Updated on July 23rd, 2025
Last year, I started uploading cozy gaming videos on my YouTube channel. I made a simple banner for my channel using Canva. However, I wanted a banner that was more professional and also represented me better. After looking around online, I decided to hire 4 different freelancers on Fiverr who had gigs ranging from $5 to $30 to give me options to choose from. In this post, I wanted to share my experience of using Fiverr and working with the 4 freelancers.
What is Fiverr?
Fiverr is a marketplace for freelance services. You can either offer your own services or hire other freelancers. You can find freelancers for graphics and design, programming and tech, digital marketing, video and animation, writing and translation, music and audio, business, consulting, and personal growth. Since I wanted a new banner for my YouTube channel, it was easy to search for freelancers on Fiverr who offered their services to design one.
The YouTube Banners
$5 Banner
Raffaele Leone has a gig to design a banner with a character and background in a cartoon style for $5. I placed my order on June 14th, and Raffaele delivered the banner on June 16th. When placing my order, I shared my YouTube channel, photos of myself for reference, and that my favorite color was teal. Also, I stated I liked gaming, cats, and plants. For $5, I think the banner turned out well. My portrait was designed in a cartoon style and I like that the banner has the elements I mentioned such as a cat, gaming controller, and plant leaves. Also, the color scheme is on point with the teal!
$10 Banner
Xdelayli offers the service of creating an illustrated banner for $10. I placed my order on June 13th, and the banner was delivered on June 16th. When placing my order, I shared my YouTube channel and that my favorite color is teal. I also shared that I wanted an illustration of me with my 2 cats and attached reference photos. I love how the banner turned out! The illustration of me with my cats Luna and Freya is so cute. I also like the little hearts and the teal background color, and I have used this banner on my Twitter account.
$20 Banner
Catkan offers 3 different options for banners, and I went with the first Basic option which is a simple background with a title and 6 patterns for $20. I placed my order on June 16th, and the banner was delivered on June 19th. When placing my order, I shared my YouTube channel and that my favorite color is teal. I also requested the 6 patterns of a controller, 2 cats, a plant like a succulent, a magnifying glass, and either a simple cartoon of me or a cupcake. Also, I attached photos of myself and my cats for reference.
All the illustrations for the banner are so cute! I love that Catkan took my request into account, and there are illustrations for both my cats, 2 different succulents, a gaming controller, a magnifying glass, a cupcake, and of me! Also, I love the teal color and the pop of white with my name, and I have used the banner on my Facebook account.
$30 Banner
The last freelancer I hired was Doca Vestalia. Doca has 3 different options for an illustrated profile picture and a banner, and I chose the Premium $30 option as it included both. I placed my order on July 21st, and the profile picture and banner were delivered on July 24th. When placing my order, I shared my YouTube channel, my favorite color of teal, and reference photos of myself and my cats. Before Doca delivered my order, she shared a sketch of the portrait, which I appreciated and approved without any changes.
Doca then delivered my portrait on a plain white background, a teal background, and with 2 different shirt colors, and I like that she provided numerous options! I love how my portrait with my cats turned out, and I have used it as my profile picture on YouTube. Doca also gave me 2 banners with different backgrounds. One banner had a flower field with my cats while the other banner had cats, plants, and controllers around. Both the banners are adorable, and I have decided to use the first banner with the flower field as my YouTube banner. I appreciate that Doca gave me options for my profile picture and banner! I was not expecting the variety as the other freelancers only provided one banner as expected.
Overall Thoughts
All the freelancers I hired on Fiverr were great to work with. They all took my requests into account and I enjoyed seeing their different art styles and visions. Also, they all delivered my order within 2-3 days, which is fantastic. If you are looking for a new banner, you cannot go wrong with hiring one of them.
However, I do have some concerns about the Fiverr platform. When you are placing an order on Fiverr, you have to pay a service fee. The service fee is 5.5% of the order plus orders under $100 have to pay a $3 fee on top of the 5.5% fee. So, a $5 order turns into $8.28, and a $30 order turns into $34.65. I understand the service fee is necessary for Fiverr to operate, but I do not like that a service fee is also charged for tips. I tipped each of the freelancers after they delivered my order, but I had to pay an additional service fee. For example, a $10 tip turns into $13.55 on top of the amount you paid for the order. I feel like the service fee on tips deters buyers from tipping.
On top of the service fees for buyers, Fiverr takes 20% of the order from freelancers. Freelancers charging $5 will only earn $4 while freelancers charging $30 earn $24. Furthermore, Fiverr takes a 20% cut of the tips! To put this into perspective, for a $10 order with a $10 tip, the buyer pays $27.10 with the fees. Of the $27.10, the freelancer makes $16 while Fiverr makes $11.10 from the fees! I think it is horrible that Fiverr is taking such a large percentage of the freelancers’ orders and their tips. I believe it shows how greedy Fiverr is because they are making good money from both the buyers and freelancers.
These are all so lovely – thanks for sharing ♡
I like the $20 the most – which is your favourite?
Thank you! It is hard to pick a favorite, but I did use the $30 one as my YouTube banner!
Aw! How cute are these banners!? 🥰 My favourites is the last one. But I also love the style of #1 and #2. It’s nice to see the artists different styles, and think they all did a great job with your specifications. I’ve heard of Fiverr before but never used it. I can’t believe how high the service fees and % that Fiverr takes is!
The banners are cute! The last banner is what I decided to go with for my YouTube channel though all of them were great with following my request. Yes it’s shocking that Fiverr takes such a large percentage – around 40% of the total the buyer pays for the service and tip!
All of these banners are so cute! I definitely need to check out your channel! I agree that it is such a big issue with these artists not being properly compensated for their work with all of the fees taken out of the price they charge. Especially it being such a big percentage too! It’s so frustrating! Thank you for sharing your experience with it!
https://melissakacar.com
I agree the banners are cute! Yes it’s a shame that Fiverr only cares about profits because the freelancer only gets around 60% of what the buyer pays for the service and tip.
omg, I didn’t know you do youtube! I restarted my channel this past week! I’m going to check you out right after this 🙂 I have looked into Fiverr for selling my services, but never to buy a service. My favorite ones are the $10 banner and the $20 banner. I think I would personally use the $20 banner since it gives a nice clean look while showing your personality in the images. Can’t wait to see which one you ended up using 🙂 xx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
I haven’t announced I started a YouTube channel on here since it was just a side thing I’m doing for fun. Thank you! That’s awesome you restarted your channel & I’ll have to check out your videos!
The $10 banner is so cute and I love all the illustrations of the $20 banner.
This post really drove home to me the fact that some artists are really underselling their services! (And also that Fiverr isn’t out to help artists OR clients).
The freelancer can definitely be charging more! Yes, Fiverr does take such a large cut of the freelancer’s services and tips plus the buyers have to pay a lot in fees!
All of the designs are great; I like that they all have their own distinct style while following your input about colours, etc. It’s a shame that Fiverr seems to have so many fees on things, and that they take a percentage from the tips—that is definitely something that may put people off leaving a tip for the artists. Very interesting review!
I agree the designs are great and the freelancers did a fantastic job of following my requests! Yes it’s a shame that Fiverr takes such a large cut. I read that Fiverr started adding fees on tips because some freelancers were charging $5 for their service then requesting the buyer to tip them $100. I did want to ask the freelancers if there was another way I could leave a tip, but it’s not allowed to do payments outside of the Fiverr platform.
All the designers did so well at following your requests. My favourite banner is the second one – the cartoon of you and your cats is so cute!
I agree they freelancers did amazing at following my requests! The second banner is so cute with me and my cats!
Lovely banners, I especially like the second and fourth ones! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
The second and fourth banners are so cute especially since I’m holding my cats!
Nice banner
The third one is awesome.
The third banner is cute!
The $30 design looks lovely, especially with the flower field background and all the cute details! It’s amazing how many creative options you got for that price. Thanks for sharing your experience! x
Lenne | http://www.lennezulkiflly.com
I love the $30 design, and it’s sweet that she gave me two options for the background! No problem!
I’m also a fan of Fiverr. Obviously the value for money is attention grabbing but the time frame and quality of work elements are huge factors of why I always recommend fiverr. Thanks for sharing.
That’s great to hear you’re a fan of Fiverr! Yes the freelancers do quality work, but it is concerning that Fiverr takes such a large percentage of what you pay for the services and tips!
Nice banners, I like especially the third one.
The third banner is so cute!
The commission structure on Fiverr is indeed concerning, especially when you consider the significant cut they take from both freelancers and their tips. It’s disheartening to see that freelancers, who put in the time and effort to deliver quality work, end up receiving such a small portion of what they earn. Fiverr’s practice of taking 20% not only from the order but also from tips feels exploitative, especially when you break down the numbers. In a scenario where a buyer spends $27.10, it’s frustrating to realize that the freelancer, who did the actual work, only sees $16 of that. This raises serious questions about fairness and highlights the platform’s apparent prioritization of profits over the well-being of the freelancers who keep the site running.
The pricing structure on Fiverr is concerning because you do pay a lot in fees as a buyer but only 60% of what you pay actually goes to the freelancer while Fiverr takes a 40% cut! It does seem Fiverr is focused more on profits.
Woah!!! Your YouTube banner looks gorgeous. Love the teal color theme. Good job to the four graphic designers. All the best to you with your YouTube channel.
Thank you so much!
I’ve looked at Fiverr a few times but proceed to book anything. But I see now that on small paying projects almost half of payment will go in tips. I’d still give them a go when necessary
Fiverr is good to look into if you have a specific project in mind for which you need to hire a freelancer. However, the fees are a bit extreme especially when you want to leave a tip!