Whether you’re just starting out on Fiverr or struggling to attract clients, you need to get your Fiverr pricing right. $5 gigs might have worked a decade ago, but these days gig prices of $5 rarely attract the type of clients you want for your business. In plain English…
⛔Don’t screw up your Fiverr pricing!⛔
How to Set Pricing for Your Fiverr Gig
In this Fiverr pricing guide, I’m going to show you common pricing strategies that you can use to set yourself apart from the competition. You don’t have to use all of these strategies (not all will apply), but leveraging them will put you ahead of sellers who just throw up a random price and hope for the best. Fiverr is a great marketplace, but if you want to enjoy success on Fiverr, creating your Fiverr gigs like this will not work!
Why Should You Listen to Me?
I’ve been on Fiverr since 2013. I’ve been a Top-Rated Seller (TRS) since 2014, a Fiverr Pro since 2017, and made Fiverr Certified in 2023. I know the platform inside out. With six-figure lifetime earnings from the platform from thousands of orders under my belt, I know exactly how to attract clients with smart Fiverr pricing.
I wasted years too scared to move from $5 and $10 gigs. Please don’t make that mistake! Follow this Fiverr pricing guide instead. Fiverr was a lot more forgiving to $5 sellers years ago (EDIT: But a recent change to Fiverr’s evaluations systems do seem to favor lower prices than higher). It’s not anymore.
What I am not is a Fiverr guru trying to flog you an out-of-date PLR course stuffed with advice that gets you banned. Those guys suck and tell you to price your gigs at $5. Don’t listen to them! While I might reveal my identity in the future, I prefer to stay anonymous for now.
Make Use of Packages When Setting Your Fiverr Pricing
Before you price your gig on Fiverr, you need to know that Fiverr prefers a three-tier pricing model, known as packages. These Fiverr pricing packages come in three flavors: Basic, Standard, and Premium. There are quite a few strategies for how to approach this, so it’s worth checking price points used by other sellers in your niche.
Here’s a general breakdown of what a packaging structure for a service in any category should look like:
| GIG PACKAGE TYPE | PACKAGE PRICING GUIDE | FIVERR PRICING BENCHMARK |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | No-frills essential service | ? |
| Standard | Everyday service, some frills | ?? |
| Premium | Comprehensive service | ??? |
You can also just offer one package. Fiverr prefers sellers to use three gig packages, but if your service can’t be packaged up like this (check your competitors!), it’s OK to use one. I preferred to only use one package for a very long time. It works because it’s simple. Too much choice confuses buyers.
Paradoxically, buyers also like choices. From the point of view of sellers, packages are a great way to manipulate your prices and experiment with different price points without having to use Gig Extras. Gig Extras are good for upsells, but let’s be honest: who really likes having extra things to buy right at the point of checkout? Cart abandonment is a real thing.
Since moving over to the three-package model, my Fiverr income has increased. Packages are amazing for fine-tuning your Fiverr pricing and offers.
The pain of setup is worth it!
Setting Competitive Gig Pricing on the Fiverr Marketplace
The trickiest part of setting your prices on Fiverr is judging what buyers might be willing to pay for your services. Price too high, and you may not sell anything. Price too low, and you run the risk of attracting terrible clients.
There are many pricing strategies on Fiverr. If you’re just starting out, it’s best to start by analyzing your competitors’ Fiverr pricing to see how they handle tiered pricing on their gig packages. Focus on competitors who are at the same skill level as you, as well as top sellers.
If you do this for an hour or two, you’ll have a good idea of the general pricing in your category. If you’ve really done your homework, you’ll also be full of great ideas for gig packages and gig extras.
The hard part is knowing your skills, expertise, and Unique Selling Point (USP). When it comes to pricing on the Fiverr marketplace as a beginner, you need to find a careful balance between profits and affordability.
Many new sellers make the mistake of starting their Fiverr pricing at $10 or lower for services that are worth far more. If you want to attract demanding buyers who can be aggressive, that’s a great pricing strategy. Worse, Fiverr’s algorithm seems to factor in the price of orders when deciding where to show you in the rankings.
Why is that worse? Two reasons:
- If you consistently sell $5 gigs, Fiverr will show you to $5 buyers. When you want to increase your prices, those $5 buyers aren’t going to buy – and buyers who spend more simply won’t see you
- Fiverr is slowly killing off $5 gigs by slowly enforcing pricing minimums in various categories while its August 2023 Fiverr Pro product launch made it clear that Fiverr is going upmarket
In other words, don’t be afraid to price your Fiverr gigs competitively. Remember, you have three packages to play with. Just make sure that you have the skills to deliver.
Determining Your Fiverr Pricing Strategy Based on Skills, Expertise, and USP
You need to know your skill level and expertise if you want to price your services on Fiverr. This isn’t a “fake it until you make it” scenario. If you exaggerate your skills and a paying Fiverr buyer finds out, cancellations and bad reviews are going to be an upsettingly larger part of your Fiverr experience.
If you have qualifications or certifications, great! These aren’t necessary, but they do make a great benchmark, plus you can brag about them on your profile. If you’re in a particularly niche part of your industry, then highlighting your credentials can put you ahead of other Fiverr sellers in your category. If very few sellers have your unique skill combinations, then you have a USP.
Many buyers are looking for multi-talented freelancers at affordable rates. Think a scriptwriter who can also produce and edit videos, or a web designer that can also provide expert SEO and copywriting. If you have skill combinations, you can really set yourself apart on the Fiverr marketplace as a unicorn. If you’ve got real skills, then your Fiverr gig pricing absolutely should reflect that – price by the value you bring to the table!
You don’t want a buyer who wants a do-it-all unicorn with a $5 gig. Your time, expertise, and efforts, will not be respected.
Fiverr can’t help you much when your order turns into a dumpster fire because you dared to charge extra for source files.
Which is unfortunate, because you’re almost certainly guaranteed a bad review if you don’t comply!
Your Fiverr pricing is your responsibility, and Fiverr will not be too helpful if you set crazy prices only to get crazy buyer demands. Pricing for your Fiverr gig and extras should reflect the value and high-quality work you have to offer. Or you can choose the rabid, flaming dogs. It’s totally up to you!
If, like many freelancers starting out on Fiverr, you are new and your skills are hovering around beginner to average, price accordingly. You should create a gig offering competitive prices and optimized delivery timeframes that are in line with the demand for your services on Fiverr. Put a lower price on your Basic package – which should only include essential services – and build additional features into Standard and Premium packages. As always, see what your competitors are charging for similar services, adjusting your Fiverr pricing based on what you find out.
Price Your Fiverr Gigs According to Complexity
In any category, work can get pretty complex. Take graphic design, for example. you have sellers offering logos for $5, often created with Canva – and then you have elite logo designers like Rob Janoff, or “Apple Guy” as he became known on the Fiverr Forum.
Why Apple Guy? It’s simple. Rob Janoff designed Apple’s logo. His service is a snip at just $20,000 – not including fees – and yes, he has sold gigs on Fiverr! If you check the link above, you’ll also see he doesn’t use packages. However, he isn’t really your competitor – unless you go into this level of depth with your logos and you have niche fame.
You don’t need to be a $5 seller or a $20,000 Fiverr seller. You can be a very comfortable inbetweener. At the time of writing (October 2023), Fiverr has over 4.3 million active buyers, each with an average spend of $265, according to its Q2’23 financial report press release. If you know the needs of your target audience and provide simple pricing that that compensates you for the complexity and scope of the work, you will find buyers. And remember, the average spend is dragged down by those $5 gigs.
The complexity of the work isn’t so much about how “difficult” it is – although this certainly can factor into it – but how much time you need to spend on the service. The tools you need for it. The knowledge that you use to deliver the service, whether that’s being a dab hand at Adobe Illustrator, a CC++ programmer, or a data scientist.
As you work on determining your Fiverr pricing strategy you should use your skill set wisely. Offer different levels of service while remaining competitive with the marketplace. When buyers browse the marketplace, they only see your basic price. This means that you can be pretty strategic!
When it comes to complexity and gig packaging, break it up like this:
- A basic package that includes essential, but non-complex services
- A standard package with additional features for common needs
- A Premium package with a complete service to cover complexities
Clients are more likely to click on affordable gigs. If you set up your packages and Fiverr pricing correctly with a superb description and FAQs, you can convert a $50 buyer into a $500 buyer. Remember, it’s all about the value you have to offer. Know your target audience, know your skills, and don’t be afraid to stand out from the competition!
Gig Extras should be used sparingly. I recommend using them for revisions, easy scope increases, and related services you can offer that are not core to your central offering. For example, a content writer might have Gig Extras for increasing word count and creating metadata for articles. If you’re out of ideas, check what the competition has by starting the order process (you won’t be charged to peek at the Gig Extras on the checkout page).
Research Freelancers and Fiverr Competitors for Fiverr Pricing Rates
This has already been mentioned a few times throughout this article, but it’s worth covering in a little more detail. Market research is absolutely essential when doing anything on Fiverr and especially with Fiverr pricing. There’s just too much competition out there. The days when you could just start a gig and succeed simply don’t exist anymore.
Researching your Fiverr competitors is easy to do, thanks to Fiverr’s internal search engine. It’s just incredibly tedious. However, knowing your competition puts you in a very strong place. No matter where you stand in the marketplace, you will know where the gaps are.
The gaps are where you make money. Personally, when I make a new gig, I spend two days on it. The first day is research, the second day is creating the gig. For reference, I am a Top-Rated, Fiverr Pro, and Fiverr Certified so I need to create superb offers with competitive Fiverr pricing. If you’re just starting out, I’d recommend spending at least a few hours on this.
The more time you spend on research, the better the results you will get.
It’s also worth your time to look at what’s happening with indirect competitors outside of Fiverr. These are freelancers and companies that aren’t on Fiverr, but they do offer services that could attract your buyer instead. Most people don’t do this – which means that you can identify services that are available elsewhere that have not yet made it to Fiverr.
Can you command a premium when it comes to Fiverr pricing on those gigs? It depends. Don’t be afraid to test out a few price points to see how the market reacts.
One other resource I recommend, especially if you are in a category where there is a professional body, is to check recommended rates there. For example, proofreaders and editors can check the minimum rates set out by the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (UK). This is a great way to get a feel for how rates are on Fiverr versus “the real world”. You might be surprised to find that often, Fiverr pricing for services is not that much cheaper once you climb out the bargain basement!
Ultimately, you need to understand how much the market is willing to pay and position yourself correctly with your Fiverr pricing and offer. You’re important too, so whatever price you pick, make sure that it strikes the right balance between affordability and profitability. If you can do that, you will be rewarded by Fiverr.
How Can I Calculate the Pricing for My Fiverr Gigs?
When setting prices for your Fiverr gigs, use the Fiverr fee calculator to factor in the platform’s 20% commission. Consider your time, expertise, competition, (and taxes!) when determining your rates. Two common ways to set pricing for freelance services is by time or by value.
Wrapping it Up: Successful Fiverr Gig Pricing Needs a Strategy
If you want to be competitive in the marketplace, then you need to price your services accordingly. Offering different packages and setting competitive price is a great way to make yourself attractive to potential clients. Fiverr pricing with package tiers lets you use help you to justify higher prices for additional services at a glance. It also opens up room for a strategy where you charge what you’re worth and find buyers willing to pay, even in this hyper-competitive marketplace.
You should regularly review and adjust your Fiverr Pricing so you stay competitive. And please, don’t offer services that you can’t truly fulfil! Your goal is to get positive reviews and repeat until you achieve the success on the platform.
You can start to increase your Fiverr pricing as you grow on the platform. Start doing this as soon as you hit Level 1 and never stop until you hit a balance that works for you. With the tips above, you’ll be able to do this from your first gig. Good luck – and may you make plenty of money on Fiverr!
Good luck out there! Do you have any other tips on setting prices as a freelancer on Fiverr? Do you go for a guessed hourly rate or set a fixed fee? Do you include Fiverr’s 20% into your pricing or eat it so your buyers get a 20% (ouch!) discount? Share your Fiverr pricing expertise below!
