What Is the Mercado Libre Logo?
The Mercado Libre logo is a handshake inside an oval, shown with the company name and set against the brand's yellow. It belongs to MercadoLibre, Inc., the online marketplace that Marcos Galperin started in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1999, an idea he developed while studying at Stanford University. In Brazil the same marketplace trades as Mercado Livre.
The handshake also appears in the logo of Mercado Pago, the group's payments service. The marketplace logo is available as the Mercado Libre logo SVG.
Mercado Libre Logo Facts
| Introduced | 2000; modernised in 2013 |
| Symbol | Two hands shaking, inside an oval |
| Logo type | Combination mark: handshake and the name mercado libre |
| Earlier mark | A wordmark with "Mercado" in dark blue italics and "Libre" in handwritten dark yellow, 1999–2000 |
| Owner | MercadoLibre, Inc. |
What the Mercado Libre Logo Means
Mercado libre is Spanish for "free market". In 2020 the company's marketing chief, Sean Summers, explained why the handshake had to go during the pandemic. He told La Nación that if the logo is a handshake and the aim is to discourage handshakes, changing it was the right thing to do.
Mercado Libre Logo History
The platform went live on 2 August 1999. Its first logo, used until 2000, was a wordmark only: "Mercado" in lowercase dark blue italic letters and "Libre" in bold, handwritten dark yellow. In 2000 the handshake arrived, enclosed in an oval with the company name around it in bold sans-serif letters. A redesign in 2013 modernised that mark.
In March 2020, as COVID-19 spread, the Argentine agency Gut redrew the logo so the two hands became two arms meeting at the elbows. Galperin shared the change with the hashtag #CodoaCodo, "elbow to elbow", and the company applied it across all its platforms. Mercado Libre called the elbow version temporary, and the handshake later returned.
Mercado Libre and Mercado Pago
Mercado Pago began in Argentina in November 2003 as an escrow service for marketplace purchases, and it shares the handshake symbol. In April 2023 the two brands swapped colours for a campaign called "Somos Uno Mismo" ("We Are the Same"), with Mercado Libre on blue and Mercado Pago on yellow. In 2025 Mercado Pago adopted Mercado Libre's yellow for good, because research showed some customers did not see the two as one company (compare the Mercado Pago logo).
For more brands like Mercado Libre, browse our retail logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Mercado Libre mean?
It is Spanish for "free market". In Brazil the company uses the Portuguese form, Mercado Livre.
Why did Mercado Libre change its handshake logo in 2020?
To discourage handshakes during the COVID-19 pandemic, it replaced the two hands with two elbows touching. The change was meant to be temporary.
When did the handshake first appear in the Mercado Libre logo?
In 2000. The very first logo, from 1999, was a wordmark without a symbol.
Are Mercado Libre and Mercado Pago the same company?
Yes. Mercado Pago is the payments service of MercadoLibre, Inc., launched in 2003, and both logos use the handshake.