasoning. A name without a reason is a word. Agencies deliver rationale; freelancers deliver a paragraph; contests usually deliver a line; SmartName delivers a written case for every name; free generators deliver nothing.
- Time. Weeks at the top, minutes at the bottom. For a company already paying rent, weeks are expensive.
What is never included: legal clearance
No naming service, at any price, gives you a legal opinion that a name is safe to use. Agencies do a preliminary screening; everyone else points you to the databases. Budget for it separately:
| Step | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The five free searches (state registry, USPTO, domain, Google/Maps, county DBA) | $0 | About twenty minutes. See how to check if a business name is taken. |
| Attorney clearance search and opinion | $500–$1,500 | Worth it if you will operate in several states or sell nationally. |
| Federal trademark application | From $350 per class (USPTO fee), plus attorney fees if used | Optional; protects the name nationwide; takes months. |
| State LLC filing | $50–$500 depending on state | Not a naming cost, but the name goes on it. |
| DBA filing | $10–$100 | If trading under a name other than the entity's. |
A plain recommendation by type of business
| Your situation | Reasonable choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Funded start-up, consumer product, national launch | Agency, or freelancer plus attorney | The legal exposure justifies the fee; multilingual checks matter. |
| Local shop, practice or service (coffee, salon, cleaning, dental) | AI service with reasoning, then the five free searches | You need a name that says what you do, a story to tell, and a clear registry search. Weeks and thousands of dollars buy little more. |
| Side business or first company, tight budget | AI service ($39) or yourself, plus the five free searches | Get the reasoning for a few dollars; spend the saved evenings on the business. |
| Software or app | AI service or freelancer, plus attorney if the .com and class 9/42 are contested | The domain and the trademark class are the real cost centers, not the name. |
| Rebrand of an existing company | Agency or experienced freelancer | Migration, legal and customer confusion risks dwarf the naming fee. |
Frequently asked questions
Why do naming agencies cost so much?
You are paying for weeks of a team's attention, hundreds of screened candidates, preliminary legal screening and multilingual checks. For a national consumer brand that is appropriate. For a coffee shop it is not.
Are free business-name generators any good?
They produce words, usually a keyword plus a random second word, with no reasoning and no reading of what real names in your trade look like. They are fine for a spark and poor for a decision.
What does SmartName cost and what do I get?
$39 for 10 names, $79 for 25, $119 for 40. Each name comes with its etymology and a written case of 110–170 words, designed in directions the system chose after reading the statistics of real names in your trade. Delivery takes minutes. It does not include trademark clearance.
Does any service guarantee the name is legally available?
No. Agencies do a preliminary screening and recommend counsel; everyone else points you to the databases. Legal clearance is a separate step at every price.
Can I get a refund if I do not like the names?
Policies vary. At SmartName, because names are generated and delivered digitally, there is no refund after delivery except where delivery fails; the refund policy is on the site.
Related: How to name a business: the complete guide · How to check if a business name is taken · How to name an app or startup · How to name a coffee shop