One gig.
Or the whole crew.
Fiverr vs LeanLoop: one gig at a time, or one crew for the whole project
For a small business that needs a logo, a website or a short video, Fiverr is an obvious first stop, and it's easy to see why. You can browse freelancers, compare their packages and order in minutes. LeanLoop makes the same kinds of things, as projects. The difference is how many people you deal with, who holds the plan together, and what happens once it's launched.
Fiverr or an agency? The short answer
- Choose Fiverr for one small, well-defined piece, when you know exactly what you want and are happy to pick the freelancer and check the work yourself.
- Choose LeanLoop when the pieces need to work together, like a brand, a website and a launch campaign that look and sound like one business, made by one crew with one plan, a fixed price and a date.
How buying on Fiverr works
Fiverr describes itself as an online marketplace where you find and hire freelancers for digital services. Its categories include logo design, website design and development, video editing and animation, and AI services.
You choose a freelancer by reading their profile, and buy a fixed-price package or a custom offer. Bigger orders can be split into milestones. Freelancers on Fiverr are independent contractors, and Fiverr's advice is to write a detailed brief. When the work arrives, you check it. Payment goes to the freelancer when you accept the delivery, or automatically a few days after it's delivered.
Fiverr adds a service fee to each order, and prices are set in US dollars. Its help centre has the current fees. For bigger budgets, Fiverr Pro offers freelancers it has reviewed by hand, and a paid project management service that handles the day-to-day contact with freelancers for you.
A UK alternative to Fiverr for your branding and website
LeanLoop is a small crew with assistants behind it, making one-off projects for small and medium-sized businesses. We work in nine services, in four families:
- Build: apps and websites, and assistants.
- Brand: branding, and graphic design.
- Motion: video design and editing, and animation.
- Growth: marketing, advertising, and sales and marketing plans.
Every project runs Plan → Build → Launch, with a fixed price and a date agreed before we start. A small business website is usually live in about 3 weeks from the day we have your logo and draft words for each page. Every project ends with a receipt: what was delivered, when, and who worked on it. See the projects.
One gig at a time, or one plan for the whole project
On Fiverr, each gig is one piece from one seller. That works well for one piece. It gets harder when you need several. Say you want a new logo, a website, a short launch film and some ads. That's often four freelancers, four briefs and four sets of files, and you're the one making sure the colours match, the words sound like the same business, and the website is ready for the day the ads go live.
With LeanLoop, it's one project. One plan covers all of it, one crew makes it, and it all launches on the date we agreed before we started.
The other difference comes after launch. On Fiverr, looking after the work afterwards is whatever you arrange with the freelancer separately. With LeanLoop, a project often leads to a repeat job. A new website launches, and then an assistant drafts a reply to every enquiry it brings in, within minutes, for you to approve. We keep that running as a monthly service.
Fiverr vs LeanLoop, side by side
| Fiverr | LeanLoop | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A marketplace of independent freelancers | One crew making projects across nine services |
| Who you deal with | One freelancer per gig | One crew for the whole project |
| Who writes the brief | You | We write the plan with you, and agree it before we start |
| Who checks the work | You, before you accept the delivery | We do, before it reaches you |
| Price and date | Set by each freelancer's package or offer, in US dollars, plus Fiverr's service fee | A fixed price and a date, agreed before we start |
| After launch | Whatever you arrange with the freelancer | A receipt of what was delivered, and a repeat job if you want one |
When Fiverr is the better choice
- You need one small piece, like a logo, a banner or a short edit.
- You know exactly what you want, and can write it down clearly.
- Your budget is tight. For a single small piece, a freelancer on Fiverr is hard to beat on price.
- You enjoy choosing, comparing portfolios and managing the work yourself.
When one crew is the better choice
- Several pieces need to work together: a brand, a website, a launch film, posts and ads that look and sound like one business.
- You want one team and one date, not several freelancers to keep in step.
- You'd rather not write the brief alone. We plan it with you first.
- You want the website to keep working for you after it launches, with an assistant drafting replies to its enquiries for you to approve.
How to decide
Count the pieces. If it's one, and you know what you want, try Fiverr. If it's three or four that have to fit together and launch on time, count the hours you'd spend finding, briefing, checking and lining up each freelancer too. Then weigh that against one project with one plan.
Looking to hire a freelancer to set up software for your admin instead? See Upwork vs LeanLoop.
