Fiverr Review 2022: Is Fiverr Legit & Safe? An Honest Review

Summary

Fiverr is one of the BEST platforms to find freelancers worldwide. It’s not only an affordable platform but you’ll be able to outsource almost everything ranging from web design to SEO to email marketing, automation, and so on.

Looking for honest Fiverr reviews? Want to use Fiverr to outsource your projects but can’t decide whether to choose it or not? You’re in the right place where you’ll find accurate information about Fiverr.

Fiverr is one of the BIGGEST marketplaces for freelancers and buyers where they can find and offer thousands of services.

Whether you’re running a website, personal blog, portfolio site, an eCommerce store, or an agency, you can use Fiverr to find a ton of freelancers at affordable prices.

In this Fiverr reviews post, we’ll talk about;

What is Fiverr and how does it work?
Is Fiverr safe or a scam?
5 incredible tips for buyers to avoid scammers on Fiverr
Pros and cons of using Fiverr
3 better alternatives to Fiverr and many more

So are you ready to find those details? Let’s get started.

Fiverr Review: How Does It Work? Legitimate or Scam?

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is one of the most popular freelance marketing platforms where you can find thousands of services.

The services on Fiverr range from graphics & design to video editing, SEO, eCommerce development, cyber security, marketing research, and more.

Over 11,000,000 businesses are using Fiverr to find thousands of affordable freelancers across the globe.

A brief history of Fiverr

Fiverr was founded in 2010 by Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger and it’s an Israeli online marketplace for freelance services.

Here’s a brief history of Fiverr;

Fiverr was founded in 2010 and they began by offering services with 8 categories
In 2011, Fiverr reached 100,000 buyers
In 2012, Fiverr registered “Gig” trademark (which is the launch of proprietary leveling and rating system)
In 2014, Fiverr reached 1 million buyers
In 2018, Fiverr reached 5 million buyers, and over 200 categories were launched on their platform

Here’s an interesting fact about Fiverr;

Fiverr generates 55% of its revenue from repeat buyers (source).

How Does Fiverr Work?

One can use Fiverr in two ways; as a freelancer or as a buyer.

Both the buyer and seller (who’s a freelancer selling his services) must create a FREE account with Fiverr.

Seller will create Gigs (also known as “Services”)
Buyer will search for Gigs or services they want and purchases a Gig according to their needs

The buyer will pay the money to Fiverr in advance for any Gig he wants and the Seller has to complete the task on time, deliver the Gig to the buyer and make revisions if needed.

Once the order is marked as complete, the seller (i.e freelancer) can withdraw their funds after 14 days. If you’re a top-rated seller, then the time duration to withdraw your funds will be 7 days.

Here’s a simple illustration of how the Fiverr works;

That being said, here are some of the important terms on Fiverr you need to know;

Gig (A Gig is a service offered on Fiverr. For example, a Gig can be “I will create an SEO plan for your website for $50”)
Seller (Seller is someone who offers Gigs on Fiverr)
Buyer (Buyer is the one who purchases Gigs on Fiverr)
Order (When a buyer purchases a Gig)

Is Fiverr Legit?

Fiverr is definitely a legitimate platform where you can find thousands of freelancers to outsource your work.

In fact, Fiverr is one of the top freelance marketplaces for both buyers and sellers. However, you might be scammed on Fiverr if you don’t know the “red flags” to look for before dealing.

But… it does not mean that Fiverr itself is a scam, a few sellers are. Don’t worry, we’ll talk about how you can use Fiverr services safely without getting scammed.

Fiverr was launched in 2010 and today it generates $189.51 million in annual revenue. Did you know that Fiverr has 3.42 million active buyers? That’s true.

So yes, Fiverr is a LEGITIMATE platform where you’ll find millions of buyers, sellers, and gigs to outsource your work, make money on their platform, and save time.

3 Best No-Nonsense Fiverr Tips for Buyers: Tips to Avoid Scammers on Fiverr

Here are 3 amazing Fiverr tips for buyers to avoid getting scammed on Fiverr.

1. Check out the freelancer’s work samples

The #1 thumb rule to keep in mind while buying any gig from Fiverr is to check out the freelancer’s work samples.

Fortunately, you can use Fiverr’s search and side filters to find the right freelancer for your project.

Once you’ve found a service you’d like to order, you can use the filters.

Here’s how it looks like;

As you can see above, you can apply various filters under the Seller Details to find the RIGHT freelance for your project.

You can filter the options in many ways including;

Top rated seller (if you want to get QUALITY work) or new seller (if you want cheaper gigs)
Their language
Their residing country and more

Once you’ve found the right freelancer who’s suitable for your work, you can contact them and ask for their samples. Some freelancers show their work samples in their work descriptions while most others don’t.

So after checking their work samples, you can easily decide whether or not to purchase the gig.

You can also contact the freelancer with any questions to make sure they meet your project expectations.

That being said, as a buyer, if you’re too busy to browse for your preferred gigs (or services) on Fiverr, you can post a project asking for what you need to be done.

You can also set an expected project finishing time, budget, and you’ll receive custom offers to your Fiverr’s account inbox. Once you’ve given a project and paid for a gig, if you are not happy with the output of the project, you can always ask the seller for revisions.

2. Check out the reviews

Always make sure to check out the feedback and reviews from buyers like you. What others are saying about the freelancer’s work.

You can ask yourself the following questions to easily determine the quality of a gig on Fiverr.

Are their ratings genuine or fake?
Is the freelancer who’s offering the gigs finishes projects on time?
Are the samples provided by the freelancer any good for the price you’re paying?

Finally, make sure to check for negative reviews and carefully read what the negative reviewers are saying about the freelancer.

You can also check the seller rating and read reviews from the seller profile.

Here’s how it looks like;

3. Know how to cancel an order on Fiverr

Last but not least, you must know how to cancel your order & request a refund on Fiverr if you want to have a great experience on their platform as a buyer.

Here’s how you can cancel your order on Fiverr:

Go to your Order page > Click on the order you would like to cancel.

See the small blue box on the top right which will be under “Order Details”.

Here’s how it looks like;

Now, simply click on the “Resolution Center” link > Ask The Seller To Cancel This Order

Then, choose a reason from the list and continue.

That’s it, you’re done.

Your seller will have 48 hours to accept or decline the request.

In case, your seller fails to accept or decline the request, your Fiverr order will be automatically canceled after 48 hours.

You can visit the Order page to view your open dispute. On the same page, you’ll also have the option to withdraw your funds.

What percentage does Fiverr take from sellers?

So how much does Fiverr take? What percentage does Fiverr take from its sellers? Let’s find out.

First things first: as a seller, it’s totally FREE to create a new seller account on Fiverr.

But Fiverr takes a 20% cut of all orders.

That means as a seller on Fiverr, 20% of the money you make directly goes to Fiverr as commission. It’s the fee you have to pay for using their platform.

In simple words, Fiverr charges a 20% commission from every sale the seller is making, whether it’s a $5 project or a $500 gig.

Sellers are allowed to post a select amount of active Gigs based on their “level” status.

You can post 7 Gigs without a Level status
You can post 10 Gigs if you’ve Level 1 status
You can post 20 Gigs if you’ve Level 2 status
You can post 30 Gigs as a “Top Rated Seller”

So how long does it take for sellers to withdraw funds from an order?

Here’s the process.

Firstly, the buyer pays Fiverr for orders in advance
Once the order is created and started, you as a seller must complete the order
Once the order is completed, the buyer has 3 days to respond. If no response is provided within the response time, the order will be considered complete
Once the order is marked as complete, you have to wait 14 days to withdraw your funds.

In a nutshell, it takes 14 days to withdraw funds from a completed order on Fiverr.

Pros and Cons of Fiverr

This detailed Fiverr review is incomplete without talking about the pros and cons of Fiverr. So let’s find them out.

Pros of Fiverr:

An extremely affordable platform where you can outsource your tasks starting at just $5 which is incredible
If you’re a freelancer, you can start earning money with the skills you’ve by offering services like writing, design, SEO, marketing, etc
Easy to find gigs for almost any kind of project ranging from web design to social media to networking
You can pay project-based pricing instead of hourly pricing for your projects
Fiverr is trusted by top companies like Facebook, Google, Netflix, PayPal, and more
Payment protection as your payment isn’t released until you approve the work
Offers you 24/7 round-the-clock support

Cons of Fiverr:

You’ll often have to settle for average quality projects, be it content writing, design, or any other gig as Fiverr mostly offers cheap services (you get what you pay for!)

Top 3 Best Fiverr Alternatives for 2022

Are you looking for the best Fiverr alternatives? Here are the top 3 alternatives to Fiverr where you can get your work done on a budget without compromising quality.

1. UpWork

Upwork is the most trusted freelancing platform and it is considered as one of the best alternatives to Fiverr.

The MAJOR difference between Fiverr and Upwork is this: “Unlike Fiverr, on Upwork, you post a job, and then freelancers send you proposals for the work with an offer.”

That way, you can hire a professional who sent you the BEST bid for your job (or project).

UpWork Pros:

UpWork is trusted by some of the biggest brands including Microsoft, Airbnb, GoDaddy, etc
No cost until you hire – so you’ll only pay for work you approve
You can use UpWork to pay securely send and receive files, give feedback and make payments if you’re happy with the output
From mobile and software development to design and SEO, you can outsource a ton of tasks at affordable rates
Offers 24/7 support if you need

UpWork Cons:

UpWork could do better at filtering freelancers for the services

2. Freelancer

Freelancer gives you access to over 50 million freelancers across the world and they offer over 1800 skills ranging from web design to proofreading to 3d modeling to eCommerce, and more.

Freelancer Pros:

It’s free and easy to post a job on Freelancer.com
You can choose freelancers from 1800+ skills
Only pay for work when it has been completed
Used by biggest companies like Amazon, IBM, Facebook, Google, etc
Freelancer offers a top-notch interface and it’s easy to communicate with freelancers (or buyers) using on-page chat

Freelancer Cons:

Sometimes it is hard to find quality freelancers even for simple tasks such as logo design or translation

3. PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour is one of the #1 freelancing market platforms in the world where you can find expert freelancers within a few minutes. On their platform, you’ll find over 3 million expert freelancers offering over 8000 services.

PeoplePerHour Pros:

It is a budget-friendly platform where you can find a ton of high-quality freelancers
Gives you access to an easy to use interface
If you’re a freelancer, you can choose your own rates and own work hours
Invoicing is automatic
On PeoplePerHour, everyone freelancer is a certified professional, as all freelancers have to be approved
If you’re a buyer, you can post a job on their platform for free
As a buyer, you can look at the history and ratings of freelancers before outsourcing your projects
Offers you a dedicated 24/7 customer service team
PeoplePerHour provides a money-back guarantee and anti-fraud protection

PeoplePerHour Cons:

They could offer affordable pricing for small businesses

Fiverr Reviews on Trustpilot

What do other users think about Fiverr? Here are the Fiverr reviews from the real users.

Fiverr Reviews on Trustpilot;

As you can see, on TrustPilot, Fiverr has 4 out of 5 ratings from over 6000 users.

Fiverr Reviews on G2;

On G2, Fiverr has 4.3 out of 5 ratings from over 140 users.

FAQs

Here are some of the frequently asked questions about Fiverr.

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is a popular freelance marketplace where you can find services ranging from website design to video editing to SEO and social media marketing.

What type of services I can outsource on Fiverr?

You can outsource services from over 300 categories on Fiverr ranging from automation to SEO to content writing, design, and more.

Is Fiverr safe for buyers?

Yes, Fiverr is a legitimate freelance online marketplace for both buyers and sellers. Fiverr is used by millions of people throughout the world including top companies like Facebook, Netflix, Google, etc.

How much does Fiverr take from sellers?

Fiverr takes a 20% cut of all orders. For example, if you are offering freelance services, 20% of every job you complete is taken by Fiverr.

How much are the Fiverr fees?

As a seller, you’ll get a 20% cut of each order that you get from Fiverr – it’s the fee you have to pay for using their platform.

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Final Thoughts

Fiverr is undoubtedly one of the leading freelancing marketplaces.

If you’re looking to save time, outsource your projects, or find cheaper services to get things done – Fiverr is the BEST place for you.

What are your thoughts about Fiverr reviews? Do you think Fiverr is a good platform for buyers and sellers? Have you ever encountered issues with Fiverr? Let us know in the comments.

Fiverr Review : Is Fiverr Legit & Safe? An Honest Review