Freelancer vs Fiverr: Which one is best for Indian freelancers?

Getting work from around the world has just gotten easier for freelancers in India. Both Fiverr and Freelancer are popular platforms for Indian freelancers to find work from clients abroad and in India.

Let’s take a deeper dive into how each platform works and how they compare to each other. This quick guide can help you find the right platform for you.

📝 Table of contents
Finding Work Fees Payments Premium accounts Resolving disputes The bottom line

Freelancer: An overview

Freelancer is an online marketplace for freelancers and clients around the world. Once you sign up, you can bid on client projects that fit your skills. Freelancer takes care of the payments between you and the client, but they do take a cut of the earnings.

Flexible pricing with bids for projects Great for coding and web design projects Freelancer has a India specific site with rupee pricing

Fiverr: An overview

Fiverr is an online platform where freelancers can get projects, or gigs as they are called, from clients searching for their skills. It is free to sign up for freelancers, and you can list the type of gigs that you do, including at different service levels. Fiverr then takes a flat fee from your earnings.

Fiverr is great for quick short term gigs Has a flat fee of 20% on all earnings Services can be priced anywhere from $5-$995

Finding work

There are slight differences between Freelancer and Fiverr in terms of finding work. And it depends on what you are looking for. Let’s dig in.

Fiverr

First and foremost, with Fiverr you can list your gig or services on the platform. You are required to create a profile and then set up your gig. And then potential businesses or clients can find and reach out to you for what they need. So when you get an order, you will be notified by the platform.

You also have flexibility in what you can offer. You can offer services on 3 different levels:

• Basic
• Standard
• Premium

Each of these levels can offer more services than the last, and be priced accordingly as you like. For example, a basic package level can be a single logo while a premium package has an animated logo, favicon, text and color palette. A client can then choose which level they want to go with.

Fiverr is good if you are looking for volume sales and to turn around projects quickly. And it lets you set your price without negotiation.

Freelancer

On Freelancer, you can scour jobs on the platform and make bids for them. Instead of the clients coming to you. You can look at others that have applied for that job too and price it at the point you feel comfortable. If your bid wins, you can move ahead with the client.

Freelancer puts you more in the driver’s seat for finding work, for better or for worse. And at the same time, you can also have more flexible pricing to get work too. You can apply for more jobs but it is up to the client to choose you.

If you do decide to go with Freelancer, it is free to sign up. And since it operates more like a marketplace, it is easy to create a profile and get started. You will need a profile photo and clarity on the skills you can provide. Once you are up and running, you can also set up alerts so you get notified when jobs fit your skills. You are required to have at least 50% of the skills required to bid on a project.

Fees

Fiverr and Freelancer both has flat rates when it comes to fees on earnings:

	Fee per project
Fiverr	20%
Freelancer	10% or ₹250, whichever is greater

The same fee applies whether you complete milestones or have hourly billing. But with Freelancer there is no minimum of ₹250 for hourly projects.

The fees are flat and do not change the more that you bill for a single client or multiple clients. While that does make understanding your compensation easier, it does incentivize having multiple different clients and completing work and moving on to the next, rather than working deeply with just one or a few.

Freelancer is definitely cheaper when it comes to billing. But the offerings may not be as robust as Fiverr. But one of the things to consider when you are looking at a freelancing platform, are the costs to getting paid.

Getting Paid

There are 2 steps to getting paid with Fiverr and Freelancer. Both require the project to have been successfully completed for the client and freelancer. Once that is done, the platform will release the funds to your platform wallet. But each platform requires a set amount of time for the clearing period before it is deposited:

	Clearing Period
Fiverr	14 days
Freelancer	15 days the first time, then daily

With Fiverr, Indian residents can get paid through PayPal. So ensure that you have a PayPal account before opening a Fiverr account. Transfers from Fiverr to PayPal are free but PayPal has its own fees for withdrawing money to your local Indian bank account. Also an exchange rate fee, but more on that a little later.

Freelancer first requires that any withdrawals be of at least $30 USD. Second, Freelancer has 3 main ways for Indian residents to withdraw funds:

• Wire transfers for ₹1250
• Free transfers to a PayPal account
• Express Withdrawals to a local bank account in India

Express Withdrawals can take 2-5 business days for the funds to arrive in your account in India. There are no additional fees for this, but just like with the other two options there can be an exchange rate fee.

An exchange rate fee is a hidden fee that is tucked away in the exchange rate you get. The exchange rate you may see on PayPal or Freelancer can be different from the real exchange rate you see on Google. The Google exchange rate doesn’t have any markup, and is the one the banks use with each other.

So if you get a weaker exchange rate, you are getting hit with a fee on every dollar or outside currency that is being converted into Indian Rupees. And though it can seem small, it can add up to less money in your pocket.

You can get the real exchange rate on money transfers from abroad when your clients use Wise. Wise is free to sign up and the money gets deposited directly into your Indian bank account.

Get started with a Wise Business Account 🚀 and save with a low-cost transfer fee and mid-market exchange rate - which is the same as the one you see on Google.

Wise offers Indian businesses and freelancers with account details in 8 different currencies to receive payments from abroad. You can use these account details to receive payments from platforms like Freelancer or Fiverr. And even if you work directly with customers, your international clients will find it convenient pay you with a local transfer in their currency, and you receive rupees in your INR bank account — with eFIRC for every transfer.

Premium accounts

If you want additional services, convenience and to boost your visibility on the platform, both Fiverr and Freelancer offer premium accounts. They come at a monthly cost, but can help you get more work.

Fiverr

Fiverr has their basic Gig account, Seller Plus and Fiverr Pro for different options of accounts. Here is how they compare:

	Fiverr Gig	Seller Plus⁵	Fiverr Pro⁶
Cost	$0 monthly and 20% of earnings	$29 per month	$0 monthly and 20% of earnings
Purpose	Set up a gig that clients can select from	Optimize your sales and get more buyer requests	Reward high performing professionals on the platform by being verified
Additional Benefits	A mobile app and guides to succeed on Fiverr	A dedicated success manager helps you	Payments clear faster and increased visibility
Process	Sign up for free online	From the Fiverr dashboard	Fiverr Pro team decision

Freelancer

Freelancer has a basic account which is free but also offers memberships for premium plans. Premium plans give you more bids and additional benefits. Here is how they shape up:.

	Free	Basic	Plus	Professional	Premier
Cost per month	₹0	₹329	₹729	₹1999	₹3999
Bids	6	50	100	300	1500
Additional Benefits	Optional bid upgrades are available	Eligible for preferred freelancer	Daily withdrawal requests	Premium Freelancer Insights	Unlimited External Invoicings

The cost of a membership can be reduced with free trial offers and annual payments instead of monthly.

Dispute resolution

Disputes around payment or timelines can arise on freelancing platforms between you, the freelancer, and the client. Both Fiverr and Freelancer have dispute resolution pathways to help resolve any issues effectively.

On the Fiverr dashboard, you will find a Resolution Center where you can address the issue you are having. The types of issues are normally one of these 3:

• Getting an extension on a project’s timeline
• Requesting a client to cancel an order, with a valid reason
• Requesting a client to modify an order

You can select which of the issues you are having in the Resolution Center and provide the reasoning. The notice goes to the client and they have 48 hours to respond to the notice. If it gets sorted, you can withdraw the request or the client can make changes from their side.

One thing to note is that the Resolution method is solely between you and the client, and not with the Fiverr team.

With Freelancer, the platform does encourage that issues are resolved through communication between the client and you, the freelancer. However, if things are not able to amicably resolved, they have a last resort of a Dispute Resolution Service. It can be accessed through the Milestone Payments on the dashboard.

The Bottom Line

Overall, both platforms offer a great way for freelancers in India to get projects from around the world and earn income.

Fiverr comes out ahead typically from the client’s point of view as there are more robust and qualified candidates.

But Freelancer has an edge for freelancers as the barrier to entry and excel is lower and you can set your own bid price. Depending on where you are in your skills and whether this is a full time career option or a side hustle, you can find the right platform for you.

🔖 Read more: Fiverr vs Upwork

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Sources used for this article:

1. Freelancer
2. Fiverr
3. Fiverr how it works
4. Freelancer how it works
5. Fiverr fees
6. Freelancer fees
7. Getting paid Fiverr
8. Getting paid Freelancer
9. Express withdrawals Freelancer
10. Seller plus Fiverr
11. Fiverr pro
12. Premium accounts freelancer
13. Bid limits
14. Dispute Fiverr
15. Dispute Freelancer

All sources checked as of 11 November, 2021