Fiverr vs 99designs Review: Which is Better?

28 May Fiverr vs 99designs Review: Which is Better?

Need a musician to write an advertising jingle? You can hire someone on Fiverr. Don’t want to spend hours converting your PDFs to HTML? You can hire someone on Fiverr. But if you need graphic design work done, you can hire someone from Fiverr, but should you? Can Fiverr compete with a site like 99designs by Vistaprint that specializes exclusively in design? With 99designs vs Fiverr, which is better for getting design work done?

A lot of people don’t know whether to choose 99designs or Fiverr, so I went through both sites and wrote this comparison to outline the advantages and disadvantages of each platform.

Fiverr Is All About “Gigs,”

Let’s start with Fiverr gigs. Fiverr has a somewhat unique structure in that it emphasizes “Gigs,” or individual services provided by its community. These services are provided on a one-time basis per payment, and a Gig can be just about anything.  You can filter Gigs by budget, user ratings, estimated delivery time, the language you speak, and more. 

I really do mean anything. You can hire people to design logos, or you can hire them to make a music video. Or they can make the music for your music video.  Their contractors will write articles and copy for you.  If it can be done via the internet, someone on Fiverr will do it. (As long as it’s legal.) 

Fiverr has both a mobile-friendly website and an app for Android and iOS. The app basically is the mobile site with a few tweaks, and all the features from the main site are there.

99designs Does Projects and Contests

99designs is all about design. They can handle anything from web design to print media, but it’s all design and just design. You can sort of hire designers directly, but you’ll need to start a project first. A project is like a contest, (will cover that next) but usually more expensive, and more detailed/customized. You start a project by entering project details, then find designers you want to work with.  You then invite them to work on your project. If they’re interested, they’ll send you a quote, and you can negotiate all the details from there.

The big thing for 99designs’ (and cheaper option) is its contests. Design contests are what the whole community was built on. If you want a logo design, you can pay a fee, answer some questions about what kind of logo you want, and people will pitch designs for your logo.  You review the results; pick the design you like and then work with that designer.

Fiverr’s Ordering Process Is simple & generic,

Well, your experience with Fiverr might vary a little, but it generally goes like this: you hit the big green Continue button on a Gig, select any extra services you want, and pay. Then you fill out a short questionnaire with exactly what you want the seller to do. Like what kind of logo you want, for example.

The questionnaire can be changed by the seller, though, and that’s where potential variation comes in. For a logo, I only had to provide the text I wanted on the logo, my preferred colors, and a basic description of what I wanted. I could also upload optional reference materials.

99designs (Usually) Wants More Details

On 99designs, your experience will definitely vary. The contests have a lengthier ordering process because they need lots of information for the (potentially tons of) designers who will be working on your project.

You start by defining your design style by choosing between some sample designs and moving some sliders around. Then you must write out all your requirements (text, color, preferred layout, etc.) in more detail, and you can upload reference images. It doesn’t take too long, but it does take some extra effort and thought.

The system for ordering projects on 99designs is simpler than the process for contests. There are a couple of text fields where you can outline exactly what you want. You can also upload reference files for the designers to look at. The idea is that more details will be discussed and negotiated between you and the designer you hire.

‌Pricing

Okay, so both platforms are free… to use. You only pay once you hire somebody.  On Fiverr, that can mean paying as little as 5 USD for a Fiverr gig, with a two-dollar processing fee (that’s to keep the lights on at Fiverr). Now, you might think designers that cheap can’t be that good, but you’d be wrong. Many of the cheap and mid-priced designers on Fiverr have impressive portfolios, so don’t let the prices fool you.  Do read the Gig descriptions carefully. Different designers might have the same prices, but they won’t necessarily offer the same services or benefits for that price.

On 99designs, even the cheapest contests will cost at least a couple hundred dollars. This is fair enough, considering you’re paying for dozens of designers’ time, but it’s still pricey. And don’t get me started on projects. Those are expensive for the average small business owner.

‌Dispute Resolution

Mostly, both platforms hope you can sort things out with the designer you hired. This is usually the best way to do things when/if you can. Almost all sellers will do anything to get a five-star rating.  Sometimes everything goes wrong, though. Sometimes designers don’t follow your guidelines. Sometimes they go way past their deadline, and they won’t even try to make things right.  When you need to get someone else involved, both platforms offer ways to report designers and bring disputes to the support team.

On Fiverr, this means someone from the support team will step in to decide who is right and who is wrong. Fiverr’s decision is final.

99designs again does things pretty much the same way. However, due to the amounts of money involved, they do have some policies in place for when things get legal.  However, if you’re in the US, the Terms of Service will force you into legal arbitration rather than a courtroom.

Quick & Easy Comparison

	Fiverr	99designs
Lower General Prices	✔	✘
Easy to Use	✔	✔
Buyer Protections	✔	✔
Freelancer Vetting	Limited	✔
Fixed Pricing	✔	✔
Hourly Pricing	✘	✘
Staff Arbitration	✔	✔
Legal Arbitration	✘	✔

Final Thoughts

Fiverr vs 99designs, which do you choose?  I’d almost always say Fiverr. Between its simplicity and its pricing, it’s just the better choice in most cases.  You can get great deals and great work on Fiverr.  99designs has some attractive offerings and some deals, but it will be more expensive.

Which is better – hiring an individual designer or running a design contest?  It comes down to a personal choice. But for me, I want fast results and the contests just take too long to get to a finished product.  Is one easier to use than the other, Fiverr or 99designs?  Honestly? They’re both pretty intuitive and well-designed services. I personally prefer the way Fiverr works, as I think it encourages a better client/designer relationship when everything goes right. You can check out our full Fiverr review and get more details on how Fiverr works.

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