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TL;DR
- Price: Design Elite (designelite.co) starts at €949.90 a month excluding VAT, which its own site puts at about $1,050. Design Shifu starts at $549 a month.
- Requests: Design Elite's entry plan, Prestige, includes 3 requests a month. Design Shifu's Starter plan has no monthly cap and works on one project a day.
- Refunds: Design Elite's terms say memberships are non-refundable. Design Shifu offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
- Team: Design Elite says it has an in-house senior team in Paris. Design Shifu gives you two designers and an account manager, Monday to Saturday.
- Best fit: Design Elite suits French and European companies that want a Paris-based team and euro invoicing. Design Shifu suits teams that want more output for a lower monthly fee.
A quick disclosure. This is Design Shifu's own comparison, so we're not neutral. To keep it fair, every fact about Design Elite comes from its own pricing page and terms of sale, checked on 20 October 2026. Where Design Elite does something better, we say so.
One more note: several businesses use the name "Design Elite". This comparison is about the Paris-based design subscription at designelite.co.
Design Shifu vs Design Elite at a glance
How do the prices compare?
Design Elite charges in euros, excluding VAT. Its no-commitment prices are €949.90 a month for Prestige, €1,399.90 for Elite and €2,099.90 for Commando. You'll often see lower figures first on its pricing page (€899.90, €1,299.90 and €1,999.90), but those are the prices for a three-month commitment. Commit for 12 months and you save 20%.
Design Shifu's plans are $549, $749 and $1,099 a month, billed monthly with no commitment. Billed annually, they're $458, $625 and $916 a month.
Design Elite's own site puts its entry price at about $1,050 a month. So even before VAT, Design Shifu's entry plan costs roughly half as much, and our top plan, Scale, costs about the same as Design Elite's entry plan.
How much design do you get?
This is the biggest practical difference.
Design Elite's entry plan, Prestige, includes 3 graphic requests a month, one at a time. To get unlimited requests, you need the Elite plan at €1,399.90. Commando, at €2,099.90, lets you run two requests at once.
Design Shifu has no monthly cap on any plan. You add as many requests as you like, and we work through them at your plan's pace, which is one project a day on Starter.
If you only need a few larger pieces of design a month, Design Elite's Prestige plan may be enough. If you need regular social posts, ads, decks and other everyday design, three requests a month will run out fast.
Who's on the team?
Design Elite says its work is done by an in-house team of senior designers in Paris, supervised by a creative director, working Paris hours. Every plan includes a dedicated project manager, and you can talk to the team through Slack or WhatsApp. Briefs can be in English or French.
Every Design Shifu plan includes two designers and an account manager. We work Monday to Saturday, and most requests come back within one business day.
If having your designers in Paris, in your time zone and your language, matters to you, that's a genuine advantage for Design Elite.
What do you get on each?
Design Elite
Design Elite covers branding, print, UX/UI, web design, motion, packaging, ads, 3D and presentations, and it runs an AI creative studio. It doesn't do development. Every plan includes unlimited revisions, a dedicated project manager, access for your whole team and your source files.
Design Shifu
Every Design Shifu plan includes two designers, an account manager, unlimited revisions, source files and full ownership of the designs. Presentation decks and GIFs are included from Starter. Growth adds custom illustrations, UI/UX and email templates, and Scale adds motion design and animation. Agencies get white-label dashboards and reseller discounts.
The fine print: refunds, cancelling and pausing
Design Elite's marketing says "no contract or commitment, pause or cancel at any time". Its terms of sale add some detail worth reading.
No refunds. The terms say memberships are "non-binding, but non-refundable", and any month you've started is due in full, even if you don't use it. Design Shifu offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Cancelling needs notice. To cancel a Design Elite plan, you have to give at least seven calendar days' notice before your renewal date. If you signed up for a three-, six- or 12-month commitment and leave early, the remaining months become due. You can cancel Design Shifu anytime, and your files stay in your account if you want to come back.
Pausing is limited. Design Elite's terms allow a pause only on the Elite and Commando plans, once every three months, for up to 30 days, and Design Elite can refuse it. Design Shifu doesn't offer pausing. You simply cancel when you don't need us and reactivate with the same email when you do.
Ownership comes with full payment. Design Elite assigns the copyright in your designs once everything you owe has been paid. It can also show your work in its portfolio unless you agree otherwise in writing, and a delivery counts as approved if you don't give feedback within 14 days. With Design Shifu, you own 100% of the designs.
What do customers say?
Design Elite has very few independent reviews. On Trustpilot, it has one review. Its own homepage says it's rated 5/5 from more than 47 Google reviews, and the testimonials on its site praise fast replies and its project managers. We couldn't find Design Elite on G2 or Clutch.
Which should you choose?
Choose Design Elite if you…
- are a French or European company that wants a Paris-based team
- want to brief and talk to your designers in French
- need euro invoicing with VAT handled the European way
- need only a few larger design requests a month
- want web design, 3D or packaging from the same team
Choose Design Shifu if you…
- want to spend about half as much each month
- need more than 3 requests a month without moving to a higher plan
- want a money-back guarantee while you try the service
- want to cancel without a notice period
- want full ownership of your designs from the start
Conclusion
Design Elite is a premium, Paris-based design subscription. For European companies that value a local senior team and French-language support, that's worth paying for. The trade-offs are price, a 3-request cap on the entry plan and terms that rule out refunds.
Design Shifu costs about half as much, with no monthly request cap, a two-designer team and a 14-day money-back guarantee. See Design Shifu's plans, which start at $549 a month. You can also compare us with Kapa99, Digital Polo and ManyPixels.
FAQ
How much does Design Elite cost?
Design Elite's no-commitment prices are €949.90 a month for Prestige, €1,399.90 for Elite and €2,099.90 for Commando, all excluding VAT. Commitments of three, six or 12 months save 5%, 15% or 20%.
Is Design Elite more expensive than Design Shifu?
Yes. Design Elite's entry plan is €949.90 a month excluding VAT, which its site puts at about $1,050. Design Shifu's entry plan is $549 a month.
How many requests does Design Elite include?
Design Elite's Prestige plan includes 3 graphic requests a month, one at a time. Elite and Commando include unlimited requests, with Commando running two at once.
Does Design Elite offer refunds?
No. Its terms of sale say memberships are non-refundable and any month started is due in full. Design Shifu offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Can I pause Design Elite?
Only on the Elite and Commando plans, once every three months, for up to 30 days, and Design Elite can refuse the request. Design Shifu doesn't offer pausing; you can cancel and reactivate later with the same email.
Where is Design Elite's team based?
Design Elite says its team is in-house in Paris and works Paris hours, with briefs in English or French.
About the author
Sameena is an Organic Growth Specialist and Content Writer at Design Shifu, crafting SEO-driven content that boosts visibility, builds brand authority, and drives meaningful organic growth.
