Designing 20–40% faster with AI. Why teams choose Humbleteam over Locomotive®
Locomotive® is a Montreal agency known for award-winning websites and brand identities with strong in-house development. We design apps and platforms 20–40% faster with AI, put tested prototypes in front of users within days, and leave AI agents working inside your team.
Facts about Locomotive® from their own site and LinkedIn · October 7, 2026
How each company describes itself
Locomotive®
Locomotive® describes itself as “a digital-first design agency with off-the-charts dev skills,” founded in Montreal in 2008 by an operations lead, a designer, and a developer. Capabilities run from digital strategy, UX, and branding to web development, e-commerce, hosting, and video.
The agency page lists 287 awards and recognitions, including Awwwards Agency of the Year titles, and a team of about 30 across design, development, and operations. Featured work includes Wolverine Worldwide, The Drake Hotel, Scout Motors, and Lightship. LinkedIn lists 11–50 employees.
Humbleteam
AI has changed how fast we work: our team now designs apps and web projects 20–40% faster thanks to AI skills. We also install AI agents inside client design teams for handoff, resizing, QA, and design-to-code drafts, and they stay after we leave.
The speed shows in delivery. An ING Amsterdam banking MVP went from zero to a tested product in 5 days. Our 49 people in Prague and Dubai have shipped 56 fintechs, worked with 30+ major banks, and delivered 200+ projects since 2017.
Three reasons teams pick us over Locomotive®
Speed, AI that stays with you, and depth in regulated products.
Tested prototypes within days
Within 5 days our ING Amsterdam team turned a B2B banking MVP from zero into a tested product. A text-to-video AI platform got a clickable prototype from our team in 15 days, with AI tools speeding up the screens. An average brief reaches a first clickable prototype in 2 weeks, we reply to a new enquiry within 24 hours, and a project can start next week.
AI agents that stay in your team
We install AI agents inside your own design team: handoff, resizing, asset production, design QA, and design-to-code drafts. They run in your accounts, read your design system, and a human reviews every output before it ships. When our engagement ends, the agents keep working for your designers.
Fintech depth and a senior team
We have shipped 56 fintechs and worked with 30+ major banks, and 5 YC-backed fintechs keep our designers in their in-house team. The senior designers who take your first call average 9 years of experience. We hold a 4.9 Clutch rating from 35 reviews, where speed and structure are words clients keep using.
Humbleteam vs Locomotive®, side by side
Every Locomotive® fact here is from their own site or LinkedIn page. Where they publish nothing, the row says so.
| Compared on | Humbleteam | Locomotive® |
|---|---|---|
| AI in delivery | App and web design 20–40% faster with AI; agents installed in your team, kept after the engagement | Not described on their home or agency page |
| Time to a tested prototype | 5 days for a B2B banking MVP with ING Amsterdam | 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; a project can start next week | Not published on their site |
| Fintech and regulated depth | 56 fintechs and 30+ major banks | Not published on their site |
| Senior experience | 9 years on average for senior designers on a project | Not published as an average; their team page lists each person’s start year |
| Best known for | Product design for fintech, sport, healthtech, and AI products | Award-winning websites and brand identities, designed and developed in-house |
When Locomotive® is the better call
Two cases where Locomotive® is the stronger hire.
An award-level site, built and hosted
Locomotive® designs, develops, and hosts websites in-house, and its agency page lists 287 awards and recognitions. For a flagship marketing site that needs to win design awards, that record is the stronger reference.
A bilingual team in Montreal
Their site runs in English and French, and the team works from Montreal. For a Quebec brand that needs designers and developers on site, that is a practical advantage.
What we bring to the table
AI speed, product speed, and fintech depth.
20–40%
faster app and web design
thanks to our AI skills
5 days
zero to tested product
B2B banking MVP with ING Amsterdam
56
fintechs shipped
plus 30+ major banks
Work you can check
The AI service, a fintech brand, and a sportsbook.
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 Locomotive®?
Yes, for app and platform work where speed and AI matter. Our team designs apps and web projects 20–40% faster with AI, and we have shipped 56 fintechs since 2017. Locomotive® is a Montreal agency founded in 2008 with 287 listed awards and recognitions, so for an award-level marketing website built in-house it is a strong choice.
Humbleteam or Locomotive®: who delivers faster?
Humbleteam publishes its delivery times, and Locomotive®’s site does not. Our ING Amsterdam MVP was user-tested within 5 days of starting, and Logitech went to production with its desk-booking app, website, and design system in 4 weeks. Our team answers a new enquiry within 24 hours and can start the following week.
Which agency is stronger on AI?
Humbleteam, if you want AI working inside your own team. We install agents for handoff, resizing, asset production, QA, and design-to-code drafts in your accounts, with human review before anything ships, and they stay after the engagement. Locomotive®’s home and agency pages do not describe an AI service. Ask each agency which AI tools it uses on your project.
How big is each team, and who does the work?
Humbleteam employs 49 people in Prague and Dubai, and its senior designers average 9 years of experience on each project. Locomotive®’s agency page lists about 30 people across design, development, and operations in Montreal, and LinkedIn shows 11–50 employees. At Humbleteam, the designers you talk to on the first call design your product.
How much does each cost, and how soon can we start?
Neither Locomotive® nor Humbleteam posts prices. Humbleteam works in three formats: a fixed-price audit, a scoped implementation, or a monthly retainer, estimated on the first call. A project with us can start next week, and we reply to enquiries within 24 hours. Locomotive®’s site lists an email address and a Montreal phone number and does not publish engagement models.
Other comparisons
Same structure, same sourcing rules, one page per shortlist we keep meeting.
What we checked, and when
Everything stated about Locomotive® 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.
- locomotive.ca — home and featured work · read October 7, 2026
- locomotive.ca — agency, team, and awards · read October 7, 2026
- six.locomotive.ca — Awwwards Agency of the Year microsite · read October 7, 2026
- LinkedIn — Locomotive® company page · read October 7, 2026
Last updated
