Fiverr vs. Upwork: which platform is best for business owners?

Hiring an unfamiliar freelancer is scary, but not as scary as hiring an unfamiliar freelancer on an unfamiliar platform. For a lot of people, it comes down to Fiverr vs. Upwork, but if you haven’t used either before, or you’re unsure of how they work, choosing a freelancing service is just as tricky as choosing a freelancer.

In this guide, we aim to clear the air on Fiverr vs. Upwork. We did an in-depth comparison of where each platform stands on pricing, job quality, usability, and more, plus how they stack up against one another. Before you make your final decision, let’s start with a brief overview of each.

Fiverr vs Upwork illustration

Fiverr

Founded in 2010, Fiverr was one of the first gig marketplaces where users could either buy or sell services. Although it originally specialized in digital services only, Fiverr has expanded to include other freelance business opportunities like consulting, management, and administrative assistance—not to mention “odd jobs” like cooking lessons and online tutoring.

The appeal of Fiverr has largely been the low costs of its services: gigs usually start around $5, which is where the name comes from. However, in more recent years they’ve attracted some higher-quality talent with fees to match, so now you’re able to find a range of pricing, skill levels, and services.

Upwork

Upwork as it’s known today started in 2015 when Elance and oDesk merged.

It has since grown into one of the largest freelance marketplaces in the world, specializing in all business services, with freelancers for administration, finance, design, content creation, legal, marketing, and even engineering—although without the “lifestyle” gigs Fiverr is famous for. One of the perks of Upwork is that both buyers and sellers can post, so clients can browse freelancers’ profiles while freelancers can browse clients’ job postings.

Comparatively, Upwork is a more professional and business-oriented platform. User profiles read like resumes or CVs, with rates, work history, and even education. Upwork is also more involved in the employment process, awarding badges to freelancers and monitoring work diaries, and enforcing payment protections.

When to use Fiverr or Upwork and when to avoid them

Platforms like Upwork or Fiverr are great if you are looking to have several freelancers in a wide—and possibly unusual—range of fields at your fingertips. However, if you’re looking for a freelancer in a specific field, like graphic design, for example, we’d recommend looking into specialized platforms that focus on the skill you need, like 99designs for graphic design (shameless plug).

If getting freelance work done for the lowest price point possible is not your number one concern, a more specialized platform may offer you more security, choice, and expertise.

In the case of graphic design, you can find good and bad graphic designers on Fiverr and Upwork and the quality you receive can vary a lot, especially with low-budget designers. So it’s worth looking very closely at what they’re offering and what quality you can expect to get from them. 99designs vets each designer manually offers more design categories, allows you to either run a Contest or hire freelancers individually, and has search functionality and briefs tailor-made for working with designers, which makes the process more seamless.

Pricing

Upwork

With its emphasis on professionalism, Upwork tends to be pricier than Fiverr. While both platforms feature top talent, Upwork has fewer quick-and-easy freelancers with low costs and fast turnovers. Upwork is closer to a standard job forum, with workers from entry-level to expert.

Interestingly, Upwork sellers often use the same tiered packaging model as Fiverr sellers, although the starting prices on Upwork are typically more realistic (“from $50,” not “from $5″). Again, they’re transparent about what’s included, so you can scale your pricing accordingly.

via Upwork

Fiverr

In sheer cost, Fiverr is usually the cheaper option in the Fiverr vs. Upwork debate. However, don’t be misled by the initial cost you see when browsing. Fiverr sellers often use a package or tiered system, so if you see “from $5,” that typically means the bare minimum service is $5, whereas a complete project is more commensurate with industry rates.

Because Fiverr is designed for individual projects, most sellers are fairly transparent about what’s included in each package—including fine details like the number of revisions or the type of file they deliver.

When purchasing through Fiverr, however, there’s always an inherent risk involved. Getting a professional quality logo design for $5 might be too good to be true, so read the fine print. On the bright side, Fiverr has implemented a “Fiverr Pro” option with only verified professionals, but don’t expect cheap options as they represent the top 1% of their talent.

via Fiverr

Fiverr vs. Upwork: final verdict

So in Fiverr vs. Upwork, which one wins? It really depends on what you’re looking for.

Fiverr is better for pricing and speed, but those don’t always equate to a job well done. Because Fiverr is rougher around the edges, you can get faster turnarounds and unbelievably cheap deals, but there’s always a risk involved.

Upwork the slow and steady option: there’s more money at stake because it attracts higher-level professionals, but there’s also more safety. When you’re looking for a long-term hire or a freelancer that you’d like for ongoing work, Upwork creates a more conducive environment to meet them.

Of course, neither Fiverr nor Upwork really excels at specialization. Both lean towards all-in-one freelancing platforms, targeting people who will want services in more than one field. For example, both Fiverr and Upwork target logo design and other design services, but neither caters exclusively to design work.

If you want to use a platform that truly understands graphic design and can help match you with the designer you’re looking for, you’d have to use one like 99designs, a platform specializing in design work.