We will look at both Fiverr and Freelancer, two of the most popular freelancing sites and networks on the internet. Hopefully, by the end of this review, you will be better informed about where you should spend your hard-earned dollars.
If you’re on the fence, I prefer starting with Fiverr here because it’s a more reliable and cost-effective place to start hiring. Then, check out Freelancer if Fiverr doesn’t work.
An estimated 57.3 million freelancers work full-time or part-time in the US. Many of those workers will be signed up for at least one of the many online freelance networks. and know which is best Fiverr or freelancer
More and more people are switching from the traditional Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. lifestyle to a more flexible one. So surprisingly, there are many websites to facilitate buying and selling of freelance services online.
An expert in a particular subject is just a few clicks away for entrepreneurs. Hiring and outsourcing freelancers have become easier, faster, and often incredibly cheap.
But where do you find the best services online? How do you stay safe when you present your brief to strangers worldwide? As an entrepreneur, you should know about freelancers before assigning them an important task.
Let’s dive! in
The key difference is which is best Fiverr or freelancer
- Fiverr is best for offering your services to freelancers, while Freelancer lets you post job offers and projects
- Fiverr keeps 20 percent of your profit, while Freelancer comes with monthly plans and different categories
- Fiverr is best for a one-off gig, while Freelancer offers more long-term options
What’s Fiverr?
Fiverr only works in the English language but claims to have international reach. It allows freelancers to register on its site and offer whatever skills they have at their chosen rate.
Created Tim and Dan Xu, say: “Being a small and growing brand, we have to do a lot with less. And when you want to build a business bigger than yourself, you need help. And that’s what Fiverr does.”
Companies needing those skills can search through various categories to find a freelancer whose talents and experience match their needs and budget.
Fiverr says it is the world’s largest marketplace for digital services and allows its clients to view a large freelancer base and purchase all the services they need. In Fiverr, the service offered by a freelancer is called a ‘Gig’.
Fiverr says that one of their gigs is bought every 4 seconds, ranging in price from $5 to $10,000. To date, this platform has secured over 50 million transactions!
There are several categories and services you can use, including:
- logo design
- translate
- voice over
- whiteboard
- digital marketing
- writing and editing
- Music & Audio
- Video & Animation
- business services
- programming and technology
So, in short: Fiverr is like a directory of freelancers offering specific services. It is the place for an entrepreneur to post job offers.
As such, buyers can browse through multiple categories and styles and find a freelancer that best suits their needs. They can then get in touch with the freelancer or use their order form to summarize them.

What is a Freelancer?
It has about 40 million users, with about 17 million freelance jobs posted on its network! Freelancer’s reach spans 247 countries, regions, and territories. Freelancers can be accessed in English, Dutch and Turkish. Its homepage tells potential employers they can do any job; experts “represent every technical, professional, and creative field.”
It’s something to be proud of, but does it stack up?
Freelancer says it is “the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by multiple users and projects.” It is a company that trades on the Australian Securities Exchange.
If you are a buyer, you post a project online. It is where it differs most significantly from Fiverr’s setup. When you post a project, you give it a name, for example, ‘Write a blog on digital marketing.’
Freelancers create profiles, outline their skills, and then match them with jobs that best suit their skills.
Typically, job postings include information such as the buyer’s location, job specifications, and the price to be paid by the customer. One example we found during a quick browse on Freelancer was a US/Canadian buyer willing to pay between $25 and $50 an hour for data entry (transferring information from PDF documents to Excel spreadsheets).
Another buyer wants someone to make a poster for a concert. You get the idea.
Any freelancer can bid for a job. The site shows how many bids have already been placed and the average fee quoted. This way, freelancers can bid higher or lower than average. As a result, a buyer is more likely to be offered a competitive price for them.
What about skill categories?
The list here needs to be clarified. Still, in the “Browse Jobs” section, buyers must input the skills they’re looking for, though you can view the categories on the freelancer’s website. They are found at the bottom of the homepage under Categories.
A quick scout reveals that you can input similar categories you see on Fiverr more easily, including:
- Website, IT, and Software
- Design, Media, and Architecture
- Data entry and admin
- Freight, Shipping, and Transport
- Local jobs, including labor and painting
- translate
We tried plumbing, electrical repair, and decoration to see what happened and what we saw, for example, job postings for broadband installations. Underneath the furnishings was the task of decorating the bedroom.
So, the jobs are varied and random, although, like on Fiverr, a vast majority of the jobs, at first glance, seem oriented towards digital/marketing/creative.
Which Companies use Fiverr?
Some big names are listed here. These include Google, Facebook, PayPal, P&G, Netflix, and intuit. There’s no indication of what kind of jobs they are, at least at first glance, but it’s impressive nonetheless.
How much is Fiverr?
Fiverr is free for both buyers and freelancers to sign up. If you make a purchase, you are charged between $2 and $40 for the free service. Any investment above this is charged at a percentage fee of 5%.
Fiverr Money says: “Helping us operate our platform and providing 24/7 customer support.” Apart from these charges, you will also have to pay the gig price specified by the freelancer.
As we just said, freelancers also sign up for free but only get 80% of the jobs they complete. 20% goes to Fiverr as a commission. It means that freelancers can adjust their prices to offset some of the loss on service charges. It also means that anyone can sign up in the beginning.
No skill tests or financial constraints are coming up. Thus, you get a whole host of workers on this platform, who vary widely in quality. Therefore, always check their star rating before buying a gig. You don’t want to be a guinea pig!
Also read: 59 Most Profitable Fiverr Gigs Ideas
Which Companies Use Freelancer?
There are several company logos on the freelancer’s home page, giving freelancers an indicator of the type of large outlets that use their services. These include Microsoft, Boeing, MetLife, PwC, Intel, and Avery Dennison.
How much is a freelancer?
If you’re posting a job, there’s good news, Freelancer for Buyers is free! However, there are several monthly payment plans for freelancers, complete with a 30-day trial period:
- Introductory: $0.99 per month
- Basic: $4.95 per month
- Plus: $9.95 per month
- Professional: From $29.95 per month
- Premier: $59.95 per month
You can get more details about their charges at the bottom of the homepage. Compared to Fiverr, its prices and fees are not so clear. Many different costs, transaction fees, and percentages of fees are assigned to different categories.
Yet those categories are not easily defined for the first-time user. It can sometimes be made clear which costs apply to freelancers and which to buyers.
When you list a project, you can also choose to receive bids from freelancers and discuss the project. It is also a great time to look at a freelancer’s portfolio.
For a buyer, the cost of a project depends on what it is. If you opt for a fixed-price project, Freelancer charges $3 or 3%, whichever is higher. It is also a 3% fee if you’re paying the Freelancer an hourly rate.
For freelancers, the buyer can cancel their project for up to a week after it is accepted. If they choose to do so, their fee is returned to the buyer.
Why outsource work to websites like Fiverr or Freelancer?
Now that we know all the basics of what these sites offer let’s look at why entrepreneurs can outsource their work to vendors on these platforms. Traditionally, these services would be provided to employees working 9-5. So why switch to strangers on the internet? Here are some good reasons.
- Only some jobs justify employee training and full-time employment (with a dedicated full-time employee). Even if your business is going through re-branding, you may only need a designer for a few months. It is where a freelancer comes into their own. Freelancer is hired only when they are required. So, you’re not wasting money on salary when they have little work. You don’t spend money for in-house training because, more often than not, freelancers already have the skills they need to do the job justice.
- If you are an entrepreneur still developing your network, websites like Freelancer and Fiverr give you access to thousands of professionals you might not otherwise meet. You now have a choice of tons of high-quality talent, and you can browse to find one that best suits your needs. You are not limited to the local area or people you know; Instead, the web is your oyster!
- You can save money by outsourcing work on websites like Fiverr and Freelancer. For one, competition among freelancers is fierce, so often, you’ll naturally receive lower fees due to freelancers trying to outdo each other.
- Sites like Fiverr and Freelancer offer customer support and often have security methods for both parties. Therefore, you may be safer using a website with an established process than finding a freelancer on your own and operating using their contracts.
- Freelancers on these sites are used to complete standalone tasks in the short term. Therefore, chances are they will be experienced in providing quick turnaround times on projects that suit their skills.
- You can read ratings and reviews of registered freelancers on these sites. This information is only sometimes available when you hire someone at their behest. Instead of cherry-picked testimonials, you’ll find accounts of other customers’ experiences like yours when they worked with salespeople on similar projects.
Is Fiverr Suitable for Entrepreneurs?
Fiverr was launched with the principle that you can go online and get a digital service quickly and cheaply with many freelancers.
In practice, it is a bit different, as gigs are usually more expensive than this. It is common for freelancers to have the full range of services hidden inside their ‘Premium’ option.
Fiverr is an excellent site when you need to complete a creative service in the short term, i.e. when hiring a long-term employee is not cost-effective. Fiverr also comes in handy if you’re looking for something specific and need a directory to browse through to find the right person to get the job done.
It’s also worth noting, Fiverr categories can be limited. Namely, they primarily focus on digital services such as marketing, copywriting, and graphic design, and each freelancer can offer more specialized services beyond that. It is sometimes difficult to assess one’s experience level or ability to accomplish a task outside these limits.
Some even comment that Fiverr freelancers also post great photos of their work. But their portfolio on display needs to represent the quality of the work they typically do.
The good news is there is a three-day period for digital goods and 14 days for goods shipped after completing a project where you can get your money back if you are unsatisfied. The security here is with you as an entrepreneur, so in the worst case, you will only lose.
How Does Freelancer Hold Up for Buyers?
Freelancer’s interface is heavily buyer-focused, meaning you and your project are at the center of the site’s attention. It puts you in an advantageous position to approach freelancers instead of the other way around. All you have to do is browse through the interested parties and see who is a good fit.
It also means that you can accurately compare pricing among freelancers for the job you post. You don’t have to jump from profile to profile before tFreelancercer has expressed interest in taking the job, weighing different prices.
WiFreelancercer, chances are you will have multiple bids on your project within minutes. You should be able to get up and running relatively early.
Last but not least, Freelancercer, you do not get paid until the completion of the project. That is until you have negotiated a set of milestones with your newly hirFreelancercer. Again, this helps the buyer feel more in control of the quality of the work they receive.
Wrapping up: which is best Fiverr or freelancer
If you’re on the fence, I prefer joining Fiverr here first because it’s a more reliable and cost-effective place to start hiring. Then, check out Freelancer if Fiverr doesn’t work. Whom would you choose? Tell us in the comment box below.
Either way, we hope these sites make your life easier in the future by completing some of the time-consuming tasks on your ever-growing to-do list! If you need to complete a project quickly and at a low cost, then Fiverr is your preferred platform. Gigs are exclusive and easy to choose from it.
In short, I like to start with Fiverr Pro and then use Upwork only when I need help finding what I need.
Does Fiverr contact its users?
Occasionally, Fiverr may contact you through the official Fiverr member team, which will be marked as my “Fiverr team”.
How do I create a poll in Freelancer?
You can select the entries you need by clicking the “Launch Poll” button on your contest’s details page. By doing this, you can send your poll link to your contacts and friends via multiple platforms like Facebook, email, Twitter, or even your blog.