Fiverr’s skill tests give service providers an opportunity to show potential buyers their skills – but many experienced sellers question whether taking these glitchy, multiple choice time trials help at all! Despite these issues, passing the relevant Fiverr skill tests are required before selling in some service categories.
Key Takeaways
- Fiverr skill tests are multiple-choice time trials that allow service providers to showcase their skills to potential buyers.
- Passing these tests is required in some undisclosed service categories on Fiverr.
- The tests have been criticized for their format, glitches, and questions.
- Cheating is a significant issue in these tests due to the availability of answer sheets online.
- Despite their flaws, passing these tests can provide a verified checkmark on your profile, potentially boosting credibility.
- There are more effective ways to showcase your skills on Fiverr, such as setting up a portfolio and demonstrating past work.
- Fiverr has reduced its skill tests catalog over time.
- Delivering a great service, good customer service, and building a strong profile is more important.
The Big Question: Are Fiverr Tests Really Worth It?
It’s something every seller has asked themselves at least once. Are Fiverr’s skill tests really one of the secrets to success on the freelance marketplace? While they’re certainly a nice vanity metric if you can get yourself into the top 10% of sellers passing any given skill test, they don’t have much else going for them.
This is only my opinion, of course. These Fiverr skill tests simply demonstrate you know how to answer a question correctly. As we’ll find out in the next section, this is not difficult to achieve, even if you know nothing about the subject.
Their importance only emerges in some service categories. In those (undisclosed) categories, you’ll need to take the relevant test(s). If you can’t pass the test – including if the test glitches out on you twice and won’t let you retake it for three months – then you can’t sell.
Even if you’re a world expert in the thing you’re taking a test on! #fail
There are many better things you can do to make your Fiverr profile shine. Unless you have to take a Fiverr skill test to sell, you can quite happily skip this or leave it to do last on your Fiverr seller profile optimization list.
The Ugly Paradox at the Heart of Freelancer Fiverr Skill Tests
Upwork offered skill tests long before Fiverr ever did. When Fiverr launched their own skill tests, sometime over 2017-2018, it was hard to ignore the fact that the tests were identical in format, glitches, and questions.
Clearly, the skills test are a third-party solution. Upwork, for reference, uses CodeSignal for its tests. While Fiverr has never disclosed who they use, the similarities between the two platforms’ skill tests indicate that Fiverr may also a client of CodeSignal.
Fiverr skill tests come in a classic multiple choice format with 40 questions to answer on your chosen topic in just 40 minutes. The tests also come with an extensive set of instructions and rules. Break these rules, and you’ll get warnings. Ignore the warnings, and you will fail the skill test:
Oddly enough this do not mention that you cannot close the test window or otherwise switch to another active window without getting a warning.
This is obviously to prevent cheating. Since these tests have a set pool of questions, there are many websites out there with the answers.
That’s the whole problem with Fiverr skill tests. And it’s a big one.
The Big Problem with Fiverr (and Upwork) Skill Tests
Since most people have access to more than one internet-enabled device, this is little more than a barely-there fig leaf against the avalanche of cheating that Fiverr (and Upwork) skill tests have turned into. Fiverr practices careful obliviousness to this:
As a part of our ongoing efforts to increase the overall marketplace quality, Fiverr provides sellers with the opportunity to take Skill Tests in order to verify their listed skills.
Fiverr Help Center
Over the years, experts in the various subject matters tested have complained of these skill test having wrong or outdated answers. This is particularly true in fast-moving fields like tech!
Other sellers – competent or not – run into glitches and are locked out of retaking the test for months (since these tests are provided by a third party, there is nothing Fiverr can do – there is no point asking Customer Support for help).
It’s ironic, really. In the end, the people most likely to succeed at the skill tests and claim badges like “Top 10%” are cheaters. The faster you can answer all questions correctly, the higher your score. Meanwhile, people who know their stuff fail to pass and rage about this terrible testing method.
I don’t know about you, but I’m on the side of the people who know their stuff, not the cheaters. This isn’t a case of a bad workman blaming their tools. It’s a case of lazy freelance marketplace “vetting” by using broken tech solutions that never address the obvious concern that cheats can prosper (at least, in the short term) with an answer sheet.
But here’s the thing: most Fiverr buyers don’t know about all of this controversy.
Why Passing Fiverr Skill Tests in 2024 Might Be Important for New Freelancers
Yes, the tests are broken. I think they’re complete trash. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be important.
What clients don’t know can work to the advantage of a new service provider on Fiverr, whether they pass legitimately or by cheating. Taking a test can:
- Boost seller credibility
- Attract more buyers
- Showcase your skills
- Prove your knowledge
That’s the theory.
The jury’s still out on whether buyers care about your skill test results at all. It’s a way to give your profile extra polish, but there are much more effective ways to do this. This is a one of those “quick fix pro life hacks” that doesn’t really do much.
Well, not quite. There is one benefit, but so few buyers know about it that I’m not sure it’s worth it. It’s also not quite the amazing hack some people might try to tell you it is.
Let’s get into that.
Quick Visibility Hack? Fiverr Has Skill Showcase Pages
If you pass a skill test, you’ll get a checkmark next to your name. For example, I have a checkmark next to Customer Service.
I don’t have one next to copywriting, since there is no skill test for copywriting.
If you click on that skill, you’ll be taken to that page. Pretty cool stuff, right?
Small catch. There’s also a page for copywriting. In fact, all of the skill buttons (you can find them on your profile page) have their own page. You could feature on any of them, and may get priority with a check.
However, you may not. If you look at the Customer Service page above, you’ll see that the sellers stealing all the limelight are veteran sellers. That’s not surprising, but it is a good indicator that actual marketplace performance matters more than Fiverr skill test performance.
Cheating won’t help you get on this page.
The Real Visibility Hack Is Much Simpler!
With that said, if you have a very unique skill that’s also in demand, you may find it easy to get on this page. The real pro tip is that these pages, thanks to Fiverr’s high DA (domain authority) have great SEO.
In plain English: these autogenerated Fiverr pages often come first in Google. Most of them don’t need tests. I believe these pages are also connected to the tag feature, so this is also a good way to quickly check competitors and gauge the popularity of any given service.
The only limitation is that skills can only be chosen from a pre-selected list and this trick only works if you actually have the skill and the pool of competitors is small enough for you to show (or are one of the top sellers for that skill).
There’s no point getting visibility to buyers who don’t want what you have to offer.
Fiverr Skill Tests Lack Real Credibility Due to Cheating
It’s easy to think you might as well cheat, even if you’re an actual expert. After all, you wouldn’t want to fail a test because the test has answers that was last correct in 2019, before that major program update, would you? The world of freelancing is a cutthroat place where visibility is the master.
You can shamefacedly get back into bed with your principles afterwards…
Am I saying you should cheat to kickstart your freelance career on Fiverr? Not really. It might be a good idea, it might not.
I don’t recommend cheating on Fiverr skill tests. This is simply because it won’t help you to be successful in the long run. If you want to fake it until you make it, Fiverr’s a really bad platform to do this with its never-ending monthly evaluations and increasingly stringent quality rules.
It might have been a good training ground even 5 years ago, but no longer. Fiverr also opened 2023 by banning thousands of Bangladeshi sellers for historical feedback manipulation. The same fate may not happen to Fiverr skill test cheaters in the future, but you can’t rule it out.
So if you do it legit, you’ll get worse results than the cheaters. But you will get a verified check mark upon passing. Maybe a little badge if you ace the test.
Is it really worth it when you can spend time on building effective sales and marketing message templates? Or working on creating a great gig image?
Some Services Make Tests Like the Fiverr English Test Mandatory
Most service providers on the Fiverr platform don’t need to take a Fiverr skill test. However, there are a few where sellers will need to take a test after creating their gig to be able to start selling.
Unfortunately, Fiverr doesn’t disclose which categories require the relevant skill test in its Help Center:
Note: In some categories, you are required to take a test to publish a Gig.
Fiverr Help Center
List of Current Fiverr Skill Tests Available to Fiverr Sellers
| English Language (Words and Phrases) | Adobe After Effects | Content Writing | Analytical Skills |
| US English Basic Test | Adobe Illustrator | CSS 3 | Customer Service |
| German Grammar | Adobe Photoshop | HTML 5 | Microsoft Excel |
| Italian Grammar | Social Media Marketing Test | Virtual Assistant | |
| Spanish Grammar | WordPress 5.1 |
Alternative Credibility Strategies
So, now we’ve established that Fiverr skill tests are not the best way to showcase your credentials, what should you do instead? Fiverr provides plenty of other ways to show how you specialize in your chosen field, such as allowing portfolios.
Setting up a portfolio is as easy as using a website from Fiverr’s approved list and adding your samples. Just remember not to include your contact details:
A portfolio lets you play to your strengths:
- Show off your skills
- Demonstrate your quality
- Share your certification
- Talk about past projects
Creatives don’t need tests. They simply need to show their best work. Their flowing words, their beautiful brush strokes, their impeccable logo design, their gorgeous design… it’s all visual. Buyers care about results, not how well you use the tool to create them.
While technical skills may be a bit more of a challenge to show off, using e.g. Blogspot to write a case study about how a snippet of code helped a company to increase their efficiency and save $12,000 a month is a powerful way to demonstrate your skills.
The same tactic can be employed by marketers and other sellers with skills that aren’t necessarily visual, but have plenty of value to offer potential buyers. Show people the return on investment they can expect, and you’re already ahead of the majority of sellers on the marketplace.
This is real proof and helps to solidify initial buyer trust. Ultimately, buyers want someone who can do the job and get it right.
Fiverr Has Shrunk Its Skill Tests Catalog Over Time
When Fiverr launched skill tests, there were hundreds available. Now, just a handful remain. Fiverr doesn’t have much to say about this, except:
The following tests have had the most impactful results on seller profiles, and are the only skills we have Skill Tests for.
Fiverr Help Center
Does Passing Fiverr Skill Tests Get More Orders?
Let’s bust this myth: NO.
Like most sellers, I’ve taken a few skill tests on Fiverr. I’ve scored highly in them (no cheating!). I then never touched them again.
Since then, I’ve been promoted to Pro Verified and made Fiverr Certified. I’ve made hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not one buyer has ever mentioned my skill test results.
Not once have I felt that my results had any impact on anything. My orders didn’t change significantly either way.
Since Fiverr deleted hundreds of skill tests, most of my results have disappeared. There was no impact. I actually only learned about this while researching for this article!
Still, there are other sellers who will tell you that Fiverr skill tests are the key to getting more orders on Fiverr. What has mattered at every step of my Fiverr career was my ability to:
- Deliver a great service
- Treat all customers well
- Focus on high quality experiences
- Turn first buyers into repeat buyers
- Get rave reviews (private and public)
I’ve been freelancing since 2005-2006, long before Fiverr ever existed, so I do have a lot of experience. But these are soft skills that every freelancer needs to master for long-term success, on and off Fiverr.
People who tell you great Fiverr skill test results “get more orders” are simply offering a lazy quick fix result that doesn’t actually do anything. And, more often than not, their words are not backed by a track record of success.
How to Take A Fiverr Skill Test (And What You Need to Know First)
If you decide to take a Fiverr skill test, then the process is not too difficult.
Just visit your profile page and scroll down the left-hand menu until you see the ‘Take a Test’ button. Click on it.
You will then see the following window.
You can either scroll down the short list of Fiverr skill tests or use the search to find your skill.
Clicking on a skill test will open a new window with the rules for taking a skill test.
I personally didn’t go further than this, but if you keep clicking through you will eventually start your chosen Fiverr skill test. Get comfortable before you start!
Remember that you cannot leave the skill test window or close it without failing your test.
Here are some key details about results:
- The passing grade is 60% – 80% (test-dependent)
- Your percentile is dynamic, based on other results: speed is rewarded
- Passed tests will be marked as a verified skill with a check mark
- You can choose to show or hide your results
Retaking Fiverr Skill Tests
Thankfully, you can retake tests. This is just as well since the testing software is notoriously glitchy and has been since it first plagued Upwork sellers in the early 2010s. There are a couple of ground rules:
- You must wait 24 hours before retaking the test
- You can only take a test twice over 90 days
There doesn’t seem to be a limit to how many times you can retake a test outside of these limitations.
Fiverr recommends using the latest version of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome to take the tests.
Wrap-Up: Passing The Fiverr Skill Tests Isn’t a Big Deal
Fiverr skill tests are simply too flawed for me to recommend unless you have to. If you want credible Fiverr certification plastered all over your profile, then Fiverr Learn is a better option. An even better option would be to focus on building a great portfolio and creating SEO optimized, eye-catching gigs. Deliver great work and customer service and the social proof will start rolling in – along with new buyers and repeat business.
You can also highlight your skills and attract potential clients by showing off your existing certification from professional bodies. A well-established industry certification holds a lot more power than a multiple answer test when you want to connect with potential clients!
Underneath these prefered practices, a Fiverr skill test might help in a small way. Maybe Fiverr’s search algorithm takes note, improving your ranking. Maybe it helps some clients seeking expertise to make that final distinction between freelancers when searching between seller A and B. It’s not the key to success, just a potential small positive in your favor.
It’s definitely important to pass the skill test if you’re in a category where one is required! Just remember, if you don’t cheat, your test scores could be lower than the cheaters. The irony in this insight is palpable…
Otherwise, this platform works better for those who can showcase their skills on the platform using relevant keywords and informative sales and marketing techniques. Highlight the benefits you have to offer, and they will come.
For all these reasons, I don’t think Fiverr skill tests are a big deal. In fact, I think they should be removed as causing more harm than good. But if you want to give your Fiverr profile that last, basic small push forward, it’s there and waiting for you.
