How I test AI logo generators
Ten tests, the same for every generator, each graded from 1 to 5 on a fixed scale. The overall grade is their average plus my verdict, which can move it by up to one point. Every test is run by hand on an account I use, and the logos, files, searches and screenshots behind each grade go in the full test results published with the review.
Written by Miles Foster, Owner and tester, RankDude.
Each generator gets the same three briefs: a speciality coffee roaster, a family law firm and a children's coding school, each with a name, a tagline, three personality words and colours to avoid. I give every tool the same answers to its questions, keep its first 20 concepts per brief, and buy or download one final logo per brief. Nothing is graded from a showcase or a press kit.
Each review states how the account was obtained: bought at the public price, used on a free tier, or provided by the vendor. A vendor-provided account never changes a grade, and a vendor never sees a review before it is published.
How I rate
Every tool gets one score out of 5.
First, I run the same 10 tests on every tool and give each one a grade from 1 to 5. The average of the graded tests is the starting point; a test that cannot be graded is left out of it, and the review says how many tests the score is based on.
Then I add my verdict: what the tests cannot measure, such as how the tool holds up after the test weeks, how billing and cancelling work in practice, and how it compares with the others in the category. My verdict can move the score up or down by one point at most.
Every review shows how much my verdict changed the score, and why, in its scores table.
What a grade means
| 5 | Excellent |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Average |
| 2 | Below average |
| 1 | Poor |
The final score is the average of the graded tests (ten when every test can be graded), to one decimal place, plus my verdict, which can move it by up to one point. If a test couldn't be finished properly it gets no grade, and the review says how many tests the score is based on. On a free tier the file and rights tests often can't be finished; I test them again after buying a logo when I can.
The 10 tests
1.Design Quality & Brief Fit
The five best concepts for each brief, 15 in all, are scored on eight points: name spelled right, tagline right, avoided colours absent, fits the industry (judged by three people outside the test), visual balance, works in one colour, no more than two typefaces, and no effects that fail in print. That gives 120 points.
- 5: 108 to 120 points
- 4: 90 to 107
- 3: 72 to 89
- 2: 48 to 71
- 1: under 48
2.Originality
Each of the 15 concepts is searched with two reverse image search engines and the image search of a national trademark register. Results are compared by eye: a near copy of an existing logo, a stock icon used unchanged, or a loose similarity. Other users' logos built on the same icon inside the tool's own gallery count too.
- 5: no matches
- 4: one loose similarity
- 3: two or three loose similarities
- 2: any near copy or unchanged stock icon
- 1: several near copies
3.Legibility at Small Sizes
The final logo for each brief is rendered at 16, 32 and 64 pixels on white and on black, and printed 1 cm wide in black only. I record the smallest size at which the name can be read and the symbol recognised, and check whether the tool supplies a simplified icon for small uses.
- 5: name readable at 32 pixels and symbol clear at 16 on all three
- 4: readable at 64 pixels, symbol clear at 32
- 3: readable only above 64 pixels on one logo
- 2: unreadable small on two or more
- 1: unreadable small on all three
4.Variety of Concepts
From the first 20 concepts for each brief I count distinct ideas: a different symbol, layout or type treatment. A colour swap, a font swap or the same icon moved counts once. The average across the three briefs is the grade.
- 5: 15 or more on average
- 4: 11 to 14
- 3: 7 to 10
- 2: 3 to 6
- 1: 2 or fewer
5.Editing Control
Change the typeface, set a colour by hex code, move the icon above the name, adjust letter spacing, swap the icon, edit the icon's shape, add the tagline, resize the icon against the name, make a one-colour version, and undo back to the start. Each counts when done without a workaround.
- 5: all ten
- 4: 8 or 9
- 3: 6 or 7
- 2: 3 to 5
- 1: 2 or fewer
6.Brand Kit Completeness
The downloaded package is checked for ten items: a colour palette with hex, RGB and CMYK values, named typefaces, horizontal and stacked versions, an icon-only version, one-colour and reversed versions, social media profile and cover sizes, a favicon, a business card layout, a letterhead or email signature, and a brand guide document.
- 5: all ten
- 4: 8 or 9
- 3: 6 or 7
- 2: 3 to 5
- 1: 2 or fewer
7.File Formats
Each file is opened, not just listed: the SVG and PDF or EPS in a vector editor to confirm real paths rather than an embedded bitmap, PNG files checked for a transparent background and measured in pixels, plus JPG, a favicon file and a CMYK print file.
- 5: verified vector SVG and PDF or EPS, transparent PNG of 2,000 pixels or more, JPG, favicon and CMYK
- 4: verified vector, with one or more of the other files missing or a PNG under 2,000 pixels
- 3: no true vector, but a transparent PNG of 2,000 pixels or more
- 2: no true vector, and the largest PNG under 2,000 pixels or not transparent
- 1: no clean download, or watermarked files
8.Usage Rights & Ownership
I read the terms of the plan used for five points: ownership transferred to me, the design not sold or offered to anyone else, commercial use allowed, trademark registration allowed, and the typefaces licensed for logo use. A point counts only when the terms state it.
- 5: all five in writing
- 4: four
- 3: three
- 2: commercial use only
- 1: unclear, or the vendor keeps the rights
9.Ease of Use & Speed
The clock runs from opening the generator to the final files saved on disk, with my edits for the brief included. Each click, question and dialog counts as a step. The median of the three briefs is the grade, and the time to the first concepts is reported alongside.
- 5: median under 10 minutes and 15 steps
- 4: under 20 minutes
- 3: under 40 minutes
- 2: 40 minutes or longer
- 1: a logo could not be finished
10.Pricing & Value
Every plan, package and subscription is read from the checkout, not the marketing page. The figure graded is the cheapest price for one logo with vector files and commercial rights, and whether the files and rights stay yours if a subscription ends. Upsells shown before payment and payment methods are listed as seen at checkout.
- 5: under $30 one-off, files kept for good
- 4: $30 to $59
- 3: $60 to $99, or a subscription needed to keep the files
- 2: $100 or more
- 1: poor value or hidden costs
Documented but not graded
Mock-ups on products and signs, website and social templates, brand name suggestions, domain search and human designer add-ons are checked and described in every review. When they work well they count in the written assessment, but they never add points to the overall grade.
Rules that apply to every test
- Real use of the product on a real account, never promotional descriptions or showcase galleries.
- Identical briefs, answers, tests, thresholds and sample sizes for every generator in the category.
- Authorised accounts only; no password sharing, no bypassing of watermarks, paywalls or bot checks.
- Every grade has evidence: the logos and files, a search result, a count, a screenshot or the terms quoted, in the full test results.
- A grade changes only when a retest produces new evidence; the review records the date and the reason.
Questions about a specific grade go to the contact page. Makers can submit an AI logo generator for testing. No AI logo generator has been through these tests yet; every one I follow is listed on the AI logo generators page, and reviews appear there as tests finish.