Thumbtack vs. Fiverr: Where to Start Your Freelance Career
By Kay FleuryUpdated on August 21, 2024
Tech Life Unity independently reviews everything we recommend. When you buy something after clicking on a link to another website, we may earn a commission. Learn More
The heavy reliance on digital technology has led to the blossoming of the gig economy, where people can trade business over social networking sites safely and effectively. To enable this ever-growing gig economy, freelancing platforms like Thumbtack, Fiverr, and Upwork came into being. To see what else is available, see our comparison of Thumbtack and Upwork.
In this article, we will be comparing Thumbtack vs Fiverr, which are two marketplaces for service professionals to find leads.
What is covered in this article
- Thumbtack overview: the best for short-term home projects
- Fiverr overview: the best for short-term creative projects
- Thumbtack vs. Fiverr comparison table: how these sites stack up
- Thumbtack vs. Fiverr: most & variety of services offered
- Is Thumbtack or Fiverr’s review system better?
- Who has better fees for contractors: Thumbtack or Fiverr?
- Which service provides the most leads for contractors?
Let us look at both of these freelance marketplaces individually to compare how they can help you grow your business.
Thumbtack overview: the best for short-term home projects
Thumbtack is one of the most popular platforms connecting local professionals to customers who want to hire their services. You can find professionals for pretty much any kind of service. Whether you are looking for a roof contractor or a personal stylist, Thumbtack helps you find top-rated service providers to help you with your projects.
Thumbtack allows users to browse through all the available professionals, check out their rating, review, service fee, and even chat with them to explain the scope of the work before booking their service. Check out our article if you want to learn more about how Thumbtack works.
Who is Thumbtack best for?
Anyone who is starting out in the service industry as an independent contractor or running their small business must get listed on Thumbtack. Thumbtack has more than 2000 categories of service providers listed and is a one-stop shop for anyone looking to hire help for their home or business needs. To learn more about Thumbtack, check out our article to assess if Thumbtack is really worth it.
Thumbtack Pros
- It is free for users and professionals to join.
- Thumbtack has more than 2000 service categories listed on it.
- When a professional registers themself on Thumbtack, they get $120 of free welcome credits to reach out to potential leads.
- Professionals only have to pay to reach out to the leads that they are interested in pursuing.
- If a lead doesn’t respond within 48 hours, Thumbtack refunds the professional the lead cost that they paid.
- Thumbtack is one of the best platforms to hire professionals for short-term engagements such as plumbing, lawn mowing, moving, and more.
Thumbtack Cons
- Since Thumbtack is free to join, professionals may find huge competition in their service category, unless they have a niche skill.
- Users may not always have the best experience hiring professionals because of the varied levels of expertise they may have.
- Professionals are limited to finding jobs only in their city.
- Thumbtack may not be the ideal platform for tech professionals.
- Professionals may have to sell their services at a discounted price due to the competition.
- The number of credits that are used to bid for a project can vary depending on how many contractors are bidding on the project. As a professional there is no way of knowing how much they will be paying for a lead at the outset.
Fiverr overview: the best for short-term creative projects
Fiverr is one of the most widely used platforms by freelancers. It gets its name from the fact that ‘you can hire any service for $5’ which was an attractive proposition to companies who didn’t have resources to hire full-time specialists and could find talent on Fiverr on a project basis.
Unlike several other freelance platforms, Fiverr only allows their professionals to charge for the whole project and not by the hour, which is why it’s easy to find affordable talent to get the job done.
Who is Fiverr best for?
On Fiverr, you can find great and affordable talent for services like translation, social media marketing, animation, website design, and other services. If you offer any of these services that only require a computer system and other devices to deliver the project, then you can earn money from the comfort of your own home.
Fiverr Pros
- Fiverr is free for anyone to join.
- Small businesses can hire talent for as low as $5.
- Anyone who is getting started as a freelancer should set up their profile on Fiverr to generate leads.
- Since all projects are delivered online, freelancers have the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world.
- Professionals are not limited by reaching out to clients in their city. They have the exposure to work for companies across the world.
- Fiverr is a great resource for companies who need to get talent with a niche skill for a specific project.
- Professionals get paid by Fiverr only when the job is completed and the client is happy with the deliverable.
Fiverr Cons
- Fiverr keeps 20% of the project fee as their commission.
- Since Fiverr is free to join, there is a large pool of talent that you are competing against.
- Since jobs pay for as low as $5, sometimes professionals have to undersell themselves to be able to stay in the competition.
- Clients may try to negotiate with the talent as they may see others charging a lower fee for the same services.
Download It Now (for freelancers and clients): Android | iOS
Thumbtack vs. Fiverr comparison table: how these sites stack up
In the table below, we compare Thumbtack vs Fiverr on some general parameters to outline the differences between the two platforms.
Feature | Thumbtack | Fiverr |
|---|---|---|
Average Job Cost | $40 - 70 / hour | $5 - 150 / project |
Review System | Clients leave a review on the professional’s profile once the job is completed. The professionals can reply to the review as a comment. | Clients leave a review on the seller’s profile once the job is completed, who can then reply to their review as a comment. |
Coverage | All 50 states; professionals can reach out for jobs in their city only. | Worldwide |
# of Services | 2000 + | 500 + |
Customer Service | Very responsive | Very responsive |
Privacy | Customer details are hidden from the professional, who can only contact them through Thumbtack. | Customer details are hidden from the professional, who can only contact them through Fiverr. |
Client-to-Pro Connection | Users only have to enter their ZIP code and the name of the service that they want to use to have a look at all the professionals in their area, their rates, and reviews. | Users only have to enter the name of the service they want help with to browse through the professionals and their offerings. Before booking their service, they can chat with the professional to explain the scope of the job. |
Thumbtack vs. Fiverr: most & variety of services offered
Winner: Thumbtack
Thumbtack pitches itself as an all-in-one solution for all your home and business services, whereas Fiverr only has web, creative, and tech experts on their platforms who can deliver their services sitting anywhere in the world.
Is Thumbtack or Fiverr’s review system better?
Winner: Fiverr
Both Fiverr and Thumbtack have a rating and review system that customers can fill out at the end of their job. The difference between both is that when a professional delivers their task to the client, Fiverr checks with the client if they are satisfied with the service or need any additional changes before they make the payment. This leaves the client and the professional feeling happy about the end product, resulting in good reviews for the talent.
Who has better fees for contractors: Thumbtack or Fiverr?
Winner: Thumbtack
When we compare the two platforms and the services that they offer, Thumbtack is more popular for home services, whereas Fiverr has professionals offering small gigs like voiceover work, logo design, and online tutoring (among others), which are cheaper since they are less labor intensive. Due to this reason, clients can find a plethora of professionals to choose from on Fiverr, making the competition tough and pricing competitive. Read about everything you need to know as a contractor on Thumbtack to make an informed decision.
Which service provides the most leads for contractors?
Winner: Fiverr
Since Fiverr connects talent and clients from all over the world, it is definitely the winner in this category. Thumbtack, on the other hand, is a marketplace connecting local professionals to customers, and is therefore limited by the client’s geographic location. Talents on Fiverr can also list themselves under different categories, opening themselves up to more work opportunities. For example, a video and animation expert can create a job under 3D animation, animated gifs, character animation, whiteboard, and animated explainer videos.
On comparing Thumbtack vs Fiverr, you will realize that both have similar models for service professionals and customers, but they both appeal to different markets. While Thumbtack encompasses the entire service industry, contractors must evaluate if the platform is really worth their time to generate leads. Clients with budget constraints or who need a specialist with a quick turnaround find Fiverr extremely useful, as they have access to a large pool of talent from around the world. But whether generating leads on these platforms is worth it in the long run still remains questionable as you may benefit from building your own brand.