Tested product in 5 days. Why teams choose Humbleteam over AKQA
AKQA is a global brand and innovation network that builds campaigns, AI-powered brand systems, and physical experiences for consumer brands. We are a 49-person product design company that takes a banking or healthtech product from brief to user-tested prototype in days.
Facts about AKQA from their own site and LinkedIn · October 7, 2026
How each company describes itself
AKQA
AKQA calls itself “the frontier agency” and says it unites imagination with craft and technology. Its about page groups the work into four areas: brand, intelligence (AI-powered systems), surfaces from web to retail to AI interfaces, and experiences in digital and physical spaces.
The company says it is present in 19 countries and 30 locations and traces three decades of work. LinkedIn lists 1,001–5,000 employees. Work on its site includes Montblanc, UPS, Nestlé, and Netflix, and its group of companies includes Made Thought, Aleph, and the app developer ArcTouch.
Humbleteam
Our fastest proof is a B2B banking MVP for ING in Amsterdam: zero to a tested product in 5 days. A typical brief reaches its first clickable prototype in 2 weeks, and a new enquiry gets an answer within 24 hours.
The depth sits in regulated products: 56 fintechs, 30+ major banks, and 30+ healthtech platforms studied for our health UX research. We’re 49 people in Prague and Dubai, working since 2017, with 80+ design awards and a 4.9 Clutch rating across 35 reviews.
Three reasons product teams pick us over AKQA
Each one is something you can verify on our site before signing.
Tested with users after 5 days
Speed is built into how we staff a brief. We took an ING business-banking MVP from zero to a user-tested product in 5 days, and a small-business banking prototype through design and testing in 23 days. AI skills now make our app and web work 20–40% faster, and a project can start next week.
Product depth in regulated industries
AKQA’s site leads with brand worlds and campaigns, while our work lives inside the product. We have designed for 56 fintechs and 30+ major banks, covering onboarding, KYC, card states, and disputes. 5 YC-backed fintechs keep our designers inside their in-house team, and we studied 30+ healthtech platforms before drawing health screens.
Senior hands on every screen
We have run 200+ projects since 2017, and 70% of our clients come back for a second one. Senior designers on a Humbleteam project average 9 years of experience, and the people on your first call are the people who do the work. Across 35 Clutch reviews, our average score is 4.9.
Humbleteam vs AKQA, side by side
Every AKQA fact here is from their own site or LinkedIn page. Where they publish nothing, the row says so.
| Compared on | Humbleteam | AKQA |
|---|---|---|
| Time to a tested prototype | 5 days from zero to a tested B2B banking MVP with ING | Not published on their site |
| Brief to first clickable prototype | 2 weeks on average | Not published on their site |
| How fast you can start | A reply within 24 hours and a start as soon as next week | Not published on their site |
| Who does the work | The senior designers you meet on the first call | 30 locations in 19 countries; project staffing is not published on their site |
| Fintech and regulated depth | 56 fintechs and 30+ major banks | Not named as a practice on the pages we read |
| How pricing works | Fixed-price audit, scoped implementation, or monthly retainer, with an estimate on the first call | Not published on their site |
| Best known for | Product design for fintech, sport, healthtech, and AI products | Brand, AI-powered systems, surfaces, and experiences, as “the frontier agency” |
When AKQA is the better call
Two briefs where AKQA’s shape fits better.
One launch across many countries
If a single launch has to run in dozens of markets at once, AKQA’s network of 30 locations in 19 countries covers that ground. We work from Prague and Dubai on European and Gulf hours.
Flagship stores and physical brand worlds
AKQA’s site describes experiences in digital and physical spaces, and its group lists brand, industrial design, and architecture studios. For a flagship store or a physical brand world, that capability sits under one roof.
What we bring to a product brief
Three numbers from our own delivery record.
5 days
zero to tested product
B2B banking MVP with ING
56
fintechs designed for
plus 30+ major banks
24 hours
to answer a new enquiry
a project can start next week
Work you can check
Three projects that show product depth and pace.
One Bank
Brand and digital experience for One Bank’s all-in-one banking platform, from identity to app.
Logitech
App, website, and design system for Logi Dock Flex desk booking, live after 4 weeks.
AI agents inside a design team
Agents set up in your own workspace that your designers keep directing once we hand over.
Put us on the shortlist.
Send your product and the decision you are trying to make. We reply with the cases closest to it, a timeline and an estimate — and we will say so if the other option is the better fit.
Questions?
Is Humbleteam a good alternative to AKQA?
Yes, when the brief is a digital product that has to be tested and shipped fast. Our ING banking MVP went from nothing to user-tested in 5 days, and our client list holds 56 fintechs and 30+ banks. AKQA’s site centers on brand, AI-powered brand systems, and experiences across 30 locations, which suits a global brand program more than a focused product sprint.
Humbleteam or AKQA: who delivers faster?
We publish our timelines, and AKQA’s site does not publish theirs. Our record: a tested banking product in 5 days, a small-business banking prototype in 23 days, and Logitech’s desk-booking app, website, and design system in production in 4 weeks. A brief usually reaches its first clickable prototype in 2 weeks, and a new enquiry gets a reply within 24 hours.
Which is the better fit for a banking or fintech app?
For a regulated money product, we are. We have designed for 56 fintechs and 30+ major banks, and 5 YC-backed fintechs keep our designers inside their in-house teams. The AKQA pages we read do not name a fintech practice. On the first call, ask either team to walk through a failed KYC check and a card dispute flow they have designed.
How big is each team, and who does the work?
Our whole company is 49 people across Prague and Dubai, and the designers who pitch your project, with 9 years of experience on average, are the ones who build it. AKQA lists 1,001–5,000 employees on LinkedIn and says it operates in 30 locations across 19 countries. Their site does not say who staffs an individual project or how a team is assembled.
How much does each cost, and how soon can we start?
There is no public rate card on either side. Engagements start as a fixed-price audit, then move to scoped implementation or a monthly retainer, and the first call ends with an estimate. Expect our reply inside 24 hours and a kickoff as early as next week. AKQA’s site gives hello@akqa.com as its contact and does not describe pricing, minimum budgets, or start times.
Other comparisons
Same structure, same sourcing rules, one page per shortlist we keep meeting.
What we checked, and when
Everything stated about AKQA on this page comes from their own public pages, read onOctober 7, 2026. We describe what they are strong at, not what they are bad at. If something here is out of date or wrong, write to hi@humbleteam.com and we will fix the page.
- akqa.com — home · read October 7, 2026
- akqa.com — about · read October 7, 2026
- akqa.com — AKQA companies · read October 7, 2026
- LinkedIn — AKQA company page · read October 7, 2026
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