Agency Comparison
Futurice vs Pentagon Design
Two top-rated UX agencies in Helsinki.
Side by side
Key data on both agencies. The accent dot marks where one leads.
| Futurice | Pentagon Design | |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | ●63.5/100 | 55/100 |
| Hourly rate | Contact for rates | €100-149/hr |
| Team size | ●250+ | 10-49 |
| Location | Helsinki, Finland | Helsinki, Finland |
| Founded | — | — |
| Tier | Free | Free |
| Last reviewed | May 30, 2026 | May 30, 2026 |
What we said about each
What we said about Futurice
"Futurice publishes 36 freely accessible case studies on its English-language site, fronted by named clients including BMW, Bosch, E. ON, KONE, Scandinavian Airlines, Zalando and Supercell, with reported outcomes such as 1. 5M+ app installs for K-Ruoka and a 60% reduction in airline route cancellations, and the blog shows new posts dated May 2026."
— UXAgencies editorial team, reviewed May 30, 2026
Read full review →What we said about Pentagon Design
"The published portfolio of 51 projects is dominated by brand identity, packaging, spatial/retail, service design, and industrial/product work for names like Hesburger, VR, Marimekko, Fazer, and the Mannerheim Museum, with awards including 11 Red Dot and 8 iF prizes signalling a design-strategy and brand house rather than a digital product shop. Digital appears only as one line on the services page with no UX/UI case study showing user research, flows, prototyping, testing, or product metrics…"
— UXAgencies editorial team, reviewed May 30, 2026
Read full review →Best for
Where each agency measurably leads — on pricing, team capacity, declared specializations, and editorial scoring. Use these to match an agency to your project priorities.
Choose Futurice if you need
- •larger team capacity for multi-stream or enterprise-scale programs
- •disclosed specialization in FinTech / Healthcare
- •broader service offering — also covers UX & Product Design and Service Design
- •a higher overall editorial score
Choose Pentagon Design if you need
- •closer collaboration at a smaller team scale
- •disclosed specialization in SaaS & B2B
- •broader service offering — also covers Design Strategy and UX/UI Design
Strengths and watch-outs
Both upsides and risks, straight from our editorial assessments.
Futurice
✓ Strengths
- •Large, ungated portfolio of 36 case studies with recognizable enterprise clients (BMW, Bosch, E.ON, KONE, Scandinavian Airlines, Zalando) and some published outcome metrics, backed by a publicly verifiable 2000 founding and multi-country presence (Finland, Germany, Sweden, UK, USA, Poland, Portugal).
- •Genuine end-to-end capacity: strategy, design, software engineering, data and AI under one roof, suited to enterprise transformation programs that need more than UI work.
- •Active, dated thought leadership (blog posts through May 2026 on DesignOps, enterprise AI maturity and engineering) signals an operating, current business rather than a dormant brand.
⚠ Watch-outs
- •Design and UX read as secondary to strategy, AI and platform engineering across the site; ask Futurice to name the dedicated UX/design team size and seniority within the roughly 522-person headcount before assuming a deep design bench.
- •Readable case studies (e.g. Scandinavian Airlines, 2018-era) emphasize cloud architecture and agile delivery over research, UI and usability detail; request 2-3 recent, design-led case studies with the specific research and testing methods used.
- •No public rates and engagements appear enterprise-scaled; confirm pricing, minimum project size and whether you will get a design-focused team or a transformation/engineering-weighted one for the budget.
Pentagon Design
✓ Strengths
- •Published portfolio spans 51 projects with recognizable public and private clients (VR, Hesburger, Fazer, Marimekko, City of Helsinki, Mannerheim Museum), concentrated in brand identity, packaging, and service/spatial design.
- •Awards page lists 76 honors including 11 Red Dot, 11 German Design, and 8 iF Design awards, plus a State Prize for Design, evidencing recognition in brand and industrial/product design.
- •Operating since 1996 with a 26-person team, a named CEO/Creative Director, and a Helsinki office address, supporting business legitimacy.
⚠ Watch-outs
- •If you need digital product UX/UI or SaaS interface work, ask for a dedicated digital case study and named UX/product designers, since the site shows only one passing digital-design mention and no product-UX process or screens.
- •Request quantified outcomes before contracting, because the case studies are image-led and publish no metrics on adoption, conversion, or business impact.
- •Confirm the engagement scope matches your need, as the published work is roughly two-thirds brand, packaging, service, and spatial design rather than software or web product delivery.
Service coverage
Where each agency overlaps and where each is unique.
Only Futurice
- •UX & Product Design
- •Service Design
- •AI & Data Product Development
Both
None.
Only Pentagon Design
- •Design Strategy
- •UX/UI Design
- •Brand Design
- •Business Growth
Industry coverage
Where each agency overlaps and where each is unique.
Only Futurice
Both
None.
Only Pentagon Design
Pricing math
Estimated cost of a typical 12-week senior engagement (~480 hours), at each agency's published rate.
Futurice
Contact for rates
Pentagon Design
Rate: €100-149/hr
€48,000–€71,520
Pricing is comparable between the two — choose based on specialization rather than cost.
Frequently asked questions
- Which scores higher overall, Futurice or Pentagon Design?
- Futurice scores 63.5/100, 8.5 points higher than Pentagon Design at 55/100. Both portfolio quality and business credibility feed into the score — see our methodology for the full breakdown.
- Which is faster to engage, Futurice or Pentagon Design?
- Pentagon Design is typically faster to engage — smaller team, fewer procurement gates. Futurice operates with longer lead times (typical 4–6 week onboarding), reflecting larger-scale program work. Confirm engagement timelines directly with each before signing.
- When should I consider both Futurice and Pentagon Design?
- Consider running parallel discovery briefs with Futurice and Pentagon Design if your project spans multiple workstreams, you want competitive proposals to compare scope and approach, or you're undecided between the specialization angles each brings (see the Best for cards above). Most engagements ultimately go with one — but the parallel-brief phase is a low-cost way to validate fit.
Read the full reviews
Side-by-side comparison is a starting point. The full editorial reviews include portfolio analysis, case studies, and the buyer-strength / watch-out detail behind the bullets above.
Comparison last updated May 30, 2026. Most recently reviewed: Futurice on May 30, 2026. How we rank