A popular graphic design service, Design Pickle, is loved by many business and agency owners worldwide. However, no two companies are alike, thus, Design Pickle can not be the option for everyone. If you’re one of those looking for Design Pickle alternatives, here is our list of the top competitors you can consider.
Why You Need to Look at Design Pickle Competitors
Earning its reputation as a dependable subscription-based graphic design service, Design Pickle stands out. Its simple business model allows users to pay a fixed monthly rate for unlimited design requests and revisions. It provides them with access to a team of professional designers who are vetted for their quality work.
Despite the convenience, savings, and numerous other benefits of working with Design Pickle, it has its downsides. First, the actual turnaround time and quality can vary, which in turn can lead to frustrations when deadlines are tight or revisions keep coming.
Secondly, a few reviews indicate that its request system can sometimes feel clunky or unintuitive. Additionally, its pricing can be steep, especially for startups or smaller businesses. Lastly, its lack of a free trial can also add to its many issues.
Top 7 Design Pickle Competitors
1. Penji
One of Design Pickle’s most popular competitors is Penji. Both businesses are unlimited graphic design services and offer similar design types. However, Penji and Design Pickle are neck and neck; Penji has some advantages over Design Pickle in some areas.
First, Penji offers 120+ design services. This includes ad designs, branding, illustrations, and motion graphics!
Secondly, Penji has much more affordable pricing plans than Design Pickle. Penji plans start at $499/mo.
Finally, Penji has an edge on turnaround times. At the latest, Penji designers deliver their outputs within two days. However, as you scale up, you get designs the same day! Design Pickle has a 24-hour turnaround on simple graphic design work and a 48 to 72-hour turnaround time on presentations and motion graphics.
These three reasons (and so much more!) are why businesses love subscribing to Penji. Take a look at our designers’ works to see why Penji is the preferred graphic design subscription by 25,000 brands and agencies worldwide!
Pros:
- Unlimited design requests and revisions
- Turnaround times of 24-48 hours
- Flat monthly pricing
Cons:
- Not suitable for those with only a few design needs
2. Toptal
If you’ve worked with freelancers before and want to replicate that success, Toptal is one of the best places to find the top freelancers worldwide. The freelance site vets freelancers to join their exclusive club, but only 3% make it to the platform.
You can find logo designers, UI/UX designers, web designers, illustrators, brand designers, and more! Additionally, you can expect to work alongside professional freelancers with experience partnering with big brands like Bridgestone, Microsoft, and Salesforce!
Toptal pricing consists of three components: a $79 monthly subscription fee, a variable hourly rate set by the freelancer (typically $60-$200+), and an undisclosed markup on the freelancer’s rate (approximately 50%).
Pros:
- High-quality, pre-vetted talents
- Ideal for tech, finance, and design roles
- 14-day free trial
Cons:
- On the pricier side
3. Twine
Another place to find top designers is Twine. Twine is a creative and tech freelance site.
Twine requires you to fill out a form. It takes around two to three minutes to accomplish. Once done, your form will become a project. Freelancers can submit their pitches or invite someone to do that. However, you can also select from handpicked designers who are ideal for the job. Finally, settle on an agreement with the designer on your terms and payments.
Twine has two pricing plans. First is the free plan, where you can post a job and screen freelancers. However, it has a 5% service fee. Meanwhile, its Business plan will require you to pay $139.99/project. You get access to managed service, consolidated billing, and personalized vetting.
Pros:
- Ideal for interactive storytelling and gamebooks
- No coding required
- Active community
Cons:
- Text-based projects only
4. Dribbble
Dribbble was originally a graphic design portfolio site before it expanded to allow potential clients to hire freelancers on-site. It’s a good starter site to check, especially if you haven’t decided on what design style you want for your brand. Upon browsing your preferred design style, you can contact the designer by clicking on their work.
Alternatively, you can post a job ad and switch between job ads. However, you can further leverage Dribbble to find freelancers with the Hiring Suite. This allows you to search for more designers, filter designers, and send unlimited messages.
A standard 30-day job posting on Dribbble starts at $299.
Pros:
- Great for design inspiration and networking
- Strong designer showcase
- Community-driven feedback
Cons:
- Limited job posting for free users
5. 99designs
Another great Design Pickle competitor is 99designs. This site allows you to start a design contest or hire a freelancer.
The design contest is ideal when you need multiple design styles. You can submit a design contest for every design, including logo, social media, website, illustrations, packaging, and more. However, you should expect to pay more if you want to receive more designs.
Alternatively, you can hire freelancers directly on 99designs. Like Dribbble, you can check out designer portfolios. From there, you can invite them to work or send them a message.
Pros:
- Design contest gives a multitude of options
- Full copyright ownership
- Money-back guarantee
Cons:
- Can be expensive
6. Creativepool
Creativepool offers three ways to connect you with graphic designers. You can hire agencies, freelancers, or employees! You can post job ads or purchase a Talent Pass to do this. A Talent Pass entitles you to search for freelancers and send them a message.
Creativepool has the top 5% of all creatives worldwide. Plus, you don’t need to pay commissions when you hire an agency! Additionally, if you decide to hire an agency, you must fill out a “studiobrief,” where Creativepool will send your brief to the best agencies for your project. Once an agency is interested in working with you, you can send them a message!
Pros:
- Strong creative community
- Free job posting options
- Affordable premium listings
Cons:
- Limited reach
7. Upwork
Our final pick for the top Design Pickle competitor is Upwork. Upwork is a freelance marketplace that allows users to find designers from different disciplines worldwide. Fortunately, Upwork helps you connect to top designers when you search for them. Before you message or hire a designer, you’ll see their ratings and job success percentage. Plus, you’ll know how much they charge hourly. Designers charge hourly for as low as $10/hr.
Pros:
- Huge talent pool
- Payment protection
- Flexible pricing
Cons:
- Vetting candidates can be time-consuming
Why is Penji the BEST Design Pickle Competitor?
Aside from what we’ve said above, the other Design Pickle competitors will still require you to hire graphic designers, which can be time-consuming and costly. You no longer need to hire graphic designers when you subscribe to Penji. Our designers have undergone a vetting process to ensure only the cream of the crop makes it to our team.
Additionally, Penji has a built-in platform where you can send requests, talk to designers, and point out revisions. You don’t need to switch between multiple apps to submit your design brief and communicate with designers.
Finally, you can submit an x number of projects during your subscription. Simply submit a design request, and your designer will get to it as soon as possible. Plus, you also get unlimited revisions. You don’t have to pay extra since this is included in the plan!
If that convinces you to consider Penji as your graphic design subscription partner, watch a video demo to make the switch to Penji!
About the author
Katrina Pascual
Katrina is a content writer specializing in graphic design, marketing, social media, and technology. In her spare time, she writes monthly personal blogs to practice her craft.
