I've used 99designs on 12 occasions now and I love it. Now that I've revealed that, let's get into the review.
About the Reviewer
I' started out making websites as a solo dev and affiliate marketer back in 2007. After finally starting to make more money and going full-time from my efforts in 2018, I choose to outsource my logo needs to 99designs the first time in 2019. Since then, I've ordered 12 logos from them for 12 different websites. Before that, I used to make my own logos with Adobe Photoshop.
My Experience with 99designs
I first learned about 99designs from a friend that has a web design company. They use it to outsource their logo creations for their clients, adding a bit of profit on top. I bet a lot of web design companies does this for clients. Instead of designing the logos themselves, they outsource it and are just basically a middle man connecting the designer and the clients.
99designs vs. a Local Web Design Company
By going directly to 99designs you can save money and have full control over how you write your logo design requirements and specifications while also being presented with all the submissions. You can also communicate directly with the designers. That's one reason to use 99designs instead of your local web design shop.
If on the other hand you know that your local web design supplier does design the logos himself/herself, you can expect to pay more for your logo and receive less logo submissions to pick from than if you go with 99designs. Maybe your local designer will just make one logo as per your specification, while you could get 20+ submissions to pick from by going with 99designs.
The 99designs Process
To get your logo created by 99designs you simply need to sign up and post a new contest. You can choose to set it as a blind contest where the every designer cannot see the other designer's submissions. I've used that option sometimes as I believe it can result in more unique submissions, but I've also not used it and been happy with that as well.
One setting that I always have used is to set the prize as guaranteed. This makes the designers know that I guarantee to pick a winner, so they are less likely to waste their time by participating.
When your contest is live, you can expect submissions to start coming in after a day or so.
The 99designs interface for managing your competition is easy to use and functional. You can give each submission a star rating and let the designers know of any wishes you have for changing the design. Designers are usually keen on winning the competition and will work with you to make you fully satisfied based on your feedback.
99design Logo Prices
Logo design at 99designs starts at about $300 and goes up to about $1,300 in 4 tiers. All 4 packages come with a money-back guarantee (terms and conditions apply). With just the cheapest package, you can expect to get ~30 designs to choose from. It is worth noting that choosing one of the slightly more expensive packages attracts higher skilled designers. By just going from the cheapest $300 package to the $500 package, you can expect twice the amount of submissions to choose from.
Conclusion
If you have a budget of at least $300 for your logo, and you don't want to create it yourself, I would strongly suggest trying out 99designs. The price is affordable, the process is easy, and the quality is impeccable.
99designs FAQ
- Is 99designs legit? Yes. You'll find awesome designers competing prducing high quality logo design on 99designs.
- Is 99designs worth it? Yes. I've been happy with the results of even the cheapest logo design packages on 99designs.
- How long does a 99designs logo content take? The standard duration is 7 days. You may pay extra to shorten ti to 3, 2 or 1 day.
- What are 99designs upsells? When creating a logo contest you may pay extra for a featured listing, highlight, being featured on their blog, and to shorten the contest duration.