As two of the most popular platforms for graphic and design work, weighing up whether 99designs vs Fiverr is right for your needs is a common thing. So much so that we’ve created this guide comparing them so you can make an informed decision as to which to use for your project needs.

Whether you’re a freelancer, business owner, founder or someone just looking for some help with some graphics, website design or a number of other services you’ll be able to find this on one of the two platforms.

We’ve used both platforms in the past for everything from logo design to video editing and had some great results as well as some which weren’t as good. We'll give you our honest guide on which we think will be best for you and how to get the best results.

99design vs Fiverr:  Services

When deciding which platform to use, one key factor that can affect it will be the exact service you want to use on it. For example, if you’re looking for someone to help write marketing content then Fiverr is the way to go as the platform has hundreds of people offering this whereas 99designs doesn’t offer this. 

The crossover services which give you a straight answer are graphic and website design, if you’re wanting it for this reason then both Fiverr and 99designs are great choices and you can jump to a section further down to help narrow your choice down.

Below we’ve summarized the different main categories that each platform offers.

99designs core categories that it offers include:

• Logo design and branding (what it’s most well known for)
• Website and app design
• Art & Illustration
• Packaging & labels
• Business and advertising graphics
• Clothing and merch design
• Book & magazine design

Fiverr on the other hand has less core services and covers a huge array of categories with everything from graphic design to video editing to programming and more. Some of the most used services on Fiverr however include:

• Graphic design
• Website technical help
• Content writing
• Marketing help
• Social media related services
• Resume/CV writing help
• Podcast services
• Developers

Fiverr have a lot more categories and as you'll see don't just stick to one main area like 99designs do. As you can see 99designs have a much more narrow/focused range of offerings whereas Fiverr does pretty much anything you can imagine! This does sway some to use 99designs as they have a more focused core of designers on their platform for design work over Fiverr but you need to consider other factors too such as budget, timeframe and so on.

99designs quick summary

99designs is a creative design platform that connects you with graphic designers across the world. Its success stems from its unique contest setup, allowing you to run a logo design contest and receive multiple entries (ranging from 5 to 50 designs). You can then shortlist the designs you like, give feedback and get new designs from the shortlisted designers and ultimately choose a winner. This popular format is essentially the driving force behind the success of 99designs and is a really great way for founders and marketings to get a variety of ideas and inspirations from multiple designers for one set price.

Why we love 99designs

• Ability to either hire a designer directly or run design contests
• All designers are vetted for quality
• Their contests are a unique and great way to get concepts from multiple designers
• 100% money-back guarantee on design contests
• High quality of designers
• Rated 4.8/5 from over 37,000 happy customers

Fiverr quick summary

Fiver calls itself a freelance services marketplace and has over 500+ categories to choose from, the platform connects people who need a service with freelancers who offer the service. They offer services including graphic design all the way to podcast editing, video messages, social media management, content writing and much more.

Why we love Fiverr

• Massive range of services available
• Services to suit all budgets
• Big pool of freelancers from all over the world
• Can get work done quickly when needed by paying more

When we would use 99designs

We’d recommend 99designs for graphic design work where we have a good budget and want high quality results. We’d recommend running design contests if you’re not 100% sure on the direction for the design work and want designers to put their creative twist on your ideas. This can result in you getting a number of different ideas and directions for your project which can be incredibly useful and bring better end results.

It’s a great option for those who want logos redesigned, websites made, branding completed and more. Especially for established businesses or those starting out that want to invest in this from the start.

Think of 99designs as offering a more premium experience both in the price but the quality you get is top notch.

When we would use Fiverr

We’d recommend Fiverr for those with smaller/limited budgets when it comes to graphic design projects and for those that have more time to browse all the designers. 

We also would advise you to opt for Fiverr if you’ve got tasks that fall outside of design work as the array of ‘gigs’ (services) that people offer on Fiverr is huge. 

Think of Fiverr as a more versatile platform, where you can get a logo designed from as little as $10 all the way up to thousands. 

Who should use each platform

99designs is designed for those who want a high quality end result and who value the art and craft of graphic design and understand the importance and effect it can have on your business. 

It’s fantastic for business owners and marketing professionals who want to get graphic design done by fellow professionals who have years of experience.

Fiverr is designed for those looking to get good results but have more of a budget in mind, this can be from a very basic entry level budget all the way to a healthy budget. 

It’s great for freelancers and those who may want additional services outside of just graphic design. For example many use Fiverr for everything from content writing to video editing. 

99designs vs Fiverr: Pricing

Comparing pricing directly is almost impossible when it comes to these two platforms as it will depend on the work you’re after and the actual freelancer who will complete it. 

If you’re looking for sub $250/£250 for a logo for example, then forget 99designs and focus on Fiverr as on 99designs a logo contest requires this as a minimum. 

If you’re looking to hire a designer on 99designs then you’ll be charged a fixed 5% fee and the designer themselves will also pay a fee (this will vary based on various factors i.e how much work they do on the platform).

In general on 99designs the higher prize you put up that the winner of the contest will receive the better quality of designs you'll get, you can see an example of a contest below.

On Fiverr, you’ll find you pay a service fee for each service/gig you use and the seller will also have fees on their side, when you browse the gigs on Fiverr you'll see fixed prices like below.

Essentially the fees you pay won’t be hugely different so this shouldn't be your core focus when it comes to price, instead its mainly about the price of the actual services you want to use. 

The pricing of services is set by the freelancers and on Fiverr you’ll find a much bigger range from getting a logo done for sub $50 all the way up to thousands. Whereas on 99designs the pricing for logo contests is more fixed.

Pricing summary: For those with smaller budgets you may want to look into Fiverr as there is more options available to you however with this you’ll need to sift through a lot of lower quality freelancers to find the gems, opt for 99designs if you want to pay a little more but get a better quality of work. Also remember to use things such as our Fiverr promo code which can save you money on your first order.

99designs vs Fiverr: Speed

With both platforms if you need to get some work done quickly you can do, you may end up paying a premium however for this. 

With Fiverr you can often pay for people to complete your service/gig faster and they will complete it in a matter of days rather than within the week for example. On 99designs you can opt to hire a designer directly and opt for someone with availability to work quickly if required.

99designs vs Fiverr: Design Quality

A very important area yet also very subjective and the results are on a case by case basis. Ask some founders and they may have had a great experience with quality results on one platform and ask someone else and they may have had terrible quality results.

From our experience, we’ve had fantastic results on both but also some poorer results on both. The key is to find the right freelancer rather than the right platform, so it’s worth taking time on either platform to find the freelancer whose work looks and feels the best fit for your needs.

Why you shouldn’t use 99designs or Fiverr

There are a few occasions and reasons when using 99designs or Fiverr may not be right and here we’ll explain them.

One of the biggest downsides to using these types of platforms as opposed to either hiring in house or hiring someone in person is that they may not get a full understanding of your business and it’s needs. No matter if you jump on Zoom’s and calls to discuss, send them all of your collateral etc they may won’t understand your business values, ethos and product as well as if you hire someone. 

The same can be said for hiring a business/agency where you can speak and actually meet them and check they understand. 

In summary you may not want to use these types of platforms when:

• A deep understanding of your business
• Need to have constant feedback and talking with the person

You may find that if you do hire when you need the above you’ll find that the results you get may suffer from:

• Lack of Strategy - Designers on these platforms typically don't invest in understanding the market context or brand strategy, resulting in designs that are merely aesthetically pleasing but lack strategic depth.
• Copycat Risks - There is a small risk of receiving plagiarized designs or designs which are generic and used from templates which means your finished design/work may look very similar to other, this could even lead to legal issues in the future.
• Cost and time to fix - If you hire someone and they do a job that isn’t right you may end up spending the same again trying to get it fixed

99designs vs Fiverr final verdict

We know you’d love us to have come to a decisive decision and be able to say ‘you have to use this one because of x y z’ but unfortunately this is not the case. Both have their places and having used both previously we still continue to plan to use both going forward.

From our experience, if you’re looking for some high quality design work and have a healthy budget then 99designs would be our recommendation, we feel you’d get the best experience, quality and overall result. If on the other hand you’ve got a limited budget or want other services outside of this area then Fiverr would be our first port of call to look at.

For those undecided, have a browse of each, see the quality of the work that has been done as well as the costs and make your own informed decision.