2026 Ranking · Innovation Consulting · UK

The 10 Best Innovation Consultancies in the UK in 2026

Independent ranking: Sortlist does not rank itself, and agencies cannot pay for their position in this ranking.

Nicolas Finet

By , Co-founder & CEO of Sortlist · · How we ranked

Which innovation consultancy fits your next product, service or business model? Our pick, with the strengths, budget and best use case of each one.

What are some innovative consulting firms?

It depends on what you need. Quick picks from our independent ranking:

  • Best for product and innovation design: THINGS – 13 published innovation projects – the most in the ranking – and 5.0 from 6 reviews.
  • Best for digital service design in the UK: Full Clarity – research, UX and technical strategy for clients such as ITV, Harrods and Gov.uk.
  • Best for AI products in London: Magora – AI, web and mobile product consultancy, 5.0 from 6 reviews.
  • Best for enterprise AI engineering: DreamzTech Solutions – 250+ engineers with UK operations, 5.0 from 30 reviews.
  • Best for brand-led innovation: designlaboratory* – brand, product and industrial design under one London roof, 5.0 from 10 reviews.
  • Best for SMEs adopting AI: ProfileTree – Belfast agency combining web, video and AI training, 5.0 from 12 reviews.

The 10 best innovation consultancies in the UK – independent ranking

The 10 best innovation consultancies in the UK – independent ranking
#AgencyScoreRatingBased inFromBest for
1THINGS82/1005.0 (6)Italy€20,000Product and innovation design for new B2C and B2B offers
2RBSEO78/1004.99 (83)United Kingdom€1,000Search-led growth for small and mid-sized businesses
3Instinctools76/1005.0 (10)United States€10,000AI and custom software engineering at enterprise scale
4Navicosoft74/1005.0 (17)Australia€3,000Digital marketing and branding with global delivery
5Magora74/1005.0 (6)United Kingdom€5,000AI, web and mobile products for UK businesses
6DreamzTech Solutions73/1005.0 (30)United Kingdom€1,000Enterprise AI and custom software
7ProfileTree72/1005.0 (12)United Kingdom€1,000Web, video and AI adoption for SMEs in Northern Ireland
8Sigli72/1005.0 (11)Belgium€10,000Data science and software for digital transformation
9designlaboratory*71/1005.0 (10)United Kingdom€10,000Brand, product and industrial design from one London studio
10Full Clarity71/1005.0 (5)United Kingdom€10,000Digital product and service design

The best innovation consultancies in the UK

Innovation consulting is a niche where clients leave fewer reviews than in marketing, so this ranking scores every firm with at least 5 verified reviews. The ten highest scores in detail – why each one earned its place, and when another would suit you better.

  1. 1
    THINGS logo

    Rank 1: THINGS

    “Product and Innovation Design”

    82/100

    • 5.0/5 (6 reviews)
    • Milan, Italy
    • from €20,000
    • 18 people
    • English, Italian
    • 13 published projects

    Best for: product and innovation design for new B2C and B2B offers

    THINGS is a Milan-based product and innovation design agency. It designs experiences for connected (IoT) and purely digital products and services – devices, web and mobile apps, environments – as well as the communication around them, from websites to packaging.

    Why #1?

    • 13 published innovation projects – the most of any ranked consultancy.
    • A perfect 5.0 from 6 reviews.
    • Covers the whole journey from product concept to launch materials.

    Score breakdown: rating 100/100 · review volume 41/100 · published work 100/100

    Less suited if your budget is below €20,000, its entry point, or you need a UK-based team on site.

    View THINGS’s profile
  2. 2
    RBSEO logo

    Rank 2: RBSEO

    “SEO Agency UK”

    78/100

    • 4.99/5 (83 reviews)
    • Greater London, United Kingdom
    • from €1,000
    • 9 people
    • English
    • 0 published projects

    Best for: search-led growth for small and mid-sized businesses

    RBSEO is a London SEO agency serving businesses in the UK and abroad since 2005, with SEO, web design, content writing and link building at accessible prices.

    Why #2?

    • 83 reviews averaging 4.99 – by far the most reviewed agency in this ranking.
    • Entry from €1,000.
    • Two decades of experience with UK businesses.

    Score breakdown: rating 96/100 · review volume 100/100 · published work 0/100

    Less suited if you need innovation strategy, product design or R&D – its focus is search visibility.

    View RBSEO’s profile
  3. 3
    Instinctools logo

    Rank 3: Instinctools

    “Your AI-powered Engineering Partner”

    76/100

    • 5.0/5 (10 reviews)
    • Potomac, United States
    • from €10,000
    • 400 people
    • English, German, PL
    • 3 published projects

    Best for: aI and custom software engineering at enterprise scale

    *instinctools is a global AI-powered software engineering company with more than 25 years of experience, covering agentic AI enablement, custom software, digital product engineering and business process automation for SMBs and enterprises.

    Why #3?

    • A perfect 5.0 from 10 reviews.
    • A 400-person engineering team.
    • Turns innovation concepts into production software.

    Score breakdown: rating 100/100 · review volume 52/100 · published work 53/100

    Less suited if you want a UK-based team – its listed base is in the United States – or a budget below €10,000.

    View Instinctools’s profile
  4. 5
    Magora logo

    Rank 5: Magora

    “PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TAILORED FOR YOUR BUSINESS”

    74/100

    • 5.0/5 (6 reviews)
    • London, United Kingdom
    • from €5,000
    • 49 people
    • English
    • 4 published projects

    Best for: aI, web and mobile products for UK businesses

    Magora is a London AI, web and mobile product consultancy working across healthcare, education, retail, e-learning and e-commerce. It starts every project by understanding the business goals, the product and the end user.

    Why #5?

    • A perfect 5.0 from 6 reviews.
    • 4 published innovation projects.
    • London team covering AI products from discovery to delivery.

    Score breakdown: rating 100/100 · review volume 41/100 · published work 61/100

    Less suited if your budget is below €5,000.

    View Magora’s profile
  5. 6
    DreamzTech Solutions logo

    Rank 6: DreamzTech Solutions

    “AI and Custom Software Development for Enterprise Transformation”

    73/100

    • 5.0/5 (30 reviews)
    • Watford, United Kingdom
    • from €1,000
    • 250 people
    • English
    • 0 published projects

    Best for: enterprise AI and custom software

    DreamzTech is a US-led AI and custom software company with more than 250 engineers and delivery operations in the United States, the United Kingdom (Watford), India and South Africa. It builds enterprise AI and agentic systems, data platforms, mobile apps and IoT solutions.

    Why #6?

    • A perfect 5.0 from 30 reviews – the second most reviewed agency in the top 10.
    • A 250-person engineering capacity.
    • Entry from €1,000.

    Score breakdown: rating 100/100 · review volume 77/100 · published work 0/100

    Less suited if you are looking for strategy or design workshops rather than engineering.

    View DreamzTech Solutions’s profile
  6. 7
    ProfileTree logo

    Rank 7: ProfileTree

    “Belfast Web Design, WordPress Development, SEO, Video Production, AI Agency-Belfast,Northern Ireland”

    72/100

    • 5.0/5 (12 reviews)
    • Belfast, United Kingdom
    • from €1,000
    • 30 people
    • English
    • 1 published project

    Best for: web, video and AI adoption for SMEs in Northern Ireland

    ProfileTree is an award-winning Belfast agency founded in 2011, combining WordPress development, video production, SEO, content marketing and AI training and implementation for SMEs. It has completed more than 1,000 projects.

    Why #7?

    • A perfect 5.0 from 12 reviews.
    • Practical AI training and implementation for small businesses.
    • Entry from €1,000.

    Score breakdown: rating 100/100 · review volume 56/100 · published work 26/100

    Less suited if you need corporate innovation strategy for a large organisation.

    View ProfileTree’s profile
  7. 8
    Sigli logo

    Rank 8: Sigli

    “Software development, Web development, Data Solutions, AI, ML.”

    72/100

    • 5.0/5 (11 reviews)
    • Antwerp, Belgium
    • from €10,000
    • 115 people
    • English, LT, NL-BE, Dutch, French
    • 1 published project

    Best for: data science and software for digital transformation

    Sigli, based in Antwerp, develops digital products and supports digital transformation with software development, data solutions, AI and machine learning, from concept to implementation.

    Why #8?

    • A perfect 5.0 from 11 reviews.
    • A 115-person team with data science expertise.
    • Covers the full development lifecycle.

    Score breakdown: rating 100/100 · review volume 54/100 · published work 26/100

    Less suited if you want a UK-based partner or a budget below €10,000.

    View Sigli’s profile
  8. 9
    designlaboratory* logo

    Rank 9: designlaboratory*

    “We tell your stories through design”

    71/100

    • 5.0/5 (10 reviews)
    • London, United Kingdom
    • from €10,000
    • 8 people
    • English, French, Italian
    • 1 published project

    Best for: brand, product and industrial design from one London studio

    designlaboratory* is a cross-disciplinary London design studio covering brand, strategy, graphic and web design, UX/UI, packaging and product or industrial design. It also works with founders and investors on new ventures.

    Why #9?

    • A perfect 5.0 from 10 reviews.
    • Rare breadth: from brand identity to physical product design.
    • Works with founders and investors on early-stage innovation.

    Score breakdown: rating 100/100 · review volume 52/100 · published work 26/100

    Less suited if your budget is below €10,000.

    View designlaboratory*’s profile
  9. 10
    Full Clarity logo

    Rank 10: Full Clarity

    “We combine research, UX and technical strategy for outcome-focused innovation and transformation.”

    71/100

    • 5.0/5 (5 reviews)
    • Farnham, United Kingdom
    • from €10,000
    • 12 people
    • English
    • 3 published projects

    Best for: digital product and service design

    Full Clarity is a digital product and service design consultancy in Farnham, combining research, UX design and technical strategy for outcome-focused innovation and transformation, for clients such as ITV, Harrods and Gov.uk.

    Why #10?

    • A perfect 5.0 from 5 reviews.
    • 3 published innovation projects.
    • Research-led approach used with well-known UK organisations.

    Score breakdown: rating 100/100 · review volume 36/100 · published work 53/100

    Less suited if you need a partner to build the software at scale, not only design it.

    View Full Clarity’s profile

All 19 innovation consultancies, ranked

All 19 agencies with at least 5 verified reviews, scored with the same formula. Ranks 11 to 19 are often the best fit for a specific country, language or budget.

Show all 19 agencies
Full independent ranking of innovation consulting agencies on Sortlist
#AgencyBased inRatingPublished workScore
1THINGSMilan, Italy5.0 (6)1382
2RBSEOGreater London, United Kingdom4.99 (83)078
3InstinctoolsPotomac, United States5.0 (10)376
4NavicosoftMelbourne, Australia5.0 (17)174
5MagoraLondon, United Kingdom5.0 (6)474
6DreamzTech SolutionsWatford, United Kingdom5.0 (30)073
7ProfileTreeBelfast, United Kingdom5.0 (12)172
8SigliAntwerp, Belgium5.0 (11)172
9designlaboratory*London, United Kingdom5.0 (10)171
10Full ClarityFarnham, United Kingdom5.0 (5)371
11JUMP UP LIMITEDTyne and Wear, United Kingdom5.0 (9)170
12Pearl LemonLondon, United Kingdom4.96 (48)068
13PoppinsGreater London, United Kingdom5.0 (6)167
14Agile Cyber SolutionsLondon, United Kingdom4.94 (10)465
15Burst DigitalGreater London, United Kingdom5.0 (9)065
16Milk & Honey PRLondon, United Kingdom4.91 (11)047
17Evangelist AppsHampshire, United Kingdom4.9 (6)040
18AGCS WorksLondon, United Kingdom4.82 (36)035
19Start Design GroupLondon, United Kingdom4.77 (11)428

Where the 19 ranked consultancies are based

Number of ranked innovation consultancies per country (5 countries in total).

  • United Kingdom15
  • Italy1
  • United States1
  • Australia1
  • Other countries1
Show the data as a table
CategoryConsultancies
United Kingdom15
Italy1
United States1
Australia1
Other countries1

Promising agencies with fewer than 5 reviews

Too few reviews to be scored reliably yet, but excellent ratings so far.

Also on Sortlist’s innovation listing

These agencies are listed for innovation consulting in the UK but have no verified reviews on Sortlist yet.

Other innovation consultancies you will see in other rankings

Several names come up again and again in UK innovation rankings published elsewhere. Those below have a Sortlist profile but fewer than 5 verified reviews, so we could not score them with the same method; descriptions summarise how each firm presents itself or how those rankings describe it.

  • PA Consulting (Edinburgh) – Ranked among the top innovation consulting firms in the UK by Consultancy.uk.
  • Elixirr (London) – Ranked among the top innovation consulting firms in the UK by Consultancy.uk, with a focus on digital transformation and business-model disruption.
  • Valcon (Eindhoven) – Ranked among the top innovation consulting firms in the UK by Consultancy.uk.
  • Made by Many (London) – A product innovation and service design studio.
  • scout+redeem innovation studio – An innovation studio for mobile apps, AI strategy and rapid prototyping, with one review on Sortlist so far.

We could not find a Sortlist profile for Accenture, BearingPoint, Cognosis, Fluxx, Rainmaking, The Forge or Bow & Arrow, which also appear in other rankings. Without verified reviews on Sortlist, we cannot compare them fairly with the agencies above.

How we ranked the agencies

1. The sample

Sortlist lists 433 innovation consulting providers worldwide. We evaluated the 220 agencies on the first three pages of Sortlist’s innovation consulting listing, in its relevance order. 19 of them have at least 5 verified client reviews – our threshold for a rating to be meaningful. None of them pays for a sponsored placement, so all 19 agencies were ranked, from 5 countries, with 336 verified reviews between them and an average rating of 4.96.

2. The score

Scoring criteria
CriterionWeightHow it is measured
Client rating50%Average of verified reviews, placed on a scale from the lowest (4.77) to the highest (5.0) rating in the ranked group
Review volume30%Number of verified reviews on a logarithmic scale, up to the most reviewed agency (83 reviews)
Published work20%Innovation consulting projects published on Sortlist, on the same logarithmic scale, up to the highest count (13 projects)

3. Independence

  • Sortlist is a marketplace, not an agency: it does not appear in its own ranking.
  • Agencies cannot pay to enter the ranking or to move up. Agencies with a sponsored placement on this listing are excluded from scoring and shown separately.
  • The order of the listing page, subscriptions and badges play no part in the score – only the three criteria above.

4. Limits

Reviews reflect each agency’s work across all its services, and agencies with few reviews may be excellent but are not yet scored. That is why every entry says what it is best for – and when another agency would suit you better. The ranking is updated regularly.

Nicolas Finet

About the author:

Co-founder and CEO of Sortlist. An entrepreneur passionate about B2B marketing and about helping companies grow, he has been connecting companies with the right marketing agencies across Europe since 2014. His focus: digital strategy, business development and scaling B2B marketplaces. He oversees this methodology and the data behind every Sortlist ranking.

LinkedIn · X (@nifinet)

What is an innovation consultant?

An innovation consultant helps an organisation create and launch something new – a product, a service, a business model or a way of working – and build the capability to keep doing it. The job sits between strategy and execution: finding where to play, testing ideas with real customers quickly, and turning the ones that work into something the business can scale.

What innovation consultants do

  • Innovation strategy: choose the opportunities worth pursuing and the ambition level, from incremental improvements to new businesses.
  • Customer research and design thinking: understand unmet needs, then ideate and prototype with users.
  • Product and service design: turn concepts into designed, testable products, apps or services.
  • Business-model innovation: new revenue models, pricing and partnerships around an offer.
  • Technology and AI exploration: assess emerging technologies and build proofs of concept.
  • Innovation capability: processes, governance, stage-gates and culture so the organisation keeps innovating after the project.

When to bring one in

Typical triggers are a stalling core product, a new technology – today often AI – that could reshape the market, a new customer segment to address, or an innovation team that produces ideas but few launches. A consultant brings method, outside perspective and extra capacity for a defined period.

Types of innovation consultancies

“Innovation consultancy” covers very different businesses. The ranking above mixes several of them – knowing which you need narrows the shortlist quickly.

Types of innovation consultancies
TypeWhat they do bestGood fit when
Strategy and management consultanciesGrowth strategy, portfolio choices, business modelsThe question is where to invest, not what to build
Design and product studiosResearch, service design, product and UX designYou need a new product or experience designed and tested
Technology and AI engineering firmsPrototypes, custom software, AI and data platformsThe idea is clear and needs to be built
Venture builders and corporate innovation labsNew ventures, incubation, partnerships with start-upsYou want to launch a new business outside the core
Brand and communication agenciesPositioning and launch of new offersA new product needs a brand and a go-to-market story

On Sortlist you can also compare specialists in digital innovation, digital transformation and product management.

Who are the big 7 consulting firms?

There is no official “big 7”. The expression usually combines two well-established groups: the Big Four professional services firms – Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG (source) – and the three leading strategy consultancies, known as MBB: McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain & Company.

The firms usually meant by the big 7
GroupFirmsKnown for
Big FourDeloitte, PwC, EY, KPMGAudit and tax roots, large consulting and technology practices
MBB (the “Big Three”)McKinsey & Company, BCG, Bain & CompanyStrategy consulting for boards and executive teams

Other large consultancies, such as Accenture, are often listed alongside them in rankings of the largest firms (Consultancy.uk).

What are the big 5 consultancy firms?

“Big 5” is used in two ways. Historically, it meant the five largest accounting firms – today’s Big Four plus Arthur Andersen, until Andersen collapsed in 2002. Today, people searching for the big 5 consultancy firms usually mean the Big Four plus Accenture, the largest consulting and technology services firm outside that group.

For innovation projects, the big firms bring scale, global reach and access to the board. Their fees and team structures fit large transformation programmes better than a focused product or service innovation project – which is why many UK organisations also look at specialists.

Mid-sized alternatives to Accenture and the Big Four

Large consultancies versus specialist innovation consultancies
Large consultanciesSpecialist and mid-sized consultancies
Typical projectMulti-year transformation programmesA product, service or AI use case from idea to launch
TeamLarge, layered teamsSenior people doing the work
SpeedLong procurement and set-upWorkshops and prototypes within weeks
BudgetUsually very large engagementsFrom a few thousand euros on Sortlist
Best whenBoard-level change across the whole organisationA focused innovation challenge with clear owners

For AI in particular, engineering-led firms in our ranking such as *instinctools, DreamzTech and Magora offer delivery capacity at a fraction of the scale of the largest firms.

How much does innovation consulting cost in the UK?

Budgets depend on the scope: a design-thinking workshop, a prototype, a full innovation strategy or a programme to build an innovation capability are very different engagements. As a guide from Sortlist’s UK experts, smaller businesses working with boutique or mid-sized consultancies typically spend £5,000 to £20,000 per project, while detailed innovation strategies for mid-sized and large enterprises usually start at £20,000 and can reach £100,000.

Among the 19 ranked consultancies, 7 start at €1,000, 0 accept smaller projects and 10 set their minimum at €3,000 or more (agencies state their budgets in euros on Sortlist).

Minimum project budget of the 19 ranked consultancies

Number of innovation consultancies per starting budget, as stated on their Sortlist profiles (agencies without a stated budget excluded).

  • 0Under €1,000
  • 7€1,000
  • 0€1,001–2,999
  • 2€3,000–4,999
  • 8€5,000+
Show the data as a table
CategoryConsultancies
Under €1,0000
€1,0007
€1,001–2,9990
€3,000–4,9992
€5,000+8

How innovation consultancies charge

Pricing models
ModelHow it worksWatch out for
Fixed-price projectA defined deliverable – research, strategy, prototype – for a set feeWhat happens after delivery, and who owns the outputs
SprintsShort, time-boxed phases (often a few weeks) paid one at a timeClear goals and decision points for each sprint
RetainerA monthly fee for ongoing supportMeasurable objectives, not just hours
Day ratesConsultants billed per daySeniority of the people actually doing the work

How to choose your innovation consultancy

Questions to ask

  1. Which comparable innovation projects have you delivered, and what happened after launch?
  2. How do you test ideas with real customers before we invest in building them?
  3. Who will work on our project day to day, and how senior are they?
  4. How will our team learn your methods so we can keep innovating afterwards?
  5. What will we own at the end – research, designs, code, intellectual property?

Red flags

  • Ready-made solutions before any customer research
  • Workshops with no route to a prototype or launch
  • No published work or references you can check
  • Unclear ownership of intellectual property
  • Senior people who pitch but do not deliver

Innovation in practice: project examples

Work published by agencies on Sortlist:

Fluke “interactive form”

LeadFabric · Industrial technology

Fluke’s product collateral was distributed through traditional web forms that were not converting. The campaign replaced them with an interactive experience that qualified and nurtured each viewer.

SWISS presents a 360° view of Lauberhorn

FOUNDRY · Airline

A 360° experience that takes viewers from the cockpit of an Airbus and a Patrouille Suisse jet flying in formation into the goggles of a skier racing the Lauberhorn course.

Jägermeister digital installation

UFOMAMMOOT · Drinks

An interactive monument built from 5,260 empty Jägermeister bottles and 38 tonnes of steel, at the heart of a 360° campaign.

Frequently asked questions

Is innovation consulting worth it for SMEs?

It can be, if the scope is focused: a short research and prototyping sprint on one product or service often costs less than building the wrong thing. Boutique and mid-sized consultancies are usually a better fit for SMEs than the largest firms.

What is the difference between innovation consulting and digital transformation?

Digital transformation modernises how an existing business runs – systems, processes, data. Innovation consulting focuses on creating something new for customers – products, services or business models. Many projects combine both.

Can UK businesses get funding for innovation projects?

Often, yes: UK businesses can apply for innovation grants such as those run by Innovate UK, and claim R&D tax relief on eligible research and development costs. Some consultancies help prepare applications; check eligibility rules before relying on funding.

How long does an innovation project take?

A discovery and prototyping phase typically takes a few weeks; taking a new product or service to market takes several months; building a lasting innovation capability is a programme over a year or more. Agree on decision points along the way.

How do I find the right innovation consultancy on Sortlist?

Compare consultancies by rating, number of reviews, published innovation projects, budget and location, then shortlist three to five and ask each the same questions. You can also post your project for free and get matched with qualified firms.