99designs

99designs fees are structured to reward repeat client relationships and platform success. It includes a client introduction fee and a platform fee.

client introduction fee

The client introduction fee helps cover costs, including promoting designers on- and off-platform, search engine optimization, paid advertising, investment in designer/client search and matching algorithms, and other initiatives dedicated to driving direct work to you.

Designers are responsible for paying this fee. As with any freelance project, the total quoted price sent to your client should cover any additional business costs (such as your 99designs fees, insurance, taxes, utilities, etc.).

To ensure you retain more of your earnings upfront, the client introduction fee deducts 20% from the first $500 of paid invoices with a new client, with a maximum fee of $100 total.

You will not pay this introduction fee if:

• you won or were a finalist in a contest with this client
• the client has never previously used 99designs and you invited them to a 1-to-1 Project using the email invitation feature.

platform fee 

The platform fee is split between clients and designers to help cover the 1-to-1 Project costs of secure payment holds, dispute resolution, community curation, anti-fraud measures, payout processing, educational resources, and the ongoing development of the platform.

For each 1-to-1 Project, the client pays a fixed 5% platform fee, and the designer pays a separate platform fee based on their designer level.

How is the designer platform fee structured?

• Top Level designers: 5% platform fee
• Mid Level designers: 10% platform fee
• Entry Level designers: 15% platform fee