7 Best Upwork Alternatives in 2024 (Compared)

7 Best Upwork Alternatives in 2024 (Compared)

The Upwork ecosystem was once one of the best platforms for finding freelance potential. Today it’s flooded with generic portfolios and endless bidding wars. If you are looking for design and development excellence, you might want to consider a more curated experience. 

The subscription-based design and development platforms offer vetted talent, specialized expertise, and seamless collaboration.

Why opt for a subscription-based model?

  • Niche expertise: These platforms connect you with professionals who specialize in your industry or project type, ensuring a perfect fit every time.
  • Seamless collaboration: Dedicated collaboration tools keep your team aligned, tasks on track, and project progress crystal clear.
  • Predictable costs: Subscription-based models offer transparent pricing and access to a pool of talent, allowing you to focus on project success, not financial gymnastics.

In this article, we’ll explore 7 alternatives to Upwork that can offer unlimited graphic design services tailored to your unique vision and budget. You can also check out the comparison table for a quick review. 

7 Best Upwork alternatives 

  1. Growmodo
  2. Penji
  3. Designjoy
  4. Flocksy
  5. DotYeti
  6. Kapa99
  7. Draftss

Alternative #1: Growmodo

Growmodo is a subscription-based platform that brings you a simple solution for all your design and development needs. You’ll have a dedicated team of designers and developers at your fingertips, all for a flat monthly fee. No recruitment headaches, no hassles, just seamless access to top-notch creative and technical talent.

Growmodo Features

  • UX/UI Design: Craft a user experience that's intuitive, engaging, and conversion-focused. We map out clear information flows, design wireframes prioritizing data-driven optimization, and build stunning UIs for desktops and mobiles.
  • Graphic Design: From brand identities and brochures to social media graphics and packaging, our designers deliver impactful visuals with lightning-fast turnaround. 
  • Video Editing & Motion Graphics: Breathe life into your raw footage with expert editing and captivating motion graphics. Whether it's enhancing videos for engagement or grabbing attention on social media, we'll make your visual content shine.
  • Website & Landing Page Development: Growmodo builds and customizes websites that convert. Our team can help with your WordPress site, Shopify storefront, and Webflow design. We will guide you through theme selection, plugin integration, and technical complexities, ensuring your users have a seamless online experience.
  • Website Maintenance: Our comprehensive maintenance services will with your website management, and keep your website secure, fast, and up-to-date. We handle content updates, security measures, site speed optimization, payment integration, and more. 
  • Automation Setup: We connect your digital tools through platforms like Zapier and Parabola, automate email marketing campaigns, and even build chatbots for personalized customer interactions.

Beyond the basics, you can expect:

  • Dedicated Project Manager: This will be your one contact for all project needs, your project manager will help with clear communication and smooth execution.
  • Unlimited Requests & Revisions: You can send as many requests and revisions as you need, we're here to deliver your vision.
  • Daily Progress Reports: We will ensure you stay informed of every step with transparent and regular updates.

If you’re in the middle of a website redesign project, check out our plan, and grab a free template.

Growmodo Pricing

Growmodo offers a simple subscription plan that includes a flat monthly fee starting at $1795. If you want to add more people to work on your projects simultaneously, You can easily scale your team in no time, and adjust your fee. It's the design and development dream team you've been waiting for.

Alternative #2: Penji

Penji is a platform that offers graphic design services with a subscription-based model. It has a fast turnaround and lets you cancel anytime. Trusted by over 10,000 small and medium-sized businesses, marketers, and individuals, Penji aims to simplify graphic design processes with access to top talent globally.

Penji Features

  • Graphic and video design
  • Branding
  • Illustrations
  • Ad creatives
  • UX/UI design
  • Presentation designs
  • Motion graphics

They offer real-time chat support and a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Penji Pricing

  • Starter: $499/month for 80+ design services, unlimited graphic design projects, custom illustrations, logos, and branding.
  • Marketer: $995/month for 100+ design services, unlimited projects, app designs, web designs, presentations, and animated graphics.
  • Agency: $1497/month for 120+ design services, same-day turnaround and a dedicated art director.

Alternative #3: Designjoy

Designjoy is a subscription-based design service that offers unlimited design subscriptions to scale businesses. It focuses on providing a reliable source of design for a fixed price, and fixed expectations. You can scale up and down, cancel anytime, and you own 100% of all the designs. 

Designjoy Features

  • Websites
  • Mobile apps
  • Logos & branding
  • Design systems
  • Wireframes
  • Infographics
  • Brochures
  • Brand guides
  • Social media graphics
  • Email graphics
  • Business cards
  • Packaging
  • Digital ads

You can manage your design board using Trello and view active, queued, and completed tasks.

It’s important to mention that Designjoy is actually an agency of one. This means you'll work directly with the founder of Designjoy. Requests like animations or custom illustrations are provided by partner designers.

Designjoy Pricing

  • Standard: $4,995/month for one request at a time. Average 48-hour delivery, unlimited brands, unlimited users, unlimited stock photos via Shutterstock
  • Pro: $7,995/month for two requests at a time. Average 48-hour delivery and all the above. 

Alternative #4: Flocksy

Flocksy is a subscription-based service offering graphic design, video editing, motion graphics, web design, and more for a flat monthly fee. The platform can serve as a personal marketing team, providing on-demand graphic design and website assistance. Flocksy's solutions aim to create, on-brand visuals for presentations, sales, and various other needs.

Flocksy Features

  • Graphic design 
  • Social ads & posts & videos
  • Product launches
  • Motion graphics
  • Video editing
  • Web development
  • Custom illustration
  • Voice-overs
  • Audio editing
  • Copywriting
  • Virtual assistants

They offer unlimited brand buckets, unlimited additional users, and unlimited monthly projects.    Their platform can integrate with Zapier Slack, Monday.com, and Trello, and you get a dedicated project manager who’s available by phone, email, and video chat.

Flocksy Pricing

  • Silver Plan: $499/month for automated project queue, a designated creative team, fast turnaround, USA daytime team creatives.
  • Gold Plan: $995/month for everything in silver, plus: Double the output, expedited turnaround  and you can request revisions via video & audio
  • Platinum Plan: $1,695/month everything in gold, plus: Triple the output of the silver plan, Figma file delivery, and Canva file delivery.

Alternative #5: DotYeti 

DotYeti is a platform specializing in on-demand graphic design, providing businesses with limitless graphic design services. What sets DotYeti apart from other unlimited design services is its unique capability to assist with one-time projects as well.

DotYeti Features

  • Social Media Designs
  • Digital Marketing Ads
  • Posters, Flyers & Brochures
  • Merchandise & Stickers
  • Logos
  • Whitepaper & E-Books
  • Infographics & Custom Illustrations
  • Animated GIFs
  • Premium Brand Style Guides
  • Explainer Videos & Motion Graphics
  • Animations & Video-editing
  • Webdesign & Landing Pages

All their plans include a dedicated design team, unlimited design & revisions, 48h turnaround times, source files, premium stock assets, and AIi-generated images. They also offer a 14-day money-back guarantee.

DotYeti Pricing

  • Basic: $449/month for 1 project at a time, 1 brand profile, an art director, and an account manager.
  • Premium: $1,145/month for 2 projects at a time and 2 brand profiles.
  • Royal: $2,395/month for 2 projects at a time and unlimited brand profiles.

Alternative #6: Kapa99

Kapa99 is a subscription-based design platform that caters to the needs of small businesses, agencies, and marketers. Their users can access unlimited graphic design help with a flat-rate subscription, you can have unlimited design requests and revisions within a specified timeframe. They guarantee a quick turnaround time of 24-48 hours for design tasks

Their Latin American team is available during U.S. business hours (8 AM to midnight ET).

Kapa99 Features

  • Social media images
  • Illustrations
  • Infographics
  • Logo Design
  • Web Ads
  • Billboard design
  • Book covers & layouts
  • Brochures, flyers & Posters
  • Product packaging design
  • Apparel

Their 15-day free trial offers designs without a watermark. With all the plans you will have unlimited graphic design requests in all supported categories, and unlimited active tasks, team members, and brands.

Kapa99 Pricing

  • Business: $499/month ($349 for the first two months) for native Adobe source files, and Canva files delivery.
  • Business Express: $999/month ($849 for the first two months) 12-24 hours delivery time

Alternative #7: Draftss 

Draftss is a subscription-based service offering unlimited graphic design and code. It caters to founders, developers, startups, freelancers, and agencies, providing access to remote graphic designers and code services on a subscription model. The platform covers various design aspects like logo creation, branding, illustration, and website design & development. 

Draftss Features

  • Social media design
  • Branding & logos
  • Illustration
  • Infographics
  • Web UI/UX design
  • Mobile App UI/UX designn
  • Apparel
  • E-Books & Covers
  • Videos
  • Animation 
  • E-commerce design and development 
  • Website development 

They guarantee a 1-3 days turnaround time and for all plans, you’ll get unlimited designs, brands, white labeling, integration, and a project manager. You can add up to 10 team members to your dashboard. There is no contract and you can cancel anytime.

Draftss Pricing

  • Branding: $398/month for basic graphic design and illustration. One task at a time.
  • Experience: $599/month for design plus web & app UI design motion graphics & video editing. One task at a time.
  • Build: $1349/month for everything above plus front-end development.

What is the best Upwork alternative?

We’ve compared 7 platforms that offer a subscription-based model and can guarantee that all your design and development projects will be delivered fast and at no expense to quality work. Here is a table for a quick comparison, so you can compare them at a glance. 

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Start scaling with Growmodo

Tired of juggling freelance platforms and managing in-house staff? Leave all that to us, Growmodo can help you focus on the important things, like scaling your business. 

When you sign up, this is what you can expect: 

  • Rapid Recruitment in 24-48 Hrs: Easily onboard team members with a simple click.
  • Screened Professionals: We discover, oversee, and continually train the finest talents available.
  • Completely-Handled Teams: Your dedicated Project Manager pairs you with the ideal team members.
  • Daily Progress Updates: Stay informed about the tasks we've tackled and completed for you.

Book a call with Growmodo and let's create something amazing together.