Short version: Fantasy is a top-tier US digital product design agency working with HBO, Cisco, Google, Sonos and Vimeo at a $500K-$3M engagement tier. Makreate is the better fit for growth-stage US, UK and UAE teams that need senior UX work shipped in 4-12 weeks at a 15-20x lower entry point. The two are solving different problems and the choice almost always comes down to engagement scope and budget.
This guide compares both on the dimensions that actually matter when you're picking a partner — pricing, engagement model, deliverables, and the decision criteria for "which one fits my situation."
At-a-glance comparison
| Dimension | Makreate | Fantasy |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2018 | 1999 |
| HQ | Remote-first (US / UK / UAE) | Brooklyn, NY |
| Team size | ~20 senior practitioners | ~80 designers, strategists, engineers |
| Engagement floor (USD) | $160/day or $1,600/month | $500,000+ |
| Typical engagement (USD) | $20K-$200K project / $1.6K-$10K monthly | $500K-$3M over 6-18 months |
| Time to start | 5-7 working days | 6-12 weeks |
| Best for | Growth-stage SaaS, fintech, healthtech | Enterprise & media brands |
| Engagement type | Retainer or fixed-price project | Multi-phase digital product |
| Hours coverage | EST/PST/GMT-friendly | EST |
| Ships production code/design | Yes (UI + dev) | Strategy + design + sometimes engineering |
Pricing comparison
The biggest practical difference between Makreate and Fantasy is the price floor. Makreate's UX Design pricing starts at USD 160/day or USD 1,600/month for retainers. A typical project — say, a SaaS dashboard redesign with research, wireframes, prototypes and a design system — runs $20K-$80K end to end.
Fantasy works at the high end of US agency pricing. Engagements rarely start under $500K and typical work runs $500K-$3M. They are known for premium digital-product work for media, entertainment and enterprise.
What you get for Makreate's price
- One senior designer (8+ years) leading the project
- Backed by a team of UX veterans (35+ combined years), available as needed
- Direct Slack channel — your engineer/PM talks to your designer, no account-manager layer
- Shipped work: wireframes, prototypes, UI, design systems, sometimes the build itself
- USD-fixed proposal in 48 hours, kickoff within a week
What you get for Fantasy's price
- Digital-product strategy
- UX research and IA
- UI design and design systems
- Brand-experience design
- Motion design and prototyping
- Engineering and implementation
- Executive workshops and roadmaps
- Long-term retainer engagements
Engagement model
Makreate runs three engagement models:
- Daily retainer (USD 160/day): a senior designer dedicated to your team. You pay only for days they work. Good for ongoing UX needs without committing to a full-month retainer.
- Monthly retainer (USD 1,600/month): 40 hours/week of senior UX work. Best when you have continuous UX needs and want predictable monthly cost.
- Fixed-price project: defined scope, defined timeline, USD-fixed cost. Best when the project is well-defined upfront.
Fantasy runs multi-phase engagements. Engagements are typically scoped end-to-end across multiple workstreams (strategy, design, sometimes engineering) running 3-18 months. You commit to the full arc, not piece by piece.
Who they serve
Makreate's client list skews US, UK and UAE growth-stage: SaaS founders (pre-seed through Series C), fintech and tax-tech operators (Cleartax, Accuvat), healthtech and fitness (BurnCal AI), B2B enterprise (DESC, GGCF, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Oracle), and ecommerce (Sneakers retail, Glass World UAE). See the case studies.
Fantasy's client list: HBO, Cisco, Google, Sonos, Vimeo, Sony Music, NBA, Time Warner.
Deliverables
Makreate ships production-ready design work:
- UX audit reports + heuristic evaluations
- User research reports (qualitative + quantitative)
- Information architecture and user flow maps
- Wireframes (low and high fidelity)
- Clickable Figma prototypes
- Production-ready UI (Figma → handoff)
- Component libraries and design systems
- Often: the front-end build itself (HTML/CSS/React)
Fantasy ships:
- Digital-product strategy
- UX research and IA
- UI design and design systems
- Brand-experience design
- Motion design and prototyping
- Engineering and implementation
- Executive workshops and roadmaps
- Long-term retainer engagements
When Makreate is the better choice
- You need senior UX work shipped in 4-12 weeks
- Your budget is under $250K for the engagement
- You're a SaaS, fintech, healthtech, ecommerce or B2B growth-stage company
- You want to skip the account-manager layer and talk directly to designers
- You need production-ready design, not just strategy
- You bill in USD or GBP and want pricing in your currency
Want to scope a project with Makreate?
30-minute discovery call, USD-fixed proposal within 48 hours, kickoff within a week.
When Fantasy is the better choice
- You're an enterprise or major media brand
- Your budget is $500K-$3M for the engagement
- You need a multi-quarter digital-product transformation
- You can wait 6-12 weeks for the right team to assemble
- Your product is a flagship consumer or media experience
- You need top-tier motion design and brand-experience work
For everyone else — most US, UK and growth-stage companies — Makreate is the closer fit. The two firms are solving different problems. Comparing them by price alone misses that point.
Frequently asked questions
Is Makreate cheaper than Fantasy?
Yes — by 15-20x at engagement floor. Fantasy engagements start at $500K. Makreate engagements start at USD 160/day or USD 1,600/month with typical projects $20K-$200K.
Is Fantasy's quality higher than Makreate's?
Fantasy is a top-tier US agency working at the high end of digital-product design — they do exceptional work for major media and enterprise brands. Makreate ships senior US/UK-quality UX work at a much lower engagement floor. Choose based on scope and budget, not on a quality binary.
Can a SaaS startup afford Fantasy?
Generally no — Fantasy's pricing is structured for enterprise budgets. For SaaS startups and growth-stage teams under Series C, Makreate is the closer fit.
Does Fantasy work with non-US clients?
Primarily US-based clients. Makreate is built to work across US, UK, UAE and India with USD/GBP pricing and time-zone-friendly hours for each.
How long does each engagement typically run?
Fantasy engagements typically run 6-18 months. Makreate engagements typically run 4-12 weeks for fixed-price projects, or month-to-month for retainers (cancel anytime with 30 days notice).