5 Best Freelance Sites to Hire QUALITY Graphic Designers in 2021

There are plenty of freelance platforms out there, but not all of them are reliable. You don’t want to waste your time – or worse, your money – by hiring the wrong graphic designer.

You don’t want to end up with a design that turns out to be plagiarized, or with a designer who makes a fuss about making the revisions you need. You certainly don’t want to pay for a design you can’t even use.

I’ve scoured the web to find the best freelance graphic design platforms out there, and examined and compared their features and benefits to create this list of the top five. You’ll find all the details below, but if you’re looking for affordable prices without having to compromise on quality, you can just head over to Fiverr to find a professional designer for as little as $5.

What We Look For in the Best Freelance Websites for Graphic Designers

My colleagues at Website Planet and I have spent a lot of time testing the best freelance websites around. When it comes to the top choices for freelance graphic designers specifically, I’ve looked for:

• A wide range of graphic design services, so you can find a designer for any job, from designing a logo and brand identity to creating appealing social media graphics.
• Accessible design portfolios, so you can browse and assess the quality of a freelancer’s previous work before getting in touch.
• Access to reviews and client feedback, so you can get insight into what it’s like to work with particular designers.
• Design services at a range of price points, so you can get a great design even if you’re on a tight budget.

1. Fiverr – Best for Businesses on a Budget

Fiverr is one of the best-known freelance marketplaces around.  You can get pretty much any graphic design service you want, from designs for business cards and brochures, to logos, brand graphics, and more. There are hundreds of thousands of freelance design gigs on the platform, so you’ll have a lot to choose from.

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One of the great things about Fiverr is that it’s cheap, with prices starting as low as $5. Wondering if you can get good quality for such low rates? So were we, so my teammate actually tested several Fiverr logo designers at different price levels. See the surprising results in our in-depth Fiverr Logo Design review.

Here are some of the features that make Fiverr worth your time:

• Experienced designers: Fiverr’s seller levels correspond to work successfully completed on the platform. The higher the level, the better your chances of getting a service you’ll be happy with. Plus, you can check out designers’ full profiles to see details of work completed and customer ratings and reviews.
• Time-saving filters: There are multiple ways to find the right graphic designer for you.  After clicking on the service you want or searching for a keyword, you can filter options by type of design job, seller level, budget, and delivery time.
• Budget-friendly options: Fiverr made its name on affordable freelance services, so there are lots of designers offering packages at a low cost. If money is no object, you can also check out Fiverr Pro, for even more experienced designers who’ve been personally vetted by the platform.

• Security: Your payment is held in escrow till you’re happy with the work.

2. 99designs – Guaranteed Design Quality

99designs helps graphic designers showcase their work and connect with potential clients.  You can either run a design contest and choose from multiple applicants, or work one-on-one with an individual designer.

There are more than 90 different types of design work available, and the platform guarantees you’ll get a design you love. To help you make an informed decision, designer portfolios include useful information on how many contests the designer has won, as well as their number of repeat customers.

Here are some of the notable features on 99designs:

• Design contests: Create a brief for the design you want and designers around the world will compete to fulfil it. Then you pick the design that best matches your needs. My colleague ran a contest of his own, on his search for the best new logo for Website Planet. If you want to see the results, check out his full 99designs review.
• Quality guarantee: When designers apply to join the 99designs platform, they’re manually vetted by a “Curation Team.” Once they’re in, you know they’ve met the requirements for technical skills, design principles, conceptual thought, and client communication.
• Great filtering tools: You can use seller levels (entry, mid and top level) to help you find the right designer. You can also filter by category, sub-category, and industry to fine-tune your results. And there’s a language filter, too.

3. DesignCrowd – Good Value Design from around the Globe

DesignCrowd can be a good middle ground between budget graphic design on Fiverr and more expensive options on 99designs. The platform aims to help you get the design you want at an affordable price.

As I mentioned, we ran a little design contest of our own at Website Planet, where we tested all the major logo design platforms out there to find a new logo for our site. And guess what – DesignCrowd was the winner! To see our new logo in all its glory and read about the process, hop over to our DesignCrowd review.

Designer profiles on DesignCrowd aren’t as full featured as they are on sites like Fiverr, although you can still get an idea of ability and style. These are some other useful features:

• Get designs fast with design contests: Prepare a brief and start getting design concepts from designers around the world in less than 24 hours. Then pick your favorite submission, and download your files.
• Wide range of categories: DesignCrowd has dozens of graphic design categories which you can browse using the on-site filtering tools. This makes it easy to refine your options till you find the right designer. You can also filter designers by rating, earnings, projects won, and country.
• Quickly pick your favorite designers: When you’re browsing the platform, it’s easy to create a designer wishlist and start your design contest in just a few clicks.

4. LogoNerds – Best for Straightforward Logo Design

Services like Fiverr, 99designs, and DesignCrowd are a good choice if you have varied graphic design needs, but if you just want a logo, then LogoNerds is worth a look, despite the dated design of its website.

You can also get designs for character mascots and small business websites. Here are some of the best features of LogoNerds:

• Logo design specialists: LogoNerds specializes in logo design, so you won’t have to wade through other types of designers to find the perfect one.
• Affordable design packages: LogoNerds has three design packages available, with the cheapest starting at less than $30. Set your brief and you get several concepts to choose from before making your final choice.
• Risk-free design process: The company will give you a new logo free of charge if you’re not completely happy with your design.

To see some logo samples and learn more about the process, read our full LogoNerds review.

5. The Logo Company – Hassle-Free Logo Design and Other Services

If you don’t want to wade through multiple designers’ profiles, then The Logo Company could be worth a look. It specializes in logo design (do I hear “no, duh”), but you can also get business cards, letterheads, and printing.

You can see examples of the company’s work on the homepage, or read our full review of The Logo Company to see some designs they created for us.

Here are some of the key features of The Logo Company:

• Save time on choosing designers: Instead of browsing the profiles of thousands of graphic designers, you input your brief, and the company chooses five designers to work on your project. Within a matter of days, you’ll get five concepts to look at before you pick a winner.
• Unlimited revisions: This is a biggie, as many platforms charge extra for multiple revisions. The Logo Company guarantees to revise and redraw till you get a logo you’re happy with, which brings peace of mind that whatever happens, you’ll get a logo you love.
• Multiple design packages: You can go for the logo only, or packages that include business cards and stationery. You can also add extras like Microsoft Word templates and social media designs to get your new brand off to a good start.

How to Become a Freelance Graphic Designer

Ready to dive into a rewarding freelance graphic design career? Here’s how to get started.

1. Create Portfolio Pieces. It’s okay if you don’t have any previous clients, you can create mock-up projects for your freelance design portfolio. This lets potential clients see if your skills are a good match for their projects. Cover a range of designs and styles, including print collateral, social media graphics, and website graphics.
2. Set Up Freelance Website Account(s). Bring your portfolio pieces over to freelance websites – I highly recommend Fiverr. Learn how to post a Gig on Fiverr – it’s really easy. You can include add-ons and tiered design packages to suit each clients’ budget and project scope. Over time, you can adjust your prices to earn even more as you build a solid reputation as a talented and reliable freelancer.
3. Apply for Freelancing Opportunities. Don’t just sit and wait for the work to come – you want to seize every opportunity to build your experience, too. Search around and apply for design jobs posted by companies on Fiverr and other freelance sites. Some sites offer paid contests for logos, banners, and more. 99designs is one of the most popular contest platforms – with guaranteed money for the winners. Even if you don’t win, you can showcase contest entries and mock-ups on your portfolio page; this can help you bring in new (and repeat) clients.
4. Promote Your Work on Social Media. You can keep repeating steps 2 and 3, but another way to build clout as a freelance designer is to promote your work on social media. It’s also a great way to build a network of clients and fellow design professionals who can help you land long-term freelance contracts and extra work.

Hungry for more? Here’s our ultimate guide on how to start freelancing.

Find the Perfect Graphic Designer

So, which freelance graphic design website is right for you? Each of the sites on our list has particular strengths, depending on what your business needs. Here’s my take on it:

• If you need a variety of graphic design services within a set budget, Fiverr gives you the widest choice and budget range. Plus, it’s easy to see who the best graphic designers are.
• If you’re not sure what you want, and would like to test a range of design options, then the design contests on 99designs or DesignCrowd might suit you. You’ll have the chance to see and compare multiple concepts before making a final decision.
  Of course, since prices on Fiverr are so cheap, you could also hire several different designers there and run a little contest of your own.
• And if you just want a logo, consider more of a niche website, like LogoNerds or The Logo Company. After all, if logos are all the company does, you’re likely to be dealing with specialist logo designers.

Here’s a quick comparison table so you can see the differences between the platforms at a glance. If you need additional freelance services, don’t miss our list of the top freelance websites.

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