Fiverr Review for Sellers: Is Fiverr Legit?

When you hear the term “freelancer”, what comes to mind? 

Do you think of someone sitting at a desk in a trendy co-working space, sipping on a latte and drafting blog posts for various clients? Maybe you picture someone hunched over their laptop in a messy bedroom, coming up with unique designs between bites of cereal.

However you imagine freelance work being done, chances are your vision doesn’t include Fiverr.com. But, Fiverr is actually one of the largest freelance marketplaces online today—and it’s only getting bigger!

In this article, we’re going to take a close look at the platform and explain how you can use it to jumpstart your freelancing career.

We’ll be covering everything from fees to pros and cons to income potential. By the end of this article, you’ll know whether or not investing your time and energy into Fiverr is worth it.

Fiverr Overview

Fiverr is a site that allows you to post your services as gigs. You can make money on Fiverr selling anything, from content services, SEO, and web development to graphic design and social media marketing services.

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is a marketplace for freelancers. It’s used by people all over the world who offer their services for a fee. Some of these services include copywriting, graphic design, translation, and editing. 

Fiverr is similar to other freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Freelancer. It’s one of the largest freelance marketplaces with over 5 million buyers and 1 million sellers registered on the platform.

Fiverr is a great place to make money because it has more traffic than any other freelance marketplace out there. The average user spends around $200 on Fiverr each year and many users are repeat customers, so you have an opportunity to form long-term relationships with them as well. 

As someone who uses the platform regularly both personally and professionally, I can say that it’s also a great place to get things done!

If you are looking to make money on Fiverr, then stay with me as I take you through the good and the bad of Fiverr for freelancers

How does Fiverr work?

Fiverr works in four simple steps: 

  • Sellers offer their services as gigs. 
  • Buyers choose the gig and place an order. 
  • Sellers complete and deliver the orders. 
  • The buyer accepts the delivery and the order is marked as complete.

Sellers manage all of their orders from a single dashboard. In your dashboard, you can track down your earnings, check stats, review purchase history, and manage your payment details. 

There is also a messaging system that allows sellers to communicate with their buyers via Fiverr’s secure platform. 

Tip: Careful! Abusing the messaging feature, such as randomly reaching out to other users and asking them to buy your gigs is a violation that often leads to account termination.

Why you should sell on Fiverr

The best thing about Fiverr is that it’s a global marketplace. This means that you have the potential to reach customers all over the world. You aren’t limited to a particular geographic area or country.

Fiverr also offers complete freedom of pricing, which is great if you’re a beginner and don’t want any restrictions on your rates. If you’re an experienced freelancer, this can help you make more money without having to hustle for new clients by yourself. 

It doesn’t cost anything to start selling on Fiverr, so even if it turns out not to be for you, then there won’t be major losses, apart from your time.

Is Fiverr Legit?

Fiverr is legit, and it’s real. It’s been around for a decade and has over 1 million sellers and 5 million buyers. 

Fiverr is also featured prominently in the press, with mentions and articles in Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Entrepreneur Magazine, among others.

If you choose to use Fiverr as a seller or buyer, let me know how your experience goes!

How much does it cost to sell on Fiverr?

You can sign up for Fiverr for free. They don’t charge you a monthly fee or anything like that.

Instead, Fiverr takes a percentage from your earnings. For any gig you sell, including the tips you earn, the site takes a 20% commission on the money you make, regardless of your seller level.

Of all the freelancing platforms, you can say Fiverr is the ‘greediest.’ 

Fiverr Pros

  • It’s easy to start earning money. If you have no experience working online, don’t worry—you can still use Fiverr. In fact, it’s an excellent way for new sellers to gain confidence and earn cash as they build their skills and add positive reviews to their profiles.
  • There are no bidding wars. Unlike some other freelance platforms where freelancers must bid competitively on jobs to work with a client, there is no such thing on Fiverr. If a buyer likes your gig, they go straight ahead and place an order.
  • You’re your own boss.
  • Work anywhere.
  • Get paid to do what you love.
  • With Fiverr, buyers come to you
  • There are gigs you can offer with no experience

Fiverr Cons

There are a few downsides to keep in mind when it comes to working on Fiverr:

  • It takes time to build up a client base, which means it may be hard to make enough money at first. 
  • Some jobs require specific skills that you may not have (for instance, if you want to do graphic design jobs, but you don’t have the skills yet).
  • You don’t get credit for the work you deliver, making it hard to build a portfolio using Fiverr
  • You need stellar reviews and dozens of orders to start getting clients on autopilot
  • Where dispute occurs, buyers usually win, even if you delivered great work.
  •  It’s hard to get a consistent workflow of projects
  • It’s hard to charge a lot for your work (because people will just go find someone who will work for less)
  • The review system can be held captive against you. Some malicious buyers will give you bad reviews because they want to “punish” you for a misunderstanding on their end.
  • Fiverr buyers can be difficult and demanding
  • Fiverr’s cut is hefty.

How to become a seller on Fiverr

To become a seller on Fiverr, you need to sign up for an account. You can do this by visiting the homepage and clicking on “Join” in the upper-right corner. 

Then, click “Seller.” At this point, you will be prompted to read and accept the terms of service. Once that’s done, create a username (this will be your Fiverr profile name) and password.

Next up is filling out your profile with information. Make sure to optimize your profile to appeal to your target clients. Include a portfolio of your work, and your past clients if you have any, and craft a compelling Fiverr description.

To start selling on the platform, you need to create gigs. Each gig is one thing that someone might buy from you—for example, you can create gigs around content writing, logo design, background removal, guest posting, web design, software development, etc.

As an important note, there is a limit on how many gigs each user on Fiverr can sell per level. As a new seller, you can create up to 7 gigs. So get creative with how you want to present each one!

Best Selling Services to Sell on Fiverr

If you’re looking for the best services to sell on Fiverr, here are a few to consider:

  • Graphic design: Designers are in high demand among businesses and individuals alike.
  • Content writing: If you’re a skilled writer or even just a strong editor, Fiverr is a great platform to make money as a writer. 
  • Translation: It’s always good practice to get your marketing materials translated into other languages. Small businesses turn to Fiverr to have their docs translated.
  • Web development: Web developers can launch careers on Fiverr by creating websites and helping with WordPress issues.
  • Video and animation: Services like video editing, animation, and voiceover work can bring in huge profits on Fiverr.
  • Music and audio production: Composers, songwriters, podcasters, and voiceover artists are some of the most common gigs sold on Fiverr.
  • Social media management: With so many small business owners juggling multiple roles at once, social media management is one of the most in-demand gigs on Fiverr today.

For a detailed list of what to sell on Fiverr, read our post on the best Fiverr jobs for beginners

How much can you make selling on Fiverr?

There are three main factors that determine how much you’ll earn: what you charge, the number of orders you receive, and how much upselling you do.

Since you have control over how much you charge, you can make $100 per article, or just $4 charging $120 or $5 respectively(Fiverr takes a 20% cut.). 

To start charging more on your gigs, you need dozens of orders and raving reviews under your bonnet. This means that you do have to start off with lower rates.

Your paycheck is directly correlated to the number of orders you get. If your account is relatively new and has few reviews, customers may be reluctant to work with you—and even if they are willing to give it a try, they may not be inclined to pay very much or order additional services. 

This makes sense; people don’t want to spend money on something unless they’re sure it will be worth their while (which includes being confident that the seller can deliver). 

So it stands to reason that if you’re looking for more income on Fiverr as quickly as possible, then one of the most important things is getting more orders and more positive reviews!

Fiverr Payouts

Fiverr is a great place to sell your skills. Fiverr provides a variety of methods for you to receive payments. You can choose between PayPal, Payoneer, or wire transfer. With each method, the policy is different, but no matter what your choice, you will receive 80% of your earnings after Fiverr takes its 20% cut.

Fiverr does not charge any fee to receive payments from clients, so if you have, say $35.2 in your account, you’ll receive that exact amount in your PayPal account.

Sites Like Fiverr

Fiverr is a great way to make money, but there are other platforms that may give you more exposure or better opportunities. Some sites like Fiverr include Upwork, Freelancer, and PeoplePerHour.

Many of these websites are similar in that they allow you to set up your own profile as a freelancer and bid on jobs posted by potential clients. They also offer different ways to contact your clients via the platform’s messaging system and communicate with them directly or via email. I’ve used all of these platforms at different times, and while they all have their strengths (and weaknesses), Fiverr is still my first choice when it comes to getting started as a freelancer.

If you’re looking for something new, here are three sites like Fiverr that I recommend:

  • Upwork
  • PeoplePerHour
  • Guru
  • Truelancer
  • FreeUp

Fiverr Reviews


Fiverr Warnings

You might have to deal with scam artists trying to take advantage of your hard work while giving as little as possible in return—or even nothing at all!
Fiverr closes your account for petty offenses like advertising your services in the Buyer Requests section. Don’t do it.
The review system can be held captive against you. Some malicious buyers will give you bad reviews because they want to “punish” you for a misunderstanding on their end.

Fiverr Vs Upwork

The first thing that you should know is that Fiverr and Upwork are very different.

Fiverr is ideal for beginner freelancers and for those who can offer a one-off service. It’s an easier platform to use, it has less competition, and it’s more fun to use.

Upwork, on the other hand, is ideal for experienced freelancers who can offer a service that is needed on an ongoing basis. You have to work harder on Upwork but your rewards will be higher as well if you do land a job there because you’ll be able to land high-paying projects instead of just low-paying one-offs like on Fiverr.

In short: On Fiverr, buyers come to you and it’s more fun — On Upwork, you have to constantly bid for jobs and it’s much harder — But if you win jobs from bidding, then they will likely be higher-paying than what you would get by waiting for buyers on Fiverr

Our Final Fiverr Review Verdict: Is Fiverr Worth it?

For many new freelancers, Fiverr is worth it, for a couple of reasons: It’s easier to land your first orders, you can offer gigs without experience, and Fiverr makes it possible to get orders on autopilot, without having to be constantly bidding on offers.

Fiverr FAQs for Sellers

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is an online marketplace where people can buy and sell services. These services are called “gigs” and they start at $5 each. Services range from professional writing and software development to wedding invitations, short voiceovers, and everything in between.

How much does it cost to sell on Fiverr?

The company takes 20% of all transactions, including tips that sellers receive from buyers. For example: If a gig costs $100 for your customer and you successfully complete it, you will receive $80.

What are Fiverr Seller Levels?

Fiverr levels are ranks that sellers on Fiverr attain as they deliver their services to buyers. They are based on your performance, month to month. When you first joined Fiverr, you are a no-level seller and are referred to as a New Seller. As you continue providing quality services on time, you start attaining levels, from Level, 1, Level 2, and Top Rated Seller. Each level comes with a few benefits, including an increase in the number of gigs you can offer and an extended limit on what you can charge.

Which Level is Better on Fiverr?

The Top-Rated Seller level is the highest status you may achieve on Fiverr. With the Top Rated Seller badge on your profile, you’re assured of getting more buyers and have the ability to increase your rates without losing business. Unlike the two lower levels, the Top-Rated Seller level is awarded only at the discretion of the Fiverr team. This means that even if you have met the criteria for this level, you might not get the badge if Fiverr decides so.

Can Fiverr Reviews be Fake?

Yes… Some Fiverr sellers, in order to jumpstart their accounts, may ask family and friends to purchase their gigs and leave 5-star reviews on them. The seller will of course compensate them. Those who used to do this would probably purchase 3-5 fake reviews at most. So if you are a Fiverr buyer, then you want to stay away from Fiverr sellers with less than 5 reviews, or only purchase $5 packages from them to assess the quality of work before churning out more dollars on the project.

Can Fiverr be Trusted?

Yes. Fiverr is a legitimate company with great sellers and buyers. If you are a seller on the platform, focus on providing quality work, and for sellers look for quality sellers, even if you have to pay a little bit more.

Fiverr Who Owns Copyright?

When you submit your project to a buyer, the buyer owns all the intellectual rights to use the delivered files as they see fit, unless you clearly state otherwise. You might want to limit use when delivering digital products such as ebooks and reports where the customer may only consume content and not resell.

How old do you have to be to use Fiverr?

The Fiverr minimum age is 13 years old. So, yes, you can offer services on the platform even if you are under 18, unlike other platforms. Even though Fiverr states that you need to be 13 years or older to use their platform, it doesn’t really have measures in place to ensure that kids younger than 13 years don’t get access.

Is Fiverr a Waste of Time?

It depends. Can you get work elsewhere that pays you much more without sending hundreds of pitches daily? In that case, you are better off Fiverr. For those who need to make just enough, Fiverr isn’t a waste of time. If you can bring in an extra $1000 a month working on 10-15 short projects, I would say it’s worth it.

Fiverr or Upwork for Beginners?

If you are an experienced creative, then landing jobs on Upwork will happen much faster. In that case, focusing on Upwork is worth it since you will get more valuable clients. Fiverr is great for one-time short tasks, as you can get your first gig literally within a week.