Superside vs Mountain Thirteen: Enterprise Scale vs SMB-Friendly Subscription

If you’re shopping for a Superside alternative in 2026, the most useful thing to know up front is that Superside and most of the design subscription category aren’t really competing for the same buyer. Superside operates at enterprise scale. Their pricing starts around $5,000 per month and runs into the tens of thousands. Annual contracts in the $60,000 to $300,000 range are common. They work with companies like Shopify and Amazon, the team is global, and the project management is structured for the kind of multi-stakeholder approval workflows that enterprise marketing teams actually deal with.

If your business has a five-figure monthly design budget and you need that kind of scale, Superside is genuinely one of the strongest options in the category and you should probably stop reading this and go talk to them.

If you landed on this comparison because Superside’s quote came back at a number that doesn’t fit your stage of business, that’s a different conversation. This post is for buyers who looked at Superside, realized the pricing was built for a different scale of company, and started looking for an alternative that fits where they actually are.

We’ll cover:

• The Superside model in plain language
• A side-by-side comparison of pricing and scope
• Where Superside is genuinely the better choice
• Where Mountain Thirteen fits differently
• A clear answer to “which one should I pick?”

Let’s get into it.

The Superside model in plain language

Superside is enterprise creative-as-a-service. The company was founded in 2015 (originally as Konsus) and operates with a global workforce headquartered out of Norway. The team has worked with Shopify, Amazon Home, and a long list of mid-market and enterprise brands, and the model is built around large-scale creative production with embedded team feel for major accounts.

The pricing is custom and quote-based, but published industry data and customer reports give a clear picture. Starter retainers begin around $5,000 per month with smaller scope. Growth-tier subscriptions run $10,000 to $18,000 per month and include 80 to 160 hours of monthly creative capacity, 3 to 5 designers, and dedicated project management. Enterprise tier subscriptions run $20,000 to $40,000 per month or more, with 200+ hours of monthly capacity, 5 to 10 specialists, and white-glove project management. Annual contract values often exceed $250,000 for enterprise accounts.

What you get for that money is real. Superside covers nearly every creative discipline you can name: design, video, motion, presentations, ads, web design, design systems, product design, copywriting, AI-powered creative, automation, and even data services. The talent pool includes specialists in disciplines most subscription services don’t touch. The project management is structured for enterprise approval workflows, and the onboarding can run anywhere from a few weeks to a few months because they’re integrating into your team’s workflow rather than just queuing up requests.

Superside doesn’t position itself as a small business product, and they’re upfront about it. If your design budget isn’t five figures a month, they’d probably tell you the same thing on a discovery call.

Quick comparison: Superside vs Mountain Thirteen

Here’s the side-by-side. Pricing is in USD as of April 2026.

The headline of this comparison is the price and stage difference. M13’s DaaS plan at $1,099 per month is roughly 5x cheaper than Superside’s Starter retainer at $5,000, and the gap widens dramatically at the enterprise tiers. Superside’s Growth tier at $10,000 to $18,000 per month is 10x to 16x M13’s DaaS pricing.

This isn’t a like-for-like comparison. The two services target completely different stages of business. Superside is built for enterprise marketing teams running global campaigns with structured approval workflows. M13 is built for small and mid-sized businesses that need direct access to a founder-led design partner. If you’re an enterprise buyer, M13 isn’t built to handle your scale. If you’re an SMB, Superside isn’t built for your budget.

The useful comparison isn’t “which one is better.” It’s “which one is the right fit for where your business is right now.”

Where Superside is genuinely the better choice

Let’s be fair about this. Superside is one of the strongest names in enterprise creative-as-a-service for legitimate reasons, and there are several scenarios where they’re the right answer.

If you’re a mid-market or enterprise company running global campaigns. This is Superside’s strongest case. Their model is built for marketing teams that need to produce hundreds of creative assets per month across multiple campaigns, channels, languages, and stakeholder approval cycles. The 80 to 200+ monthly hours of dedicated creative capacity is purpose-built for that scale, and the project management is structured to handle the complexity.

If you need multi-discipline creative under one roof. Superside covers design, video, motion, presentations, ad creative, web design, design systems, product design, copywriting, AI-powered creative, automation, and data services. Most design subscription services focus on a narrower scope. If you need a single provider who can handle all of those disciplines as part of one ongoing relationship, Superside is one of the few options at that scale.

If you have a five-figure monthly design budget and the stakeholder buy-in to use it. Superside’s pricing reflects the value they deliver, but it’s still a major budget commitment. For companies where creative production is a strategic line item with executive support, the math works. For companies where design is a smaller line item, the same money buys a different kind of relationship from a different kind of service.

If you need dedicated project management and embedded team feel. Superside’s enterprise tiers include dedicated project managers and what often functions like an embedded creative team. For larger marketing organizations that need a creative partner who can integrate into their workflow rather than just deliver requests, that integration is valuable.

If you need senior creative strategy alongside execution. Superside operates at the enterprise tier where strategic creative direction is part of the relationship. For brands that need senior thinking about how their creative ladders up to business strategy, Superside delivers that at scale.

If brand recognition matters in your stakeholder reporting. Superside’s client list (Shopify, Amazon, and other major brands) signals legitimacy in enterprise procurement conversations. For marketing leaders who need to justify a creative partner to procurement and finance, the brand recognition is a real asset.

These are real strengths. If any of them describe your situation, Superside is probably the right call.

Where Mountain Thirteen fits differently

Now for the cases where M13 fits better. We built our service for a completely different kind of buyer than Superside targets, and these are the situations where we tend to be the right answer.

Your business isn’t at enterprise scale yet. This is the most important difference. Superside’s pricing is built for companies with $60,000 to $300,000 annual creative budgets. M13’s DaaS plan at $1,099 per month works out to about $13,200 per year. If your business is at the stage where four-figure monthly creative spend is appropriate, M13 fits and Superside doesn’t, and there’s no judgment in either direction. Different stages of business need different kinds of partners.

You want one founder accountable for every project. M13 is founder-led. Every project is overseen by Lyndon, the founder, which means the same person is involved in your kickoff call, your strategy, and your delivery. Superside operates with a large global team and structured project management. Both are legitimate models, but the founder-led approach gives you a direct line that enterprise services aren’t built to provide.

You want fast onboarding, not a 2-to-12-week integration. Superside’s onboarding can run anywhere from two weeks to three months because they’re integrating into your team’s workflow. M13 onboarding takes days, not months. For businesses that need to start working with a design partner quickly, the speed difference matters.

You’re Canadian and you want a Canadian partner. M13 is based in Alberta, Canada. Same time zones as most of North America, same currency for Canadian businesses, same regulatory context. Superside is global and works with clients everywhere, but the Canadian context isn’t part of how the relationship is structured.

You want quality protection through focused capacity. The Workbench model is M13’s core difference from most design subscription services. You can submit as many requests as you want with no monthly cap. We work on two projects at a time in focused blocks, and the rest of your queue waits in line.

The two-slot focus isn’t a limitation. It’s a quality choice. It means nothing slips through the cracks, nothing gets rushed, and every project gets the attention it deserves before we move to the next one. Superside’s model is built around enterprise-scale parallel capacity. M13’s is built around focused attention for a smaller number of projects. Different intent, different fit, different stage of business.

You want a partner you can grow with, not graduate to. M13’s DaaS plan is the foundation, but it’s designed to extend. If your business needs a website built, that’s an add-on. If you need video production, that’s an add-on. If you want help running your social media, that’s the Social plan. The relationship grows as your business does. Superside operates in a different part of the market entirely. If you eventually grow into needing enterprise-scale creative production, you’d be moving from M13 to a service like Superside, not scaling within M13.

What you actually get with M13’s DaaS plan

The DaaS plan at $1,099 per month is M13’s most popular subscription. Here’s what’s included.

Design work covered:

• Brand identity and brand guidelines
• Logo design and iterations
• Marketing collateral, including one-pagers, brochures, and sales decks
• Social media graphics and templates
• Ad creative across platforms
• Presentation design
• Print-ready files including flyers, posters, business cards, and packaging
• Email design and templates
• Infographics and data visualization
• Custom illustration

File delivery:

• Adobe source files (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign)
• Canva templates and brand kits when requested
• Print-ready PDF, web-ready PNG, JPG, and SVG
• Figma files for digital projects

Workflow:

• Workbench model with 2 active projects at a time
• Unlimited queue with no monthly cap
• Founder-led project oversight on every request
• Direct communication, not project manager handoffs
• Mountain Time business hours

What’s not in the basic DaaS plan:

Video editing, motion graphics, social media management, and website development are all available through M13, but they’re separate add-ons or part of higher-tier plans. If your work is mostly static design and brand collateral, the DaaS plan covers everything you need. If you know you’ll also need video or website work, we’ll build a custom package.

The website and development question (an extra value-add)

Both Superside and M13 offer web design and development, but at completely different scales. Superside builds websites as part of enterprise creative engagements, with the structured project management and stakeholder approval cycles that enterprise web projects involve. M13 builds websites on WordPress with Bricks Builder, plus custom apps in Next.js and React, as add-ons to the core DaaS subscription.

For enterprise companies with multi-stakeholder web projects and budgets to match, Superside’s scale makes sense. For small and mid-sized businesses that need a WordPress site or a custom Next.js app without the enterprise overhead, M13’s add-on model is significantly more accessible.

The question isn’t which is better. It’s which is built for your stage of business.

If you don’t need website work, this difference doesn’t matter. If you do, the answer depends on what kind of project you’re running.

Pricing breakdown: what you actually get for the money

Let’s translate the prices into what each subscription delivers each month.

Superside Starter retainer (~$5,000/mo):

• Smaller-scope creative production
• Access to Superside’s global team
• Project management included
• Multi-discipline creative scope
• Onboarding period before full production starts

Superside Growth tier ($10,000-$18,000/mo):

• 80 to 160 hours of monthly creative capacity
• 3 to 5 designers assigned to your account
• Dedicated project management
• Optional video editing and motion graphics
• Faster turnaround than Starter
• Multiple concurrent projects

Superside Enterprise tier ($20,000-$40,000+/mo):

• 200+ hours of monthly creative capacity
• 5 to 10+ creative specialists
• Senior designers and creative direction
• Video, motion, web, and full discipline coverage
• Faster turnaround SLAs
• Dedicated project management and embedded team feel

Mountain Thirteen DaaS plan ($1,099/mo):

• Workbench model with 2 active projects at a time
• Unlimited queue with no monthly cap
• Full graphic design scope (brand, marketing, social, print, presentations)
• Adobe source files and Canva delivery
• Unlimited revisions
• Direct founder access throughout every project
• Canadian-based, Mountain Time business hours
• Optional add-ons for video, web development (WordPress, Next.js, React), and social media management

The annual cost difference is dramatic. M13’s DaaS plan runs $13,200 per year. Superside’s Starter retainer runs $60,000 per year, and that’s the entry point. Growth tier runs $120,000 to $216,000 per year. Enterprise tier runs $240,000 to $480,000+ per year.

If your business is in the stage where four to five-figure annual creative spend makes sense, M13 fits. If you’re in the stage where six-figure annual creative budgets are normal, Superside fits. There’s no overlap, and both are correct for the buyers they’re built for.

Which one should you pick?

Here’s the short version.

Pick Superside if:

• You’re a mid-market or enterprise company running global campaigns
• You need multi-discipline creative under one roof at scale
• You have a five-figure monthly design budget and stakeholder buy-in
• You need dedicated project management and embedded team feel
• You need senior creative strategy alongside execution
• Brand recognition matters in your stakeholder reporting

Pick Mountain Thirteen if:

• Your business isn’t at enterprise scale yet
• You want one founder accountable for every project
• You want fast onboarding, not a 2-to-12-week integration
• You’re Canadian and want a Canadian partner
• You want quality protection through focused capacity
• You want a partner you can grow with, not graduate to

The honest truth:

If you’re trying to choose between Superside and Mountain Thirteen, one of two things is happening. Either you’re at enterprise scale and Superside is the right answer (and M13 isn’t built for your needs), or you’re at SMB scale and M13 is the right answer (and Superside is built for a different stage of business than yours).

The two services don’t really compete for the same buyer. The most useful question isn’t “which is better.” It’s “which one is built for the stage my business is at right now.”

Frequently asked questions

Why is Superside so much more expensive than Mountain Thirteen?

Superside is built for enterprise creative production. The pricing reflects 80 to 200+ hours of monthly creative capacity, multiple designers per account, dedicated project management, and the kind of multi-stakeholder workflow integration that enterprise marketing teams need. M13 is built for small and mid-sized businesses that need a focused founder-led design partner. Different stages of business need different kinds of services, and the prices reflect the difference in scale and scope.

Can Mountain Thirteen handle the same volume as Superside?

No, and we wouldn’t try. Superside’s Enterprise tier handles 200+ hours of monthly creative capacity with a team of 5 to 10+ designers. M13’s Workbench handles two projects at a time with founder-led oversight. The capacity difference is enormous because the target buyers are different. For high-volume enterprise creative needs, Superside is the right call.

At what point should I graduate from Mountain Thirteen to Superside?

If your monthly design needs grow past what two focused projects at a time can handle, or if your business reaches the stage where you need multi-discipline creative production with structured project management and stakeholder approval workflows, that’s usually when an enterprise service like Superside makes sense. For most small and mid-sized businesses, that point doesn’t come for years. When it does, we’d happily help you find the right enterprise partner.

Does Mountain Thirteen offer dedicated project management?

M13 is founder-led, which means Lyndon is directly involved in every project as the point of contact. There’s no separate project manager because the founder is the person you talk to. For enterprise buyers who need a dedicated PM as a layer between them and the production team, that structure isn’t a fit. For small businesses that want a direct relationship, the founder-led approach replaces the need for a separate PM.

Is Superside really worth $5,000+ per month?

For the right buyer, yes. Superside has earned its position with Shopify, Amazon, and other major brands by delivering enterprise-scale creative production that genuinely matches the price. The question isn’t whether Superside is worth its pricing for the businesses it’s built for. The question is whether your business is the kind of buyer Superside is built for. If you’re an enterprise marketing team, the math works. If you’re an SMB, the same money buys a completely different kind of relationship from a different kind of service.

Can I switch from Superside to Mountain Thirteen?

Yes, but it usually means you’re moving down in scale, not up. Switching from Superside to M13 typically happens when a company decides to consolidate creative spend, scale back from enterprise-tier production, or shift toward a more focused founder-led relationship. We work with whatever brand assets, style guides, and previous project files you already have from Superside. Most clients switching from another design subscription service are submitting their first M13 project within 48 hours of signing up.

Ready to talk?

If you’re shopping for a Superside alternative because the enterprise pricing doesn’t fit your stage of business, or because you want a founder-led partner with direct accountability instead of an enterprise team structure, book a discovery call with M13 and we’ll have a real conversation about your project.

If we’re not the right fit, we’ll tell you. Superside is one of the strongest enterprise creative services in the category, and we’d rather point you back to them than oversell our own model. If your business is at the scale where Superside makes sense, you should work with Superside. If it isn’t, we should talk.

Related reading:

• Best Design Subscription Services in 2026: Side-by-Side Comparison
• M13 vs Design Pickle: A Founder-Led Alternative for 2026
• M13 vs DesignJoy: A Founder-Led Alternative at a Different Price Point
• M13 vs Kimp: Two Canadian Design Studios Compared
• M13 vs Penji: A Founder-Led Alternative for SMBs
• M13 vs ManyPixels: Daily Output vs Workbench Model
• M13 vs Reel Unlimited: Direct vs White-Label Design
• How the Workbench Works: M13’s Approach to Design Subscription