Most people start comparing sites like Fiverr for one of three reasons: the fees stop looking small on bigger orders, they want more vetting than an open marketplace gives, or the job doesn't fit a fixed-price gig. This guide compares seven Fiverr alternatives on cost, vetting and job fit, with the fee math shown in USD. If you sell on Fiverr, skip to the section called "If you sell on Fiverr: take-home and how to move."

The best Fiverr alternative depends on the job. PeoplePerHour suits a mix of hourly and fixed-price projects. Toptal suits vetted senior talent. 99designs suits contest-based design. Contra suits freelancers who want commission-free work. goLance suits teams that want one flat 7.95% fee they can split with the freelancer. Compare fees for each below.

goLance publishes this guide and is one of the platforms listed, so we have a stake here. It appears last, with the same fee arithmetic as everyone else.

Fees verified on 2026-09-30 against each platform's own page.

Fiverr alternatives at a glance

Here's the short version. Fees are in the costs section further down, because a fee number means little until you attach it to an order size.

Best for, one line each:

• Toptal: senior talent for a higher-commitment engagement.
• Freelancer.com: mixed budgets, from a small task to a design contest.
• 99designs: a logo or brand identity where you want many concepts.
• Contra: creatives who want to keep all of their project fee.
• PeoplePerHour: a mix of hourly and fixed-price projects.
• Guru: project-based work across many categories.
• goLance: one flat platform fee that client and freelancer can split.

How to choose a Fiverr alternative

Pick on four things: the model, the vetting, the fees and what happens when a job goes sideways. Most lists skip the first one, and it's the one that decides whether a platform feels right.

Match the model to the job

Fiverr is a productized gig marketplace: you buy a packaged service at a listed price. Freelancer.com, PeoplePerHour and Guru are bid and proposal marketplaces, where you post a brief and freelancers pitch. Toptal is a vetted network that matches you with pre-screened talent. 99designs runs contests, where many designers submit concepts and you pick one. Contra is a commission-free portfolio network.

Behance and Dribbble aren't marketplaces. They're portfolio and discovery sites, useful for finding people but not for running a project.

Vetting and checking deliverables

Vetting differs by model. Open marketplaces let anyone list, so the checking falls to you. Vetted networks screen before you see anyone. Contests let you judge finished concepts before you commit.

On any platform, run the same checks. Ask for samples that match your job. Pay for a small trial task first. Confirm revision terms in writing and confirm who owns the final files. And check that the delivered work is original and written or made by a person, not machine-generated filler: search a few distinctive sentences and ask the freelancer to walk you through how they built it.

Fees and payment protection

Fees can land on the buyer, the seller or both, so a single percentage rarely tells the whole story. Flat small-order fees also make percentage comparisons depend on order size: a $3.50 fee is a lot on a $50 order and almost nothing on a $5,000 one. The costs section below runs the numbers at three order sizes.

Disputes and changing course

Ask two questions before you pay. What happens if the scope changes halfway through? What happens if delivery is late or doesn't match the brief? Look for a stated process, a clear point where payment is released and a way to end a contract cleanly. Read the platform's own terms for specifics. Wondering about reliability? See our separate review: is Fiverr legit.

The best Fiverr alternatives, compared

These are the sites like Fiverr worth a look, in the order of the table above. Each entry gives a plain-language model, a "best for" line, a fee line with a source and the date we checked it, and honest pros and cons. Fiverr competitors differ less on features than on how they charge and how much they screen, so read the fee lines closely.

Toptal

Best for: senior talent for a higher-commitment engagement.

How it works: Toptal is a vetted network. It screens talent and matches you with candidates rather than showing you an open pool.

Fees: clients pay a flat $79 monthly subscription if they decide to proceed with talent matching. Toptal's FAQ also describes a trial of up to two weeks, and says clients are not billed if unsatisfied (Toptal FAQ, seen 2026-09-30). Rates are set per engagement, see Toptal.

Pros:

• Screening happens before you see candidates.
• The trial period lowers the risk of a bad match.

Cons:

• Rates aren't published up front, so budgeting means a conversation first.
• Built for bigger commitments, so it's a poor fit for a one-off task.

Freelancer.com

Best for: mixed budgets and a wide skill range.

How it works: Freelancer.com is a bid and contest hybrid. You can post a project and take bids, or run a contest and pick from submitted work.

Fees: on fixed-price projects, the freelancer pays 10% or $5, whichever is greater, and the employer pays 3% or $3, whichever is greater. On hourly projects, the freelancer pays 10% and the employer 3% on each payment (Freelancer.com fees and charges, seen 2026-09-30).

Pros:

• Low employer fee on fixed-price work.
• Contests and bids give you two ways to source.

Cons:

• The freelancer pays 10% or $5, whichever is greater, so small projects feel it.
• An open marketplace, so vetting is on you.

99designs

Best for: logo and brand identity design.

How it works: 99designs runs design contests and packages. You write a brief, designers submit concepts, and you pick a winner.

Fees: logo contest packages are Bronze $249, Silver $399, Gold $799 and Platinum $1,050 (99designs pricing, seen 2026-09-30). This is contest pricing, not a per-order commission.

Pros:

• You see many concepts before you choose.
• A fixed package price makes the budget easy to plan.

Cons:

• Built for design, so it doesn't cover writing, development or marketing work.
• The entry price is higher than a small Fiverr gig.

Contra

Best for: freelancers who want commission-free work, and clients hiring creatives.

How it works: Contra is a commission-free portfolio network. Freelancers build a profile and take work from clients directly through it.

Fees: Contra says it is always commission-free for all creatives. On the free plan, client payment fees are $15 or $29 per payment over $500. The Pro plan costs $29 per month or $199 per year and removes client payment fees. The digital product fee is capped at 5%, with a minimum of $3 and a maximum of $29 (Contra pricing, seen 2026-09-30). For a wider look, see our guide to platforms with no fees.

Pros:

• Freelancers keep the full project fee.
• Portfolio-first profiles suit creative work.

Cons:

• Commission-free isn't cost-free: client payment fees apply on the free plan.
• Less suited to buyers who want a bid process or a screened shortlist.

PeoplePerHour

Best for: a mix of hourly and fixed-price projects.

How it works: PeoplePerHour is a freelance marketplace with a mix of hourly and fixed-price projects. Buyers post work and freelancers respond.

Fees: freelancers pay a tiered commission that falls as their lifetime billing with each buyer grows, from 20% on the first earnings down to 7.5% and then 3.5% (PeoplePerHour freelancer commission fees, seen 2026-09-30).

Pros:

• Both hourly and fixed-price project types.
• Suits buyers who aren't sure yet whether the work is a one-off or ongoing.

Cons:

• Open marketplace, so vetting is on you.
• Fee tiers vary, so confirm them before you commit.

Guru

Best for: project-based work across many categories.

How it works: Guru is a freelance marketplace where you post work and hire freelancers for it.

Fees: freelancers pay a job fee on every paid invoice, from 9% on the Basic plans down to 5% on the top Executive membership (Guru pricing, seen 2026-09-30).

Pros:

• Covers many service categories.
• Another open marketplace to compare against Freelancer.com and PeoplePerHour.

Cons:

• Open marketplace, so vetting is on you.
• Fees vary by plan, so check them first.

goLance

Best for: teams that want one flat fee they can split with the freelancer.

How it works: goLance is a flat-fee marketplace, and it publishes this guide, as noted above. It charges a flat 7.95% platform fee that can be split between the client and the freelancer. goLance markets itself as fee-free for clients when the freelancer carries it. Freelancer sign-up is free, with no sign-up fees and no hidden costs. Contracts can be in US dollars or euros.

Talent is pre-vetted, and the platform uses AI matching, a cultural-fit assessment, time tracking with work diaries and fraud prevention.

Fees: flat 7.95% of the order, whoever pays it. Seen 2026-09-30 on goLance's own pages.

Pros:

• One flat percentage, with no sign-up fees or hidden costs.
• The fee is flexible: the client, the freelancer or both can carry it.

Cons:

• The percentage scales with order size, so the dollar fee grows on larger orders: $397.50 on a $5,000 order, shared or not.
• Fewer contest or package-style options than a platform built around them.

For a head-to-head, see the goLance vs Fiverr comparison.

Where to browse talent, not hire through: Behance and Dribbble are portfolio and discovery sites. They're good places to look at a designer's past work and build a shortlist, but they aren't marketplaces where you run and pay for a project.

What each platform really costs: worked USD examples

Fees verified on 2026-09-30 against each platform's own page. Numbers below use only those fees. Fiverr's buyer fee comes from Fiverr's help page (seen 2026-09-30): 5.5% of the purchase amount, plus a $3.50 fee on orders under $200.

Below is a $1,000 order, with buyer and seller sides on the same row.

Arithmetic: $1,000 x 5.5% = $55. $1,000 x 3% = $30. $1,000 x 10% = $100. $1,000 x 7.95% = $79.50, and half of that is $39.75.

The combined column is the honest one. A marketplace charges $79.50 on $1,000 in total no matter how it is split, so the split moves who pays, not the total.

Now the same comparison across order sizes, buyer side only, except goLance where the total is shown.

Arithmetic: $150 x 5.5% = $8.25, plus $3.50 = $11.75. $150 x 3% = $4.50. $150 x 7.95% = $11.93 (rounded). $5,000 x 5.5% = $275. $5,000 x 3% = $150. $5,000 x 7.95% = $397.50.

Two takeaways. Fiverr's flat $3.50 makes the effective buyer rate 7.83% at $150 and falls toward 5.5% above $200. And goLance's total is a flat 7.95%, the only one in this table where the buyer share can be zero at every order size.

Moving from Fiverr as a buyer: a switching checklist

Moving doesn't have to be dramatic. Six steps keep it tidy.

1. Decide which model your next order needs. Look back at match the model to the job. A one-off logo points to a contest. Ongoing work points to a bid marketplace. Senior hires point to a vetted network.
2. Save what you own. Keep your briefs, approved files, style notes, copies of deliverables that don't need a login, and contact details for any freelancer you want to rehire.
3. Finish open Fiverr orders first. Don't run a live order on two platforms at once. It muddies who owes what and when.
4. Read the terms before moving a repeat relationship. Before you take an ongoing arrangement off any platform, read that platform's terms on working outside it, and follow them. Check the platform's terms, not a forum thread.
5. Post the same brief and run a paid trial. Put the identical brief on the new platform and pay for one small task before a full project. Our guide on how to hire freelancers step by step covers briefs and trial tasks.
6. Compare the first invoice against the cost tables above. If the real total is higher than the table says, find out why before ordering again.

If you sell on Fiverr: take-home and how to move

This section is for freelancers. It covers what you'd keep on a $500 project elsewhere, how to move without losing income, and which platform fits which kind of seller.

What you keep on a $500 project

Arithmetic: $500 x 20% = $100, and $500 minus $100 = $400. $500 x 10% = $50. $500 x 7.95% = $39.75, and $500 minus $39.75 = $460.25. Shared evenly, the fee is $19.875 each, rounded to $19.88, and $500 minus $19.88 = $480.12. Fiverr's seller fee is from its Payment Terms of Service, seen 2026-09-30.

Take-home is not income. Contra's client-side payment fee is paid by the client and is not deducted here.

How to move your work

Treat the move as a test, not a switch.

1. Keep serving open Fiverr orders to completion. Finish what you've promised before anything else.
2. Rebuild your portfolio. Lead with your three strongest samples. New clients skim.
3. Assume reviews don't transfer. Unless the new platform says otherwise, plan to earn a first few reviews there from scratch.
4. Price with the table above. Set your rate on the new platform so it leaves the same take-home you had before. If you net less after fees, raise the price or pick a lower-fee platform.
5. Tell repeat clients only in line with each platform's terms. Read them first, then decide what you can say and when.
6. Run both for 30 days, then reassess. Compare hours spent, money kept and how easy it was to land the next job.

To try the second half of that plan, you can start freelancing on goLance for free, since sign-up carries no fee.

Which sellers fit which platform

Packaged, productized services fit a gig marketplace. Custom projects that need a pitch fit a bid and proposal marketplace like Freelancer.com or PeoplePerHour. Experienced specialists who want screened, higher-commitment work fit a vetted network like Toptal. Designers who like competing on a brief fit contests on 99designs. Creatives who want to keep the full project fee fit Contra. Freelancers who prefer a single flat fee they can share with a client fit goLance. None of these guarantees income: the fit depends on your skill, your niche and how well you pitch.

Which Fiverr alternative is right for you

Use this table to match the job to the platform. If you want a wider view, our guide to the best freelance platforms for businesses goes deeper on general fit. There's no single winner here, only a best pick per job.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Fiverr?

It depends on the job. PeoplePerHour suits hourly and fixed-price projects, Toptal suits vetted senior talent, 99designs suits logo contests, Freelancer.com suits mixed budgets, Contra suits commission-free creative work, and goLance suits teams that want a flat fee they can split. Pick by job type, then check the fee table.

Is there a free alternative to Fiverr?

Not really. Sign-up is free on most platforms, but that's not the same as free to use. Contra is commission-free for creatives, though client payment fees can apply on its free plan. goLance has free freelancer sign-up and charges a flat 7.95% platform fee that can be split. Every platform makes money somewhere.

What is better than Fiverr?

Nothing is better across the board. It's a question of fit. Fiverr suits packaged gigs at listed prices. Others suit bidding, vetted talent, contests or commission-free work. Use the decision table above to match your job type, budget and vetting need to a platform.

Which is cheaper, Fiverr or Freelancer.com?

On a $1,000 fixed-price order, Fiverr's buyer fee is $55 (5.5%) and Freelancer.com's employer fee is $30 (3%). On the seller side, Fiverr keeps 20% ($200), while Freelancer.com takes 10% ($100). Fees can change, so check both fee pages before you order.

What are the best sites like Fiverr for freelancers and beginners?

Beginners often start on Contra for a portfolio, Freelancer.com for small projects, or PeoplePerHour for hourly and fixed-price work. goLance has free sign-up, no hidden costs and a flat fee. Choose the one that matches how you like to find work: listed gigs, bids or direct clients.

Are there Fiverr alternatives with no fees?

Only partly. Contra is commission-free for creatives, but client payment fees apply on its free plan. goLance markets itself as fee-free for clients when the freelancer carries the 7.95% fee. No platform is truly fee-free for both sides. See our guide to platforms with no fees for the full picture.

Is Fiverr worth it for sellers?

It's a fit question. If you sell packaged services and are happy with the commission taken, it can work. Fiverr keeps 20% of each order, so a $500 project leaves you $400, compared with $460.25 on goLance even when you carry the full 7.95% fee.

Ready to compare on a real order?

If you're hiring, you can post a job on goLance and compare the first quote against the tables above. If you're a freelancer, you can browse open freelance jobs and see what a flat fee looks like on your own rate. Either way, check each platform's own fee page before you commit.