Comparison updated August 2026
Side by side
Published data on both agencies. Where one side measurably differs, the dot marks it: the higher score, the lower published rate, the larger team, the more recent review. Which of those is an advantage depends on your brief.
| Attribute | DEPT | Walma |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | 60.3/100 | 60.3/100 |
| Hourly rate | Contact for rates | Contact for rates |
| Team size | ||
| Location | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Founded | 2016 | — |
| Last reviewed | More recent review: Aug 6, 2026 | Aug 5, 2026 |
What we said about each
Our take on DEPT
Signs is the most visible AI work here: a sign-language learning platform using computer vision to check the learner's signing, which reached more than 20 million people in its first week and recorded 20,000 signs learned in ten days. It is a collaboration with NVIDIA and the American Society for Deaf Children rather than a commissioned client project, which is worth knowing when you read it as evidence. The commissioned AI work is more ordinary and more useful as a guide: a return-value…
Reviewed Aug 6, 2026
Read the full assessment →Our take on Walma
Four published engagements, and every one of them ends in a number: support response time down 65% with roughly three hours a day freed per case handler, forecasting accuracy up 40%, sales proposals from two hours to eight minutes with 80% less manual administration, internal service in a municipality roughly 50% faster. That consistency is unusual. Most agencies publish one quantified case and four descriptions.
Reviewed Aug 5, 2026
Read the full assessment →Best for
Where each agency measurably leads on the published data — team capacity, declared specializations, editorial scoring, and rates where both publish them. Use these to match an agency to your project priorities.
Choose DEPT if you need
- broader service offering — also covers AI Marketing and Generative AI
- an overall editorial score of 60.3/100
Choose Walma if you need
- disclosed specialization in Public Sector / Manufacturing
- broader service offering — also covers AI Consulting and AI Agents
Strengths and watch-outs
Both upsides and risks, straight from our editorial assessments.
DEPT
Strengths
- Named clients with figures attached across three sectors: retail returns, clinical search, sports fan engagement
- Computer vision applied to genuinely hard interaction problems, not generative demos
- International delivery capacity, so multi-market rollouts do not need a second agency
Watch-outs
- Signs is collaborative work with NVIDIA, not a client engagement—judge the commissioned cases separately
- Published AI work is weighted toward audience-facing products—ask for an operated system with an SLA if that is what you need
- At this scale, insist on knowing the named team, not the agency's aggregate credentials
Walma
Strengths
- Every published engagement carries an outcome figure, and they are operational rather than vanity metrics—hours per handler, minutes per proposal
- Owns its platform, so the data-residency answer is architectural rather than contractual—relevant for Swedish public-sector buyers
- Runs an EU AI Act advisory practice alongside delivery, which most agencies of this size do not attempt
Watch-outs
- The four quantified cases are anonymized and the ten client names attach to none of them—ask which is which
- No team size or founding year published; the organization number and address are there, the scale is not
Service coverage
Where the two overlap, and where each covers ground the other does not.
Industry coverage
Where the two overlap, and where each covers ground the other does not.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has more SaaS & B2B experience, DEPT or Walma?
- Both agencies show documented SaaS & B2B work. Walma has the broader industry stack overall, with disclosed experience in Public Sector, Manufacturing beyond their shared focus.
- Which scores higher overall, DEPT or Walma?
- Both score equally well overall (60.3/100). The deciding factor is specialization — see the editorial quotes and Strengths sections above. Full methodology.
- When should I consider both DEPT and Walma?
- Consider running parallel discovery briefs with DEPT and Walma if your project spans multiple workstreams, you want competitive proposals to compare scope and approach, or you're undecided between the specialization angles each brings (see the Best for cards above). Most engagements ultimately go with one — but the parallel-brief phase is a low-cost way to validate fit.
Read the full reviews
A side-by-side is a starting point. The full assessments carry the portfolio analysis, documented engagements, and the evidence behind every strength and watch-out above.