For many businesses, having an in-house design service team isn’t an option, whether that’s due to financial or staff resources. For those businesses, design service companies offer the ideal solution. While Upwork and Hatchwise may seem similar at first glance, Hatchwise is a crowdsourcing design company, whereas Upwork is a design company that lets you choose the freelancers you want to work with. To help you make the best decision for your business, we’ve outlined the pros and cons of each for you below.
When Hatchwise was founded in 2008, there weren’t many businesses out there like them. Hatchwise was started as a solution for businesses that didn’t have the resources for an in-house design. Hatchwise has grown to be a community of thousands of talented creatives that will bring your business’s design vision to life. Whether that is logo design, web design, graphic design, product design, business card design, naming, or something else, Hatchwise helps businesses of any size grow and succeed. What is unique about their style is that they operate as a crowdsourcing platform. That means you can hold contests on their platform and when you do, you’ll receive many design submissions that you choose your favorite from.
Upwork has been in the industry for two decades and was one of the first companies to create a platform that offered businesses a better way of connecting and working with talent. Since they’ve been around for a while and they are a large company, they operate as such. Their platform resembles that of a marketplace where businesses of all sizes, and independent talent (such as developers, designers, or marketers), can use the platform to connect and work together for the business’s creative needs.
Lights, camera, action!
When you work with a design service platform, you are outsourcing your business’s design work, and often this can be done on an unlimited basis with companies. While many different business models can offer this service to you, with a contest-style format, you’ll be able to outsource your design projects to numerous creatives from all over the world with a contest that is anywhere between 48 hours and 10 days! Instead of a recurring charge, there is just one set fee to see multiple design submissions before you award a winning designer to conclude the contest.
Other design service platforms sometimes offer unlimited design, but instead of working with multiple designers, you’ll only be working with one, dedicated creative.
1. How it Works
Hatchwise keeps their process straightforward with 4 easy steps. Most contests will conclude in 10-days, giving you a whole suite of concepts to choose from. If you ever need a design faster, you always have the option of choosing a 48-hour “rush” contest option.
The difference with Upwork is that finding a creative is in your hands. Yes, you have more control over who you hire for your projects, but that also comes with an added cost of more time you must devote to this. Whereas other design service firms will sift through the creatives for you, with Upwork, you’ll have to post your job, look through proposals, and then once you decide, you can determine the timing, availability, and price before moving ahead. If at that point, it’s not a fit, you’ll have to go back to the proposals and choose a different creative. Once the project is completed, you’ll receive the final files for usage. But the good news is that even for their free account, you can post as many projects as you want!
2. What You Get
With design service platforms, you never have to wait once you choose a final design. With both Hatchwise and Upwork, you’ll receive the final artwork design files within hours right into your account. By doing this, you can easily have access to the files and the full rights given to you. That means that you can use the design however you’d like or change the design later as your business develops.
What Hatchwise offers is a simple process with ongoing personalized support throughout the entire contest. This will help you get your contests started and finished in the shortest amount of time. Beyond that, Hatchwise values every customer equally, and they will always strive to give you the best possible experience with every contest. That’s because they will always work to find you the perfect creative design that meets the vision of your business, at a low cost, without any hidden fees.
You’ll never just get one design with Hatchwise. When you use their platform, you’ll receive numerous design concepts that are submitted from designers all over the world, that you can choose from. Based on the package that you choose, you’ll always be guaranteed a minimum number of contest submissions. Regardless though, you can always count on receiving one-of-kind, high-quality designs, that are unique to your contest. As the contest runs, you can offer feedback to the creatives so the designers can edit their submissions to better match what you are looking for.
You’ll have a dedicated, responsive support staff with Hatchwise. Their support team is always available to answer a question, review your contest, or provide any advice or guidance you need. If at the end of the contest you haven’t received your guaranteed number of entries, and you aren’t able to choose a winner, just reach out to Hatchwise because you’ll qualify for a full refund of the contest’s payment.
Upwork’s platform is designed to be in the hands of the user. That means they don’t offer as much assistance. With either of their two package options, you’ll be guaranteed access to their marketplace to hire freelancers whether that is for website design, graphic design, or a marketing need. They advertise having over 8,000 skills represented by their talent, so if you have a need, they likely will have a freelancer for you. Regardless of which plan you choose, you’ll have access to verified freelancer work history and reviews (so you know who you are hiring), safe, easy payment, built-in collaboration features, a payment protection plan, customer support, and you’ll often receive designs back in 24 hours. With their free plan, they do have an algorithm in place to help you shortlist candidates, but who you choose will fall on you. If you upgrade to their paid plan, you’ll then have a dedicated account manager who will provide you with premium customer support, job post and talent sourcing assistance, team reporting, and job upgrades.
3. What It Costs
Hatchwise’s pricing reflects that of a per-project crowdsourcing platform, whereas Upwork’s pricing reflects that of an unlimited design services platform. Since Upwork’s structure is focused on you overseeing the hiring of your talent, their cheapest plan is free. If you want to take some of that work off your plate, you can opt for their monthly plan for $49.99 a month. On top of that, you’ll pay the freelancers you hire directly. For hourly contracts, Upwork will count keystrokes or take random screenshots of your freelancer’s screen, and on fixed-price contracts, you’ll agree on certain milestones and only pay when those are met. Why Upwork can offer a free plan is because they will charge freelancers and agencies a 5-20% service fee depending on the total amount you’ve billed a freelancer.
With Hatchwise, there are no hidden fees, and the pricing is transparent. Yes, you’re paying, unlike Upwork’s free option, but you’re paying for what most businesses would dream of – a wide array of options, at least 30, for each project and ongoing premium support. Their lowest package, the Bronze package, starts at $89 for a contest, like a basic logo design. Unlike Upwork’s pay model, you’re paying per project, not per month, which can save you in the long run. And with Hatchwise, if you’re willing to pay more, you’ll get more. That means you’ll be guaranteed more entries from more designers (with their most expensive package guaranteeing you over 250 designs). If you ever don’t receive their guaranteed number of submissions, and as a result don’t award a contest winner, Hatchwise will give you a full refund for your contest winner. And with them, no questions will ever be asked, and their money-back guarantee applies to all projects
Hatchwise | Upwork | |
|---|---|---|
Lowest priced logo package: | $89 | $49.99 |
Minimum number of entries | 30+ | – |
Minimum number of creatives: | 5+ | 15 Invites |
Money Back Guarantee: | Yes | Yes |
The Final Verdict
If you’re someone who likes to have control of all aspects of your business, then Upwork’s model may be best for you. They have a free package but with this, you’ll be doing more work. So, if you are looking to save money, then Upwork would be the best option. With Upwork, you can filter through designers, hire who you want, and receive your final designs. If you are willing to pay a monthly rate, you can have access to a dedicated team member that can help find you the best creative. However, if you don’t have many projects, the monthly rate may not be worth it.
With Hatchwise, you are paying per project and you still have all the control, without the leg work. As soon as you post a project, you’ll receive contest submissions that still give you the power to choose the best design for your business. Hatchwise doesn’t limit how many creatives can work on each of your projects, so you can get more concepts than you anticipated, and all of this comes at no extra charge. Yes, Hatchwise doesn’t have an unlimited model, but their price per project is affordable so you can start as many as you want.
Most of us use design service companies to take the work away, and you can’t do that entirely with Upwork. So, if you are looking for the best way to grow your business without having to spend time interviewing, sourcing, and hiring candidates, then Hatchwise is the best choice for you. And it’s no risk with their money-back guarantee!
Most Popular |
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Bronze | Silver | Gold | Unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|
30+ Custom Logo Designs | 70+ Custom Logo Designs | 130+ Custom Logo Designs | Unlimited Custom Logo Designs |
5+ Designers | 15+ Designers | 20+ Designers | 40+ Designers |
$50 Prize Included | $150 Prize Included | $250 Prize Included | $360 Prize Included |
Completely Original Artwork | Completely Original Artwork | Completely Original Artwork | Completely Original Artwork |
Money Back Guarantee | Money Back Guarantee | Money Back Guarantee | Money Back Guarantee |
$89 | $189 | Dedicated Support | Dedicated Support |
Free Contest Extensions | Free Contest Extensions | ||
$289 | Featured Contest | ||
Highlighted Contest | |||
$399 |
CONTEST UPGRADES:
All Design and Naming Contests come with our Money Back Guarantee.
