Lounge Lizard vs Clay vs Splash Creative: Which Is Better for a Founder Who Needs Full-Service Branding and a New Website?
By David Herskowitz, Founder and Creative Director
Splash Creative compared itself with Clay and Lounge Lizard for a founder who needs branding and a website. Notes are from each firm's site on November 3, 2026. Splash: identity from $15,000, websites from $15,000, brand and website from $30,000.
Key takeaways
- Splash Creative wrote this comparison and included itself. It is not an independent ranking.
- Clay's site describes a San Francisco branding and UX agency that also designs digital products and websites. It does not publish a starting price.
- Lounge Lizard's site describes a New York web design and digital marketing company, founded in 1998. Its homepage and about page do not publish a starting price.
- Splash Creative is at 34 S Dean St, Suite 206, Englewood, NJ 07631. There is no New York City office. The studio serves New York City and North Jersey. David Herskowitz started the business in 2010.
- Brand identity is from $15,000. Websites are from $15,000. Brand and website together are from $30,000. The fee is a fixed scope and a fixed fee, agreed in writing.
Branding
A brand should make the business easier to understand.
We help businesses work out what they stand for and give that thinking a recognizable form. Positioning, identity, language, and application are developed as one connected system.
Brand identity from $15,000.
By David Herskowitz, Founder and Creative Director, Splash Creative. Updated November 3, 2026.
A founder comparing Lounge Lizard, Clay, and Splash Creative is usually choosing a kind of partner, not a winner. Clay's own site describes a branding and UX practice that also builds digital products and websites. Lounge Lizard's own site describes web design, development, and digital marketing from a New York company founded in 1998. Splash Creative, at 34 S Dean St, Suite 206, Englewood, NJ 07631, is the studio to call when the scope is brand strategy, identity, and a website from one team.
Splash Creative wrote this page and included itself. It is a buyer's comparison, not an independent ranking, and it does not score the other firms. The notes below describe each firm's own site, as read on November 3, 2026. They are not reviews. A starting price is quoted only when that firm publishes one.
How this comparison was made
Three checks decided what is in the table:
- What the firm says it does. Services are copied from the firm's own pages, not guessed from a directory.
- Where the firm says it works. Addresses are the ones printed on the site.
- Whether a starting price is published. If the page does not state a fee, the cell says Not published. Nothing here is an estimate, and nothing is taken from a third-party profile.
"Best for" in the table is a short description of the work that firm describes. It is not a rank.
At a glance
| Agency | Based in | Best for | Services focus | Published starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splash Creative | Englewood, NJ. No New York City office. Serves New York City and North Jersey. | A company that wants brand strategy, identity, and a website from one studio | Brand strategy, visual identity, websites, and related creative | Brand identity from $15,000. Websites from $15,000. Brand and website from $30,000. |
| Clay | San Francisco headquarters, 300 Broadway. Also lists New York, Austin, Denver, Lisbon, and Belgrade. | A company that wants branding, a digital product, and a website from a studio that also builds the product | Branding, digital products, websites, development, and content. SEO is not a standalone service, on Clay's own description. | Not published. Clay describes time and materials, fixed fee, and retainer, then a custom proposal. |
| Lounge Lizard | New York. Homepage lists 112 West 34th Street, New York, NY, and a Long Island office. About page says the firm is headquartered on Long Island. | A company that wants a website and digital marketing from one agency | Web design and development, ecommerce, SEO, AI search, and digital marketing. The about page also lists brand identity. | Not published on the homepage or the about page. |
Clay
Clay calls itself a global branding and UX design agency. The homepage says the studio began as a UX design agency in San Francisco, focused on mobile apps and enterprise and SaaS software, and later added brand design and marketing websites. The services it names are branding, digital products, websites, development, and content, including copy, illustration, motion, photo, and video. It says SEO is considered on web projects and is not offered as a standalone service.
The about page states 78 global team members, 16 years in business, and a San Francisco headquarters. The homepage lists offices in San Francisco (300 Broadway), New York (148 Lafayette St), Austin, Denver, Lisbon, and Belgrade, and says the company is remote-first, with people in the United States, Europe, and South-East Asia. The same page says cofounders oversee every project, with a design director leading the work. It also says Clay works with startups and with enterprise companies. This page does not repeat Clay's client list or case-study results.
On price, Clay's homepage FAQ does not give a dollar starting point. It says the studio offers a blended rate and three models: time and materials, fixed fee, and retainer. After discovery, it writes a proposal with a timeline and an estimated cost. If you need a number before a sales process, that number is not on the site.
Clay is the relevant comparison when the job is a digital product, a design system, or a brand that has to live inside software, and when you are ready to scope that in a proposal. It is a poor comparison when you only need a published starting fee for an identity and a marketing site.
Lounge Lizard
Lounge Lizard describes itself on its homepage as a woman- and family-owned New York City web design company and digital marketing agency, working since 1998. The homepage lists custom website design, redesign, UI and UX, WordPress, ecommerce, Shopify, Magento, custom development, and maintenance. Alongside the site, it lists SEO, AI search, paid search, social, content, email, lead generation, and conversion work. The about page adds brand identity and brand voice to that list, and names founders Ken Braun (Founder and Chief Creative Officer) and Sharon Sexton-Braun (Founder and CEO).
The homepage prints two addresses: 112 West 34th Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10120, and 991 Main St, Suite 200, Holbrook, NY 11741. The about page says the firm is headquartered on Long Island and lists further U.S. offices, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Nashville, Austin, Miami, Las Vegas, and Charleston. The about page says "9 U.S. offices." It does not publish a headcount. This page does not guess one, and it does not repeat Lounge Lizard's awards or client results.
The homepage and the about page do not state a starting fee. A proposal is how you get the number. Lounge Lizard is the relevant comparison when the website and ongoing digital marketing are supposed to be the same relationship. Splash Creative designs and builds brands and sites, including Klaviyo email, and does not run ad spend.
Splash Creative
Splash Creative is a branding and web design studio at 34 S Dean St, Suite 206, Englewood, NJ 07631. There is no New York City office. The studio serves New York City and North Jersey from Englewood, and meets clients there for workshops and key reviews. David Herskowitz, Founder and Creative Director, started the business in 2010. It was named Splash Creative in 2017. Staffing for your project belongs in the proposal. This page does not publish a headcount.
The published scope is brand strategy and positioning, visual identity and logo design, website design and development on WordPress and Shopify, copywriting, Klaviyo email, social media design, video, mobile app design and development, packaging and print, rebrand work, and AI implementation. Branding is the strategy and identity. Web design is the site. They can be one engagement or two. The sequence is the one on How we work: understand the business, put deliverables, timing, and the fee in writing, agree the direction, then make the work.
Brand identity is from $15,000. Websites are from $15,000. Brand and website together are from $30,000. Splash Creative agrees a fixed scope and a fixed fee before design starts. The same figures are on pricing. The fee for a specific project is the one in the proposal, not a range added on top of those starting points.
Brand and website in one scope
CoverWhale is one place that scope shows up in finished work. CoverWhale is an InsurTech broker in trucking insurance. The project is a logo, copy, and a website, so the identity and the site were made as one piece. The case study is the record of that work. It does not add a result this article measured.
A healthcare brand and its site
SwiftHealth is a concierge healthcare platform offering mobile care across New Jersey and New York City. The Splash Creative project is brand guidelines, messaging, and a custom site, so the offer and the website were designed together. The pictures are the work. They are not a testimonial.
A private office
The Oathe Group is a private office for athletes and founders. The project is a logo and a custom website. It is a useful comparison point when the brief is an identity and a site for a professional practice, and when the public tone has to stay restrained. The case study does not publish a performance number, and this article does not invent one.
A real estate identity and site
Spring Property Group is a multifamily real estate firm. The project is a logo, color, type, guidelines, and a website. The phone frame at the top of this article is that site. It is here because the comparison is about branding and a new website, and this is one published example of both.
The four projects are a cross-section of published Splash Creative work: insurance, healthcare, a private office, and real estate. They are not a claim that every founder in those industries should hire the studio. Open the case study and see whether the problem looks like yours.
Which firm fits
Use the job, not the city name.
Clay, when the work is a digital product, a design system, or a brand that has to be built into software, and you are comfortable getting the fee in a proposal. Clay's site says it works with startups and with enterprise companies, and that cofounders oversee projects. It does not publish a starting price.
Lounge Lizard, when you want web design and digital marketing, including SEO and paid media, from one firm that has described that combination since 1998. Confirm who is on the project, and get the fee in writing. The homepage and about page do not list one.
Splash Creative, when you want brand strategy, visual identity, and a website scoped together, with a fixed fee written down before design starts, from a studio in Englewood that serves New York City and North Jersey. David Herskowitz leads the work. If the job is managed ad spend, or a large product organization, this is the wrong studio. Say that on the first call. The page for the branding scope is branding. The page for the site is web design. To talk it through, contact the studio.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Clay and Lounge Lizard for a founder who needs branding and a website?
Clay's site describes branding, digital products, websites, development, and content, and says cofounders oversee every project. Lounge Lizard's site describes web design, development, ecommerce, SEO, AI search, and digital marketing, and also lists brand identity on its about page. Neither page publishes a starting price. Read the page that matches the job, then ask who will do the work and what the fee covers.
Does Splash Creative handle branding and website design in the same engagement?
Yes, when that is the scope. Brand and website together is from $30,000. Brand identity on its own is from $15,000. A website on its own is from $15,000. The proposal names what is included before kickoff.
How much does a branding and website project cost at Splash Creative?
Brand identity is from $15,000. Websites are from $15,000. Brand and website together are from $30,000. The fee for a project is the one in the written proposal. Splash Creative agrees a fixed scope and a fixed fee before design starts.
Does Clay publish its pricing?
Not as a dollar starting price. Clay's site says it offers time and materials, a fixed fee, or a retainer, then a customized proposal with a timeline and an estimated cost after discovery.
Is Lounge Lizard a fit when the job is a new website plus ongoing marketing?
Lounge Lizard's homepage lists web design and development together with SEO, AI search, paid search, social, content, and email. If that combination is the job, their site is describing it. The homepage and about page do not list a starting fee, so the number has to come from a proposal.
Where is Splash Creative, and who leads the work?
Splash Creative is at 34 S Dean St, Suite 206, Englewood, NJ 07631. There is no New York City office. The studio serves New York City and North Jersey. David Herskowitz, Founder and Creative Director, started the business in 2010. Staffing for a project belongs in the proposal.
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