If you’re shopping for a Penji alternative in 2026, you’ve probably already noticed Penji has the most accessible entry point in the design subscription category. The Starter plan at $499 per month is genuinely the lowest commitment of any established service, and for a startup or small business testing whether the subscription model works at all, that low entry price removes most of the financial risk.
For some buyers, that’s exactly the right call. For others, the gap between what Penji’s Starter plan includes and what their actual business needs becomes obvious within a few weeks, and the upgrade path moves the price closer to where most other services started in the first place.
This post is an honest comparison of Penji and Mountain Thirteen Media (M13). We’re a Canadian, founder-led design subscription service that targets a different part of the market than Penji’s Starter plan, and we’re going to be transparent about that. The goal isn’t to convince you Penji is wrong. It’s to help you figure out whether Penji’s tiered approach fits your situation, or whether a flat-priced founder-led DaaS like ours is a better match.
We’ll cover:
- The Penji model in plain language
- A side-by-side comparison of pricing and scope
- Where Penji 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 Penji model in plain language
Penji is a flat-rate design subscription service built around three tiers, each unlocking a different scope of design work. The Starter plan at $499 per month is the entry point and the one most buyers see first. Marketer at around $995 per month adds more design types and faster turnaround. Agency or Creative Team plans run $1,497 to $2,200 per month and add concurrent project handling, dedicated project management, art direction, and quality control. The top-tier Creative Team Pro plan at around $4,500 per month adds custom front-end development.
The model is dedicated-designer at every tier, and Penji works with a freelancer-driven talent pool sourced from more than 20 countries. Turnaround is marketed at 24 to 48 hours for first drafts, with a 30-day money-back guarantee that’s more generous than the 7- and 14-day trials most competitors offer.
Penji also runs a $1-per-month plan for select nonprofits, which is a meaningful commitment in a category where most services chase enterprise budgets. The selection process is competitive, and the nonprofit plan has built Penji a strong reputation in mission-driven circles.
The thing to understand about Penji’s pricing structure is that the headline $499 starter price covers a deliberately narrow scope. Web design, ad creatives, and presentations sit on the Marketer tier and above. If you sign up at Starter and then realize you need any of those, the upgrade path is real, and the math changes once you’re at the Marketer or Agency tier.
For some buyers, the Starter plan is exactly enough. For others, it’s a stepping stone to a more complete subscription, and that’s worth knowing before you sign up.
Quick comparison: Penji vs Mountain Thirteen
Here’s the side-by-side. Pricing is in USD as of April 2026.
| Feature | Penji | Mountain Thirteen |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $499/mo (Starter) | $1,099/mo (DaaS plan) |
| Realistic plan for full scope | $995-$1,497/mo (Marketer or Agency) | $1,099/mo (DaaS plan) |
| Pricing model | Tiered subscription | Flat monthly subscription |
| Workflow model | Dedicated designer, sequential | Workbench (2 active, unlimited queue) |
| Concurrent projects | 1 (Starter) or 2 (higher tiers) | 2 active at all times |
| Adobe source files | Yes | Yes |
| Canva delivery | Available | Yes |
| Web design and dev | Top tier only ($4,500/mo) | Available as add-on (WordPress, Next.js, React) |
| Video editing | Top tier only | Available as add-on |
| Social media management | No | Available on Social plan |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | Discovery call first |
| Founder involvement | No (large team) | Every project, every client |
| Country | United States | Canada (Alberta) |
| Founded | 2017 | 2018 |
| Google Reviews | Mixed across platforms | 5 stars |
A few things to notice before we go deeper.
The headline price difference looks larger than it actually is at the entry tier. Penji’s Starter at $499 sits well below M13’s DaaS at $1,099, but the two plans don’t cover the same scope. Penji’s Starter is built for basic graphic design only. M13’s DaaS plan covers the full graphic design scope including ad creative, presentations, and brand work that would require Penji’s Marketer or Agency tier.
If you compare scope-equivalent plans (M13 DaaS at $1,099 against Penji Marketer at around $995 or Agency at around $1,497), the pricing gets much closer, and the comparison becomes about model and approach rather than price.
The web development row is a structural difference that matters if you’ll eventually need website work. Penji includes web development only at the Creative Team Pro tier at around $4,500 per month. M13 offers it as an add-on at any tier, with a primary stack of WordPress, Next.js, and React.
Where Penji is genuinely the better choice
Let’s be fair about this. Penji has built a strong position in the design subscription category, and there are several scenarios where they’re the right answer.
If your design needs are small and budget is tight. This is Penji’s strongest case. The Starter plan at $499 per month is genuinely the lowest entry point in the category among established services. For a startup that needs a few social graphics a month, basic flyers, and the occasional logo refresh, the Starter plan covers that for less than half what most competitors charge. If your monthly design needs fit inside the Starter scope, the math is hard to beat.
If you’re a nonprofit and you can qualify for the $1-per-month plan. Penji’s nonprofit pricing is one of the most generous offerings in the design subscription space. The selection process is competitive, but if you qualify, the value is significant. M13 doesn’t offer an equivalent nonprofit-specific program.
If you want a 30-day money-back guarantee. Penji offers a full 30-day refund window on monthly plans, which is more generous than most competitors. For buyers who want to fully test a service with real projects before committing, that risk-free window is a meaningful benefit. M13 doesn’t have a 30-day money-back guarantee in the same format, but we do offer discovery calls where we’ll talk through your specific project before either party commits.
If you want a dedicated designer at every tier. Penji assigns you a dedicated designer at every tier, including Starter. For some buyers, that continuity matters more than other features. M13 is founder-led, which is a different kind of relationship structure, but if dedicated-designer-by-name is the specific thing you want, Penji’s model delivers it at a lower entry price.
If your needs are likely to stay small. Some businesses genuinely need a steady stream of basic graphic design and nothing else, and they’ll be on the Starter plan happily for years. If that describes you, Penji is built for that exact scenario.
These are real strengths. If any of them describe your situation, Penji is probably the right call.
Where Mountain Thirteen fits differently
Now for the cases where M13 fits better. We built our service around a few specific gaps in the design subscription category, and these are the situations where we tend to be the right answer.
You want full design scope at one flat price. M13’s DaaS plan is $1,099 per month and includes the full graphic design scope from day one. There’s no Starter-versus-Marketer-versus-Agency decision to make. You don’t have to predict whether you’ll need ad creative or presentations or web design and pick the right tier. The DaaS plan covers all of it from the start, and the price doesn’t change as your needs evolve.
You think you might eventually need video, social, or web work. Penji’s structure pushes those services onto higher tiers. Web development specifically is only available at the Creative Team Pro plan at around $4,500 per month. M13 offers all of those as add-ons or higher-tier plans (DaaS for design, Social for social media management, custom packages for video and web). If your needs are likely to grow over the next 12 months, M13’s add-on model usually works out cheaper than Penji’s tier upgrades.
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. Penji operates as a larger team where you work with assigned designers and quality control managers. Both are legitimate approaches, and the right one depends on whether you want a direct founder relationship or a more structured team workflow.
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. We understand CASL, Canadian tax considerations, and the cultural norms of working with Canadian businesses. Penji is US-based and works globally, but the Canadian context isn’t part of how the relationship is structured.
You want a stack that includes WordPress and custom development. If your business runs on WordPress, or you’re considering a custom web app built in Next.js or React, the design and development sides of your work are connected. M13’s primary stack is WordPress with Bricks Builder, and we also build custom apps in Next.js and React. Penji offers front-end development at the top tier, but it’s generic rather than stack-specific, and the price point is much higher.
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. Other services brag about how many concurrent tasks they handle. We focus on how few we handle at once, and how well we handle them.
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)
This is where the long-term math diverges most clearly. Penji offers front-end development only at the Creative Team Pro tier at around $4,500 per month. M13 offers website work as an add-on at any tier, with a primary stack of WordPress and Bricks Builder plus custom Next.js and React apps.
For businesses that know they’ll eventually need a website built or improved, the question is whether you’d rather pay $4,500 per month for a Penji plan that includes generic front-end development, or $1,099 per month for an M13 DaaS plan plus a website add-on when you actually need it. For most small and mid-sized businesses, M13’s add-on model is significantly cheaper, and the WordPress focus means the work is built on the stack that fits your business.
If you don’t need website work, this difference doesn’t matter. If you do, it’s the difference between paying for capability you may not use every month and adding it on when you actually need it.
Pricing breakdown: what you actually get for the money
Let’s translate the prices into what each subscription delivers each month.
Penji Starter ($499/mo):
- One active design request at a time
- Limited graphic design scope (basic graphics, social posts, flyers)
- Excludes web design, ad creatives, presentations, and motion
- Dedicated designer
- 24 to 48 hour first draft turnaround
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Penji platform for request management
Penji Marketer (~$995/mo):
- Same as Starter, plus broader design scope
- Includes ad creatives, presentations, and faster turnaround
- Same single-designer structure
Penji Agency or Creative Team (~$1,497-$2,200/mo):
- Two simultaneous design tasks
- Project manager and quality control
- Art director access on the higher end
- Full graphic design scope
Penji Creative Team Pro (~$4,500/mo):
- Everything in Creative Team
- Custom front-end development included
- Strategic planning and creative direction
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) from day one
- 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 most useful comparison is M13 DaaS at $1,099 against Penji Agency at around $1,497. At similar scope, M13 is about $400 per month cheaper, includes founder-level oversight, and has the option to extend into website work and video as add-ons. The Penji Starter at $499 is cheaper than both, but the scope difference means it’s only the right call for a specific kind of buyer.
Which one should you pick?
Here’s the short version.
Pick Penji if:
- Your design needs are small and budget is tight
- You’re a nonprofit and can qualify for the $1-per-month plan
- You want a 30-day money-back guarantee
- A dedicated designer at every tier matters more to you than founder-level oversight
- Your needs are likely to stay within the Starter scope long-term
- You want to test the subscription model at the lowest possible commitment
Pick Mountain Thirteen if:
- You want full design scope at one flat price from day one
- You think you might eventually need video, social, or web work
- You want one founder accountable for every project
- You’re Canadian and want a Canadian partner
- You want a stack that includes WordPress, Next.js, and React
- You want quality protection through focused capacity
Try both if:
- You’re not sure whether your needs fit the Starter scope or require a broader plan
- You want to test Penji’s 30-day money-back window and have a discovery call with M13 in parallel
- Your team is split on whether to optimize for lowest price or broadest scope
There’s no wrong answer here. Penji and Mountain Thirteen target different parts of the market. The right choice depends on what your business actually needs and what you’ll need 12 months from now.
Frequently asked questions
Is Penji’s $499 Starter plan really enough?
It depends on your needs. Penji’s Starter plan covers basic graphic design like social posts, simple flyers, and basic marketing graphics. It excludes ad creatives, presentations, web design, and motion graphics. If your needs fit inside that narrow scope and stay there, the Starter plan is genuinely the cheapest entry point in the category. If you’re likely to need anything beyond that scope, the upgrade path moves the price closer to what other services charge for their entry tiers.
How does Mountain Thirteen compare to Penji’s Marketer or Agency plans?
This is the more useful comparison. M13’s DaaS plan at $1,099 per month sits between Penji’s Marketer (~$995) and Agency (~$1,497) tiers on price, with full scope included and founder-level oversight on every project. At similar scope, M13 is competitive on price and adds the option to extend into website work and video as add-ons.
Does Penji do website development?
Only at the Creative Team Pro tier at around $4,500 per month. M13 offers website work as an add-on at any tier, with a primary stack of WordPress, Next.js, and React. For most buyers, M13’s add-on model is significantly cheaper than upgrading to Penji’s top tier just for development access.
What’s the difference between a dedicated designer and a founder-led model?
Penji assigns you a dedicated designer who handles your work over time and learns your brand. M13 is founder-led, which means Lyndon, the founder, oversees every project personally, including kickoff, strategy, and delivery. Both models offer continuity and accountability, but in different shapes. Penji’s continuity is with one designer. M13’s is with the founder of the company. The right fit depends on which kind of relationship matters more to you.
Can Mountain Thirteen match Penji’s 30-day money-back guarantee?
M13 doesn’t have a 30-day money-back guarantee in the same format Penji offers. We do offer discovery calls where we’ll talk through your specific project before either party commits, and the subscription is monthly with no long-term contract. Both approaches let you evaluate the relationship before making a long-term decision, just in different ways.
Can I switch from Penji to Mountain Thirteen?
Yes, and the onboarding is straightforward. We work with whatever brand assets, style guides, and previous project files you already have from Penji. 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 Penji alternative because you want full design scope at a flat price, or because you eventually need website work as part of your design relationship, or because you want a founder-led partner with direct accountability, 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. Penji is a great service for the businesses it’s built for, and we’d rather point you back to them than oversell our own model.
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 ManyPixels: Daily Output vs Workbench Model
- M13 vs Reel Unlimited: Direct vs White-Label Design
- M13 vs Superside: Enterprise Scale vs SMB-Friendly Subscription
- How the Workbench Works: M13’s Approach to Design Subscription