There is no doubt that Fiverr is one of the cheap freelancing websites among others. The name of Fiverr consists of the number “5” (five). That means Fiverr made up their company name from $5 (five dollars).
Fiverr is so cheap because of the starting price. Many of the gigs/services are offered only for $5 as the base price or basic package. In the same vein, people go to Fiverr and intend to get their job done at the lowest price possible (compared to the global market price). Aside from the base price, there are other reasons that I will discuss more in this post.
They designed their company in such a way that people can get their job done only for 5 USD as the starting price. And this cheap price is Fiverr’s naming history. Not to mention, this is one of many bad reasons for many freelancers to leave their platforms.
Fiverr was founded in 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Their main focus and business model/policy were targeting those people who are willing to buy & sell their services at a cheap price.
Why Fiverr is so cheap?
Though all business organizations start their journey for profits, however, their path is not the same. Every business organization has its policy to make profits and Fiverr is no different. Below I mentioned the top reasons for Fiverr being so cheap.
Geographical reasons
The majority of the sellers on Fiverr have come from developing countries, least developed & underdeveloped countries.
The opportunity to do something better in those countries is not very good for the majority. And many of them have taken the opportunity to work on Fiverr.
Based on the economic situation & needs, they try hard to sell their service at any price and even whatever they get.
And this is why the geographical factor is another big reason for Fiverr being so cheap.
Competition in the freelance marketplace
If you search for any services on Fiverr, you will find thousands of gigs and sellers.
According to a report (2019) by “U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,” Fiverr has over 830K sellers. And this number has been increasing each second.
If the stock of a certain good is way much higher than the market demand, this will be a reason for being cheap. And this is no different on Fiverr.
Low budget clients
This is another big reason for Fiverr being so cheap.
Not all clients are equal and there are also high-paying clients on Fiverr. But the ratio of high-paying clients is very low compared to low-budget clients.
I don’t know the exact ratio between high-paying and low-paying clients on Fiverr. Also, there is no such documentation on it. But based on my personal & previous experience, I can guess the ratio would be something around 85:15.
You may also like to see some of the best alternatives to Fiverr.
Those are the majority of clients on Fiverr who don’t have the budget to work with a professional agency or in their own country.
They generally come to Fiverr to get their job done at the lowest price possible. And this is one of the main reasons for many freelancers to find an alternative to Fiverr so they can work with dignity.
Confusing gig price
Service someone is selling for $1,000, other guys are also selling the same service for $20 only and even $5.
Fiverr shows similar & related gigs when a buyer searches for something. Then buyers see lots of gigs for the same service and their price is totally different.
For example, if you search for “Logo Design”, you will see that sellers are designing the same type of logo for totally different prices. And this is also true about other services as well.
Since most buyer comes with a low budget on Fiverr, they will generally pick the lowest gig.
So managing clients & making them understand the value & quality is very hard. Because the majority are cheap sellers and buyers on Fiverr.
Lack of experience & efficiency of freelancers
Hiring an inexperienced freelancer may result in destroying an existing asset or causing issues.
It’s very easy to join & start working on Fiverr (also on some other freelance marketplaces). And it’s a good thing. But many people try to start selling on Fiverr without knowing their staff.
So some buyers will use their service for the lowest price possible because they are inexperienced. But the buyer takes a pricing model or idea for the overall sellers on Fiverr.
This is why Fiverr became so cheap.
But still, there are a few sellers who will never sell their service for a low price and even they don’t get jobs. Also, there are a few high-paying clients who only look for quality and they will spend more to get their job done by a professional.
Conclusion
Fiverr is one of the known platforms where anyone who is 13 years old can start freelancing. Also, this flexibility can be a reason for generating unnecessary competition on Fiverr.
So if you want to get the most out of your hard work, you should have a couple of alternative options. Also, you should not just rely on freelancing platforms. Gradually you have to organize your own client source. And this is a reliable way to make a full-time income from freelancing.
Anyways, now you know why is Fiverr so cheap and the main reasons behind it. Always keep in my that you live in a digital world and the marketplaces are open to you. So if you don’t like Fiverr, then it’s your job to find a better alternative.
