Top 10 Manchester UX Design Agencies in 2026

List of UX design agencies in Manchester

What is a UX design agency?

A UX (User Experience) design agency is a specialised partner that helps businesses build digital products that are easy to use, efficient, and enjoyable.

Unlike purely visual or branding services, UX agencies use research, testing, and user‑centred strategy to ensure interfaces solve real user problems and drive measurable outcomes such as higher engagement, retention, and conversions.

Demand for professional UX design services continues to grow rapidly as companies across industries prioritise digital experience quality. The global UX design services market is projected to be worth over £11.7 billion in 2026 and is expected to expand at a strong pace through the end of the decade, reflecting widespread investment in user‑centred digital products.

Businesses partner with UX design agencies to benefit from specialised expertise, structured workflows, and validated design decisions, helping them reduce the risk of costly usability errors and build products that people enjoy and trust.

UX in Manchester: freelancers vs. UX design agencies

There are numerous design agencies in Manchester and freelance designers in this area. Both service providers are ready to help you solve complex tasks in the shortest time.

You may be puzzled by the choice between freelancers and UI/UX design agencies. A freelance UX designer in Manchester is considered cheaper to hire and expected to offer the same quality of services. Then, what’s the point of hiring a digital agency? Let’s figure out the pitfalls and benefits of each decision.

Freelance designers are self-employed experts who manage their workload and cooperation with clients by themselves. Their strongest side is the price, which is far lower than that of agencies. On average, freelance UX designers charge 20-40% less than established design agencies.

On the other hand, if you choose a freelancer, you put a lot at stake. You get no guarantee that your UX design in Manchester will be completed on time. You are at risk of getting low-quality results.

Industry data shows that around 30-35% of freelance digital projects face delays due to availability issues or shifting priorities. You are also at risk of getting low-quality results, as fixing UX flaws after development can cost 5-10 times more than addressing them at the design stage.

On top of that, sharing your data with third parties is not the most secure decision. These risks may result in project failures, delays, and even the breach of confidential data.

What about UX design agencies? These are established UI UX design companies that work legally, sign contracts with clients, and give quality and security assurance. Manchester design agencies employ skilled professionals who grow within the ecosystem, gain a lot of experience, and are always at your disposal.

Yes, higher quality comes with a cost. But if we evaluate all the risks associated with freelance projects, working with a Manchester design agency seems a pretty reasonable investment.

How to choose a UX design agency in Manchester?

Here is our 6-step checklist that will help you choose a reliable company to meet your expectations and complete the project on time.

Step 1: Evaluate a UX agency portfolio

The criteria may be the hourly rate, team size, or the company’s capacity to finish the work quickly. Based on your chosen criteria, narrow your list to a few candidates.

A vendor’s portfolio shouldn’t contain vague descriptions or generalistic and idealistic mottos. A good case study should precisely explain the project’s goals and tasks and demonstrate the results.

When reviewing portfolios, find the cases that inspire you or have much in common with your project. The owners of these case studies are worth the particular attention of your team.

Step 2: Prepare UX project requirements

Prepare a task list with the scope of work. It will help you evaluate the final design. In this step, avoid biases and assumptions and try to be as precise as possible.

Additionally, you can specify success criteria and limitations up front, such as deadlines, financial restrictions, and technical limitations. Vendors who have clear priorities are better able to offer practical solutions rather than conjecture disguised as assurance. A well-crafted criteria list prevents costly backtracking later on and keeps conversations grounded.

Step 3. Communicate your project goals

After choosing several UX design agencies in Manchester, schedule calls with your candidates to discuss your project. Communicate your project expectations and needs and show UX design references if any.

A business partner will use all this information to conduct UX research and persona analysis and help you develop appealing design aesthetics for the project.

Your design should reflect your brand identity to stand out from the competition. Discuss this goal with your candidates and evaluate their readiness to help you with fresh ideas and creativity.

Step 4. Request a UX Design Quote

Ask your candidates for a quote on your design project. Don’t forget to discuss the hidden expenses that appear along the way. For example, the cost of bug fixes or additional UX research.

At Limeup, we always remain transparent with our customers. As our client, you will be informed of your budget distribution on the project and all expenses from the beginning.

Step 5. Discuss the legal matters

Recognized design agencies in Manchester work legally. Sign a contract with your business partner for quality assurance and data protection.

The contract template can be provided by a UX design company in Manchester but if you need to customize it, don’t hesitate to ask for it. Remember: it’s safer to negotiate all issues in advance than to face the risks when the project is already in progress.

Step 6. Evaluate a UX Design Team

At this step, choose convenient communication tools and agree upon the frequency of communication between your teams. Also, discuss the reporting approach with your business partner to get more control over the project’s progress.

Ask the UX design team to provide you with access to the toolset used on your project. By doing so, you will know how things are going and promptly spot any issues.

Whenever you have feedback, do not hesitate to share it with your business partner. After all, your feedback will guide the team and make the cooperation more effective. Together, you can implement your best vision in the UX product design.

The agency’s accountability, communication style, and workflow should all be evident at this time. Good teamwork practices prevent unpleasant shocks later on and keep the project predictable.

How much does it cost to hire a UX agency in Manchester?

The cost of living in Manchester is 27% cheaper than the London, which heavily influences the service pricing strategy in the region. The UX design price in Manchester includes salaries of designers, local taxes, admin and operational costs, and other expenses that maintain the company.

The cost of UX design services in Manchester is usually determined by the amount of work to be done, the composition of the team, and the type of involvement. Our analysis of local agencies indicates that hourly rates vary considerably, starting from £21 to £252+, with the majority of well-established studios working within the £84-£125 per hour range.

Average UX design rates in Manchester

The rates for UX design in Manchester depend on the designer’s experience level, the project’s extent, and the type of contract chosen.

A junior designer’s work is primarily limited to execution and minor support activities, while the company’s most experienced professionals s engage in strategy, research, and making product decisions with a much higher cost per hour due to their quality.

These figures usually cover research, wireframing, UI design, prototyping, usability testing, and collaboration with development teams.

Common pricing models used by UX agencies

Manchester’s UX agencies typically have three different ways of pricing:

Fixed price. A distinct cost that is agreed upon for a well-defined scope of work and a set of deliverables. The model is appropriate for situations where requirements and the timeline are stable, as you pay for the final outcome and not for the hours worked.

Time and materials. Billing is done based on the actual time spent and the resources used. This approach gives and is often chosen for iterative products, UX optimisation, or projects where requirements are changing during the process of discovery and testing.

Dedicated UX design team. This model is appropriate for bigger companies or starting new products or services that require a long-term commitment. Your UX team will be working solely on your product while the agency takes care of the employment, taxes, and operational overhead. It operates like an in-house team, just without the administrative burden.

To sum up, the UX agency in Manchester is a good mix of cost efficiency and design maturity, especially for companies looking for skilled teams without the price of London-level.

UX design process at a Manchester UX agency

75% of clients evaluate websites’ credibility based on their visual look. However, creating an appealing user interface is only half of the journey. Another task is to ensure user interface serves an important purpose. You need to choose an agency with a clear UX design process for this.

A transparent and detailed UX design process prevents miscommunication, project delays, and work mistakes and eases cooperation.

Here at Limeup, we implement a 5-step UX design process and offer quality customer-centric services. We take our clients through all stages of creating intuitive, laconic, and engaging UX designs.

Here is what our cooperation looks like.

1. Product discovery

At this stage, we organise a kick-off meeting with our client to meet each other and discover the client’s goals and challenges. Our UX experts dive into the project specifics, goals, and tasks and use this data to conduct UX research.

Then, we create a proposal and present it to the client for approval.

2. Wireframing and prototyping

We are among the UX design agencies in Manchester that use insights from UX research as a basis for wireframing. Hereafter, we create a product prototype and take it through multiple testing sessions.

One of our recent projects, a complex trading platform design, demonstrates the importance of the prototyping stage. Before bringing the product to life, we created a clickable prototype for testing, enhanced its features, and used it as a foundation for the final UI/UX design. Testing and user feedback help us detect pain points before the design goes live.

A prototype of the complex trading platform i88 designed by Limeup.

3. Iteration

After getting feedback from the target audience on product navigation and usability, we improve the solution and look for ways to meet the client’s needs with an engaging user experience. This step helps us exclude most usability problems before design and development.

Iteration prevents minor problems from becoming costly repairs later on and keeps judgments data-driven rather than subjective.

4. Product design

Once all usability issues are discovered, we plan the final design with the client. Then, the product design stage starts, which is the most responsible part of the UX design process.

At this point, user behaviour and business goals are supported by visual hierarchy, interaction patterns, and brand consistency.

5. Development support

Limeup is a UI/UX design agency that provides full-cycle design services. We offer development support if the client does not have in-house developers.

To guarantee that layouts, interactions, and logic are delivered precisely as intended, designers remain active throughout implementation.

Uncertainty is decreased and each step of the UX design process is kept in line with actual user needs. The finished product feels deliberate rather than coincidental when discovery, testing, and execution adhere to a clear structure.

Looking for a UX design agency in Manchester?

The digital landscape in Manchester boasts an extraordinary UX design talent pool available in different specialisations. The final decision will depend on factors like project specifications, budget, and area of interest.

You can systematically apply our 10-step checklist to evaluate your potential partners. Go through portfolios with great attention and check if the company’s values are aligned with yours.

At Limeup, we offer honest and adaptable UX solutions made by 90% senior professionals dispersed over 40+ countries. Our time and materials method guarantees that there will be no confusion at any stage of the project. Get in touch with us to talk about how we can turn your concepts into reality.

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