AKQA
A 6,000-person WPP network agency, still tracing back to a 21-year-old's 1994 startup.
Founded 1994 | London, UK | ~6,000 employees
product-designbrandingweb-designux-researchai-development
What is AKQA?
Ajaz Ahmed launched AKQA in London in 1994 at 21, before finishing university, betting early on the commercial web. The firm stayed independent until WPP acquired it in 2012, and in 2020 WPP merged it with Grey Group to form AKQA Group — the agency now runs roughly 6,000 people across 50 countries. More than half of the Fortune 500's top 20 companies have been clients, and AKQA has broadened well past its web-agency roots into product and spatial design and, more recently, AI-driven experience work.
AKQA works primarily with clients in Enterprise transformation, Consumer products, Financial services / fintech sectors. Its primary differentiator is: A 6,000-person, 50-country agency network with more than half the Fortune 500's top 20 as clients, now part of WPP's AKQA Group.
AKQA tech stack and services
FigmaAdobe Creative SuiteReactMiro
| Service area |
|---|
| Product Design |
| Branding |
| Web Design |
| UX Research |
| AI Development |
AKQA pricing
Short answer: AKQA uses a enterprise consulting engagement (project-based or retainer) pricing approach. Minimum engagement starts at Not published.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed project | From Not published | Well-defined scope |
| Retainer | Monthly rate; not public | Ongoing AI engineering |
| Dedicated team | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
AKQA does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
AKQA pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +6,000 people across 50 countries make it one of the largest networks in this pool | -Fully absorbed into WPP's AKQA Group since 2020, so clients are hiring a large network agency, not an independent studio |
| +More than half of the Fortune 500's top 20 companies have been clients | -Enterprise scale and pricing are less accessible to startups or small product teams |
| +Three decades of history, from an independent 1994 startup through its current WPP-backed scale | -Broad, agency-network positioning means less concentrated product-design specialization than boutique studios |
| +Broadened beyond web design into product, spatial, and AI-driven experience work |
AKQA vs alternatives
How AKQA compares to the other top Product Design companies.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phenomenon Studio | Companies wanting independently verified design credentials. | Third-party-verified credentials (Compliancy Group-monitored HIPAA compliance, NN/g UX certification, 5.0 Clutch rating) rather than self-reported claims, behind 120+ shipped products | 4.7 | Full comparison |
| IDEO | Enterprises funding multi-year design transformation. | The firm most credited with mainstreaming the term 'human-centered design,' still running roughly two dozen studios worldwide three decades later | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Frog | Enterprises needing digital plus physical/hardware design. | Still designs physical hardware (IoT, automotive, medical devices) alongside software, inside Capgemini Invent's enterprise consulting scale | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| R/GA | Large brands wanting design bundled with brand strategy. | Fuses product design with marketing and brand strategy for large platforms, now independently owned for the first time in over two decades | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| Accenture Song | Regulated enterprises, design within tech transformation. | 36 studios and 2,000+ specialists operating inside Accenture — the largest global footprint and compliance coverage in this pool | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Work & Co | Premium brands, design paired with front-end engineering. | A client roster (Apple, IKEA, Nike, Disney) out of proportion with its ~425-person headcount, delivered through an engineering-heavy design-and-build model | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Huge Inc | Large enterprise brands, big-agency scale mid-transition. | One of the oldest agency names in this pool, freshly rebuilt through a 2024 AEA Investors acquisition and Hero Digital merger | 3.5 | Full comparison |
| Method | Enterprises wanting design-thinking backed by GlobalLogic scale. | A quarter-century of design-thinking work for Google, Comcast, Samsung, and the BBC, now backed by GlobalLogic's engineering scale | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| MetaLab | Funded SaaS/fintech companies, full-stack design partner. | A Slack/Uber/Coinbase/Midjourney-caliber portfolio built by a 160-person studio, delivered full-stack from research through design systems | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| AND Digital | Large UK enterprises, design plus team capability-building. | Pairs product delivery for named enterprise clients (British Airways, Condé Nast) with capability-building for the client's own teams, at 1,000+ person UK scale | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| Deeplocal | Brands needing working hardware prototypes, not just software. | A Carnegie Mellon-spinoff studio that engineers and builds working hardware prototypes in-house, not just software mockups | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Fireart Studio | Startups/mid-market, design plus full software development. | 700+ delivered projects for 200+ clients, backed by Clutch's independently verified 'Leading UX Design Team' recognition | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Qubstudio | Fintech, logistics, healthcare — MVP to enterprise redesign. | Currently Clutch's #1-ranked UX/UI company worldwide for 2026, with Red Dot Design Award recognition layered on top | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Excited | SaaS/fintech teams, Clutch-ranked specialist, accessible rates. | A sustained Top 5 global UX company ranking on Clutch, with about 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Gapsy Studio | Fintech, SaaS, healthcare — perfect-rated boutique. | A perfect 5.0/5.0 Clutch rating across 52 reviews, backed by 13+ international awards, from a company that doesn't publish its own headcount | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Goji Labs | Startups and nonprofits, strategy-led design, accessible pricing. | A 2025 Inc. 5000 honoree that explicitly serves nonprofits and individual entrepreneurs, not only funded startups | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Eleken | SaaS teams wanting a subscription embedded designer. | A SaaS-only subscription embedded-designer model (~$6,599/month) with a 4.9 Clutch rating across 200+ projects | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| UXDA | Banks and fintech, exclusively financial-services UX. | The only company in this pool exclusively focused on financial services UX, with 150+ banking and fintech platforms shaped across 39 countries | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Onething Design | Companies needing BFSI, healthcare, automotive design under one... | Covers five distinct industries — BFSI, consumer, enterprise, healthcare, automotive — from one team with both US and India delivery presence | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| UX studio | Complex B2B SaaS teams, research-first before UI. | A research-first methodology comparable in rigor to Phenomenon Studio's own discovery-first approach, applied specifically to complex B2B SaaS products | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Halo Lab | E-commerce and web-app teams, #1-ranked Dribbble team. | Currently the #1-ranked Dribbble Team globally, backed by 70+ design awards and a 4.9 Clutch rating | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| ANML | B2B, healthcare, AI startups wanting a small senior... | One of the smallest teams in this pool, offering the highest senior-to-client ratio for B2B, healthcare, and AI work | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Momentum Design Lab | Clients wanting a long-tenured Silicon Valley studio. | Nearly a quarter-century of continuous operation, one of the oldest companies in this pool by founding date | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Spaceberry Studio | Budget-conscious SaaS/AI/mobile teams, low-commitment subscription. | One of the most accessible entry points in this pool via a subscription model rather than a large upfront fixed-price contract | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| The Gradient | Fintech, healthcare, retail — AI-native, limited roster. | A deliberately small, AI-native company with a notable client list (Qatar Airways, Philips, Daimler AG) unusual for its self-limited scale | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Orbix Studio | Seed-to-Series-B startups wanting a young, founder-close team. | The newest company in this pool, built specifically around the seed-to-Series-B funded startup stage | 3.5 | Full comparison |
AKQA FAQ
What is AKQA?
A 6,000-person WPP network agency, still tracing back to a 21-year-old's 1994 startup.
How much does AKQA charge?
AKQA uses enterprise consulting engagement (project-based or retainer) pricing. Minimum engagement starts at Not published. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does AKQA use?
AKQA works with Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, React, Miro. Primary industries served include Enterprise transformation, Consumer products, Financial services / fintech.
Is AKQA right for enterprise?
Fortune 500 enterprises, design within a global agency network. ~6,000 team size. Key consideration: Fully absorbed into WPP's AKQA Group since 2020, so clients are hiring a large network agency, not an independent studio.
What are the best AKQA alternatives?
The best alternatives to AKQA depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Phenomenon Studio: third-party-verified credentials (compliancy group-monitored hipaa compliance, nn/g ux certification, 5.0 clutch rating) rather than self-reported claims, behind 120+ shipped products
- IDEO: the firm most credited with mainstreaming the term 'human-centered design,' still running roughly two dozen studios worldwide three decades later
- Frog: still designs physical hardware (iot, automotive, medical devices) alongside software, inside capgemini invent's enterprise consulting scale
Compare AKQA with other Product Design companies
AKQA vs Phenomenon Studio AKQA vs IDEO AKQA vs Frog AKQA vs R/GA AKQA vs Accenture Song AKQA vs Work & Co AKQA vs Huge Inc AKQA vs Method AKQA vs MetaLab AKQA vs AND Digital AKQA vs Deeplocal AKQA vs Fireart Studio AKQA vs Qubstudio AKQA vs Excited AKQA vs Gapsy Studio AKQA vs Goji Labs AKQA vs Eleken AKQA vs UXDA AKQA vs Onething Design AKQA vs UX studio AKQA vs Halo Lab AKQA vs ANML AKQA vs Momentum Design Lab AKQA vs Spaceberry Studio AKQA vs The Gradient AKQA vs Orbix Studio
Verify all details directly with AKQA before making a decision.