Grow your business from the ground up with Fiverr's global freelance marketplace.
Fiverr is a double-sided marketplace where people can sell their digital services and offer jobs seeking to hire the same. It was founded in 2010 by Shai Wininger and Micha Kaufman and it is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Its services start at just US$5 ($6.35), hence the name.
Hiring a freelancer
If you’re an entrepreneur or a small-business owner seeking a specific type of work done, you can browse Fiverr’s marketplace under the following categories:
- Graphics and design
- Digital marketing
- Writing and translation
- Video and animation
- Business
- Fun and lifestyle
- Music and audio
- Programming and tech
From there you can narrow down what sort of freelancer you want to hire based on budget, due date and a range of other factors. You can also select what kind of service you’re interested in, view profiles of those that fit your criteria and ask them questions as part of an interview process before hiring them.
Selling your services
As a freelancer, you can showcase your skills by selecting from more than 100 categories. You then have to fill out a fairly extensive profile highlighting all your skills, your education, and a brief bio. From there, you create a “gig”, which is an amount and type of work that you’re willing to do and the price you will charge for it.
Each gig is a separate entity that interested customers can search for. The freelancer is responsible for answering any questions about the gig on offer.
Fiverr Pro
Fiverr Pro narrows the range of freelancers to an elite few and offers their services to those seeking talent. These professionals are all hand-vetted by Fiverr as the best in their respective industries and capabilities.
To become a Fiverr Pro seller, you must fill out a second application apart from the standard Fiverr profile. This is an intensive process that includes pulling links to previous projects and includes all of your online presences, be they through social media or other job sites. Once the application is complete, the Fiverr staff reviews and vets your application and background. At present, there are substantially fewer categories associated with Fiverr Pro – just four, including:
- Logo design
- Writing articles and blog posts
- Whiteboard and explainer videos
- Social media marketing
Price structure of Fiverr
If you are buying freelance services on Fiverr, you will pay a processing fee of US$1 for purchases up to and including US$20. For orders more than US$20, Fiverr charges 5% of the total.
If you are selling your freelance services, 20% of every job you complete is taken by Fiverr.
Fiverr also charges fees for removing funds from your account, which are detailed below.
| PayPal | 2% of the sum withdrawal amount up to US$1 |
| Fiverr Revenue Card | US$1 within 2 days or US$3 within 2 hours |
| Local Bank Transfer (LBT) | US$3 per transfer |
| Direct Deposit (ACH) | US$1 per transfer (US only) |
Fees last checked August 2017
Pros and cons of Fiverr
Online platforms for freelancing jobs have become all the rage in recent years, but Fiverr is cut from a different cloth. It has its freelancers post their “gigs” online for customers to search, instead of the other way around. The result is labor-intensive and a bit pricey for freelancers.
Pros:
- Visually appealing website that makes it easy to get around and discover what you’re looking for.
- Interface makes it easy for customers to find the freelancer they are looking for with several distinctive search engine filters.
Cons:
- Between the off-the-top service fee and withdrawal fees, freelancers are giving away a lot before they ever see any rewards. Doing a job for US$100 will only net you US$78.74 once Fiverr takes its cut.
