How Much a Design Project Costs: What You Actually Pay For

The question "how much does a design project cost" almost always means another: "what am I paying for, and am I overpaying". I will answer the second — then the first becomes clearer.

What the fee is made of

A project is hours of work multiplied by qualification. Survey and analysis, two or three plan options, concept and visualisations, a set of working drawings of dozens of sheets, schedules, selection of materials and furniture with references. For a full project on an 80–100 m² apartment that is several weeks of an architect’s and a visualiser’s clean time. Cheaper means fewer sheets, fewer options, less selection — or less experience.

The market range

By the published price lists of St Petersburg and Moscow studios as of August 2026, a full residential design project costs roughly 3,600 to 10,000 ₽ per m²; public interiors are often cheaper per metre because of larger areas. Independent architects are usually within the same range but without the mark-up for office and managers. Space planning alone is noticeably cheaper than a project; site supervision is priced separately, monthly or per visit.

The spread is explained by scope. For 3,600 ₽/m² you usually get a plan, a short drawing set and standard visualisations; for 10,000 — full documentation, individual selection and support. Comparing figures without scope is meaningless — like comparing cars by price without the specification.

What you cannot save on

The plan. It is the only part of the project that cannot be corrected after construction; a mistake here costs more than the whole project. Working documentation. Without elevations and schedules the builder will improvise — and you get "roughly that". Site supervision. A project survives its meeting with the site only when the author is nearby.

What you can

On the number of visualisations: two or three key views instead of every corner — the picture does not build, the drawing does. On selection: if you are ready to source furniture yourself from a specification, part of the work can stay with you. On format: space planning as a first step, and the full project once the apartment is bought and the decision made.

How to compare offers

Ask for the scope by sheet: exactly what goes into the drawing set. Ask about the number of plan options and revisions. Clarify whether selection is included and to what depth — "styling" or references with suppliers. Look at timing: a full project in two weeks is either a template or an overloaded team. And look at the portfolio not for pictures but for built work: it shows whether a project reaches life.

My own fees are calculated from area and scope: a full project and, say, a plan only are different tasks. Send me the plan and I will quote a figure and timing; what it depends on is described on the Fees page.