Best Excited alternatives in 2026

Phenomenon Studio, founded in 2019, is a boutique product design and development studio for companies whose brand, website, or product has stopped matching the business they've become. Instead of splitting work between separate design and engineering vendors, one senior team carries the project from the first strategy call through post-launch support. The studio's 70+ specialists are based in Europe, with legal entities in the USA, Estonia, and Switzerland, serving SaaS, fintech, healthcare, and EdTech clients — 120+ launched products so far, with clients that have collectively raised $500M+.

How it differs from Excited: A 5.0 Clutch rating, HIPAA compliance, and NN/g certification behind 120+ shipped products and $500M+ in client fundraising. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Phenomenon Studio is better for companies whose brand, website, or product has outgrown its current design and need one senior studio to rebuild it end to end..

Qubstudio traces to around 2006 (some sources say 2007), headquartered in London's Canary Wharf with a Ukraine-based delivery team, describing roughly 70 creative professionals within a broader 51–200 employee band. Clutch's 2026 rankings place it #1 among UX/UI studios with 90+ reviews, and Red Dot Design Award and UX Design Awards recognition back that up. Work spans fintech, logistics, healthcare, and EdTech, from new MVPs through enterprise-scale redesigns.

How it differs from Excited: #1 UX/UI studio on Clutch's 2026 rankings across 90+ reviews, with Red Dot Design Award recognition on top. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Qubstudio is better for fintech, logistics, and healthcare companies needing anything from a new MVP to an enterprise redesign..

Gapsy Studio, based in Dnipro, Ukraine, describes itself as operating 'since 2014' (also citing '9+ years of experience'; treated here as self-reported). Rather than publish a headcount, it positions itself as a 'collective of creative professionals' behind 500+ completed projects, backed by a 5.0/5.0 Clutch rating across 52 reviews and 13+ international awards (Behance, Awwwards, FWA, CSS Winner, Titan Awards, DesignRush) for its UI/UX, branding, motion, and web/app development work across fintech, SaaS, health, education, and retail clients.

How it differs from Excited: A 5.0/5.0 Clutch rating across 52 reviews, backed by 13+ international awards from Behance, Awwwards, and FWA. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Gapsy Studio is better for fintech, SaaS, and healthcare teams wanting a perfect-rated boutique with a large completed-project history..

Fireart Studio grew from a single founder in 2013 to 150+ people over twelve years, moving its Ukrainian-rooted operation to Warsaw, Poland along the way. The studio's track record — 700+ projects for 200+ clients — comes with Clutch's 'Leading UX Design Team' recognition and Top Graphic Design Company nods from Clutch, DesignRush, and The Manifest. Product design and full software development sit inside the same boutique team.

How it differs from Excited: 700+ delivered projects for 200+ clients backed by an independently-verified 'Leading UX Design Team' Clutch recognition. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Fireart Studio is better for startups and mid-market companies wanting one studio to handle both product design and full software development..

Halo Lab's precise founding year isn't confirmed in available sources; the studio states '12 years' of experience as of 2026, implying founding around 2014 (treated as approximate). Multiple offices spanning three time zones, Ukraine-rooted, house a team of 130+ people, backed by a 4.9 Clutch rating (60+ reviews; 80+ cited elsewhere), 70+ design awards, and the Top-1 Dribbble Team ranking across complex web apps, marketing sites, e-commerce, and mobile apps.

How it differs from Excited: A Top-1 Dribbble Team ranking worldwide plus 70+ design awards and a 4.9 Clutch rating across 60+ reviews. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Halo Lab is better for e-commerce, marketing-site, and web-app teams wanting a Top-1 Dribbble-ranked studio with a deep award portfolio..

David Pasztor founded UX studio (uxstudioteam.com) in Budapest, Hungary in 2013, where it now reports 60–71 employees depending on source. The studio leads with research, focused on B2B SaaS teams simplifying complex products — a discovery-heavy methodology that offers a genuinely comparable reference point to Phenomenon Studio's own discovery-first approach.

How it differs from Excited: A research-first methodology comparable in rigor to Phenomenon Studio's own discovery-first approach, applied specifically to complex B2B SaaS products. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, UX studio is better for b2B SaaS teams with complex products wanting research completed before any UI work begins..

The Gradient doesn't publish a confirmed founding year in available sources, though its Clutch profile carries 55 reviews implying several years of track record. Based in Lviv, Ukraine, the studio keeps a deliberately small team of 11–50 employees by design, stating it works with fewer clients at a time to preserve senior attention on each engagement — and its client list (Qatar Airways, Philips, Daimler AG, Dubai Financial Market) is strong for a self-consciously boutique studio positioned as AI-native across fintech, healthcare, and retail.

How it differs from Excited: A deliberately small, AI-native studio with a notable client list (Qatar Airways, Philips, Daimler AG) unusual for its self-limited scale. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, The Gradient is better for fintech, healthcare, and retail clients wanting an AI-native studio that limits its client roster to preserve senior attention..

Matt Miller and John Sinclair opened ustwo's doors in Shoreditch, London in November 2004; the studio now spans London, New York, Malmö, Tokyo, and Lisbon with around 260 employees (as of 2022). Early enterprise clients Sony Ericsson and JPMorgan sit alongside a rarer credential: ustwo's own award-winning game, Monument Valley, which shows off consumer product craft through self-published IP rather than client work alone.

How it differs from Excited: Pairs enterprise client work (JPMorgan) with self-published consumer product craft, proven through its own game Monument Valley. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, ustwo is better for enterprise and consumer product teams wanting a studio with two decades of continuous, independent operation..

Alex Kreger and co-founder Linda launched UXDA (Financial UX Design) in 2015 out of Riga, Latvia, where a 25+ multidisciplinary team has since defined or governed 150+ banking and fintech digital platforms across 39 countries. That exclusively financial-services focus makes it the clearest fintech specialist in this list — no other studio here works exclusively in one vertical.

How it differs from Excited: The only studio in this list exclusively focused on financial services UX, with 150+ banking and fintech platforms shaped across 39 countries. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, UXDA is better for banks and fintech companies wanting a studio exclusively focused on financial-services UX..

Andrew Wilkinson founded MetaLab in 2006; it became a subsidiary of Canadian holding company Tiny in January 2017, an ownership fact worth disclosing. Operating remote-first across 17 countries from a Victoria, British Columbia base with 160+ employees, its portfolio includes Slack, Uber, Coinbase, Robinhood, Nike, Midjourney, and Headspace. Full engagements run the arc from research and strategy through UX, UI, design systems, and front-end, inside one team.

How it differs from Excited: A portfolio spanning Slack, Uber, Coinbase, and Midjourney — among the strongest SaaS/fintech track records here. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, MetaLab is better for well-funded SaaS and fintech companies needing a full-stack product design partner from research through design systems..

Eleken, rooted in Kyiv, Ukraine since 2015, operates today as a distributed team reported anywhere from 40+ to 100+ designers depending on source (treated as approximate). Instead of quoting a project fee, Eleken sells a subscription — roughly $6,599/month for a dedicated full-time designer, part-time also available — a genuinely different model from the fixed-price and T&M norm elsewhere in this list. A 4.9 Clutch rating across 200+ projects and 70+ published case studies backs its SaaS-only focus on complex B2B, AI, data, and geospatial or low-code/no-code products.

How it differs from Excited: A subscription embedded-team model (~$6,599/month), SaaS-only, with a 4.9 Clutch rating across 200+ projects. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Eleken is better for saaS teams wanting a predictable monthly subscription for an embedded designer instead of negotiating a fixed-price project..

Formed in 1991 through the merger of David Kelley Design, Moggridge Associates, ID Two, and Matrix Product Design, IDEO operates roughly two dozen studios worldwide from its San Francisco Bay Area base — landmark work includes Apple (the original Apple Mouse), Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, and major US health systems. Its scale and consultancy-style engagements set it apart from the boutique studios that make up most of this list, and industry roundups place typical minimums around $300K (per industry roundups; independently unverifiable exact figures), enterprise-only territory.

How it differs from Excited: The studio that originated human-centered design, backed by roughly 24 locations and decades of enterprise case studies. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, IDEO is better for enterprises running multi-year design transformation programs with substantial budgets across several business units..

Clay (clay.global), based in San Francisco with substantial NYC client history, doesn't publish a founding year — tagged here as unconfirmed — and its team size is likewise not independently verifiable, best treated as boutique-to-mid-size. Coinbase, Uber, SendGrid, MoneyLion, Meta, Google, Slack, Snapchat, Amazon, Toyota, and Samsung round out a client list reflecting deep B2B, SaaS, AI, and fintech experience. Note: this is the design studio at clay.global, distinct from the unrelated AI sales-data company also named Clay (clay.com).

How it differs from Excited: A client list (Coinbase, Uber, Meta, Google, Slack) unusually strong relative to its unconfirmed, boutique-scale headcount. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Clay is better for b2B SaaS, AI, and fintech companies wanting a boutique studio with a big-tech-caliber client list..

Ramotion has operated out of San Francisco since 2009, with additional offices in Los Angeles and New York. Team size is genuinely contested: the studio states '70+ team experts,' while third-party trackers put core headcount as low as ~29 (company states 70+ experts; third-party trackers report lower core headcount) — a gap worth clarifying directly before signing. Its work spans brand identity, UX/UI, and web/mobile app development across a wide client range.

How it differs from Excited: Combines brand identity work with UX/UI and app development for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Ramotion is better for startups and mid-market companies wanting brand identity and product design bundled into one engagement..

Momentum Design Lab has run out of Palo Alto, California since 2002 — one of the oldest boutiques in this comparison, predating most of the Ukraine-founded studios elsewhere in the list by over a decade. Team size is not confirmed in available sources, so no specific figure is stated here; the studio positions itself as a long-running UX/UI and product design practice, a useful 'established and experienced' contrast point against younger studios.

How it differs from Excited: Nearly a quarter-century of continuous operation, one of the oldest studios in this list by founding date. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Momentum Design Lab is better for clients specifically wanting a long-tenured Silicon Valley studio with over two decades of continuous operation..

Design work here traces back to Fjord, a studio founded in London in 2001 and acquired by Accenture in 2013; it now operates inside the Accenture Song umbrella (formerly Accenture Interactive) with 2,000+ design and innovation specialists across 36 studios worldwide. Client relationships include HSBC, Vodafone, and BMW, though design is delivered as part of a larger enterprise transformation engagement rather than as a standalone studio service — the key distinction from the independent studios elsewhere in this list.

How it differs from Excited: 36 global studios and 2,000+ specialists — the largest footprint and compliance coverage in this list. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Accenture Song is better for large, regulated enterprises (banking, telecom, automotive) needing design embedded inside a broader technology transformation..

Five co-founders — Gene Liebel, Felipe Memoria, Joe Stewart, Mohan Ramaswamy, and Marcelo Eduardo — launched Work & Co in Dumbo, Brooklyn in May 2013; the studio now spans offices across the US, Latin America, and Europe. A client roster including Apple, IKEA, Google, Mercedes-Benz, Pfizer, GoFundMe, Nike, and Disney is exceptional for a 425-person studio, reflecting an engineering-heavy model where design and front-end build happen inside the same team. Work & Co is now part of Accenture Song, an ownership detail worth disclosing.

How it differs from Excited: An engineering-led delivery model behind a client roster (Apple, IKEA, Nike, Disney) unusually strong for its headcount. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Work & Co is better for premium consumer and enterprise brands wanting design paired tightly with production-grade front-end engineering..

David Barlev and Adam Sumner founded Goji Labs in 2014 (one source cites 2015), based in West Hollywood/Los Angeles with 11–50 employees (roughly 50 per most sources). A 2025 Inc. 5000 honoree with 84 Clutch reviews, the studio describes itself as strategy-led with deep edtech, fintech, and healthtech experience, and explicitly extends its client base to entrepreneurs and nonprofits alongside funded companies.

How it differs from Excited: A 2025 Inc. 5000 honoree that explicitly extends beyond funded startups to nonprofits and individual entrepreneurs. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Goji Labs is better for startups, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits wanting strategy-led product design without enterprise-agency pricing..

Joe Tuan founded Topflight Apps in 2016 out of Irvine, California, focusing on healthcare, fintech, and AI app design and development for both Fortune 500 and startup clients. The studio states a team of roughly 40, though some directories list 51–200 (treated as a likely inflated bracket), and its monthly-subscription engagement model genuinely differs from the fixed-price or T&M norm found across most of this list.

How it differs from Excited: A monthly-subscription engagement model built specifically around healthcare, fintech, and AI app development. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Topflight Apps is better for healthcare, fintech, and AI startups preferring a monthly subscription over a large fixed-price contract..

Onething Design took its current name in 2015, renamed from a 2014 predecessor ('Ketchup Designs Studio'), so the founding year is treated as approximate. Headquartered in Gurugram, India with additional locations in Bangalore and San Francisco, the studio reports 52–73 employees depending on source, and stands out for industry breadth: BFSI, consumer products, enterprise, healthcare, and automotive, all served from one team rather than a single-vertical specialty.

How it differs from Excited: Unusually broad five-industry coverage from one team, with delivery presence spanning the US and India. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Onething Design is better for companies needing one studio that covers BFSI, consumer, enterprise, healthcare, and automotive without switching vendors per vertical..

ANML (Animal) has operated since 2012, though its HQ isn't explicitly published in available sources, so it's treated here as a US-based boutique without stating a specific city. Team size is genuinely small — one source cites 10 employees on LinkedIn — positioning it as a boutique UI/UX design shop concentrated on B2B, healthcare, and AI clients.

How it differs from Excited: One of the smallest teams in this list, offering the highest senior-to-client ratio for B2B, healthcare, and AI work. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, ANML is better for b2B, healthcare, and AI startups wanting a very small, senior team rather than a larger studio..

Spaceberry Studio launched in 2016 as 'MainCode Agency' before rebranding to Spaceberry in 2020; 2016 is used as the founding year since it's the same continuous team and entity. Based in Ukraine with an additional London, UK location, the studio reports 12–50 employees depending on source, offering subscription-style UI/UX design for SaaS, AI, and mobile apps — one of two subscription comparators in this list alongside Eleken.

How it differs from Excited: One of the most accessible entry points in this list via a subscription model rather than a large upfront fixed-price contract. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Spaceberry Studio is better for budget-conscious SaaS, AI, and mobile app teams wanting a lower-commitment monthly subscription instead of a large fixed-price contract..

Orbix Studio launched in 2023, making it notably the youngest studio in this entire list — a useful 'emerging' contrast point, but one with a genuinely limited track record relative to studios with a decade or more of history. Based in Queens, NY, the studio reports 10–30 employees depending on source, focused on B2B SaaS, fintech, and healthtech product design paired with front-end development, aimed specifically at funded startups from seed through Series B.

How it differs from Excited: The newest studio in this list, built specifically around the seed-to-Series-B funded startup stage. While Excited excels at a repeat clutch top-5 global ux ranking, with roughly 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity, Orbix Studio is better for seed-to-Series-B B2B SaaS, fintech, and healthtech startups wanting a young, founder-close team..